Hot Laps (38 page)

Arie, who showed up after everyone ate and could only stay for a minute came by and
ruffled my hair. “You’re gonna be a dad?”

I wasn’t sure how Arie would react to this. She has a rebellious side just like me
and got into a lot of trouble growing up. In turn, we got really close because we
understood the way we thought about certain situations. Axel, well, he never got in
trouble. I think the one time he got grounded he made himself vomit over the fact
that he made dad mad.

Stupid fuck.

“Yeah,” I returned the hug Arie gave me and turned to Hayden. “Arie, this is Hayden.”

Hayden, who was mid-bite of her corn on the cob smiled with tiny pieces of corn stuck
to her cheeks. “Nice to meet you, Arie.”

My sister started laughing and patted Hayden’s shoulder. “You two are perfect for
each other.”

On the way back to Hayden’s apartment, I thought a lot about what the next step was
going to be for Hayden and me. This was a huge thing. So far it seemed this was going
to work. I mean, it’d been sketchy for a day or two but for the most part I think
we worked through it and we were still together. At least I thought we were.

What about when the baby is born though? Then what? There was a lot I didn’t have
the answer to at the moment.

The right thing to do in this situation would be to marry her, right?

“I think that’s up to you,” I told myself.

But would a girl like Hayden want that? I honestly didn’t know the answer to that.

We stopped off to get some ice cream because Hayden said since she couldn’t drink
any longer she intended on eating ice cream. Every day.

“Does your dad always forget your age?”

I let the spoon dangle in my mouth and then slowly pulled it out. “Yep. He has a horrible
memory.”

Quiet for about ten minutes, she finished her ice cream sundae and set the container
on the dash as we sat outside her apartment.

“How long is your lease here?”

“It’s up in December.” She started fidgeting with her hands any time we started talking
about the future or anything related to the baby. Now was no different.

“We’re fucked, huh?” she finally asked, as if she was accepting some kind of death
sentence.

“Nah,” I said moving her closer to me. “We’ll be okay, pretty girl. The best stories
always start out scary.”

4 Months Later

I don’t know how but we’d avoided the conversation so far. And I was fucking nervous
as hell to have it.

I watched my parents. Had it always been like this for them?

Probably not. Knowing them, definitely not. They fought just like everyone else. I’ve
seen my dad throw things through windows. I’ve seen him fuck up. I’ve seen him beg
for forgiveness when he fucks up.

I guess what I’m saying is they’re normal.

Hayden and I are normal. Or at least our version of normal.

I watched her, floating on her inflatable raft late September. Swimming in circles
around her, we were in the middle of talking about moving in together. I bought a
thirty-foot camper. It wasn’t really a place to raise a baby, but come six months
from now I would have enough saved for a down payment on a house. The camper was what
I could afford without asking for money.

I didn’t even have to ask for money. My mom was trying to give it to me but I wouldn’t
allow them. I wanted to do this on my own.

“Do you want to move into with me?”

“Do you think I’ll fit?” Hayden teased, rubbing her hands over her swollen stomach.
She was so pretty pregnant. Creamy skin, flushed cheeks, and the most adorable waddle
I’d ever seen and she wasn’t even full-term yet.

“You’ll fit in the door, just don’t turn sideways,” I teased.

She splashed water at me and spun her raft around in circles.

“I’m serious,” I stopped her raft and made her look at me, my lips about an inch from
hers. “Move in with me.”

“Fine.”

That was the easy part of the conversation.

You would have thought I was trying to swallow a pill dry when I asked my next question.
“Do you want to get married?”

Instantly Hayden started choking and pushed herself away from me floating to the middle
of the pool.

That went well.

“I wasn’t asking,” I said casually.

“Good,” she choked, eyes wide.

“So, if I asked, you would say no?”

“Probably.” She answered in a gentle demeanor, one that led me to believe she wasn’t
trying to hurt my feelings.

“Why?”

“We’re too young.”

“My brother was nineteen and my sister was eighteen.”

I wasn’t trying to convince her because, deep down, I didn’t think we needed marriage.
Just because we were having a baby didn’t mean we needed to get married. In my head
at least. I did, however, want it out there if it was something she wanted, I would
have done that for her.

“So? I thought you weren’t asking. Why are you trying to justify it now?”

“I don’t know.” Reaching out I stopped her raft as it went by rolling her off it to
hold her in my arms. “We’re having a baby together.” My hands gently went to her stomach.
“I thought girls wanted marriage.”

“I guess maybe some might, but not me.”

I sighed, relieved almost. “Me either.”

I kissed her then, slow and with some passion I thought she’d appreciate. My hands
moved to tip her head for a better angle and then I had her against the side of the
pool, her legs wrapped around my waist. Her belly was pushing against mine hard and
letting me know it was there and to be mindful of it.

“Not in the pool!” my dad yelled from inside the house.

Hayden raised her hand and flipped him off behind her head, never breaking away from
my kiss.

I started laughing when I heard him complaining to mom that Hayden flipped him off.

She didn’t need marriage. She was already part of the family.

Ride Height – The distance between a car’s frame and the ground.

Every time some fucker explained a little more about pregnancy I wanted to fucking
kick them. Without thinking, I sat there at my desk in early December reading a pregnancy
book when Jameson called.

“I can’t find my phone,” Jameson said, irritated and talking fast.

“You’re calling me from it.”

“No, I mean my cell phone.” I could hear the faint rumblings of sprint cars in the
back. “Can you look in my office and tell me if it’s in there?”

“Yeah, hold on.”

When I walked into Jameson’s office to find the cell phone he’d apparently lost, I
noticed a few pictures I hadn’t noticed. It was one of Jimi holding a baby in a fire
suit in only his underwear.

This family was so weird. Now I was having a baby with one of them.

Lucky me.

I ended up finding Jameson’s phone on the floor under his desk. Didn’t even want to
think about how it got under there but, nonetheless, he seemed pleased I found it.

He had Alley pick it up for him and though I’d never directly spoken with Alley, she
was very sweet to me and even handed me a bag of treats for the mommy to be.

Donuts.

I loved her.

I didn’t, however, love that it was adding to my increasing weight gain.

My stomach now looked like Adam’s. Literally the same size. I don’t know how in the
world he walked around every day like this. I mean, how was his back not killing him?

My time at work became predictable. Casten checked on me constantly. It got annoying,
and Olivia hated me even more.

It got to the point where I had to say something to Casten about it. In July, Jameson
fired her. I threw an office party for me and Bailey when she left.

Charlie had quit and after a few weeks, it was apparent he was needed around there
whether Casten wanted to admit that or not.

As Noah said, shit went south and it had created tension amongst everyone.

Cole was out of rehab and took Anna on a date last night. Surprised the hell out of
her when he showed, fully clothed too, and took her to dinner in Charlotte. He went
from a guy who brushed his teeth with Jack Daniels in the morning to in a committed
relationship with my best friend.

Casten was busy preparing for the Chili Bowl next month and I was getting fat. I hated
being pregnant. Nothing about it was fun for me. I felt like I gained weight daily.
My usual size B bra didn’t fit and now I was in a D. Casten seemed to enjoy that.

I was now wearing those fancy pants with the butt pouch in the front. I had to admit
they were comfy but I found myself constantly pulling them up. Bailey tried to tell
me I was buying too big of a size but I think they just fit that way.

Late one Thursday night, I walked down to the shop after everyone left to see Casten
and ask him to take me to dinner. I was craving Chinese food and damn it, he was taking
me to dinner whether he wanted to or not.

When I got down there it was similar to the time I walked in on him singing “Baby
Got Back” and shaking his ass. The only difference here was he wasn’t singing and
I wasn’t drunk.

My panties were immediately wet, and not from pee like they ordinarily are these days.

It was honestly like someone had opened the gates down there and when I saw him standing
there in his racing suit with his helmet getting his seat adjusted with Lane and Axel,
I asked them to get out. I did. May have been rude but I found these days that everyone
did what I wanted. They were probably afraid I was going to sit on them.

“What?” Axel looked at me as he shook his head, chuckling lightly. “We need to see
if everything fits okay.”

“Do that later. I need to talk to him,” I said, keeping my eyes on Casten who was
sitting in his race car, visor open, smiling at me. He was so excited to be racing
again.

I think he knew what I was thinking, he was reading me pretty well these days. “It
fits, man. Thanks,” he said reaching up to pull himself from the car and stood beside
it. Then, to tease me, I know this for a fact, he leaned against the side of it resting
his hands on the roll bars. “We’re good here if you guys want to take off.”

Lane and Axel knew and walked out leaving us alone. Axel got to the top of the stairs
and laughed. “You should probably lock the doors …”

Quickly as I could, which took like three minutes, I walked back up the stairs and
locked the door behind them. When I got back, he was in the same spot still leaning
into his car.

I didn’t exactly feel sexy being eight months pregnant, but I knew Casten found me
sexy since he told me nearly every day.

Shedding my clothes as I went, I was left standing in front of him but nothing but
heels and my bra and panties.

“Touch me.” I pleaded. He was cautious at first, watching his hands as they explored
my body. It felt like there was an electric shock sent throughout my body at his touch.
I shivered, not only from the temperature, but from the way his hands were touching
me.

He went to take his helmet off so he could kiss me when I stopped him and flipped
his dark visor down. “Leave all this on.”

“How can I fuck you with my racing suit on?” his voice was muffled under his helmet.

“Well,” I hadn’t thought about that. Damn. “Just unzip the top part.”

“It’ll fall off,” he said demonstrating and, sure enough, it fell to the floor.

Oh well. Once I saw him partially naked, I went with it. The helmet would be good
enough.

My belly was in the way these days so the only position seemed to be doggie style.
This time though, he tried what he could. Bringing me against the front of his toolbox,
he lifted me up on it and then pulled my hips to the edge. I thought for sure he was
going to throw his back out. Thankfully, he did not.

He tightened his hold just enough to let me know I wasn’t moving unless he permitted
me to. Covering my mouth with his, he spread my legs apart by twisting his hips from
left to right.