Unexpected Romance (17 page)

"All
right, you two, get a damn room," Lee Thompson called out..

Half
a dozen people turned and laughed. Tony hid her face in Chris's
shoulder. "Oh god," she moaned.

He
kissed her head. "Where's the party?" he asked, holding her
against him protectively.

"Usual
place. Why are you two coming with us?"

"I'm
going to tuck this girl into bed then I'll join you for a few
drinks."

"Excellent,
my wingman back on the case." He came over and shared a low-five
with Chris.

Tony
felt a tinge of regret start in her belly. She was letting, no
sending, her hot, famous boyfriend go out alone. Out with all the
beautiful women with lowered inhibitions where he'd drink and lower
his own inhibitions.

She
shook her head. It was Chris. He hadn’t gone out since she
moved in. If she said the word, he'd stay home. He wouldn't do
anything while he was out. He would remain hers.

They
drove home with only the radio making noise between them.

There
was a knot in her stomach. As the minutes ticked by, the knot grew
tighter. She tried to take some deep breaths, to remind herself of
the logic of the situation. The feeling got worse.

He
stayed at the apartment until he had her under the blankets. He
tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I was thinking we
should think about buying a real house."

"We
should?" She yawned, hastily freeing her hand to cover it.
"Pardon me."

"Eventually,
the baby will need a yard to run around. And even with just the two
of us in here, this place seems small."

"We
haven't even set up the baby stuff yet." She smiled feeling the
relaxation flooding her. Talking about a house was a long-term plan.
A feeling of permanence.

She
wondered if he said it to appease or distract her, or if he was
serious about it.

He
pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Go to sleep. I won't be more than
a couple hours."

She
smiled at him. "I'll try. Wait, are you a friendly drunk, mean
drunk, or puking drunk?"

"Friendly.
Very friendly. Maybe I should sleep in the other room when I get
home."

"No!”
She blushed and looked at the ceiling. “No, Come sleep with me.
I'll fend you off."

His
chest rumbled with laughter. He kissed her cheek again. “Okay.”

She
listened to him leave the apartment. The deadbolt clicked into place
and she was alone.

She
drifted off for a while, but an image flew into her head. A memory.
She was working at the bar, she'd was still in high school. She
shouldn't have been cleaning tables, but they were desperate and she
could pass for nineteen.

She
watched her mother flirting with men, that wasn't unusual, she was a
waitress. But her mother disappeared into the back with the father of
one of her friends. She saw them kissing before they even rounded the
corner.

She
thought back over the short time she'd noticed her mother being
promiscuous. It wasn't that she minded that part, it was that her
mother didn't do it because she liked sex. She was always trying to
catch a man who could support her.

She
wondered how many men her mother slept with were married or had
girlfriends? How many of them were lying to their partners?

She
picked up her phone and started texting Chris.
Please come home.

She
deleted the words. She grabbed her book from the side table and tried
to read. A few pages in, she tossed it aside.

She
gathered the blanket and went to the living room. She set her cell
phone on the table, in case Chris texted or called. She laid on her
side while she flipped through the channels.

She
was exhausted, but her stomach churning, imagining Chris dancing with
a sexy, blond girl, who would twerk her skinny ass at him, who would
try to seduce him because he was hockey-star Chris. He scored two
goals and had two assists tonight. He was riding high on that alone.

It
was after 1 AM. What time had they come home? 11:30? Maybe a little
earlier. Two hours. He said he wouldn't be out long. But once he was
out and remembered what he’d missed, he might have trouble
leaving.

She
settled the channel on a bad disaster movie. She curled her legs up
as much as she could and tried to go back to sleep, while listening
for his key in the lock.

She
woke to Chris lifting her off the sofa. He carried her to the bedroom
and set her on the bed. He fell in next to her and pulled a blanket
over their bodies. He smelled of beer and sweat. He moved in for a
kiss. "I didn't mean to wake you."

She
nearly gagged on the smell of his breath. "Okay, I can't kiss
you. Your breath."

"I
will go brush my teeth for you."

She
looked at the clock, 3:10. She watched the blinking dots while she
waited for him. "Did you have a good time? Are you tired?"
she asked when he returned.

"I
guess I’m tired." He wiggled his hips at her. "I
could stay up for a little something."

She
sighed. "It's 3 AM, I don't think I could get in the mood if I
even wanted to."

He
sighed. "All right. You're right, I should let you sleep. All
the lack of sleep isn't good for baby."

“
I
think it’ll be okay.” Tony laid her hand on Chris’s
forearm.

"Oh,
the baby. My baby. I love him already."

"Or
her." She stifled a giggle at his drunken joy.

"No
it's him. I can tell by the way he kicks my hand. He wants to play
soccer, I’m okay with it as a summer sport, for winter he has
to play hockey."

"A
daughter could play hockey as well."

"Yes,
any daughters we have will play hockey."

Her
heart leapt with joy at the thought. Daughters, plural. More talk of
the future.

"I'm
sleepy now," he said.

"I
missed you."

"I
missed you too. I enjoyed the beer a lot, but otherwise, it wasn't as
fun as I remembered."

She
snuggled into him, ignoring her stomach's slight revulsion at the
heavy smell of beer on this breath.

"I
think I could be falling in love with you," he said. Then he
started to snore.

"I
hope so," Tony sighed. "Because I'm in love with you."

Chris
listened to the echo as he stacked the dishwasher. Tonya was at
school, he had the entire day off and he missed her.

He
was shocked by how much he missed her. He glanced at the clock. He'd
go meet her for lunch, a surprise. He'd take flowers for her, too.

His
phone rang and he grabbed it off the cupboard. He checked the call
display, hoping it was Tonya between classes.

His
hopes were dashed. "Hi, Mom. How are you?"

"Hi,
Chris. I'm okay. How are you?"

"Loading
the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher."

"Doesn't
your girlfriend do that?"

The
way she said 'girlfriend' had him on alert. "She’s at
college today."

"I
was thinking about your situation on the weekend."

"My
situation?" Falling in love with the mother of his child wasn't
exactly a situation. He couldn't really tell his mother he loved
Tonya, before he told Tony himself. He wasn't sure how he felt. Or
how she felt.

"Yes,
this girl. You barely knew her before she came out with these claims.
How do you know if you are truly the father?"

Chris
walked slowly to the dining room table and took a seat. He took a few
deep breaths and let his calm wash over him. "Ma, you don't
really want to talk about this now, do you?"

"Maybe
she's after your money, Chris. You have no idea who this girl is. And
now you are living together and says this baby is yours. It's bad
news."

Chris
barked a laugh. "Mom, if you knew Tony at all, you'd understand
she's not the type to try to trap me or lie to me. Hell, she didn't
even want to tell me she was pregnant. I asked her to live here. She
planned on relying on her brother until she was done with school."

"So
you believe, Chris. I worry about you. You are a bit too trusting, as
I was before I learned my lesson."

Chris
wanted to yell at her. Instead, he took a deep breath and kept from
sighing when he let it out. "Mom, I suggest you drop this
entirely. Let me live my life and if you don't believe me that she's
a wonderful girl, then come out here and meet her yourself."

"I
was talking to Camille, and we thought we might just pop out for a
visit."

"Can
you afford it?"

"Mostly,
I think, I'll let you know."

She
ended the call. Chris stared at his phone for ages, then he put it
aside, closed the dishwasher and turned it on.

He
made his way to the bedroom to change so he could surprise Tonya.
Fuck his mother and her stupid 'the world is out to get you'
bullshit. She'd been spouting it since leaving his father.

If
she did decide to visit, he needed to stomp on that. Short of a DNA
test, he had no idea how to prove paternity to anyone else. Fuck
everyone else’s opinion anyway. He didn't need any proof.

Twenty-three
minutes later, he was waiting outside her classroom for her class to
end. She came out, talking to a classmate. He grabbed her to pull her
aside and she squealed. "Chris!"

He
tensed, suddenly wondering if surprising her was a mistake. "I
thought I'd take you out for lunch." She was busy with her
classmates, her friends. He shouldn’t have interrupted.

She
smiled. "Oh." She looked at her classmate. "Liz and I
were going to grab something."

"It's
okay, go with your boyfriend," the woman said.

Chris
smiled at her. "Why don't you come, too?"

"Are
you sure? I don't want to intrude."

"Of
course you aren't," Tonya said, put her hand on Chris's arm.

He
pulled her close. "I don't mind, if you don't." He was
relieved she had a friend. He worried that she was lonely. "Besides,
imagine when I can tell the guys in the locker room I took out two
beautiful women."

Tonya
snorted. "Don’t let my brother hear.”

Chris
rolled his eyes. “He forgets his past.”

"He
does."

"Ah
well, it means he cares about you." He kissed the top of her
head. "I’m Chris, by the way.”

“
I’m
Liz.”

“
Nice
to meet you Liz.”

Tony
couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the afternoon after lunch with
Chris.

"Your
face is going to break," Liz elbowed her between classes. "Also
you're clearly not paying attention in class."

"I
was so."

"You
keep doodling 'Tonya Boyd' on your paper with little hearts
everywhere."

Tony
grinned. Yeah, she had been doing that. "Fine, I'm in love."

"How
does he feel?"

"I’m
not sure. He waited all summer for me. Last week when he came home
drunk, he said he missed me. And that he thought he was falling for
me."

"Have
you talked about it while he's sober?"

Tony
sighed. "God, no." Her hand went to her belly as a cramp
hit her.

"You
okay?"

"Just
more stupid practice contractions. I'll stop and get a water to
drink. That usually works."

By
the end of class, her water was gone, but the cramping was painful.
She couldn't get out of her chair for fear it would trigger one.

Liz
came to her side. "Still practice contractions?"

"I
don't know."

"Do
you want me to drive you home?"

Another
contraction hit her and she hissed in a breath. She took several deep
breathes until it passed. "I think I had better call my doctor."

She
scrolled through her contacts. Fuck, she hadn’t added his
number to her phone. She hit the button for Chris.

"What's
up? You going out after school?" he chirped.

"I
need the doctor's number."

"Are
you okay? Is the baby okay?"

"I'm
having really painful contractions."

"I'm
coming to get you."

"Can
you get my doctor's number so I can ask them what I should do? I
promise I will call you back when I know."

"Where
is the number?"

"There's
a thing on the fridge." He found it and she hung up with him to
call. They told her to get checked out at the emergency department.
Her doctor's hospital wasn't far away.

"Liz,
can you drive me? I can't wait for Chris."

"Of
course. Let's go?"

An
instructor stepped into the room. "Ladies, everything okay?"