Bending, I bite the shell of her ear. “Why don’t I take you to the bathroom and fuck you in public till you and that sassy little mouth take that back.”
Her face reddens as I pull back, and she looks to Trey and Shayla as they busy themselves with the menu. “You wish.” She finds her sass again.
“Don’t tempt me, baby. I’ll do it. Anywhere, remember? It’s baby time.” Shay and Trey go up to the open counter and order, giving us even more privacy. When she doesn’t answer back, I squeeze her ass again and look down at her. A smile on her face that reaches ear-to-ear gets my attention. “What?”
“I think you already finished the job. I’m officially two weeks late, Daddy.” She snuggles deeper into me, and my chest puffs.
“Are you serious? Let’s get the fuck out of here and take a test,” I almost yell, but I contain my enthusiasm with maximum effort.
“We can’t. I’m hungry and we have an appointment. Besides, let’s wait till we get home so we can have privacy. I’m not taking it in a public bathroom.” She chuckles, and I swear my lion’s mane is growing more. The thought that I get to see my queen pregnant again is a joyous yet the most content feeling in the world.
“Fine. Fuck, baby, I hope you are,” I whisper, and share a kiss with her before we’re called next in line.
“Another session with bright faces. You two look happier each time I see you. Things must be going quite well.”
Looking down at L, I squeeze her shoulder into me tighter as she smiles up at Dr. Moore. “Things are going very well. We’ve really been working through our issues, and our co-parenting has been going more smoothly than before.”
“Good. Do you think it’s the medication, or a combination of both that and the therapy?” she asks Lana.
“Combination of both and, of course, having a more stable home and a healthy relationship with Kingston. That is where I think most of it comes from.”
I take silent pride, rewarding myself mentally for being patient with Lana and not forgetting how understanding she has been, especially over the Hilary debacle.
“That’s great to hear. How are the nightmares? The flashbacks? Are they still happening as frequently?”
Lana stiffens a bit and I glance at her, noticing the telltale sign that she has something she wants to confess. “Those have been going away, but actually...” Lana pauses, her gaze glancing back and forth between me and Dr. Moore.
“What? Go ahead, baby,” I encourage her.
“Well, I went out dancing with Shayla, and I had some alcohol. And I think it got to me much quicker, because I haven’t had it in so long. Anyway, I swear I had seen him watching me from across the club, but when I looked back, he wasn’t there, and I knew it was the alcohol.”
“Lana, how come you didn’t tell me this?” If I would have known this happened, I don’t know if I could do anything, but I could’ve helped talk her through it.
“Because,” she shrugs, “we’re getting better, and I don’t want something as small as me having a drink causing you to think I still don’t have control over everything that happened with Joel.”
“That’s not what I would think, L. You know that.” I hold her tighter, kissing the side of her temple. Besides, you are still recovering, and if anything, you being able to know the difference between reality and what’s not means you are farther along than I think you give yourself credit for.”
“I have to agree with Kingston. That’s a huge step in the right direction.”
Lana gives us a mirthful look, her face beaming with pride. “Thank you. I guess it just felt like something to be ashamed of, since I hadn’t really had any setbacks prior, for a few weeks at least.”
Dr. Moore nods, and we wait a brief moment before she turns the focus on me. “Kingston. How are you with everything? How do you feel your relationship with Lana is going?”
I don’t take but a second to respond. “Perfect. We are really rounding a corner.”
“Oh yeah? How so?”
My eyes follow where Lana’s are pointing, and they end on her hand on my thigh. “I asked Lana for another child,” I say bluntly.
I don’t miss the millisecond the therapists face shows a hint of shock. “Really? Lana, how did you respond to that?”
“I was nervous at first, just because I had postpartum depression with Princeton. I worry that will be the case with our next child.”
Curious to know the likelihood of that happening, I weigh in on what Dr. Moore has to say.
“It can be. Usually, second time around postpartum depends on your mental psychosis when you are pregnant and during the time of their first few months. I believe you had it because you had the relations of your untreated PTSD. Normally, in your case, you are looking at a thirty percent second round chance. However, if we continue at the rate you are right now with healing, we may be able to avoid it. If not, we will be able to manage it much better if it is to happen again.”
“Oh.”