His head rolled to the side so he could look at me. I smiled at him, and he shook his head.
“You realize it’s really creepy that you’re just lying there watching me sleep,” he said, a joking lilt in his voice to take away the edge of the accusation.
“You just look so peaceful,” I said. “So comfortable and content.”
“Only because I get to lay next to a beautiful lady named Becca.” His hand rested on my back, and he lifted up to kiss me. It was just a quick kiss at first, but as soon as our lips parted, he kissed me again. A bit more slowly this time, it was the exact way I wanted to be greeted every morning. I tried to hide my happy smile but ended up with my cheeks hurting.
“You hungry?” he asked.
I nodded. “Starving.”
“Good. I’ll go make breakfast. Relax for a little while if you want, and then come meet me down there.”
I admired him as he got out of bed and threw on some lounge clothes, then walked out of the room. Sighing, I rolled over onto my back and stretched out happily. I could definitely get used to this. I only stayed there for a few seconds, not wanting to be away from him for too long. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t just spend my entire day in bed with Tyler. Eventually, the real world would beckon, and I would have to go.
Until then, I would relish getting to be with him.
As I walked down the stairs, I heard him moving around in the kitchen. He already had the stove going, a pan with bacon just starting to heat up at the front and another pan on the front waiting for the eggs he was cracking into a bowl.
I opened the refrigerator door to get out some orange juice. I had just tipped it into my glass when the bacon heated up enough to send its rich, smoky smell into the air. Usually, I loved that smell. It was one of those things that could always get me out of bed and lure me into any kitchen. It brought with it all kinds of memories of holidays and special occasions.
Not so much that morning. The second the smell hit my nose, an intense wave of nausea hit me. It was so strong, it made me put my juice back down and turn my back to the stove. I drew in a couple of breaths, hoping it would pass. But the sick feeling only got worse.
I walked up to Tyler and kissed him in the middle of his back. “I’m going to run back upstairs and take a shower.”
“Breakfast is almost ready,” he said.
“I know. But I’m feeling really grimy. And kind of foggy. If I take a shower, it’ll wake me up and I’ll feel better.”
I was already heading out of the kitchen when he responded.
“Okay, I’ll wait for you before I eat. Don’t take too long. I’m hungry,” he called after me.
I rushed into the bathroom and stripped out of my clothes. I had just managed to get the water running in the shower when the nausea spiked up and I got sick. It was a shock, and I lowered myself down to the floor, sucking in breaths to try to settle my stomach. Another couple of waves of the sickness came over me, by the time I was finished, I was shaking and felt weak.
I managed to pull myself up off the floor and climb into the shower. As I stood there with the water streaming down over me, I tried to figure out what could be going on. I didn’t know anybody who had been sick recently, so I didn’t know how I managed to pick up a stomach bug. Especially one that happened that quickly.
Maybe it wasn’t a bug. Maybe I got food poisoning. I went over everything I ate in the last couple of days, but there wasn’t anything unusual. I reached for the shampoo and had filled my hand with the fragrant gel when my stomach turned again.
That was when it hit me. My period. Or, more accurately, my lack thereof. There had been so many other things going on in my mind the last month, it hadn’t even occurred to me that I should have gotten my period a couple of weeks ago.
A whole new sick feeling rolled over me. There was no ambiguity in what was going on now. When I turned into the stream of water and the hard water pressure hit my breasts, making them ache, I was even more convinced.
My eyes closed, and my face crunched up as I groaned with the thought that went through my mind. Nick was going to kill Tyler.
That wasn’t even taking into consideration how Tyler was going to react. I leaned my head against the wall. I had no idea what he was going to think. We had never discussed whether either one of us wanted children or what it would be like to raise kids. It wasn’t like we were having those big, dramatic conversations at this point in our relationship.