I got out of the tub and offered her my hand, aiding her out of the tub. It wasn’t graceful, or movie-magic-smooth, but that didn’t matter. Her normally golden skin ranged from pink to red, flush from the warm water and the moments we had shared together.
I didn’t think I had ever seen her look more beautiful.
I kept a hold of her hand and lead her to the bathroom, stopping long enough to grab another towel for us. I would have grabbed two, but it seemed that Nicole didn’t have that many. I made a note to treat her to a whole bathroom set, but that could wait until tomorrow.
Together, we reached the bed and -after a good toweling off courtesy of me- she slid into it. I kissed her forehead and went to leave, ready to take my spot on the couch, only for her to refuse to let go of my hand.
“Yes?” I asked, turning back to her to see a kind, sort of wistful expression on her face.
“You can sleep with me tonight,” she said, moving the covers and scooting over so that I could slide in.
“You sure?”
She nodded, so I quickly dried what was left of me that needed it and slid in. The sheets weren’t quite as soft as my own back home, but they were full of Nicole’s scent and warmth. I curled against her back as we settled, wrapping one of my arms around her to rest on her belly. Although I was pretty sure it was just in my head, I swore I could feel our little one’s heartbeat through my palm.
It was in that moment, pressed against her and sleep pulling at both of us, that I knew without a doubt something had changed between us. And whatever it was, things were different now.
I just hoped that it was a good change.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
~James~
I woke up to birds chirping and the sun gently streaming through the window. That was odd… my windows in my room purposefully faced away from the sunrise, as I hated being blinded right upon waking up.
I opened my eyes slowly, lifting my hand to shield my poor eyes, and that when everything came rushing back to me.
Right. I had spent the night with Nicole, both figuratively and literally. Looking behind me, I saw Nicole curled into a little ball, swaddled in sheets and looking absolutely adorable. Despite the fact that we had had sex three times now, this was the first time that we had ever spent the night together, and it was pretty nice.
Stretching, I wished that I had brought an extra set of clothes. Maybe I would just buy some while we were out. But for now, I concerned myself with finding my underwear and brewing some coffee.
I wandered to the bathroom where I did indeed find my boxer-briefs, and I was relieved that I had thrown them far enough into the corner of the room that they hadn’t been soaked by the deluge. Thank God the bathroom had small drains in a couple spots on the floor, otherwise I was sure we would have flooded the downstairs neighbor, and that would have made a horrible impression.
Once I was somewhat covered, I headed towards her kitchen where I rooted around for some sort of coffee, or tea, or anything, only to find absolutely nothing. Was that a pregnancy thing? Ugh. It was less than convenient.
I helped myself to a glass of water then, loading it up with ice. I would definitely need some caffeine eventually, though, unless I wanted to treat myself to a particularly intense headache.
I sipped at my drink, looking out over the water as I woke up. It was far too early for me to be thinking deep thoughts or examine how our situation had changed, so I just contented myself with planning out the day.
First thing first was a meal. I needed protein and caffeine and a few carbs while I was at it. Then we should probably see if we could get a special meeting with Trevor the lawyer. Maybe after that a quick dinner then I should be on my way back home in time for Sunday, so I could catch up on everything I missed by skipping a Friday at work.
“Hey, you’re awake already.”
I looked behind me to see Nicole standing in the doorway of the hall that was leading to the bedroom. She had put on a silky robe, and her hair was adorably mussed. If I ever had to describe what a perfect human was, I’d use the image of her standing there, heavy lidded and sleepy.
“I guess I’m more of an early riser,” I answered, smiling as I walked over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You wanna go get breakfast?”
“Yeah,” she said, resting her head against me. “Just give me a couple of minutes to wake up and get dressed. Mornings are hard for me.”