Cara
"How worried should I be about my blood pressure?" I asked once we'd left Harper's office. We were standing in the main entrance of the hospital.
"It's concerning, but you shouldn't worry too much. Because it will make your blood pressure spike more. It's one of those things that needs monitoring and if there are any changes we call Harper. Just keep trying to relax. Maybe do some more yoga."
"What could happen if I get worse?"
"You probably won't. The majority of women who have high blood pressure have perfectly normal births."
"And the others?"
"Might have to have an emergency cesarean to make sure they and the baby are healthy."
I took a deep breath, trying to keep the panic at bay. I'd been as cool as I could in the office, but knowing there could be complications made me want to cry.
"I'm scared. But you could always become a doctor. This pregnancy made you read, huh?"
"Hell yeah. Don't be, we got this. Together." Aidan hugged me, kissing my hair.
"Together, forever." I murmured.
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I opened the door to our apartment, taking a deep breath when I saw Aidan standing outside. He was carrying a cardboard tray with a coffee, a juice, and two muffins on top.
"Hey, baby. How are you feeling?" he asked.
"I'm okay. I took a nap earlier so that helped."
"I guess we should do my blood pressure before I drink the coffee. I don't want to have any caffeine spikes."
"It's a decaf."
"Oh, even worse."
Aidan laughed and took his blood pressure monitor from his backpack.
"Take a seat."Â Gently, he took my arm and wrapped the cuff around it, his fingers gentle as he pressed the Velcro strips together.
It was almost impossible not to shiver at his touch.
"Are my fingers cold?" he murmured, looking at me through his thick lashes.
"Shut up."
"Okay. I'm going to start it. You'll feel pressure for a minute."
"I know."
When the machine finished measuring my blood pressure it gave a beep, the cuff slowly loosening. Aidan looked at the monitor, his brows knitting together.
"Any change?" I asked him.
"It's a little better than yesterday but still too high. Are you feeling any other symptoms? Nausea, dizziness?"
"Nop."
"Any swelling?" He took my right hand in his, looking down as he turned it over, before he repeated it with the other.
"No more than usual."
"Just a few weeks more, baby."
"I can't wait." I murmured against Aidan's chest.
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Aidan
"I'll never get enough of you." I say to Cara as I kiss up her thigh.
She woke up crampy and nauseous and called off work. I did the same. I made her favorite meal and gave her a massage ... which led to nowâmy face inches from her and my mouth watering.
Before devouring her, I plant a quick kiss on her bellyâone of my favorite things to do. The due date is close. The baby bag is packed and at the door. A car seat is strapped into each of our cars. We're ready for our little one to come. At least, we think we are. Neither one of us knows what to expect. Sure, we've read the baby books, attended classes, and been given advice from our friends. But I don't think any of those one hundred percent prepare you for having a baby. I told Cara we'll learn as we go, we don't have to be perfect, and we will make an amazing team.
"Another go at inducing labor?" Cara asks, laughing while staring down at me.
We've had sexâlots and lots of sexâand blame it on attempting to induce labor.
The real reason, though, is we love being intimate with each other. Holding hands, kissing, sex, whatever it is, I love it with her.
Her thighs shake at my first lick up her slit.
My attention moves away from her thighs to her eyes when she clutches my wrist.
"I need more."
"Patience."
My words set her on fire, and seconds later, her back arches. Drawing back, I crawl off the bed, unbutton my pants, and slide them down my legs.
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June 27th was my damn due date. But no, here I am on July 5th, still pregnant. It's not even nine AM and it's hotter than hell outside, not to mention humid. Pair that with being nine months pregnant and I'm not the happiest of campers. I'm enormous, and therefore my body temperature is running higher than it would on a not-pregnant day, not to mention I'm also moving around. For some reason I can't get comfortable sitting or lying down right now. I woke up feeling incredibly stiff everywhere, especially around my stomach and pelvis. I could barely enjoy my morning coffee without squirming and shifting in my seat because of it. This sparked another nesting spree, and so I'm waddling around the house, cleaning everything in sight. By the time Aidan wakes up, the bathroom is pristine and you could damn near perform a sterile surgical procedure in the kitchen.
I'm dusting the hell out of the living room furniture when he emerges from the bedroom, pulling a hoodie on over his bare chest.
"Oh good, you're up!" I greet him. "Now I can finally do the bedroom."
"What do you have the air set at, Cara? It's freezing." he says, looking me up and down like I'm crazy for wearing just a tank top that I have rolled up over my gargantuan belly, and shorts.
"Go outside if you want to warm up. I'm roasting out there." I explain as I continue to polish the TV stand. Besides, by the looks of the massive morning wood he's sporting behind his boxer briefs, he's really not that cold.
"Maybe if you'd take a break from the cleaning Olympics, you'd cool down a little."
"I can't sit fucking still. It makes my back hurt and my front hurt." I complain.
"Well if that's happening, you should be taking it easy." he argues, stepping closer to me.
"Aidan, seriously, I've tried. When I sit down I feel sore and stiff. This is the only way I feel better." The irritation in my voice rises.
"It may feel better right now, but later I think you're going to be regretting it."
"Aidan! You're dry humping my last nerve right now." I gripe as I bend forward to reach behind the TV. He scoffs and chuckles as he gets right behind me with his hands on my waist and his hard-on rubbing against my ass.
"Well gee, why don't you come back to bed with me and I'll try humping something else?"
I feel a zing shoot between my legs as I lift my head. Now there's an idea, I think as he continues.
"I'll warm up, you'll keep moving, and who knows, it could help induce labor. I know you've just about had it. It's wins all around." he tells me, nibbling my ear.
An earth-shattering orgasm later, I'm immensely satisfied but still uncomfortable as all hell and I go to town on the bedroom, stripping the bed and cramming the linens into the laundry basket.
"Fuck, I thought that would've calmed you down." Aidan muses with a smirk as he comes out of the bathroom, his skin all dewy from the shower and only a towel around his waist.
"It was amazing, but , no. I feel this inherent need to get this house in shape so that I don't have to worry about it so much when we're bogged down with diapers and feedings." I babble out loud as I squish past him in the doorway, trying to juggle the laundry basket and my huge belly.
"Whoa." he says, stopping me and taking the basket from me. "Let me get that. You can clean, but you're not bending and lifting. I'll get this going in the wash." He turns and heads for the laundry alcove by the back door. Now there goes every woman's wet dream - a half-naked stud doing laundry.
I turn to take some jewelry boxes and frames off the top of the dresser so I can clean that surface when I feel a sharp twinge down low in my abdomen.
"Ow!" I say out loud to myself as I rub the spot on my belly where I felt it. After a few seconds, I feel it ease and I start cleaning again. Ten minutes later, Aidan is dressed in shorts and has his practice bag.
"Are you going to practice?" I ask, putting everything back on the dresser.
"Just two hours, last one for a long while." he confirms, as he combs his hair in the dresser mirror I'm trying to clean. I feel another pinch that makes me scrunch my face and grunt a little. "You okay?" he asks, halting his movements with concern in his eyes.
"Mhhm." I assure him as I rub my belly again. "Just a little twinge."
He stares at me for a minute before saying: "Alright, I'm going to keep it short there, then I'm coming right back and I'm all yours for the next weeks."
"I thought you were going to practice until she's born." I remind him.
"Yup." he gives me a cocky smile, looking between my face and my belly.
"Aidan, that was just one contraction."
"And you're a week late, you're fidgety as all hell, and I just gave you a nice jump start." he says, his cocky-meter going through the roof while I walk him to the front door where he kisses my belly and then me. He cups my cheek and gazes sweetly into my eyes.
"I love you. I've got my phone on full blast in my pocket, so you call me if I'm right. Got it?"
"Got it. I love you too." I say, giving our snarky banter a break for a moment and letting him give me one more kiss before he heads out the door.
"Damn, it's hotter than Satan's ass out here!" he yells, sliding his aviators on as he walks to his car.
"Told you!" I shout after him.
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The contractions continue every ten minutes for the next two hours, and while they smart a little bit, they don't hurt enough to make me cease my assault on the house. I texted Aidan to let him know they were coming regularly, but one thing they told us in birth class is that labor literally takes hours, and ten minutes apart is hardly time to high-tail it to the hospital. So I firmly tell him not to hurry home. After the bedroom is cleaned to my satisfaction and I've given another sweep through the baby's room, I finally feel it catch up to me and decide to relax. As promised, he's comes home after just three hours. He puts our clean sheets back on the bed and we spend the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing and watching the Fast and the Furious movies, him with a blanket over him.
To his credit, he only spent about ten minutes gloating that he was right about me being in early labor, and so we decided since these are probably our last few hours to relax, we might as well soak it up.
The contractions get incrementally stronger and closer together throughout the evening, and I have to breathe through them now. Aidan massages my back with a tennis ball to help ease the squeeze I feel with each one, and around ten-thirty, I decide I need to get up to stretch and pee. Just as Aidan helps me to stand, I feel a harsh jolting pain through my pelvis that almost brings me to my knees and I cry out.
"What is it? Are you alright?" Aidan asks, steadying me. I breathe in through my teeth and then out through pursed lips until it passes.
"Yeah. That was a bad one though." I tell him as I take in some cleansing breaths.
"Time to go." His tone says he's making no bones and to not fight him on this. At this point, I think he's right.
"Okay, can you get the hospital bag? I need to go to the bathroom."
After emptying my bladder, I stand to wash my hands at the sink when I feel a pop deep inside and hear a splash down below. I look down to see a puddle on the tile floor beneath me.
"Dammit baby! I just cleaned in here!" I shriek.