“Yeah man she’s going.”
“Word?”
“Word.” Nick said with a hint of smugness. Wasn’t nothing slow about him, he knew Kevin doubted Summer would go away with him.
“That’s what’s up brotha, do your thing.”
“Plan on it my man. Listen, don’t mean to be rude, but I gotta to get some shut eye.”
“Oh my bad, it is a little late, isn’t it?”
Nick shook his head. If he didn’t love Kevin like a brother he’d cussed him out like nobody’s business.
“Yeah dude it’s two in the morning.”
Kevin chucked. “A’ight, man I’ll check you later.”
“Later, Kev.”
“Nick?”
Here we go. “Yeah man?”
“Be cool.” No further explanation was needed. Nick understood he was referring to his reckless temper.
“I’m already ahead of you man.”
Chapter 16
Friday morning Summer padded between her bedroom and the bathroom as she packed last minute necessities and toiletries for her weekend with Nick. Hopefully the trip would be uneventful. She had finally convinced herself spending time alone with Nick wouldn’t be too bad just as long as he didn’t act like a fool. Hopefully, once they cleared the air, they could get down to what was most important…the baby.
Summer was anxious to know how they would go about raising the baby while living in separate households.
What would they name the baby? Would the baby be a Jackson or Stiles?
Humming her favorite song, At Last by Etta James, Summer moved over to the bed peering inside her suitcase to make sure she had everything. “I have my gowns, panties, bras, socks, slippers…am I forgetting anything?”
“Whoa!”
A sudden sharp pain in her lower abdomen stilled Summer. Easing down on the bed, she touched her swollen belly, which was now rigid from a contraction. It’ll pass, she persuaded herself.
Sitting motionless on the bed until it was safe, Summer gingerly stood and proceeded to close the small suitcase as if doing so rapidly would bring on another contraction. Deciding to play it safe, she left the small suitcase on the bed. “Nick can bring it down for me when he gets here.”
By the time her foot hit the last step it happened again.
“Ooooh, let me sit my butt down.”
Glancing at her watch and easing down on the step, seventeen minutes had passed since the last contraction. This was not happening now! Not when she had worked up the nerve to deal with Nick and the twenty million questions he had for her. Finally warming up to the idea of facing him head on, she had to go and start having contractions again. If Summer were a cussing woman, she would’ve invented a few choice words of her own. “Maybe this’ll be the last one.”
Willing the contractions to cease, she glanced at her watch again. Good, thirty minutes since the last one.
Summer was starved, but was too afraid to move. Her intentions had been to fix breakfast and snacks for the long ride for herself and Nick. The ringing of the doorbell interrupted her thoughts of deciding whether she should attempt to do the tasks.
On wobbly feet, she stood taking baby steps to the front door. Hand on doorknob, Summer masked her worried expression with a pasted on smile before she opened the door.
“Hey Nick, come on in.” Nick frowned at Summer’s back as she turned and headed toward the stairs. She talked nonstop as her words came out rushed and hurried. “I’m all ready to go I just need you to get my suitcase I thought I was gonna have breakfast ready for us but…”
Confusion marred Nick’s features as he listened to her mouth move a hundred miles an hour. What the hell is her problem? “Summer, slow down, you’re talking too fast.”
Summer spun around to face him. “Huh? …Aaaawh, this one really hurts.” Summer moaned as she sank to her knees and doubled over from the pain. If this is what hours of labor was going to be like she definitely was not up for the challenge.
With a few long strides Nick was crouched down by her side. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve been having contractions this morning.”
With one fluid move, Nick carried Summer over to the sofa and gently laid her down.
Kneeling down on the floor next to her, he hadn’t a clue what to do. Is she about to have the baby now? Isn’t it too early? Nick felt helpless at the thought of his child struggling to survive because he or she was born too early. It was that last thought that made him ask, “Shouldn’t we call your doctor?”
Summer nodded her head.
♥♥♥
Nick anxiously paced the floor as Summer lay in the hospital bed infused with IV fluids and attached to a fetal monitor. The rapid, rhythmic, pulsation of the baby’s tiny heart was the only audible sound in the room. It reminded him of one of those relaxation or meditation tapes that played sounds of nature, like waterfalls or birds chirping. Surprisingly the rhythmic sound soon began to have a calming effect on him.