Chasing Cars

I woke up the next morning because the sun was shining through the open window. I had been facing the wall with Chris spooning me. But the bed was small and kind of uncomfortable. So I turned around to face him and kissed his chest.

“Mm…,” he said. “Morning.” Then he reached down to kiss me.

We didn’t waste time with small talk. He pushed me onto my back and leaned on his elbow to kiss me. I had my hand tangled in his hair. The other was wrapped around him. I ran my fingers over his back. Luckily, he was blocking me because that was the moment that Vic decided to walk in.

“Hey, Chris. What do you—Oh,” he said. Chris stopped kissing me.

“Shit,” he said. Then he turned to look at Vic. “I’m a little busy at the moment, man.”

“Sorry. I’ll leave you alone. Hey, Marley.”

“Hey, Vic. How’s it going?” I asked.

“Pretty good. I was wondering if Chris wanted breakfast. I’ll make extra.”

“Sounds good,” Chris said. Then Vic shut the door. Chris looked back down at me. “Fucking cock blocker,” he said. I laughed.

“We should probably go help him. Just in case he sets the house on fire again.” He shrugged.

“This window is pretty easy to climb out of.” I wrapped my arms around him again.

“Sounds good to me.” Then he kissed me.

This time we tried to keep it down for Vic’s sake. I didn’t want to freak him out too much. Though after a while, we figured our attempts were pointless. The bed was really squeaky, and I was never any good at pinching my mouth shut when Chris was involved. I was pretty sure Vic knew exactly what was going on because he turned some music on in the living room.

When we were done, we lay in bed for a while, just enjoying being together. I didn’t want to leave, and at that moment, I had no plans to. But then our baby reminded me that I’d pass out if I didn’t eat. And I also kinda had to pee.

“I need to eat,” I told him. “I feel woozy.” He kissed me quickly.

“C’mon,” he said. We climbed out of bed and pulled our clothes back on. Then I went to the bathroom before meeting Chris and Vic in the kitchen. Vic was still cooking, and Chris leaned against the counter, stealing apple slices. And then the doorbell rang, and they both looked at each other.

“What’s the matter?” I asked, noticing their silence.

“You know that neighbor?” Chris asked me.

“Yes.”

“She thinks she has to feed us.”

“How old is she?”

“My age,” Vic said. Vic was a few years older than Chris. The doorbell rang again. “I’ll get it.” He pushed away from the stove and went to the door. Chris and I stayed where we were.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s not really my house, so I can’t make her go away.”

“Does Vic actually like her, or does he just tolerate her?” He shrugged.

“I think he just tolerates her. He’s been on the team a lot longer than I have. So he’s kind of used to baseball groupies.”

“Do you want me to say something?” I asked him.

“No, I’ll talk to him about it.”

“If you need any help, let me know.”

“I will.”

“Hi, Vic,” the woman said as she entered the living room. She was pretty, in an annoying sort of way. Why she chose to bother two baseball players, I wasn’t sure. No, wait—I knew exactly why. Unfortunately for her, one of them was 100% mine. She came over to us and smiled at Chris. “Hey, Christopher,” she said. My eyes narrowed, and Chris noticed it.

“Rachel. Hey. This is my girlfriend, Marley,” he said. She looked at me and then at my stomach.

“Nice to meet you,” I said. But I was sure Chris could hear how cold my voice had gone. She reached out to shake my hand.

“You too,” she said. Then she turned back to Chris. “So, you guys are having a baby? Wow.” He looked at me, and I gave a slight nod. Then he looked back at her.

“Yeah,” he confirmed.

“When are you due?”

“September,” I told her. She smiled.

“Why aren’t you guys living together?” Chris took another slice of apple.

“We’re looking for a new place, actually,” he said. “That’s why I’m living with Vic temporarily.” I smiled to myself and turned to lean on the counter. Vic was back in the kitchen. He gave me a look and then rolled his eyes.

“Well, thanks for the breakfast offer, Rachel,” he said. “But we’re all set today.”

“That’s too bad. I was hoping you guys could join us.”

“We’re good. Sorry. Maybe next time.” Then it was my turn to roll my eyes. That’s why she kept coming around.

“Let me know if you need anything.”

“We will.” She turned and left. I took a moment to collect my thoughts.

“If either of you sleeps with her, I’ll kill you,” I said. They both laughed.

“Don’t worry about it, Marley,” Vic said. I looked at Chris, and he smiled.

“No one in the world I’d trade you for. You know that,” he told me. I smiled back.

“Good answer,” I said.