“About time; come here, you.” Nancy says as she walks toward us, arms wide open. I assume she’s going for Blaise and am surprised when she engulfs me in a hug. “Welcome to the family,” she says in my ear, before releasing her hold on me.
“You are—” Asher starts to say.
“Ready to take whatever you can dish,” Blaise says, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me to his chest. I relax into him.
Asher throws his head back in laughter. “Best f*cking time of your life, bro,” Asher says.
“Asher!” Nancy scolds him.
Blaise looks down at me and smiles. “She already is, bro,” he says, never taking his eyes off me.
“All right, well, let’s eat,” Steve instructs.
The food is delicious. Spaghetti and meatballs with salad. We spend a few hours just hanging out with their parents and brother. Blaise continues to dote on me, touching me any chance he gets, pulling me into his lap to sit out on the back deck. I watch as his family takes us in, nothing but smiles coming our way. It seems as though I was nervous for no reason.
When we finally make it back to the apartment, the four of us are exhausted. I don’t ask Blaise to stay, but I know he will. I walk back to my room and he follows behind with our bags. I strip down and open my dresser to pull out something to sleep in.
“You won’t need it,” he says, walking up behind me. He trails kisses down my neck. “You can wear me.I can hear the grin in his voice.
Blaise locks the door and climbs into bed. He makes love to me for the second time today, before wrapping me in his arms and I fall asleep.
The next morning, all four of us wake up late. Blaise and I make plans for me to stop by the shop after work. He has clients until nine. Ember and I make plans to have lunch as she pushes us out the door. I should have been a teacher, summers off and all that.
Walking into the office, Nancy smiles and says hello. I say good morning and head back to my office. I bury myself in work so much so that when I hear a knock on my office door, I’m shocked to see Ember standing there.
“Hey,” I say looking at my watch. “Wow, this day is flying by.”
“You ready for lunch? We have a lot to catch up on. I called Leah and she’s meeting us at the diner,” she informs me. “I invited Grace too, but she is helping Asher at the shop.” She shrugs.
I had texted Leah yesterday on the way home and told her Blaise and I are official, promising details later. This is perfect; now I won’t have to repeat myself.
We’re meeting Leah at a small diner in town. I hear the food is amazing, but I have yet to try it. We all decide on the fried chicken salad. Yes, fried chicken defeats the purpose, but we aren’t eating it because we are dieting. We are eating it because it’s good. At least Ember says it is. My two friends gang up on me first. I replay the weekend with Blaise and most of our moments. I refrain from telling them how he made love to me, just that we did sleep together. Some things are not meant to be shared. Ember then fills us in on how Jackson told her he loves her and she followed suit.
The waitress comes to the table and drops off the check. Lunch has been great, and I really enjoyed getting to see Leah and welcoming Ember to our group. I go to stand and Leah stops me.
“Tate, wait a minute will you?” she asks. “I have some news as well.”
I glance at Ember and she shrugs her shoulders. “Sure, what’s up?” I ask.
“I’m pregnant,” she blurts out.
“What?” I ask a little too loud as I stand up and hug her. Ember does the same. “I’m so happy for you guys.” I wipe the tears from my eyes. This is what Leah has always wanted, what we’ve both wanted. I couldn’t be happier for the two of them.
“Yeah, so we actually have a change of plans for the wedding. We are going to fly to Hawaii and do it on the beach.”
“Do it on the beach, huh?” Ember says, laughing.
Leah’s face turns red. “You know what I mean. We’re going to get married on the beach, just the two of us.” She looks up to gauge my reaction.
If this makes her happy, I’m happy. “That’s amazing, when do you leave?” I ask. I know she wants to be married before she starts to show.
“I’m ten weeks, and my doctor says it’s better to fly after the first trimester. So in three weeks from now, I will be a married woman,” she says.
Unfortunately, I have to get back to work. We all hug goodbye and Ember drops me back off at the office.
As I walk through the door, Nancy is all smiles. “How was your lunch dear?” she asks me.
“Great. Leah is pregnant. I am so happy for both of them,” I tell her.
“That’s great. Please send her my congratulations.” Her smile is genuine, just like Mom’s. “You had a visitor over lunch. He left something for you in our office.”
“Blaise?” I ask, confused.
She shakes her head yes. “He tried your cell and couldn’t get you. He was worried so he stopped by.” She grins. “I like seeing my boy like this.” With that, she turns back to her computer and I quicken my steps to see what Blaise left for me in my office.
As I open the door, I smell them. Flowers. I push the door open wider and see a huge arrangement of wild flowers on my desk. I pull out the small card and it reads.
Nothing else; nothing else is needed. He’s telling me he is thinking of me. I settle into my desk with a huge grin plastered on my face.
As the day wears on, I start to not feel well. By the time five o’clock rolls around, all I want to do is go home and go to bed. I call Blaise to tell him I won’t be stopping by the shop.
“Hey you,” he answers on the first ring.
“Hey, I’m not feeling so hot. I’m gonna just head home instead of coming to the shop.”
“What’s wrong?” he asks, concerned.
“I’m nauseous. I don’t know if it’s something I ate, but I just want to go home and lay down,” I tell him.
“Okay, let me call my last couple of clients and reschedule; then I’ll be there.”
“No, you don’t have to do that. I’m just going home to sleep. I don’t want you to get whatever this is. You need to stay away”
“Tatum, I don’t give a f*ck what you’ve got; nothing is going to keep me away from you. My last client is at eight. A regular of mine, his wife just had another baby and he wants me to add the new baby’s name to the other three. It will be quick and then I’m coming to you,” he says.
I don’t bother to argue; besides, I miss him. “Okay, be safe. I’ll see you later.”
“You be safe, Tate. Text when you make it home, okay?”
I agree and hang up. The drive home takes forever and the nausea is getting worse. By the time I make it into the apartment, I’m running for the bathroom.
“Not you, too.” I hear Jackson’s voice behind me. “Ember started about an hour ago.”
My phone rings and I point to my purse lying in the doorway. Jackson picks it up and answers. “Hey, Brent. Yeah, both of them. Shit. Okay, yes. All right. Got it. Thanks, man.” He hits end on my phone. “That was Brent; he said Leah has been throwing up, too. At first, she thought it was pregnancy related, but Brent doesn’t think so. Now that you and Ember are in the same boat, he is convinced you three have food poisoning. Leah told him you all ate the same thing at lunch today,” he explains.