“I do!” Jakob exclaimed, pulling out his phone. Erik shook his head at his overly excited brother as Jakob read him the phone number. Erik called them right there and soon he was on the line with the receptionist. Luckily they had a cancellation the next day and were able to give them an appointment. Erik booked it, getting the biggest 4D package imaginable so that Piper would have all the tests they offered. Not only was he sure that it would make Piper happy; he was excited to know what they were having, too.
“Booked,” he said with a grin.
* * *
Later that day, Erik found Piper standing out by the lakeshore. She had spent most of her time in her room, obviously not wanting to talk to him, or be near him for that matter. This was the perfect time to tell her about the 4D ultrasound. He hated when she was mad at him, and he knew he had to fix it. Not just for himself, but for them and for the baby.
Shit, when did he start caring about more than just himself?
Erik started down the hill to where she stood. She was wearing her bright blue bikini, the one he loved because it made not only her ass look great, but her tits, too. She was so beautiful, her hair blowing in the breeze, but when he got closer, he saw that she was still crying.
Standing beside her he gathered his courage and said, “Can I ask you something?”
She wouldn’t look at him. She only nodded, so he took in a deep breath and asked, “Are you still mad at me?”
She didn’t answer him for what seemed like eternity, but then she looked over at him. Her blue eyes locked on his as a lone tear escaped and ran down her beautiful face. He reached over, slowly wiping the tear away with his thumb and was surprised when she didn’t flinch or try to move away.
“I want to be, but I’m not. I’m more hurt than anything. You knew how much I wanted to know the baby’s gender.”
“I know, Piper, and I’m so sorry. I couldn’t believe that I forgot about it, either.”
She looked out at the lake again. He didn’t want to lose this moment. This was the first opportunity he had all day to tell her.
He pulled up the package he had purchased for her on his phone. He handed it to her, praying to God she didn’t drop it in the lake, and watched as she read the receipt. When her eyes went wide, he smiled. She glanced up at him, her mouth parted as tears gathering in her eyes. But this time he was sure they were happy tears.
“You made us an appointment for a 4D ultrasound?”
“I did,” Erik said. “Jakob helped me out a little.”
“Oh my God,” she said, glancing back down at the phone. “Why didn’t I think of doing this?”
Erik suggested, “Because you were too busy chopping my TV to bits?”
Her smile grew and then suddenly she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly as her legs came up wrapping around his waist. Of course, he was hard within seconds as he held her wet body against his, but he controlled himself, hugging her back. When she pulled away, her face was happily looking down at him. If he tilted her just a bit, he could kiss her, and she would be able to feel his arousal. He could feel her heart hammering in her chest as her eyes deepened in color. His hands rested at the middle of her back, but when she ran her tongue along her lips, his hands tightened, squeezing her as he tried to not kiss her. Everything was already so confusing between them; adding sex in the mix wasn’t going to help anything.
“Thank you,” she whispered. He wanted to smash his lips to hers, take over her body with his own, but before he could even move, talk, or breathe, she screamed, “Shit!”
“What?” he asked as she wiggled out of his arms and moved behind him. He turned to find her bending down and fishing his phone out of the water.
“I dropped your phone. I’m so sorry.” she told him, as she tried to shake it dry. He wanted to be mad, he wanted to shake her because she had ruined everything he owned—but when she looked up at him with worry, all he could do was smile.
“Ah, it’s no big deal,” he said, taking his soaked phone from her. “I’ll just add it to the list of things you have destroyed over the course of our marriage.”
And the list was as follows:
TV.
Xbox.
iPhone 5.
And, the walls around his heart.
Yup, Erik Titov was in trouble.
* * *
Erik was sitting on the couch when Piper came out to sit by him, her Kindle in one hand and a blanket in the other. She was wearing those naughty little black shorts and his old high school hockey shirt. He loved the way the shirt fit her, stretching over her belly and her swollen breasts. His hands shook from the mere need to touch her. Slouched, and leaning back on the couch, he had been setting up the new iPhone and lost his grip on it as it hit him in the face.