I couldn’t argue there. Dallas and I had each other growing up and it made our parent’s regular absences tolerable.
“I know I sound insane, I do,” Tate laughed. “I just spent the last hour complaining about how I was struggling with being a father, but the idea of having a baby with you is exciting.”
I crossed my arms, suspicious of his intentions.
“It’s not some sort of claim over me, is it? Like one last middle finger to Ronny? That you got to be the one to... do that?” I struggled to say “get me pregnant” out loud. Even though I knew I wasn’t currently, the thought was still scary. Tate raised his hands up in innocence and shook his head.
“I promise. It has nothing to do with him. Look, if it’s not something you want too, then we don’t have to. I don’t want to put any pressure on you over something like this. If you want me to stop bringing it up, consider it gone.”
“It’s not that,” I started. I frowned and then shrugged. “I just don’t know. It’s something you plan; or should plan.” I looked at him pointedly and he rolled his eyes. I laughed, unable to be mad at him for it. Cara was too amazing.
“How about when the time is right, I’ll go to the doctors and see what’s up with all that stuff.” I motioned to my lady parts.
“What do you mean? Like your birth control?”
I nodded.
“I’ve got an implant, but it has to be removed to... do that.”
He grinned.
“Do what? Get pregnant?” he teased. I felt my cheeks heat up again.
“Stop it,” I said. He set his glass down and took mine, doing the same. He then leaned over and kissed me deeply, the taste of wine still on his lips. I shivered.
“If I had known that then why have we been using condoms?” he smirked. I rolled my eyes and shoved him playfully.
“Just in case. You never know. Maybe one will slip and somehow I’ll end up…” I grimaced.
“Pregnant. You’ll have to get used to saying it eventually,” he murmured as he pushed me down onto the couch. His hands began exploring under my dress as he trailed kisses down my neck. “And I for one, can’t wait. You are going to look so fucking sexy pregnant.”
* * *
Elena started a few days later. We gave her time to move into her new apartment and then we started fresh on Monday.
We decided on a schedule that fit Tate and mine’s desire to be with Cara more, but still get rehearsals and other stuff done. Tate left to go to the studio in the mornings, and I had Cara until about two p.m. Elena was here to grab her then, taking her back to her apartment until after dinner. When she returned, we’d get to snuggle and play a bit before starting her bedtime routine. This would change when we had shows, but for the most part, it worked.
After about three weeks of having Elena on board, Tate commented about how well it was working out and he was finally able to relax and enjoy parenthood. I agreed with him. The band had stayed for dinner. We were all laughing and genuinely enjoying each other’s company. Even Ronny and I were cracking jokes with each other. That, along with how well rehearsals had been going, the mood in the apartment was high.
“Do we get to finally see this allusive Elena?” Dallas asked, taking a long sip of his beer and snatching some Nigiri off the giant tray of sushi and popping it into his mouth. I did the same.
“Never,” Tate replied, grabbing a rainbow roll.
“Never? Bullshit. Why, is she hot?”
Tate and I shared a look. Elena was very good looking. Dallas noticed the exchange and lit up.
“She is! I knew it. That’s why you’re not letting us meet her. Oh, you dirty dog,” he waved a finger at Tate. “You don’t hire a hot nanny. That’s a classic wrong move. Or right, if that’s the kind of thing you’re into, Jim. A little ménage a trois? Been there, done that.”
“You’re disgusting.” I shook my head at him. “Why do you think I want to hear about that?”
“I don’t. I just love telling that story,” he laughed, wiggling his eyebrows at our male friends. They all gave him a high five and I sighed deeply. Sometimes, being the female in a male dominated world was like working with teenagers.
“Finish your food. She’s on her way.” I glanced at my phone. It wasn’t true, but I was ready to stop talking about my twin brother’s sex life. He stuck his tongue out at me and reached for the last vegetable roll.
I knew him discovering that we didn’t want him to meet our nanny would only make him pursue her even more. A few times the rest of the week he showed up early in hopes of catching her. Thankfully, she had left already each time.
It was Friday when Tate and I received a video from Elena. She was pretty good about sending tons of pictures and videos and other updates throughout the day, but this one kind of hit us both in the gut. In the video Cara rolled over for the first time. We had missed it.
