As if sensing my thoughts, he says, “Now everyone will know that you are officially mine forever, Liv.”
I smile at his declaration and secretly love that he claims me like a possession so unabashedly. We go up the elevators, and he pulls me to his side. The elevator dings and we head out. We stand in front of the OR doors. I am drawn back to the time I once was waiting at similar doors for Brodie.
I feel the tug of sadness for my longtime friend and former boyfriend. I continue to stare at the doors, and Dax nudges my chin in his direction. “I love you, Liv. Please try to have a good day.”
His lips are pulled down as if sensing my thoughts. I know he can read it on my face, and I hate that he knows. I don’t love Brodie that way, but we had a lot of years together. I go to touch his face. I look him in the eyes as I stroke his cheek.
“I will be thinking of you today and counting the hours until I can have your cock in me.”
He immediately choked on the coffee he tried to sip as he found the humor in my words.
He kisses me and whispers in my ear, “I’ll hold you to that, Liv.” With that, Dax winks at me and walks away, swallowed by the operating room doors where some people live, and some die. I hope I don’t have to be at the end of these doors awaiting that type of news again.
I had to go to the class in one of the hospital conference rooms on the fifth floor. Already dreading our assignments for the day, I am starting a new rotation in the ICU and am pumped about learning more about critical care medicine. I have a few of them and hope to be in the emergency department as a clinician. The ICU will provide a lot of good experience this rotation. I spoke with the program director and changed my name, updating my new married name, Olivia Johnson. In a few more months, I’ll graduate. At least I’ll be finished before the baby comes, or as Dax puts it, Dax Jr., I needed to speak with them and let them know that I am expecting and that it shouldn’t impact my set graduation date for May.
I just hope everything goes as planned. I know this will all play out, but I want to be proactive. Just because I will be a mother doesn’t mean I don’t intend to have a career. I worked too hard for this. Dax is supportive of my decision, and I have a great support system. I have talked with my mom, who has agreed to finally take some much-needed time off to help me take care of the baby. I will prepare for my NP boards during maternity leave. Dax had informed her of our situation when he asked for my hand in marriage. Since my dad is no longer around, he went to see my mom for the day without my knowledge. She was happy for us and glad I found someone who was over the moon about me. We had a whirlwind romance, but I know the outcome would have been the same if we had dated longer. Sometimes you just know when you meet the right person. The sex is great too. With how busy we both are, I know the months will fly by, and our baby will be here before we know it.
ChapterThirty-Eight
Dax
Livand I fall into a routine of work and school. We’ll both be finishing up our respective programs soon. I go do rounds for a bit on some post-operative patients and then take the stairs down to the operating room to dictate my notes after seeing some patients. Liv seems to have more energy once she hit her second trimester. She also seems to limit her caffeine consumption to one cup of coffee daily. I told her that was fine, even though she continued to worry about the effects on the baby. We discussed it, and she chose to have it mid-day. She can enjoy it and the caffeine boost of energy it provides to seamlessly continue the day. She carefully explained her rationale for picking that particular time of day and as long as she keeps it to a minimum, it should be okay for the baby. I have a bit more skip in my step because today we will find out the sex of our child. Nothing could bring this day down. I text Liv to let her know I will get my coffee with her and meet her there. We will leave together for her OB appointment right after. She had already cleared this necessary appointment with the clinical professor and agreed to make up the time by staying an hour later today. I have things to catch up on anyway, so I will just stay and wait for her after.
I get in line, order my café Americano, and text her to let her know I am here. I see Tatiana in line talking to someone. I try my best to avoid her, but sometimes it is inevitable when you work with someone. I never bothered to tell her about getting married. If they cannot see the wedding ring on my finger, that is their problem, not mine. I don’t discuss my private life with the staff. They already gossip enough about everything under the sun. All of a sudden, my ears hear a familiar voice as I move out of line to see Tatiana looking eye to eye at Liv. I suddenly see red and watch as Tatiana sees her wedding ring. Liv’s hand instinctively goes to her baby bump as if protecting it. That’s when I heard her say, “Wow. What did you do? Trap him by getting pregnant?” She steps toward Liv, and I quickly make my way over there. She snorts, “Typical.” Liv looks my way, and Tatiana follows her line of vision.
I look at Liv without regarding or acknowledging Tatiana. “Liv, is everything, okay?” I see her eyes swimming with tears that refuse to fall. I’ll be damned if I let this bitch make Liv more emotionally stressed than she is already over someone who was a meaningless fuck to me. I grab her hand and kiss it.
“Why don’t you grab your coffee and order me my usual, please? I’ll be right there.”
She looks at me and then at Tatiana. “Sure.”
She turns around and moves toward the other side of the counter. As soon as she is out of earshot, I turn to Tatiana, and she pops her hip out with her hand resting on it.
“What the fuck is that, Dax? I don’t even hear from you, and then I find out that you are not only married but that that girl is pregnant. Do you know if it is even yours?”
I fix my stare in her direction, and the anger I feel is nothing compared to the thought of her sudden start of the rumor mill. I have to set the record straight so that this doesn’t become a problem for Liv and me. “I already told you that I met Liv a year ago, and we lost touch until we restarted our relationship.”
Her eyes widen as she takes in this scenario.
“I didn’t just meet her and then get her pregnant. I’ve pursued her for over a year and finally got her to commit to a relationship.”
“So, while she wasn’t answering you back, you fucked me.”
I cringe at the words, not wanting to publicize this conversation in case someone overhears. I nudge Tatiana off the side. “Look, I admit it happened quickly after that, but it was always her. I told you this at the gym. I’m sorry, but anything we had, as I said before, is over. She is my wife now, and we are having a baby.”
She looks at me as if she hates my guts. I can’t say that I blame her.
“Can we at least be civil to each other at work, Tatiana?”
She narrows her eyes at me. “I am a professional, Dax. Of course, I can be civil. Outside of work, you're a complete asshole.” With that, she walks off, leaving me there, pinching my eyebrows in frustration.
Liv returns to my side and nudges me. “You okay?” She looks at me with concern as she hands me my coffee.
“Yes, but I should be asking you that,” I reply as I take the coffee from her.
She just shrugs while taking a sip of her coffee. I lean down and kiss her very inappropriately for the workplace setting as she lets herself yield to my embrace. I pull away, and she looks up at me, smiling.
“Are you ready to go find out the sex of our baby?”
