The Next Morning

SHAY

I woke up with Zane’s arms wrapped around me, his body half on top of mine. Suddenly, a wave of nausea washed over me. I pushed him off and he landed on the floor with a thud. But I was already rushing to the bathroom, retching into the toilet. He groaned, then quickly got up and followed me, holding my hair back as I dry-heaved.

He rubbed my back gently, whispering soothing words into my ear. “Easy, love, take your time. I’m sorry, you must be seasick. I’ll get the boat back to shore,” he said, standing up.

My bag had spilled on the floor. I picked up a tampon and stared at it. My face drained of color.

“Oh, shit, no, no, no. This can’t be happening.” I scrambled to my feet and looked at myself in the mirror.

Zane’s arms wrapped around me gently, turning me to face him. He looked worried. “Baby, please tell me what’s going on. You’re scaring me a little.”

“Zane, I’m late. Oh, God! I’m late!” I covered my face with my hands.

He grabbed my wrists, trying to pull my hands away. “Shay, talk to me. Do I need to get a doctor? Are you sick?”

“Yes, I’m sick, but it’s not something a doctor can fix,” I replied. Tears welled up in my eyes and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

He held me as I cried into his shoulder, my body shaking with sobs. Eventually, I pulled myself together enough to walk to the bed, but he held me in place, looking into my eyes.

“Tell me what’s wrong, love. This is killing me.”

“Zane, I’m more than two weeks late now. I…I—”

He scooped me up and carried me to the bed. I looked at his face, which was slowly breaking into a smile. He looked down at my stomach, his fingers brushing over it lightly.

“Are you saying you think you’re carrying our child? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?” His grin widened.

“With me missing my period and now getting sick, I’m pretty sure. What are we going to do?” I looked at him, tears welling up in my eyes again. He wiped them away with his fingers.

“We’re not going to do anything except confirm it first. Once we know for sure, you’ll see a doctor and we’ll figure it out from there.”

“But we didn’t—”

He cut me off with a passionate kiss. I melted into it, just like I always did. He pulled back and placed a hand lightly on my stomach.

“Most babies aren’t planned, love. Some are, but most just happen.”

Suddenly, his face turned from joy to anger. “Shit, that means you were pregnant while we were apart. ~Fuck!~” He ran his fingers through his hair.

“Baby, we didn’t know. I must’ve been only a few weeks along, if that. I had just finished my—That’s it!”

I sat up in bed. “I had just gotten over my cycle a week before I left. So we’re looking at about six weeks now, roughly. Oh, God!”

He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t panic again, please. We’ll handle this like any other couple when they find out they’re expecting.

“You need to try to stay as stress-free as possible. If you stress too much, it can affect the pregnancy.

“My mom had a really stressful time when she got pregnant right after I was born. She didn’t want another one so soon, and unfortunately, it led to a miscarriage.

“She still feels guilty about it, thinking her stress caused it. I don’t want that for our child. I need you to stay calm as much as you can. Please.”

I took a deep breath and nodded. He lay down with me, wrapping his arms around me protectively. We lay in silence for a few minutes.

Suddenly, I bolted upright, rushing back to the bathroom. “Ugh! I hate this! I blame you for this shit, Zane!”

He chuckled as he helped me up and handed me a washcloth. “This is going to be quite the ride with you and your stubbornness, huh?

“You’re already blaming me for this. Just imagine what it’ll be like when you’re pregnant and waddling around the house, cursing me for making your life miserable.”

I smacked him hard on his bare chest, which hurt me more than it hurt him. As I shook out my hand, he grabbed it and kissed it gently.

“Bad move, love, you know I’m built like a brick wall.”

I smirked, looked him in the eyes, and then went for his sides, tickling him. He started laughing hard.

His knees buckled and he fell to the floor. He tried to push me off, but I sat on top of him, tickling him mercilessly.

“Please…stop…I…can’t…breathe…”

I stopped and leaned down to kiss him. As I did, his strong arms wrapped around me, holding me close. His eyes darkened as they swept over my body.

“You’re going to pay for that, love.”

He flipped me over, pinning my hands to the floor as he spread my legs and thrust deep inside me.

He made love to me quickly, in case I had to throw up again, keeping me pinned down on the soft rug.

As he climaxed, his body shook with release. He kissed me sweetly as he got up and then helped me up.

We took a quick shower before heading to breakfast, where I would try to keep something down for the morning.