“Wow, powerful. Did you read that in this month’s Cosmo?” I chuckle as I get to the airport.
“Laugh, but you’ll be thanking me later,” he huffs out. “Also, who the hell is your sister dating?”
“What?” I ask, shocked. “I didn’t know she was dating anyone.”
“She posted a picture of her with a guy on her Insta,” he fills me in.
“It could be a friend.” I grab my phone and look over to see that people are loading the plane already. “Okay, I got to go.”
“Tell her!” he yells right before I hang up the phone.
“Yeah, tell her,” I mumble to myself, getting out of the SUV and grabbing my stuff. “Just tell her.”
Chapter 30
Jillian
Michael: Just landed. You can stop thinking about me.
I laugh at the text and answer him back.
Me: New phone, who dis?
I laugh, waiting for his reply as the kids come back into class from music. I look up and see that the bell is going to ring in a couple of minutes. I get up and make them grab their bags and start the routine of when they leave. Twenty minutes later, I’m packing up my own bag when the phone pings.
Michael: Want to have dinner with me?
I sit in my chair and answer him back right away.
Me: I would love nothing more.
I press send before I can think about it or harp on it or tell myself it’s a bad idea. When he left this morning, I wanted nothing more than to get on my tippy-toes and kiss him. The flutters in my stomach had nothing to do with the baby moving and everything to do with the man standing in front of me. I wanted to yell at him to come back. But I let him go. I felt his touch on my cheek while I got dressed. The whole day, I could see him in my head, wondering if he fell asleep on the plane or not.
Getting home, I walk in, and I can’t put my finger on it, but just feel like it’s missing something. Walking to the bedroom, I kick off my shoes, move to the bed to grab my pjs, and make my way to the shower.
Slipping off my pants and shirt, I look at myself in the mirror. My breasts have gotten bigger for sure, my nipples darkening. My stomach is much bigger than when he was with me, and I’m assuming so is my butt. Maybe he doesn’t find me attractive, I think to myself, the thought making my stomach burn. Maybe it was just a one-night thing for him, and I should let it go. The maybes drive me crazy, and I finally give in to the tears that come. There is just so much that is unknown, and to me, it drives me crazy. I’m the one with the plans all the time. I’m the one who knows what I’ll be doing in five years. I’m the one who had everything mapped out. Except for the baby. I rub my stomach. “We’ve got this,” I say to him or her as I rub cream on my stomach to prevent stretch marks.
Brushing my hair out, I braid it to the side of my head. I can hear my phone ringing from my bedroom. I run to it and see that Michael is trying to FaceTime me. I press connect without even thinking twice about it. The little circle going around and around telling me it’s connecting.
His face fills the screen, his smile falling when he takes one look at me. “What’s wrong?” he asks, his tone tight and his eyes fill with worry.
“Nothing,” I say, confused as I look at his blue eyes. His forehead creases as he just stares at me.
“You look like you’ve been crying.” His voice goes soft as his eyes roam my face as if he’ll be able to tell something. “Are you hurt?” He gets up from wherever he was. “Is it the baby?”
“No, no,” I deny, feeling silly. “The baby is fine.” I put my hand on my stomach and show him that it’s still perfect. “See, still okay?” I fake smile, and he just stares at me, waiting for it. “It’s nothing.” I shake my head. “Where are you?”
“In my hotel room.” He sits up, and I can tell he’s shirtless. I wonder how long he’s been in bed. I wonder if he’s naked or with his boxers on. The thought of him being naked sends shock waves through me. “Why were you crying?”
“Why are you shirtless?” I counter, and he shakes his head, chuckling.
“You answer my question.” He tries to one-up me. “And then I’ll answer yours.” He looks at me.
“Fine, you go first.” I sit on the couch and look at him. He’s so hot is the only thing I can think of. Watching him on the ice last night was all that and a bag of chips. Every single time he was on the ice, I was invested. I didn’t know any of the rules, and I didn’t care. All I cared about was no one touching him. It got a bit rough at some points, and then when he scored, my heart just exploded in my chest. I jumped out of my seat and screamed as loud as I could, no doubt making the baby bounce up and down.