She stands in the hall for a minute before turning and padding back into the bedroom. Immediately, I feel bad. Taking my frustrations out on her is taking a page from my own father’s book.
Am I damned to be like him?
“No,” I say to Vader, who is sleeping on the floor in front of me. I get up and slip under the covers, spooning myself around Lauren.
“I like when you hold me like this,” she mumbles, already falling back asleep. I smile and kiss the back of her neck. I’m holding her, but really, she’s holding me.
Chapter 21
LAUREN
“RACHEL AND I are going to a movie. You don’t mind, do you?” I ask Noah over the phone.
“Not at all. Go and have fun.”
“Thanks. Can you let the dogs out too?”
“Already did.”
“Thanks again, Noah. Are you and Colin still hanging out?”
“No, he had to cancel. Something about Jenny wanting to renovate their living room.”
“Ohhhh, right. They’re tearing out the carpet for hardwood.”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
Is it weird I feel bad about going out when Noah is at home with the dogs? “Go to the bar or something. See your other friends.”
“You’re telling me to go to the bar?”
“Yeah. I trust you. Just be home when I’m home because I need a back rub.”
“By back rub, you mean sex, right?”
I laugh. “Possibly.” But not really. My pelvis is all kinds of sore and swollen tonight. The joys of pregnancy, right? “I miss you.”
“I miss you too, baby. Have fun.”
“You too.”
I hang up and put my phone in my purse. Rachel and I went to lunch, then shopping, and now are going to see a Nicolas Sparks movie that I know Noah wouldn’t enjoy. We arrive early, get popcorn, and prime seats in the back.
“You are seriously the cutest preggo ever,” Rachel tells me when I rest the bucket of popcorn on my belly.
“I don’t believe you but thanks.”
“Really, I mean it!” she laughs. We’ve been friends since eighth grade, and though we don’t get to see each other very often anymore, things are the same between us. I’m as comfortable around her now as I was then.
“What’s your man doing tonight?”
“Hanging around the house. Roles have been reversed tonight,” I laugh. “I’m usually the one at home on weekends, though he’s been at home with me pretty much since we found out.”
“It’s still weird to see him like this. We both had huge crushes on him, remember?”
“Didn’t most girls have crushes on him in high school?”
“Very true. I’m glad it’s working out like it is though.”