"Good." He kissed the top of my head. "Maybe we ought to start crib shopping this weekend? That little one will need a place to sleep."
"Sure." I was hoping I wouldn’t have to think about that already, but three months would fly by, and Max was right, the baby needed a place to sleep. It made me sad to think I wouldn’t be able to give my baby a nursery with all the fancy bedding and furniture. The best I could do was the corner of my own room, but at least my little one would be close by. Maybe Alex would want to come over some nights and stay with us.
After Max left for work, I cleaned up the dinner dishes and took a shower. I was tired, but I knew Alex would be there soon, so I folded laundry and tidied up while I waited. A few minutes later, he was at the door.
"Hi." I smiled as I let him in.
"Hey." He entered and leaned down to quickly kiss my cheek.
I continued to smile, not wanting him to see how disappointed I was with such a loser greeting. I wanted more than a quick peck on the cheek, but I wasn’t sure if he did.
The last time he really kissed me was when he showed up drunk and pressed me up against the door.Thatkiss made my head spin.Thatwas what I wanted from him, but again, I wasn’t going to force his hand.
"I got the flowers," I told him. "They’re beautiful."
"They reminded me of you." He smiled.
We went to the family room and sat on the couch. Alex pulled my legs into his lap and began gently rubbing my aching feet.
"How did you know I needed that?"
"Had a feeling." He grinned as he continued to work his magic on my sore, swollen feet. "Where’s Max?"
"Working." I closed my eyes and relaxed under his touch.
"Night shift?"
"Hmm . . . ." If he kept up the massage, I’d be asleep in a few minutes. He was now forgiven for the less-than-electrifying greeting.
"I don’t want you to stay here alone; maybe you should come to my house," he said.
"That’s not necessary."
"Yes, I think it is," he said, a little louder than called for. "I don’t like the idea of you being all alone. What if you need something? My father’s a doctor, and he could be of assistance. If you’re worried about sleeping in my room, you could have the guest room, but my parents wouldn’t care if you shared my bed."
"That’s very nice of you, but—"
"Please don’t argue this point with me too," he said. "I’m insisting."
"You don’t need to insist!" He was ruining a perfectly good massage. "Max already said you could stay with me while he’s at work."
"Really?"
"If you want to," I said. "But you don’t have to."
"I want to, but my bed is bigger." He smiled.
"But Brenna and Julia are always at your house, and I don’t have the energy to deal with their shit."
"Jocelyn." He sighed. "I know they weren’t nice to you, but eventually you’ll have to come to my house."
"I know, but not tonight," I said. "I’m just not ready to spend the night there."
Brenna would make it very uncomfortable for me. I hadn’t seen her or Julia since our run-in at the mall, and that was before they knew the baby was Alex’s. They’d have a field day with me now.
"I’ve spoken to Julia and explained to her there won’t be a future for us."
Yes!
