Status: puffy
The Book of Love
The Book of Love
“Hey babe.” The deep baritone voice echoed through the apartment and was followed by the sound of a door slamming. “Babe? Where’re you at?” Andy stepped into the kitchen and set his training bag on the counter before sloughing off his jacket. He was sweaty from practice and his blonde hair stuck to the back of his neck, but otherwise he still looked like himself. “Babe?”
“Just a minute,” a female voice called from down the hall. There was a sound of rustling and jostling from her room, and Dasha finally emerged a moment later, wearing a pair of leggings and an oversized World Series hoodie. She was smiling, but there was something odd about her demeanour when she came up to him and gave him a soft hug that was barely a friendly greeting, let alone one shared between lovers. “How was practice?”
“Uh…fine,” he said oddly when she pulled back and walked over to the couch, perching herself closest to the window and pulling her legs up in front of her and hugging them to her chest. He kicked off his shoes and left them on the floor in the kitchen near where he left his bag, and came over to collapse on the couch next to her. He slipped an arm around her shoulder but her body didn’t sink into it like it normally did. Instead, she remained frozen, and what had seemed odd before was now a cause for concern. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she answered, too quickly.
He wasn’t accepting that answer so he pulled his arm back so he could brush her cheek with the back of his hand. “Liar,” he said, attempting to lighten the mood, but she let her hazel eyes stray to his brown ones and she shrugged. She pulled at her sleeve and shook her head. “Bad day?” he pressed, not taking his eyes off hers, and when she finally nodded he pulled her earlobe. “Need a back rub?”
Initially she started to shake her head, but when he put on his best scowl (which really just looked like he had indigestion) she laughed a little, lightly, and then turned on the couch so he could reach her shoulders. He didn’t hesitate to scoot closer to her on the couch and started kneading gentle circles in her shoulders, finding the uncomfortable knots under the skin with his thumbs. He could feel the tension in her shoulders and they were tighter than they’d ever been when he’d rubbed them for her before. Leaning forward, he gave her a small kiss on the neck. She shivered and then shook her head.
“Please…”
He stopped rubbing but kept his hands on her shoulders. “Please what?”
She bit her lip. “Please don’t.”
That startled him and his hands faltered on her shoulders. For a second he sat behind her, before he finally got up and walked around the couch before squatting down in front of her so that he could look her in the eyes. “Now I know something is wrong. Talk to me.”
“I can’t,” she said quickly.
“Why not?”
It was obvious that whatever was bothering her was both terrifying and confusing to her, and the fear all centred on him. She bit her lip again, looking at him with her hazel eyes that were now rimmed with moisture, as if she wasn’t sure if now was a time to cry or not. “You’re going to hate me.”
“Impossible,” he answered with such confidence that she sighed and got up, pacing away from him and into the kitchen.
She laughed but it was forced. “You say that as if you had any idea what I’m going to say.”
“Baby, I don’t care what you’re going to say,” he spoke as he walked from the living room to the kitchen and held out his arms to her. “You couldn’t make me hate you.”
For a while she stood across from him, then she finally reached out to take his hand and proceeded to lead him silently back to her bedroom. When they were inside, she shut the door behind them and went to sit on the bed, pulling him down next to her. It was an odd sort of feeling, sitting beside her there; normally when she led him to the bedroom it meant super happy fun time for the both of them, but he knew that wasn’t even on the agenda given her mood, and that was fine. He was worried about her. He didn’t like seeing her like this. It didn’t suit her. She was too beautiful to be so sullen.
When she sat for a while ringing her hands, he finally reached over and took both of hers into his and raised them to his mouth, kissing the fingertips softly. She stirred at the action and her eyes explored his face as if looking for some kind of indicator of what he would say, or do, next. He felt her looking at him before he saw her, but when he glanced up to meet her gaze, her eyes faltered and she looked back down at her lap. “Baby,” she started, and then she bit her lip again.
The longer she drew it out, the more concerned he became. He gave her hands a reassuring squeeze and his eyes never left hers. “Yeah?”
She shifted, and chewed on her lip, and clenched and unclenched her hands in his, until she finally blurted out, in a flurry of words that all ran together, “I’m just late okay?”
He stared at her, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Late for what?”
Her hazel eyes locked on him and she grumbled, “My period!”
It should have been the most obvious answer but when she said it his expression changed completely and the shock of it made his hands falter again, though when she went to pull her hands away from him he tightened his grip once more. “How long?”
She shrugged and looked at the floor. “A few weeks.”
He didn’t know what to say to that but he didn’t let her hands go, instead letting the information bounce around in his brain. It wasn’t what he had expected her to say, though it wasn’t anything he’d ever expected anyone to say. Though it wasn’t beyond the possibility. After all, the pair of them had been having sex for over a year now. And even though she was on the pill, he knew that sometimes things like this happened. As if to clarify, he asked in a voice that was shaking more than he intended it to, “Do you…I mean…have you…you know…”
“Yes, I bought a pregnancy test today,” she answered in a voice that shook as much as his did. She glanced up at him and met his gaze, flinching visibly as if she was afraid he would leave the second she spoke. He stared at her, and she stared right back, before blurting out, “Positive.”
“So you are?”
She nodded. “Yeah…I know.” Her body had started to shake and she finally pulled her hands out of his. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, as if it were the worst news she could have possibly given him.
“Why?” he asked in a strangely quiet voice. He hadn’t gotten up and left, but it was clear he was still trying to process the information. “You didn’t do it.”
“Well…” She paused and glanced back at him with just the hint of a smile at the corners of her mouth. “I guess not.”
“I helped,” he added after a second, and when it became clear that he was trying to make a joke to lighten her mood, she suddenly started to laugh, somewhere between relief and hysterics. The laughter quickly turned to tears however, and without a second thought he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly to his chest. “Hey…babe, it’s okay. Don’t cry.”
She pulled her legs up onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly as he held and comforted her, and it took a few minutes before she was finally herself enough to pull back and speak to him again. When she did, she looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes and was surprised to find that he was smiling, gently, sincerely, and he looked so beautiful to her in that moment that she wasn’t sure if she had ever loved him more than in that moment. “You’re not mad.”
He didn’t say anything but shook his head.
She bit her lip and coloured, her cheeks bleeding crimson as she kept her eyes locked on his face. Then she glanced down at her lap. “I had decided, no matter what you said, to keep it. You know…because…there is a part of me that would want you with me, even if…” Her voice trailed off, and before she had a chance to ponder more words, he leaned forward and kissed her deeply, though it was different than their passionate kisses, or their brief little pecks.
This kiss said “I love you” stronger than words ever could.
When he pulled back, he reached up and held her face in his hands, their noses inches apart. “Dasha…” he said softly.
Her eyes stayed locked on his and she blinked. “Yeah?”
His smile never faded. “A baby.”
She smiled then, and she looked just as beautiful as she always did, but there was a kind of glow about her skin that he’d never noticed before. Or maybe it was just that the change in her body that made her glow all the more.
“Yeah,” she said again.
“We’re having a baby,” he said again, and she couldn’t help it and started to laugh.
“Yeah, we are.”
He let his hands drop from the sides of her face and turned to look at the wall for a minute, then startled her when he suddenly jumped to his feet and turned around, not helping her up, but picking her up in his arms. “We need to go.”
“Go where?”
“Go tell everyone!”
He didn’t even allow her the time to protest as he carried her out of the bedroom.
“Baby.”
“Most of them should still be around the park.”
“Baby!”
“Where’s your roommate?”
“BABY!” She was laughing fully now and punched him on the shoulder. “Put me down! I can walk!”
When he made it as far as the kitchen he spun with her once before he set her feet back down on the ground, but he didn’t let her go and instead held her close to him. They stood there like a second and his smile had spread so he looked just a tad bit sillier than usual (if that was even possible). “A baby,” he said again.
“Careful there tiger,” she teased. “Someone might think you’re excited.”
“I am,” he said honestly, and he kissed her again, as if to seal the deal. “I am,” he said again when he pulled back, and then he took a step away and glanced her up and down before letting his eyes rest on her stomach. Kneeling down in front of her, he placed his left hand on it gently, as if the tiniest pressure might break the little person growing there. There was no visual indication that there was anything changed about her. No lump, nothing, but all the same he rubbed it gently, then removed his hand so that he could kiss her there with affection. Then he stood back up and took her hand. “We have to tell everyone!” he said again, and his voice was raised louder this time, his excitement and joy so clear that she wondered how she had ever doubted him.
She laughed and slipped on her shoes alongside him. “Okay.”
“Just a minute,” a female voice called from down the hall. There was a sound of rustling and jostling from her room, and Dasha finally emerged a moment later, wearing a pair of leggings and an oversized World Series hoodie. She was smiling, but there was something odd about her demeanour when she came up to him and gave him a soft hug that was barely a friendly greeting, let alone one shared between lovers. “How was practice?”
“Uh…fine,” he said oddly when she pulled back and walked over to the couch, perching herself closest to the window and pulling her legs up in front of her and hugging them to her chest. He kicked off his shoes and left them on the floor in the kitchen near where he left his bag, and came over to collapse on the couch next to her. He slipped an arm around her shoulder but her body didn’t sink into it like it normally did. Instead, she remained frozen, and what had seemed odd before was now a cause for concern. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she answered, too quickly.
He wasn’t accepting that answer so he pulled his arm back so he could brush her cheek with the back of his hand. “Liar,” he said, attempting to lighten the mood, but she let her hazel eyes stray to his brown ones and she shrugged. She pulled at her sleeve and shook her head. “Bad day?” he pressed, not taking his eyes off hers, and when she finally nodded he pulled her earlobe. “Need a back rub?”
Initially she started to shake her head, but when he put on his best scowl (which really just looked like he had indigestion) she laughed a little, lightly, and then turned on the couch so he could reach her shoulders. He didn’t hesitate to scoot closer to her on the couch and started kneading gentle circles in her shoulders, finding the uncomfortable knots under the skin with his thumbs. He could feel the tension in her shoulders and they were tighter than they’d ever been when he’d rubbed them for her before. Leaning forward, he gave her a small kiss on the neck. She shivered and then shook her head.
“Please…”
He stopped rubbing but kept his hands on her shoulders. “Please what?”
She bit her lip. “Please don’t.”
That startled him and his hands faltered on her shoulders. For a second he sat behind her, before he finally got up and walked around the couch before squatting down in front of her so that he could look her in the eyes. “Now I know something is wrong. Talk to me.”
“I can’t,” she said quickly.
“Why not?”
It was obvious that whatever was bothering her was both terrifying and confusing to her, and the fear all centred on him. She bit her lip again, looking at him with her hazel eyes that were now rimmed with moisture, as if she wasn’t sure if now was a time to cry or not. “You’re going to hate me.”
“Impossible,” he answered with such confidence that she sighed and got up, pacing away from him and into the kitchen.
She laughed but it was forced. “You say that as if you had any idea what I’m going to say.”
“Baby, I don’t care what you’re going to say,” he spoke as he walked from the living room to the kitchen and held out his arms to her. “You couldn’t make me hate you.”
For a while she stood across from him, then she finally reached out to take his hand and proceeded to lead him silently back to her bedroom. When they were inside, she shut the door behind them and went to sit on the bed, pulling him down next to her. It was an odd sort of feeling, sitting beside her there; normally when she led him to the bedroom it meant super happy fun time for the both of them, but he knew that wasn’t even on the agenda given her mood, and that was fine. He was worried about her. He didn’t like seeing her like this. It didn’t suit her. She was too beautiful to be so sullen.
When she sat for a while ringing her hands, he finally reached over and took both of hers into his and raised them to his mouth, kissing the fingertips softly. She stirred at the action and her eyes explored his face as if looking for some kind of indicator of what he would say, or do, next. He felt her looking at him before he saw her, but when he glanced up to meet her gaze, her eyes faltered and she looked back down at her lap. “Baby,” she started, and then she bit her lip again.
The longer she drew it out, the more concerned he became. He gave her hands a reassuring squeeze and his eyes never left hers. “Yeah?”
She shifted, and chewed on her lip, and clenched and unclenched her hands in his, until she finally blurted out, in a flurry of words that all ran together, “I’m just late okay?”
He stared at her, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Late for what?”
Her hazel eyes locked on him and she grumbled, “My period!”
It should have been the most obvious answer but when she said it his expression changed completely and the shock of it made his hands falter again, though when she went to pull her hands away from him he tightened his grip once more. “How long?”
She shrugged and looked at the floor. “A few weeks.”
He didn’t know what to say to that but he didn’t let her hands go, instead letting the information bounce around in his brain. It wasn’t what he had expected her to say, though it wasn’t anything he’d ever expected anyone to say. Though it wasn’t beyond the possibility. After all, the pair of them had been having sex for over a year now. And even though she was on the pill, he knew that sometimes things like this happened. As if to clarify, he asked in a voice that was shaking more than he intended it to, “Do you…I mean…have you…you know…”
“Yes, I bought a pregnancy test today,” she answered in a voice that shook as much as his did. She glanced up at him and met his gaze, flinching visibly as if she was afraid he would leave the second she spoke. He stared at her, and she stared right back, before blurting out, “Positive.”
“So you are?”
She nodded. “Yeah…I know.” Her body had started to shake and she finally pulled her hands out of his. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, as if it were the worst news she could have possibly given him.
“Why?” he asked in a strangely quiet voice. He hadn’t gotten up and left, but it was clear he was still trying to process the information. “You didn’t do it.”
“Well…” She paused and glanced back at him with just the hint of a smile at the corners of her mouth. “I guess not.”
“I helped,” he added after a second, and when it became clear that he was trying to make a joke to lighten her mood, she suddenly started to laugh, somewhere between relief and hysterics. The laughter quickly turned to tears however, and without a second thought he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly to his chest. “Hey…babe, it’s okay. Don’t cry.”
She pulled her legs up onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly as he held and comforted her, and it took a few minutes before she was finally herself enough to pull back and speak to him again. When she did, she looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes and was surprised to find that he was smiling, gently, sincerely, and he looked so beautiful to her in that moment that she wasn’t sure if she had ever loved him more than in that moment. “You’re not mad.”
He didn’t say anything but shook his head.
She bit her lip and coloured, her cheeks bleeding crimson as she kept her eyes locked on his face. Then she glanced down at her lap. “I had decided, no matter what you said, to keep it. You know…because…there is a part of me that would want you with me, even if…” Her voice trailed off, and before she had a chance to ponder more words, he leaned forward and kissed her deeply, though it was different than their passionate kisses, or their brief little pecks.
This kiss said “I love you” stronger than words ever could.
When he pulled back, he reached up and held her face in his hands, their noses inches apart. “Dasha…” he said softly.
Her eyes stayed locked on his and she blinked. “Yeah?”
His smile never faded. “A baby.”
She smiled then, and she looked just as beautiful as she always did, but there was a kind of glow about her skin that he’d never noticed before. Or maybe it was just that the change in her body that made her glow all the more.
“Yeah,” she said again.
“We’re having a baby,” he said again, and she couldn’t help it and started to laugh.
“Yeah, we are.”
He let his hands drop from the sides of her face and turned to look at the wall for a minute, then startled her when he suddenly jumped to his feet and turned around, not helping her up, but picking her up in his arms. “We need to go.”
“Go where?”
“Go tell everyone!”
He didn’t even allow her the time to protest as he carried her out of the bedroom.
“Baby.”
“Most of them should still be around the park.”
“Baby!”
“Where’s your roommate?”
“BABY!” She was laughing fully now and punched him on the shoulder. “Put me down! I can walk!”
When he made it as far as the kitchen he spun with her once before he set her feet back down on the ground, but he didn’t let her go and instead held her close to him. They stood there like a second and his smile had spread so he looked just a tad bit sillier than usual (if that was even possible). “A baby,” he said again.
“Careful there tiger,” she teased. “Someone might think you’re excited.”
“I am,” he said honestly, and he kissed her again, as if to seal the deal. “I am,” he said again when he pulled back, and then he took a step away and glanced her up and down before letting his eyes rest on her stomach. Kneeling down in front of her, he placed his left hand on it gently, as if the tiniest pressure might break the little person growing there. There was no visual indication that there was anything changed about her. No lump, nothing, but all the same he rubbed it gently, then removed his hand so that he could kiss her there with affection. Then he stood back up and took her hand. “We have to tell everyone!” he said again, and his voice was raised louder this time, his excitement and joy so clear that she wondered how she had ever doubted him.
She laughed and slipped on her shoes alongside him. “Okay.”