“Oh, God, why did you say p**n flick?”
Nick chuckled. “She said my gym sounded like the soundtrack of a p**n flick.” Wiggling his eyebrows he laughed. “That’s pretty accurate, huh?” She tossed a pillow at him that landed against the side of his head. Still grinning he said, “Speaking of p**n , thanks for the mighty fine welcome home, princess.”
She was surprised that she could still blush around him, but she felt her cheeks heat even more. “Blame it on the babies. My hormones are going crazy and you are the lucky beneficiary.”
Suddenly looking alarmed he asked, “Should we be doing that? I’m not going to hit them, am I?”
Beth threw back her head and laughed. “Kind of flattering yourself there, aren’t you?”
“Ha-ha, you know what I mean. This is safe, right?”
“The doctor said it was fine, remember? Of course, if you want to wait for nine months, I’ll understand,” she teased.
“If my welcome home was any indication, I don’t think you could make it, princess.” Rising from the floor, he held a hand out to her, giving her that signature grin she couldn’t resist. “Let’s go shower off and have dinner. If you’re a good girl, I’ll let you wash my front.”
She could have played hard to get, but why bother? They both knew that she would love to do his front, and she knew he would return the favor. It was a win-win for everyone.
* * *
Around four in the morning, she woke up feeling sick once again. Couldn’t she have the normal morning sickness that happened after she actually got up? She lay in bed trying to fight off the waves of nausea consuming her. Finally, when she could delay no longer, she jumped from the bed and bolted to her second home: the toilet. She felt Nick’s hand on her back soon after and sagged against him weakly. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes; he just pulled back her hair and rubbed her back in between bouts.
When she had nothing left inside her, he picked her up as he usually did and sat her on the bathroom counter. She was surprised when he opened a new toothbrush for her. Seeing her questioning look, he said, “I bought you a dozen of these. I know you don’t want to use the same toothbrush after being sick.”
Beth was surprised at how his small act of kindness moved her. His thinking of something so small touched her more than she could say. She gave him a smile of gratitude and quickly brushed her teeth. He wiped her face with a wet cloth and then carried her back to bed. They had developed a routine in the last week. He supported her while she was sick, cleaned her up, and tucked her back into bed. He then curved his body around hers, gently stroking her until she drifted to sleep. He made the sickness bearable and, during those times, she felt cherished.
When she awoke a few hours later, Nick was already up and drinking a cup of coffee. She quickly showered and walked to her closet to pull out a pair of slacks. When she attempted to button them, something happened that almost stopped her heart: they wouldn’t zip. She felt the blood drain from her face as she noticed how tight the pants were. For someone terrified of gaining extra weight back, this was a nightmare come true. Nick walked in the bedroom as she was staring at herself in the mirror. He noticed her look of panic and came to a sudden halt. Alarmed, he took her arm and asked, “Princess, what’s wrong? Are you sick again?”
As tears started to roll down her cheeks, she shook her head no. Still looking worried, he asked, “Why are you crying then? Um, is this a hormone thing?” With another shake of her head, she pointed to the opening of her pants.
“I don’t have a clue what you are trying to tell me. Do you need me to zip your pants?”
“They won’t zip,” she wailed. “I can’t even pull them all the way together.”
A man to the core, Nick said, “Well, just pick another pair. You probably haven’t worn those in a while.”
The tears flowed harder and Beth gasped out, “I wore them a few weeks ago! I’m barely pregnant and can’t wear my clothes anymore. I might as well invest in some big dresses because regular pants aren’t going to cover this ass for long.”
Stepping up behind her, Nick playfully cupped the cheeks of her butt in his hands before saying, “You have one fine ass, princess, and a few extra pounds isn’t going to change that.” When she whirled around and threw her hands on her hips, she could tell he knew he had said the wrong thing.
“So now I’m carrying some extra pounds? Well, thanks so much for pointing that out. I thought maybe my body was just changing from the pregnancy, but now, thanks to you, I know that I’m just overweight!”
Nick threw his hands in the air as if trying to ward her off. “Princess . . . I didn’t mean it that way. I was just trying to say that you are beautiful no matter what size you are.”