She finally nodded and laid her head on my shoulder. "Okay. That's what I'll do."
She wrote the letter and after I checked it over, she sent it off.
"Now, all we have to do is wait. One way or the other, I'm finished until next year."
"Next year at this time, you'll feel so much more positive about this. In the big scheme of things, one bad grade -- and it isn't really even a bad grade -- is nothing. The people who h
ire you to work for them at the UN or wherever you end up working will not care one bit about the B+, Alexa. They'll be looking at the letters PhD and assessing you as a potential staff member, not whether you got one less than perfect grade."
"I know, it's just a blow to my ego."
"I'll stroke your ego -- and anything else you want -- to make you feel better," I said with a leer.
That made her smile -- finally.
"Ha!" I said and pulled her into my arms, twirling her around in a circle. "I knew I could make you smile."
We kissed, and the feel of her body against mine made me want to make her feel more than happy. I wanted to make her feel complete bliss.
So I did.
Later, as we lay on our bed and watched the sun set through the open drapes overlooking the bay, she kissed my shoulder.
"Thank you," she said and rested her chin on my arm.
"For what?"
"For giving me some perspective."
I grinned. "I thought I gave you an orgasm."
"That, too."
She smiled and played with the hair on my chest. "We should get as much sex in as we can as long as I feel this good. When the baby comes, there'll be six weeks at least that I won't be able to have intercourse. While I can still get you off, it won't be quite the same. Then, once I've healed, there's no telling how interested in sex I'll be, what with the breastfeeding and sleepless nights."
I rolled over onto my side and looked in her eyes. "I'm game for as much sex as you think you can handle. I can take it."
"You can take it, can you? How do you know I won't wear you out? You know that men take longer to recover in between sessions and you're now past your peak, so to speak, age-wise."
"You calling me an old man?" I asked with mock affront.
She pushed me over onto my back and straddled my hips. "I'm a woman. I'm already ready for more."
She kissed me and although we had barely just finished one session, I was soon ready for more as well.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Alexa
As I expected, the Dean of the department wrote back that I had missed the deadline for an incomplete, so that was out of the question. He did, however, suggest that if I wanted, I could simply take another course and not have that class count towards my degree.
I felt relieved at that. It would delay me finishing my PhD for another year, but that was better than having the B+ on my record and so I agreed. My application for a leave of absence came through and I was officially on leave for a year.
I hoped it would be a good year -- one filled with happy firsts and lots of love as Luke and I welcomed our first child into the family.
That Friday, Luke and I drove back into Manhattan to get my ultrasound done. I was nervous as we sat in the small waiting room, holding hands while we waited for the technician to call our names.
Finally, after about fifteen minutes, a young woman in a light blue medical uniform came to the door.