Friends With Multiple Benefits (20 page)

Brian appeared in the doorway carrying a tray of food. Today's breakfast featured pancakes and eggs. His wife was eating for three and not just three normal people, it seemed like she was eating for three linebackers.

"Hungry?" he asked with a grin.

"Starving." She lifted her
nightshirt
and revealed the ripple of baby parts moving under her skin. "I think they're hungry too."

He placed the tray on the bed and looked away. "Please cover that. You know that freaks me out."

"Don't be a baby."

"It just looks like a horror movie or something. I don't mind touching it when they're moving, but seeing them in there is just weird."

After blowing on the top of her steaming mug of tea, she took a sip. A stack of four large pancakes sat on her plate next to a big pile of scrambled eggs. A selection of fresh cut fruits decorated the plate as well.

She cut a slab, slipped it into her mouth and her eyes rolled back in her head. "These are good."

"They are good today."

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier? We have my appointment at ten."

"We have plenty of time."

Suddenly she cringed. "Oh, I think one of them just stepped on my bladder. I have to pee."

She made her way to the bathroom then when she returned she stood beside the bed looking at him wearing a smile.

He noticed her expression. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"Want to see something?"

"Okay…" he replied hesitantly.

"I just got a look at these in the mirror." She lifted her shirt over her breasts, pulled it over her head, and gazed down to them, shaking her head.

His eyes bugged out. "Wow, they are—"

"Huge." She nodded. "Like freakishly big."

"Yeah, and I can't believe they are only for the babies," he whined. "It's really not fair."

She climbed back into bed. "Hey, I thought you were more of an ass man."

"Oh, I am, but just because you like spending a lot of time in the basement doesn't mean you don't want to log a few minutes every now and then in the penthouse."

"You're strange."

"Can I kiss them?"

She shrugged. "For a minute."

He leaned down and took a nipple in his mouth, licking it carefully. It hardened between his lips and she shivered, gently pushing him away. "Stop."

"What's the matter?"

"They hurt a little. And I'm just uncomfortable like everywhere. I really wish these babies would come out and I want my old rear end back."

"Want me to talk to them?"

"They really don't listen, but you can try."

Cupping her stomach carefully, he placed a kiss on her belly. "Now boys, you are starting to make Mommy uncomfortable. She wants her old body back, so please finish up whatever you two are doing in there and come out so we can meet you."

She giggled and ran her fingers through his hair.

When he rose he gazed at her cleavage in awe. "They are huge."

"Tell me about it." She looked down, frowning. "They are double Ds when they should be their perfect large B, small
C-ish
normal size."

He laughed.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

"Don't laugh at me. That's just mean."

"No, I'm not laughing at you," he began. "I was just thinking—Imagine if guys could get pregnant and when we did, things on us suddenly
grew
like three times their normal size." He glanced down to his groin.

She scoffed. "Yeah, then guys would be having about a dozen kids each."

"At least! The world would be so overpopulated, it wouldn't even be funny."

She cupped her swollen breasts together. "Believe me it's not easy carrying around these things."

He motioned to his penis. "It's no picnic carrying around this three-piece set either. At least when your things change you get some warning and it happens gradually. Try having something that goes from small and concealed to big and staring you right in the face in a matter of seconds with no more stimulation than a pretty woman walking by or sometimes even just a strong breeze does the trick. It can be embarrassing."

"Yeah." Grinning, she rolled her eyes.

"And if that's not bad enough, underneath him you've got two friends so sensitive that, lightly bumped or even handled in the wrong way, will send you curled up in agony in the fetal position on the floor."

"Sounds rough." She humored him with a smile. "I wonder why God made them like that."

"It doesn't make any sense."

Her eyes widened. "You do like to have them licked don't you?"

"Um, yeah, like it's just about the most amazing feeling ever."

"So if you had to give up that experience so you could have a set of…" she motioned toward his
groin, "…
that you could hit with a hammer and it wouldn't hurt, would you?"

"No." He looked at her like she was out of her mind. "No way."

"Well, there's your answer then. God, made them sensitive so you can enjoy all that."

"Huh, I never thought of it that way. You are really smart."

"I have my moments."

"I love you."

"I love you too." She kissed him on the lips. "Maybe we should go to dinner tonight. I'm craving Italian."

"I think I can sneak away from work for a couple hours."

"Good and since we're on the subject of your, you know…" She glanced at his groin then flashed him a sexy grin. "Maybe tonight I'll pay the boys a visit. It's been a while."

"It has." He gave her a concerned look. "You sure you're up to it?"

"I think I can manage."

During Jillian's checkup, her blood pressure was found to be a little high, but not high enough to cause concern. Both baby's
heart rates
were fine and Jillian's blood was drawn and sent off to the lab. After seeing his wife safely back home, Brian headed
into
work.

At just after two that afternoon, Brian's cell phone rang. Jillian called to say that her blood tests came back indicating that she was at risk for preeclampsia. There was no immediate danger to the babies, but that could change at any time and the doctor did not want to chance leaving them in there much longer. At thirty-seven
weeks,
the babies were considered full term and could breathe on their own. A C-section was scheduled for 5:00 p.m. that day and the expectant father rushed home.

The surgery was performed, without complication, and the two baby boys were delivered healthy and
weighing
in at four pounds thirteen ounces and five pounds eight ounces. Victoria,
Jim,
and Kaylie were all in the waiting room when Brian came out to deliver the news. Named Dylan and Griffin, both babies were born with wild
tuffs
of silky dark hair sprouting from their heads. The larger of the two had a more rounded, fatter face while the lighter twin had a smaller,
thinner
face. At this point just about everyone, upon close examination when they were together, could tell them apart simply by the facial size comparison. But when separated it was simply a guessing game as to which was which.

After letting Jillian rest for a few hours, the nurses began the
breastfeeding
process. Hours of work followed with the babies struggling with their sucking reflex and after bottle-feeding failed as well, the boys were equipped for tube feeding. While they looked a little sad with tiny tubes taped to their faces and running down their noses, this was a perfectly safe and somewhat normal occurrence for babies with immature sucking skills.

Two days later the twins both developed jaundice and were put under the lights with their little tiny masks shielding their bright blue eyes. Brian had
stayed
at Jillian's bedside for another day before she was released then the two took shifts at the hospital so one of them could be there around the clock. When a family suite opened up in the maternity ward, the couple moved in and lived there while the boys' health gradually improved.

After five days under the lights, the boys were removed from the incubators and another attempt at bottle-feeding was made. When that failed, the tube feeding resumed and a couple days later their sucking skills improved to the point that the family could leave the hospital.

Brian carefully placed the boys into their car seats and they all headed home. Once inside, he sat the babies into their matching reclining seats and Jillian heated up bottles. Although still being slow
eaters,
the two were doing a little better with feeding. It took about
twenty-five
minutes per bottle, but Jillian and Brian enjoyed cradling each of their twins in the new rockers he had purchased. It was a delightful bonding experience holding them while they ate.

Dylan, the smaller twin, seemed to favor his mother while, Griffin the larger of the two was taking to his father. Although each spent time with the other baby, it was just fine with them that they each had an assigned twin. Brian was able to take a few weeks off while the new family settled into a routine. There was no full nights' sleep in sight and the new parents established a schedule where he went to bed early and she took the first shift. Then she would wake him up about three in the morning to take over. It became a feeding, pooping, peeing, sleeping cycle that never seemed to end and although happy, both parents were exhausted.

The call came around lunchtime that Bridget was in the hospital about to give birth to her baby in Hawaii. Rob came off slightly panicked on the phone before he rushed back to be by his wife's side. Then a few hours later Rob called to tell them they had a granddaughter. A healthy, seven and a half pound baby girl they named Meredith. Jillian was reduced to tears and apologized for not being there to share this moment with her son.

When they were home about two weeks, and with the babies sleeping in
bassinets
in their bedroom, Brian took Jillian's hand and led her out to the hall.

"What are you doing?" she asked in a soft voice.

"I finally got a chance to get you your present," he whispered.

"Really?" She smiled. "I can't wait."

From behind his back, he pulled out a long, thin, expertly wrapped jewelry box and held it up in front of her. "I couldn't buy this in advance because I needed… well, I don't want to give anything away."

"Don't tell me." She took hold of his sleeve and pulled him along with her as she slipped down to the carpet and sat on the floor.

"I hope you like it."

Grinning, she tore the wrapping paper revealing a
teal
Tiffany box. When she opened the
lid,
her eyes brightened. "Oh my God, it's the boys' birthstone."

"That's why I had to wait. I wasn't sure they were going to be Aquamarines or Diamonds."

"I love it." She held the beautiful, pale blue color, large stone necklace up. "I guess we're lucky they weren't born in April. Diamonds this size would have been really expensive."

"Oh, yeah…" He chuckled. "If they had been born in April, I think a necklace would have been out of the question. You'd probably be looking at a ring right now."

"It's beautiful."

"You're beautiful."

Leaning over to him, she gave him a kiss. She lay on the carpet and motioned for him to join her. He lay down next to her and they gazed into each other's eyes. She said, "We make cute babies."

"We really do."

She kissed him again and this time more passionately. Placing her hand on his chest, she ran it down his body to his stomach and finally to his groin. His erection was nearly at full size and tenting his shorts. She squeezed it hard and he groaned.

He kissed her neck and she pulled away from him a little. "I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to make it another four weeks."

"Me either." He kissed her again.

She looked him in the eye and smiled. "Do you want me to give you a hand?"

"You're tired aren't you?"

"I'm always tired."

"You don't have to."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm tired too," he said.

"He doesn't seem tired."

"He's never tired, but I'll be okay." He rolled onto his back and she lay her head on his chest.

"Just hold me for a minute."

Wrapping his arms around her, he slipped his hand under her shirt and playfully ran his finger over the soft skin of her lower back.

"That feels good." She yawned. "God, I'm wiped out. I don't even have the energy to brush my teeth."

"Yeah." His eyes drifted closed.

"Let's just lay here for a few minutes."

"Okay."

In
seconds
they were both out cold and they didn't wake until hours later when Dylan started crying.

Brian's parents actually had a Florida trip planned for late April after Ed's hectic tax return season was over, but they
canceled
at the last minute. Jillian thought it was odd for grandparents to not want to see or spend time with their grandchildren, but the Nash parents were certainly not a normal couple.