“I’ll hold the baby and you go pick it up,” Nick pleaded. Then wiggling his eyebrows he added, “If you will, I’ll give you the best sex of your life later.”
Laughing, she said, “Oh, baby, you are so barking up the wrong tree right now. You’ve got nothing to offer me that would make me go pick that up. Be a man and suck it up. How are you going to change our baby’s diaper if you can’t even pick one up?” Ah, yes, insulting the manhood always gets results. Try not to smirk.
Beth was sure she heard some creative profanity as Nick headed off the deck with a large trash bag in his hand. She knew he had located the diaper when she heard him gagging, which continued all the way into the house. Nuzzling Chrissy’s neck she said, “Now that’s how you bring a big, strong man to his knees.”
Nick came back with the bag and dumped it in the kitchen trash. He insisted on taking another shower and changing clothes. After a quick sniff of herself, she handed the baby off to him when he returned and showered again as well. When she came out in another one of Claire’s outfits, both Chrissy and Nick looked sleepy. She fixed a bottle and Nick snuggled the baby against his chest, rocking her gently while she ate. Oh, God, other than the diaper-throwing incident, he is better at this than I am. He doesn’t seem scared at all.
They walked into Chrissy’s room together and tucked her into her crib. Beth left the door cracked so they could hear her if she woke up.
“I’m beat,” she said as she flopped on the couch beside Nick. “How can it be only seven thirty? I feel like we have been here for days. How in the world are we ever going to take care of a baby twenty-four-seven?”
Nick patted her absently. “We’ll get used to it. The first time is the hardest. Plus when it’s your own kid, you know you don’t have a choice.”
“Yeah, I guess,” she said doubtfully. She felt herself starting to nod off and dimly registered Nick slumping beside her.
* * *
Claire stood in front of the couch surveying the scene before her. Jason dropped his arm around her shoulders and she felt him shaking with laughter. “Man, look at that train wreck.” Jason chuckled.
“Jason, stop. They helped us out so we could have a night out. They do look pretty rough though, don’t they?”
“Rough is an understatement. Now I know how bad we must have looked for the first couple of months. No wonder everyone at work kept giving me that pitying expression. I must have looked like hell. Hey, are those my clothes?”
“Yep, and I think Beth has mine on. It looks like Chrissy showed them no mercy.” Claire grabbed her cell phone from her purse and snapped a picture of the sleeping couple.
Jason asked, “What are you doing?”
Looking guilty, she said, “Um, I’m taking a picture to show Suzy. She’s gonna love this. It looks like two homeless people crash-landed on our couch.”
Jason kissed the tip of her nose and said, “Let’s wake them up and get them out of here.”
“Ah, maybe we should just let them sleep here; they look beat.”
“It’s your call, but I believe you promised to show me some of your old stripper moves tonight.”
Claire’s eyes widened and her breathing became heavy at seeing the desire in Jason’s eyes. Suddenly she grabbed Beth’s shoulder and started shaking her. “Time to go home, you two.”
Jason quirked a brow at her. “I thought you wanted to let them rest.”
“Screw that. Hurry up and help me wake them. I’ll give you a bonus if you can get them out the door in less than five minutes.”
Smiling in anticipation, Jason said, “You’re on.”
Chapter Twelve
Beth and Nick fell face-first onto the bed when they got back to the apartment. Neither of them mentioned making love. My God, she was barely pregnant and already their sex life was starting to suffer.
Claire and Jason had smirked at them when they had shaken them awake. When Beth pulled herself from bed to brush her teeth she got a glimpse of the reason. She did not even recognize the woman in the mirror. Her hair was standing up in every possible direction, her clothes were wrinkled and her mascara had smeared, making her look like a raccoon. Ugh, just wash your face, brush your teeth, and try to tackle this in the morning. Nick probably looks like a million bucks.
Nick was still lying in the same place when she crawled back into bed. She nudged him with her elbow, trying to roll him onto his side of the bed. “Hey, babe, move over. I’m hanging off the end over here.” Suddenly, he sprang from the bed looking around the room wildly.
“Where’s the baby? Oh, shit, we lost her!”