“Wait until she gets to the horny phase of pregnancy,” Blakely says. “When my sister was pregnant with my niece, she’d try to sit on my brother-in-law’s face every chance she got.”
“I could not even imagine having sex right now,” I say as I press my palm to my stomach. “Everything feels weird and out of place. I’m terrified I’d throw up, so any sort of intimacy is completely off the table.”
“Just you wait.” Blakely smiles while taking a sip of her drink. When she’s done, she asks, “What did Hornsby say to you anyway?”
Wanting to get off the topic of sex, I lift my phone and open his message. I read it to myself first.
Eli: Good morning. Just checking on you < - - see, I can be pretty good at this talking thing.
I chuckle and then text him back, forgetting that two pairs of eyes are staring at me.
Penny: Good morning. Everything is good now. I have an appointment with the doctor later. I’ll let you know how it goes.
When I set my phone down, I lift my drink just as I see both of my friends looking at me with annoying grins on their faces.
Blakely turns to Winnie and says, “Surrrrre, nothing is going to happen between them.” They both chuckle together. “This should be a lot of fun to watch as it unfolds.”
“Agreed. Get me some popcorn. I think there might be some romance in the air.”
I roll my eyes because they have completely lost it. There’s no romance anywhere. Nothing about our situation is romantic at all. Maybe if we were married and in love, then yes, this whole experience would possibly be romantic. But we’re not married. We’re practically strangers. Therefore, we’re just trying to make it day by day.
There’s absolutely zero romance.
None.
Zilch.
Eli: Thinking about you. Are you at the doctor’s office right now?
Penny: Yeah. I had to change into a gown and take my underwear off. Errr, is that too much information?
Eli: Nah, I think the more honest we are, the better. It will keep us from saying stupid shit like I like snow because it’s white. The more honest, the better.
Penny: Then should I tell you that my nipples tingle?
Eli: LOL. Yes, please tell me that. And what kind of tingling are we talking about here? A good tingle or a bad one?
Penny: An interesting one. Not sure how I feel about it.
Eli: Anything else tingling that I should know about?
Penny: No. Just my nipples. Is there anything tingling on your body?
Eli: Not at the moment, but when Posey takes his shirt off in the locker room, my whole body is tingling and humming.
Penny: ROFL. Gives me an idea to put heart eyes on your face and then flash to a video of Posey walking toward you. I think it could be a really good post.
Eli: Or of him bending over and stretching with his stick.
Penny: OMG, even better. Oh hey, the doctor is here. I’ll let you know how this all goes.
Eli: Okay. Sounds good. Tell him about the tingling nips.
Eli: Are you awake?
Penny: I am despite being totally exhausted.
My phone rings, and I answer and put it on speaker before laying my phone on my stomach. In bed and comfortable, I don’t feel like holding my phone up to my ear. “Hey, congrats on the win tonight.”
“Thanks,” he says, his voice sounding just as exhausted as mine. “Just waiting on a few guys, and then we’re heading to the airport. I’ll be home pretty late. Want me to sleep on the couch so I don’t disturb you?”
“No. I’m sure once I fall asleep, I’ll be out cold.”
“Okay.” He pauses for a second. “How was the appointment?”
“Good. Confirmed that I am, in fact, pregnant, but we knew that.”
“Did you tell him about the, uh . . . the tingling?”
“Yes.” I chuckle. “He said it was normal and to expect many more changes to come. He also told me to take prenatal vitamins and set what he thinks is a due date.”
“What is it?”
“November eleventh.”
“Right after the season starts back up again.” I can hear the concern in his voice. “I need to check on paternity leave and see if we even get anything. I know it’s not mandated by the league, but maybe the Agitators have their own policy.”
“I don’t think it’s something you need to worry about right now. We have a long way to go. I’m still in a timeframe where my pregnancy could go either way.”
“What do you mean by that?” he asks.
“You know, I could still have a high chance of a miscarriage. That’s why the doctor always tells you to wait until you start telling people. Once we hit twelve weeks, then we can start telling people, and you can check on paternity leave.”