These four simple words make my heart race so fast that I’m unable to respond immediately. The second I do, my phone rings.
“Hey, giant elephant in the room,” he whispers.
“Thanks. You sure know how to make a woman feel better.”
He lets out a raspy laugh. “I think I left my charm along with my wallet in some stripper’s panties.”
“Sounds like you’re behaving yourself. What time is it there?”
“Beer o’clock,” he responds humorously. “The sun will greet me soon.”
“I can’t sleep either but for very different reasons.”
His heavy breathing comes through the phone, and for a brief moment, I think he is asleep.
“Soon, the baby will be here, and you can sleep better.”
“Ha,” I exclaim. “News flash, babies wake up all through the night. I wonder if Kate would like to do the a.m. shift.”
With a slight hesitation, he responds sincerely, “You don’t have to do that. Maybe some nights I can stay over… like on the couch or something?”
It’s my turn to hesitate. It was inevitable that this would come up. We still haven’t agreed as to how things will work once the baby is here. I’m still staying at Kate’s because I can’t decide whether to stay in the city or not. Kate reassures me that having a baby around will not cramp her style. She has even offered to help out whenever she can, especially at night since she’s a night owl.
I don’t cope well with no sleep. In fact, I’m the grumpiest person ever if I don’t get eight straight hours of sleep. Haden can’t sleep on the couch forever, but it’s not like I’m ready to have the baby sleep at his place, either. I feel a migraine coming on.
“I guess we could do that…”
“You sound unsure.”
“I just haven’t thought about it much. I’ve been preoccupied with this birthing plan I’m supposed to come up with.”
It seems like the most awkward conversation ever, and it goes on for ages. He then proceeds to tell me stories about the past few nights, many of which leave me in stitches. Although he doesn’t talk much about Marcus, he eludes to the fact that Marcus is somewhat not over me.
“You need to ignore his texts and calls,” he warns me.
Coincidentally, it’s then that a beep comes through the line. I quickly pull my phone away from my ear and open the text.
It’s from Marcus and holy shit! It’s a picture of his cock. Nothing good ever comes from being drunk and your ex’s number still stored in your contacts.
“He just texted me. Do you have ESP or something?”
There is a low growl over the speaker. “What did he say?”
I laugh because it is funny when you think about it. “It’s not what he said but more what he showed.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Haden snaps.
“Don’t worry, I can handle him. I’m not looking to start things up with Marcus again if that’s what you’re worried about.”
More silence.
“I’m not worried. Marcus is relentless when he wants something he can’t have. He shouldn’t send shit like that to you.”
“Sounds like someone else I know,” I blurt out without thinking.
He laughs on cue. “You mean me? I’m not like that.”
“Yeah, and I’m not going to turn into a crazy cat lady.”