They were both needed at the arena the following night for a home game and she cried all the way up until she took a shower, since Lisa was at her graphic design job for the day. She washed her face under hot water as she felt dried up, wiping it off with a soft towel as she stood naked in front of the mirror. Holly was still slim and she ran her hands over her stomach slowly. She wasn’t showing yet but she knew that there was a life in there. What would she do when she was clearly pregnant? What would Aaron say?
Holly felt like she should create something to go with her pregnancy, have a relationship to fall back on. She couldn’t even imagine that.
She was in her room and dressed for the game before it started, her hair in a long French braid down her back. Holly heard the team coming down the walkway and she added some red lip tint to her dry lips to give herself some color to her pale face. Holly saw Tanner walk inside and she smiled his way as she walked forward to pretend to be an interested sports therapist that wasn’t broken inside.
The game was touch and go with her boys winning by a goal at the end of the game, celebrating on the ice together as she let out a long sigh. They all seemed healthy and that was a good thing. Her eyes drifted to the bench to take a quick look at Aaron, seeing the way his jaw was set and the circles under his eyes. He didn’t look good and she glanced away quickly as she saw him start to return her look. They’d played this game the entire game and she wanted to take back everything and drag him to his office and make him scratch her itch desperately. That had gotten her in trouble before but what could it do now? She was horny.
At her first appointment about the baby, Holly found out that the pills she’d been taking were bad when they’d been distributed. There were probably going to be several surprise babies for a few women but why did she have to deal with it in her situation? She had asked for every bit of information that she needed and noted websites that she should visit on her phone in the notes app. Holly left crying as she walked home.
CHAPTER THREE
The next couple of weeks passed by slowly and painfully as she kept up her strong front for everybody, dropping that at home and little by little with Walter. He was a really caring guy underneath it all and he helped. Aaron seemed to get back into the game as she watched him from afar, she being into her job that was going to support her and the child inside of her. She knew that it would be ugly when she had to tell the team but she had great health insurance until then and she was going to take advantage of it, since she might lose her job for lying anyway. What a complicated web she had weaved.
The next trip was going to be a week from then and she packed as many snacks as she did clothing, all loose and comfortable for her to wear as she hid her condition. Holly knew that she needed to go shopping soon for maternity clothes and she both loved and hated the idea. She was really in love with her baby even with all of the pain that came along with it.
The phone calls had stopped as well as the texts. Aaron pretended that she wasn’t there most of the time, the anger still in his gaze when it did pass over her before he went to speak to the team doctor. She missed their talks and missed their intimacy but she made friends with the team and a couple of their girlfriends. It was nice hanging out with other people and she appreciated it when they were kind about her pregnancy, letting her do what she needed as they drank and partied around her. It was part of being with a team and she liked watching them.
Lisa was getting excited about the baby as well. She’d dropped the talk about Aaron though Holly still saw the expression on her face sometimes that told her she thought about it. They slowly set up what they could in the shoe box of a den before a month later when she’d be finding out what it was with Walter and Lisa. He’d gotten into it, getting excited when everything was going well and joking around about corrupting his niece or nephew.
Holly also noticed a bit of a spark between him and Lisa as they got to know each other.
She carried on, beginning to wear her maternity jeans and slacks when she didn’t wear her go to yoga pants. Her stomach was small but it showed that she was having a baby and she still fought to cover it up.
Aaron watched her go everywhere with Walter as they’d leave the arena, talking seriously and closely as they walked to his monster of an SUV. After games, after practice and they even arrived together a few times. Holly looked beautiful and different to him somehow as he watched her when she wasn’t looking. She was glowing and…something else. He couldn’t put his finger on it. Maybe she was happy with his center. Maybe she was having the kind of sex with him that he’d had, making him hit his desk as he sat alone in his office.