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  Charlie took a vase down from one of the top cupboards. “It’s a bit too sappy for me.”

  “I got you one more thing, but you can’t see it,” John said.

  Charlie gave him a dry look. “Are you going to say it’s in my pants?”

  John laughed out loud. “No, let’s just say San Francisco, Comic con and…”

  She squealed and clapped her hands. “No way! I was online forever and still didn’t get tickets.”

  “I was going to surprise you even before we decided to give us a shot.” John clipped the ends of the flowers as she filled the vase with water. “Now we can go together, and you can explain it all to me.”

  Charlie frowned and brought the vase over to him. “What if I’m pregnant?”

  He placed the flowers in the vase. “Then we’ll get you one of those T-shirts made with an arrow and have it say ‘baby’s fist comic con’ or something like that.”

  She wrapped her hand around his waist and pressed her face against his back. “You are the best boyfriend ever.”

  He turned in her arms and held her as well. “I like hearing that word coming from your lips—boyfriend.”

  She smiled up at him. “I like saying it.”

  The doorbell rang, and John answered the door to the deliveryman from the restaurant. She got the dinner plates and silverware together while he paid, including a very generous tip. They ate together and laughed and talked just like they always did. Except now she felt the underlying tones to attraction and butterflies in her stomach. They had wine and cheesecake in front of the TV while they watched the movie. Her feet were on his lips and he was rubbing her feet through her Dr. Seuss socks.

  Charlie was barely paying attention to the movie. His large hands were sending warm delicious slivers of pleasure running up her legs. Charlie took the chance, dared herself to be bold, and moved quickly to straddle his lap. John made a surprised sound of pleasure as she kissed him sensuously. His hands moved up her body to her back and cupped her neck as he took control of the kiss. Heat infused her body from his touch and the way he devoured her lips.

  Their eyes met, and Charlie lost herself in her gaze. It was like being pulled by a magnet, and Charlie couldn’t stop herself if she tried. She wanted him. Being with John felt more right than being with anyone. She was in love with her best friend who expected nothing from her except that she be herself.

  Charlie watched John’s eyes close as they sank deeper into the kiss. She couldn’t help the soft sound of pleasure that escaped her lips when he slid his hands up her ribcage and cupped her breasts through her shirt. The kiss ignited something within both of them and it flared to the point where every nerve ending in her body ached to be touched by him. They tore their lips away from the passionate kiss and for a moment just stared at each other sharing one breath. John caressed her cheek and pressed his forehead against hers.

  “I never thought this would be happening,” John said. “You feel absolutely perfect in my arms.”

  “I right here am enjoying every minute of being with you,” Charlie replied with a small laugh. “I don’t want you to stop. Make love to me.”

  “Those are the sexiest words I’ve ever heard.” John chuckled. “But then, you could make pancakes and syrup and I’d think it’s hot.”

  “You say the sweetest things.” Charlie kissed his neck and was rewarded with him shifting his hips and pressing his hard arousal against her.

  The low moan that came from him sent a shiver through her body. He kissed her hard and ravenously as he stood with her in his arms. She always marveled at his strength. His toned body could knock a man down hard. Yet he touched her with such gentleness when he set her on her feet. He pressed soft kisses on every piece of skin he revealed as he undressed her. Their clothes melted away as they kissed and learned each other’s bodies. John lifted her and placed her on the bed like she was made of spun glass. Charlie had never felt so cherished in her life. John worshipped her body with his touch, and she was afraid to open her eyes in case it was a dream that would disappear.

  “Look at me, Charlie,” he demanded. “Don’t hide those beautiful eyes from me.”

  “Says the man with the most gorgeous blue eyes I’ve ever seen,” Charlie laughed softly.

  He had the taste of the wine they drank when her tongue slipped inside his mouth. John’s moan of pleasure made her braver, and she deepened the kiss. He rolled and took her with him so she was lying on top of him. His hands moved from her hips to trace the curve of her back and down to her ass. She straddled his body and her sex was pressed against his hard cock. Charlie gasped at the intimate connection, and she undulated against him. He groaned, and she felt him throb against her warm, wet sex. John took control of the kiss, and he devoured her lips while burying his fingers into her hair and pulling the band away that held her pony tail.

  He tore his mouth away from her. “I want you.”

  She looked into his eyes and got lost in the vivid blue. “I’m yours, John.”

  He sat up, and her hands roamed over his broad muscular shoulders while he lazily tasted her. He forayed into her mouth with repeated long swirls with his tongue. His touch inflamed her and trailed heat down her body. He filled his hands with the smooth globes of her breasts, and she arched into his palms.

  “God, you feel amazing.” He groaned and kissed each nipple and laved them with his tongue until she was gasping. “I like how you’re breath hitches when you get aroused. Do you like how my hands feel on your skin?”

  “Oh yes, John, more,” she whimpered. “You make me want to do things, I thought I’d be too shy to ever do.”

  “Babe, my body is yours,” he said. “Be adventurous, and play as much as you want.”

  His chuckle was filled with surprise when she pushed him back. His cock was hard as she kissed her way down his body and stroked the velvet over steel thick length of him. He watched her every movement with an intense stare, and she wondered if she was pleasing him in the right way. He winked at her and smiled as Charlie continued to stoke him, reveling in the feel of him under her touch. His breath became heavier while her hand moved from the tip to the base of his shaft. His hips rose and fell in tandem to her firm grasp. Charlie liked seeing the pleasure play across his face. She licked the tip of his cock before she wrapped her lips around the head of his member and slowly took him in her mouth. He groaned while she took him deeper into the hot confines of her lips.

  “Oh damn, I don’t think… hell that feels so good,” John groaned.

  He sat up and pulled her against his chest roughly and took her lips in a hunger-filled kiss. She shuddered when his hand slipped between her legs to her sex, and she was slick to the touch. John rubbed her clit until she was trembling, and when he slipped a line digit inside her, she cried out. John stopped for a moment, only long enough to spread her legs over his large thighs. With her being spread he leaned back and watched as he fucked her with his fingers and used his thumb to manipulate her clit.

  “Oh God, John,” she cried out.

  “More, I want to hear you come,” John growled.

  Charlie felt the heat of arousal course over her body in waves. She never thought that sensations like this existed but John was pulling every last ounce of desire from her. She could feel the band of her release tightening within her. She clutched at his shoulders and gasped when the first release of sexual essence left her body and coated the two fingers he had inside her.

  “I’m going to come,” she said in a desperate whisper. “Oh, John.”

  “God, you’re driving me wild,” he said harshly.

  He picked up speed and used his other hand to pull her closer so he could take her upturned nipples into his mouth. She cried out as her orgasm took hold and he took her breath away.

  “I need to be inside you,” John said in harsh voice.

  John didn’t wait for Charlie to answer. She caressed his neck and could feel the tense bunching under his taunt skin. He kissed her and took her
whimper into his mouth. She could feel the tip of his cock at the entrance of her sex. John pulled her down on his shaft, and she felt so full of him that she moaned in delight. The sensations of his thick member filling her core gave the feeling completion. The sheer pleasure caused her pussy to clench in sweet delight. John expelled a breath through his gritted teeth as Charlie started the slow rhythm that would send them into completion. She writhed as he sucked on her nipples and rode his cock with wild abandon while sensations assaulted her body.

  “Stop baby, stop just a minute,” he groaned. His voice was harsh as he stilled her movements with his big hands.

  Charlie trembled uncontrollably. “John, I can’t. I need you.” She kissed him hard. “Let go with me, Honey.”

  “Charlie I’m crazy about you,” he said reverently.

  John thrust upwards to meet her undulating hips every time she moved. He moved, pinning her under him and taking control of their lovemaking. Charlie reached above her head to hold on to the rails in the headboard. She wanted to anchor herself against the pounding sexual need that threatened to wash her away.

  Her body began to shake. ”Come with me, oh John, please baby.”

  “God, yes,” John groaned.

  John’s guttural groan mixed with her cry of ecstasy as they went over into the bliss of their orgasm. Charlie fell against his massive chest and his arms automatically wrapped around her as he pressed a kiss on the top of her head. Time passed, and she didn’t care. She felt safe and secure while he traced lazy patterns on her thigh.

  “You know, statistics say that it’s very unlikely that I get pregnant the first time,” Charlie murmured. She wanted to stretch and purr languidly like a satisfied cat.

  “Luckily I have no problem doing this over and over again as many times as we need to and beyond.” John’s voice rumbled in his chest. “How many days do you ovulate?”

  “The ovulation thing said five,” Charlie said.

  John rolled over and took her with him. She loved the feel his body pressing her into the bed.

  ‘Then we’d better hunker down for the next few days and do this right,” John murmured and pressed a kiss on her lips.

  “I like your idea.” Charlie wrapped her arms around his neck.

  She sank into the pleasure he created when he touched her. She’d never felt anything like this before in her life. John was her perfect fit, the one that was tailor made just for her. Nothing felt as right as being in his arms. Maybe they created a baby that very same night or not. But she loved that the formula was Charlie and John equals baby.

  Chapter Three

  They all sat around the dining room table at Angel and Caleb’s home. Charlie remembered how adamant Angel was when picking the house and when she was going through the nesting period of trying to make everything perfect before the baby came. She pressed her hand against her stomach and rubbed it, as the three minutes that needed to tick by seemed to take forever. A pregnancy test sat on the counter in the bathroom, and they were silent as if speaking would somehow taint the test. The only sound came from Lucas who sat in a bouncy thing hanging from the ceiling beam. His chubby legs made it bounce as he babbled and chewed on a teething toy.

  Charlie looked over at him. The front of his shirt was covered in drool, and she smiled. Angel said he hated bibs, but he was teething so he was drooling like the alien from the Sigourney Weaver movies. She wanted her baby so badly that it ached on the inside. She would be so disappointed if she wasn’t. Charlie felt tears threaten at the thought. She wanted to hold her baby, clean up drool, and nurse. She wanted it with every fiber in her being, and she wanted to share it all with John. The timer went off and they looked at each other, no one moving, but she could feel the tension from them all.

  Angel reached over and took her hand. “If you’re not, there’s next month, and I bet then you’ll get your wish.”

  “Don’t be the pessimist, she’s pregnant,” John said firmly.

  Angel nodded. “You’re right, okay.”

  Charlie stood. “I’m going to get the test.”

  John kissed her hand, and both Caleb and Angel held up crossed fingers. She walked into the bathroom, closed the door, and leaned her head on the cool surface before taking a deep breath. Please, please, please, she begged silently and took up the text. The one she bought said it was supposed to be the best, especially before her cycle was due. The digital read out blinked pregnant over and over again, and she stared at it, letting the answer sink in. She was so overwhelmed tears began to fall and she couldn’t stop them. She was pregnant—she and John were going to be parents. Charlie stepped out of the bathroom toward her friends, and John jumped up as soon as he saw her.

  “Baby, don’t cry, we’ll keep trying,” he said.

  “I’m pregnant.” She swiped at the tears on her cheek. “I’m pregnant.”

  John lifted her off her feet and twirled her around. Soon he had to put her down because both Caleb and Angel came over and they were in a foursome embrace. Angel was crying, too, and as Caleb clapped John on the back, they shared a gaze, one that only women would understand.

  “Holy shit, I’m going to be a dad,” John said, grinning, and then his complextion changed. Charlie saw the color leave his face and then he became unsteady on his feet. “I’m going to be a dad.”

  “Whoa there, big guy, he’s going down.” Caleb moved and struggled to get John to a chair. There he put his head between his knees. “Big, deep breaths before you pass out.”

  “A baby, it will need a college fund and things, lots of things like a bed and stuff.” His voice was muffled by his position. “God, what do I mean bed, the baby will be too small for a bed, a crib, that’s what we need, a crib. Diapers—we can get them in bulk at Costco…”

  Baby Lucas laughed, and Charlie smiled as she crouched down in front of John. “Hey, hey honey, look at me.” John looked up and she cupped his face before pressing a soft kiss on his mouth. “We’ve got this covered, me and you, we got this, okay?”

  He took a deep breath. “Okay, sorry. I had a moment there.”

  “One of many, I’m assuming,” Caleb murmured. “Remember when Angel had Lucas? I thought he’d fracture mentally.”

  “He has months to get over that.” Angel scowled and slapped him on the shoulder. “Leave him alone.”

  “All I’m saying is he can crack a skull and the thought of a baby makes him weak as a kitten,” Caleb said.

  Charlie felt nothing but happiness and amusement. “He’ll be fine. The problem is how you’ll do standing in for me at the club, Caleb.”

  “What?” Caleb’s mouth dropped.

  “Well, now that I’m pregnant someone has to be there to help John.” Charlie winked. “Eye candy for the customers and all that.”

  “That’s not me, Angel. Tell her I’m not doing it.” Caleb turned to his wife. “Go ahead, tell her.”

  Angel looked him up and down. “Hmm, in some leather pants…”

  “You’re joking, right?” Caleb looked horrified.

  Angel plucked Lucas from his bouncer because he began to fuss. “Of course I’m kidding. Hold your son so I can get him some of his yummies.”

  Caleb took the baby. “Thank God for that.”

  “But you will have to help out with the accounting and watching Lucas at nights,” Angel added. “I’m going to have to go back to work. Just like Charlie and John took over for me we need to do the same for them.”

  Caleb nodded. “Of course, like that was even a question. The whole leather pants threw me.”

  “They are really comfortable though,” John pointed out, and everyone stopped and stared at him “What? I own a pair… Or two.”

  “Note to self, have a look in John’s closet,” Charlie said.

  “Are you guys really happy about this?” Angel asked suddenly.

  John stood and stood behind Charlie. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his hand on her belly. The warmth of his hand seeped through her T-shirt, and no
thing felt more right.

  “We’re ecstatic, or at least I am,” Charlie said.

  John kissed her neck. “I’m terrified but happy. I may not be steady on my feet all the time in certain birthing situations, but for you I’ll be solid. I’ll sit in a chair and breathe into a bag if I have to. But I’ll be ready.”

  “I know you will.” Charlie covered his hand with her own.

  “I call girl,” Caleb said suddenly.

  The conversation turned to the baby’s sex while Angel fed Lucas oatmeal cereal mixed with pureed peaches. The usual bets were made over lunch and as they ate, Charlie kept touching her belly, rubbing the flat surface knowing that life had begun inside her and in a few months she’d feel it grow. She never expected to be pregnant on the first try. . She never really believed girls from high school who got pregnant the night of the prom and swore it was the only time they’d ever had sex. She always thought they were fooling around way before they admitted. She had set herself up for a long fight to get what she wanted. Her whole life had been one struggle or another, except for this. This was her blessing, and it came so easily that now she was terrified something would go wrong.

  * * * *

  Her first doctor’s visit was with her long-time doctor and confidant Barbara Monroe. Charlie went in right after the positive test result, and Barbara confirmed with a blood test that she was pregnant.

  “My, my, you do work quickly,” Barbara teased.

  “I took the bull by the horns,” Charlie answered with a smile.

  “This big guy being the bull, I assume,” Barbara said with dry amusement.

  The meaning of her words made Charlie blush.

  “It’s too early to tell you anything much. We need a few weeks to see a heartbeat and the likes. Going from your last period, you’re only three to four weeks along. We need twelve weeks, so we’ll set you appointment for then,” Barbara said with a smile.

  That was nine weeks ago, and now in the middle of May she was lying on the table waiting with anticipation to see her baby’s heartbeat. What better time than this? The chill was leaving the city, and she and John now lived together in her town house—well, kind of. Him bypassing his own apartment to her house each night and most of his cloths in her closet could be considered them living together. Her stomach was a round little bun at the bottom, the only sign of her being pregnant. Even so, wearing jeans had become uncomfortable, but she found amazing maternity clothes online that suited her style. Today she was wearing a long sleeve tunic with Wonder Woman on the front. She did feel a bit like the heroine of the comic books. She’d had very little morning sickness and low energy, and even Angel said she was disgustingly glowing.