“Cade, I promise the chances of me dying of the stomach flu in the short time you are away are slim to none,” I said to him, my joking words deepening his scowl. I sat up slightly in bed to meet his stare, he was standing beside the bed with his arms crossed.
“I’ll be fine,” I tried to convince him. I was feeling much better than I had an hour ago. Cade obviously didn’t believe me.
“It doesn’t sit right with me. Leaving my woman sick in bed, I wouldn’t be going unless I had to. But this is a pressing security job, I’ll try and be as quick as I can,” he said looking more than a little conflicted.
I took his hand pulling him down to sit on my bed.
“I’m fine,” I repeated. “It’s a bug, and I am already starting to feel better, and unfortunately it is beyond all your manly powers to heal me anyway. So instead of sitting here watching me get over this when there is nothing you can do, go and provide some security for someone who I’m sure you can help much more than me at this moment,” I told him softly.
He paused for a beat then responded. “My manly powers?” His expression had changed and the corner of his mouth turned into a slight smirk.
I smiled back. “Yes, your manly powers, which include but are not limited to saving me from kidnappers, chasing away my demons and giving me the best orgasms of my life,” I declared, watching Cade’s face grow soft.
“Well you better rest up and get better so I can give you some more of those orgasms when I get back,” he ordered in a tone I couldn’t decipher. He leaned down and kissed me tenderly on my forehead. Before walking towards the door, he turned back to me. “I talked to Amy and she said she’s coming home at lunch to check on you, and I want you to call me if you feel any worse, then no arguments, I will be taking you to the doctors.” His voice was firm.
“Yes, sir,” I replied with a smile. “Now go and put those muscles to good use.”
The corner of Cade’s lip twitched slightly. “Love you, Gwen.”
My tummy dipped in a good way when I heard those words, which I would never tire of hearing. “Love you Cade.”
He watched me for a second then left.
Pretty much as soon as Cade left I felt heaps better, so I got up and showered, dressed and had a small breakfast. I was still feeling slightly queasy, so I quelled the idea of going into the store and passing along my germs to customers. Well that and the fact that I knew Cade would be pissed if he knew I wasn’t resting. I had gotten used to his over protective ways and sometimes even liked it, knowing it came from a good place. But there were still other times when it pissed me the hell off. I was lying on our couch in the sun, typing orders on my laptop when I heard Amy arrive home.
“Hey Gwennie, just come to make sure you haven’t carked it,” she called from the door, entering the room with a bottle of lemonade and a brown bag. “I also have brought supplies known to settle a stomach bug,” she declared, sitting on the couch beside me and pulling a sandwich out of the bag.
“I’m actually feeling much better now,” I told her, sitting up and placing my laptop beside the food. Which I immediately ripped into.
“That’s weird considering Cade told me you were super sick this morning,” she mused while I took a bite. “You’re not preggers are you?” she joked, retrieving a salad out of the bag.
I froze mid chew, frantically thinking of dates in my mind while struggling to swallow. Amy noticed my reaction and turned towards me, salad forgotten, her expression disbelieving.
“You’re on the pill. You couldn’t seriously be pregnant could you?” she questioned.
I remained frozen, and shrugged, silently freaking out.
“Okay, when was your last period?” she asked rationally.
“I don’t know,” I replied, trying to think back.
Amy sat back and narrowed her eyes. “You don’t know when your last period was? Seriously you are not the woman who doesn’t know she’s pregnant until she pops the fucker out are you?” She was half serious.
I scowled at her. “I’ve been skipping my period since I’ve been here,” I muttered, silently cursing myself for wanting uninterrupted sex with Cade. Which he had, by the way noticed, and that conversion was only slightly awkward. My stomach began to drop as I realized this was an actual possibility. The pill wasn’t a hundred percent effective and we hadn’t been using anything else.
“Holy shit I can’t be pregnant,” I said, more to myself than Amy. I shook my head, “No I’m not, just because I was sick one morning does not automatically mean I’m up the duff. I probably just ate something weird yesterday,” I said firmly, convincing myself. Amy, unfortunately, was not convinced.
“How about you take a test just in case, you really want to be sure about these things.” She stood. “I’ve got a pregnancy test in the bathroom. I always keep one, you know, just in case.” She tugged me up off the couch, depositing my forgotten sandwich on the coffee table.
“I really don’t think I need a test,” I argued as she pushed me into the bathroom.
“I disagree, and it’s better to be safe than sorry right?” She turned and handed me a test.
I took it, convincing myself I didn’t need it. I moved my attention to see Amy standing in front of me expectantly.
“Oh, fine, just to get you off my back,” I declared, moving towards the toilet.
Amy settled down on a plush chair, not caring that I was going to pee right in front of her. Mind you I didn’t care either, we were best friends, and due to long lines in nightclubs and lack of bathroom space, we had peed in front of each other many a time.