He gulped and turned his body to face mine.
“I’m so sorry, Holly.” His eyes dropped to between my legs, and I hit him. “You’re tight so I don’t even know how it’s going to happen.”
My face burst into flames. “Shut up!”
“I can’t believe you’re still a prude after we had sex in the back of my car, at The Centre, in the bath-”
“Okay! Please can you stop now?” I didn’t need him to list all our indiscretions.
He grinned. “Alright. Seriously though, what the hell are you gonna do?”
I shrugged. “Lots of drugs. Remember me saying this now; I want everything. Don’t let them try to push me into having a natural birth.”
On the screen, the mum gave one last, long scream that didn’t sound human, and the baby slid into the midwife’s arms. My mouth fell open. Wow. The camera zoomed out to the two crying parents as they shared a quick kiss, and then their child – which was announced a boy – was placed on his mum’s chest.
Jasper fell silent. His hand found mine, and he weaved our fingers together.
Oh, that’s why women do it more than once.
The little baby boy, who had a good set of lungs on him, wailed, but his parents stared down at him in wonder, amazement and love.
“I can’t wait for that part,” Jasper said. “I’d go through that for what they’re feeling right now.”
“I wish you could,” I replied, and he laughed. He let go of my hand, and I felt colder. But only for a second as he wrapped his arm around my back and drew me closer to him. I laid my head against his shoulder, and when his hand rested on my bump, I almost cried. This was what I wanted. Me and him and our baby.
“I can’t wait until he or she is here now.”
“Me neither,” I said. “It’s going to be amazing. And exhausting.”
“I’ll be here as much as I can.”
“I know you will. You’re going to be a fantastic dad, and you know you’re welcome here anytime you like. I’ll never say no to you seeing the baby.”
He shifted slightly, and I looked up. He was nervous.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.”
“About what?”
“About me staying here some nights. Or you two staying at my place. It’s not fair that you do every night feed; I want to be equally as exhausted.”
“Where would you sleep here?”
“On the floor in the baby’s room? I don’t care where I sleep; I just want to be here where I can look after her.”
We were both still so confident it was a girl.
“We can sort something out, I’m sure. The baby will be in my room for the first few months anyway.”
He nodded once. “Well, maybe I can stay in your room too?”
“Unlikely,” Dad said, flicking the switch on the wall. Light flooded the room, and I groaned. Thanks for ruining the moment, Dad! We had only just got back on track, and I really didn’t want to fall out with him again. I hated us not being friendly, and I missed the flirting too.
“Ah, come on, Carl, after what I’ve just seen you have nothing to worry about.”
I elbowed him in the side and he laughed, flashing me his million-dollar smile. He was joking; I could tell by the glint in his eye and the way his fingers dug into my lower hip ever so slightly. Heck, after what I’d just seen I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted that again!
When it was time for Jasper to leave and go home to his flat, I walked him to the door, wanting nothing more than for him to stay or for me to go too. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked.
“Definitely,” I replied. Thank God uni was over for Christmas break, I hated missing him and weekend visits weren’t enough any more.
“Good. You’ll come to Cole and Oakley’s for dinner too, right?”
“Yes.” I’d already said I would, but I loved that he wanted to confirm, like he wanted to make double sure I was definitely going with him. Like I’d say no.
Jasper kept his hand on my bump, waiting to be kicked again. He wanted to feel the baby move almost all the time, so his hand was practically glued to me. Not that I minded, I loved his touch. He was already head over heels in love with our little one; it was so touching to watch.
After the scan they said that although my bump was measuring a few weeks behind, the development was on target, so they put it down to my petite size and, ‘some are just smaller, that’s how we get averages’. It made sense, but I still worried. They estimated she would be around five, and a half to six pounds when she was born, I hoped she stayed inside me a week or so longer, just to get her up to a more ‘average’ weight.
Cole and Oakley had just taken Everleigh upstairs to get her pyjamas on ready for bed, so I made small talk with Jasper and Oakley’s parents and Cole and his sister, Mia’s parents.
“Why are we here then?” Sarah said to Cole’s mum, Jenna and his sister, Mia.