Smolder (19 page)

Shona
gasped and looked up at me with her mouth popped open in a surprised
O
shape.

“What
are you talking about?” she asked.

I
couldn’t contain my amusement anymore and laughed out loud. “I’m talking about
the two of you blushing like idiots just a minute ago, him flying out the door
like someone lit a fire, and you acting like you can’t sit still. It’s so
obvious you two hooked up. I want details!”

Shona’s
face reddened even more before she slumped back into the chair and sighed.
“God, Sadie, I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Ha,
I knew it. Start at the beginning and leave nothing out,” I commanded happily
and sat up in my bed.

“It
happened last night,” she began. “I went to a bar for a drink and didn’t know
he was there until he pulled some stupid asshole away from me when he wouldn’t
leave me alone. After that we ended up chatting, which led to lots of drinking,
which led to us getting a cab and going to my apartment. This is by far the
stupidest thing I’ve ever done, sleeping with some musician that I barely
know.”

“Well,
one night stands happen some times,” I said as comfortingly as I could.

“Not
to me, Sadie,” she said, her face reddening even more. “God, how could I have
been so stupid?”

“Shona,
relax,” I said, reaching out my hand to her. She reached out and grasped my
hand in hers as I continued, “this isn’t the end of the world. So you had one
drunken night with a hot guy. What’s the big deal? You’re young, you’re
gorgeous, and you got a chance that most Eternal Down fans would kill for. Chock
it up as a moment of insanity and move on.”

“Well,
that was the plan this morning after he snuck out of my apartment. I thought I
was in the clear but then of course, he’s here visiting you and I had to see
him. Fuck me, why does the universe hate me?” she whined, dramatically dropping
her head into her hands.

“Girl,
it’s okay,” I laughed. “I had a few one nighters when I was in college and I
eventually ran into a couple of them. It’s uncomfortable but you move past it.
I know that it’s tricky because you essentially work for his boss, but it’ll be
fine. I promise.”

“I
hope so, love,” she replied. “I just have to make sure I don’t do anything so
stupid again. Jessie has been a great boss and I don’t want to disappoint her.
I’m afraid she’ll be upset with me when she finds out.”

“Trust
me, girl, she won’t be. Everything will be okay. So…”

“So
what?”

“How
was the sex?”

Shona
laughed and asked, “Are you serious right now?”

“Yeah,
come on, tell me. I’m not going to be getting any for a while because the
doctor wants me to take it easy for a bit so I need to hear a good sex story to
tide me over. Spill it.”

She
sighed and replied, “Honestly? It was pretty good. The parts I can remember
anyway.”

I
smiled and sat up a little further in my bed.

“Ha,
details. Now.”

“Well
he’s a really good kisser, for starters. And he’s good with the hands.”

I
laughed and asked, “Good with the hands? What does that even mean?”

“It
means exactly what you think it means,” she said, smiling. “Sorry, I’m not good
with talking about this kind of thing.”

“Oh
well that’ll definitely change the more you hang around us, girl.”

“One
can only hope you ladies will rub off on me,” Shona exhaled deeply and smiled.
“So, when are you getting out of here?”

“Hopefully
sometime this afternoon. I sent Jude out for the morning so I expect him back
soon and then hopefully he can spring me out of this place. I can’t wait to get
home.”

“Oh
I’m sure. He’s probably just getting everything ready for your homecoming. I
don’t know him well but he seems like he’s a really sweet guy.”

“He
really is, Shona. He’s literally the most amazing man I’ve ever known in my
life. Before we got together, he was one of my best friends and I knew I could
always count on him for anything and everything.”

“It
must be nice to have a connection like that with someone,” she said dreamily.
“I can’t wait to get to know him properly.”

At
that moment Jude walked into the hospital room carrying a huge bouquet of pink
and white roses in one arm and a small gift bag in the other.

“Okay,
listen babe, I know you told me to take some time for myself today but I was
going crazy trying to find something to do so don’t be mad that I’m back so
soon,” he said as he closed the door with his foot. When he looked up and saw
Shona sitting in the chair closest to my bed, he greeted her with a smile and
said, “Oh, hey there, Shona. Nice to see you.”

“Hi
Jude, how are you?” she replied warmly.

“I’m
great,” he answered as he walked to my bed. As he rounded the foot of the bed
he walked to me and dropped a kiss on my forehead and I sighed. “Just couldn’t
wait to get back to my girl.”

“It’s
okay Jude,” I told him. “I was about ready to call you anyway.”

“Everything
okay?” he asked me with a concerned tone as he placed the flowers and gift bag
on the stand next to the bed.

“Oh
yeah, I’m fine, I just want to get the hell out of here,” I whined and he
chuckled.

“Listen,
I can go find a doctor and ask them to come in if you’d like,” Shona offered as
she stood up. “It’ll give you two a minute alone.”

“Are
you sure?” I asked her and she nodded at me and smiled.

“It’s
no trouble. I’ll be back in a few,” she replied and grinned at Jude as she
exited the room.

As
soon as the door closed, Jude leaned over my bed and kissed me. “I can’t wait
to get you home, princess.”

“Believe
me, I can’t wait for that either. I’m so sick of lying in this damn bed. It’s
as hard as a fucking rock.”

“Don’t
worry, I’m taking you home today even if I have to pick you up and carry you
out,” he replied and I smiled.

“I
like that idea,” I answered, smiling at him. I really stared at him and felt
butterflies all through my stomach as I took in just how gorgeous he was. His
hazel eyes were so beautiful as the bore into mine, beaming with so much love.
Suddenly I was overcome with emotion and tears involuntarily started pouring
from my eyes.

Jude’s
expression turned serious and he asked, “Babe, what’s wrong?”

“I
just…I just love you so much Jude,” I cried. “I don’t know if you really know
how much.”

He
tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and caressed my cheek with his thumb.

“Believe
me, it can’t be more than I love you,” he stated, leaning in to kiss my cheeks
where the tears had fallen. “Are you sure that’s all that’s on your mind?”

Nodding,
I replied, “Of course. Why do you ask?”

“Well,
you’re not the crying type and even though you’ve been a bit more emotional
since we’ve been together, you’re especially weepy lately. I think the doctor
just needs to check you out one more time before we leave, just to make sure he
isn’t missing something.”

I
wiped my face with my hands and replied, “Jude, I’m okay, I promise. I think
everything from the last few days is just getting to me, that’s all. I’m sorry
to worry you but I feel all right.”

“Still,
Sadie, it’ll make me feel better if the doctor just takes a look. Do it for
me?”

I
sighed and answered, “Oh all right. He’s got to check before he releases me so
I wouldn’t really have a choice anyway.”

Jude
chuckled and said, “That’s my girl.” He handed me a tissue from the box that
was at my bedside and he kissed my forehead.

“So,”
I asked as I grabbed the tissue and dabbed my eyes, “are you going to show me
what’s in the bag or do I have to guess?”

“Oh
yeah,” he replied as he reached over and picked up the little bag and placed it
on my lap. “For you. Open it.”

I
smiled as I opened the bag and took out a small black velvet box. I opened it
and gasped when I saw a gorgeous silver locket resting on a delicate silver chain.
The locket wasn’t in the traditional heart shape but an oval.

“Jude,
this is beautiful,” I said as I took it out of the box and laid it in my palm.

“Turn
it over,” he instructed and when I did, I saw our first initials engraved into
the back along with our wedding date. I had to hand it to him…when he bought
gifts he did it right. “Do you like it?”

“It’s
amazing. I love it so much, thank you,” I replied and leaned in to kiss him.
“Can you help me put it on?”

“Sure,”
he answered, taking the locket from me and unclasping it before putting it
around my neck. As soon as it was fastened, I touched it with my fingertips and
smiled. “It looks beautiful on you, princess.”

“I
can’t wait to put our picture in it,” I replied. “That way I’ll always have you
close to my heart.”

“I
hope that’s where I always stay,” he answered and we kissed softly for a brief
moment before there was a knock at my door.

“Come
in,” I called and when the door opened Dr. Hastings walked inside.

“Good
afternoon Mrs. Miller. How are you feeling today?”

“Pretty
good but I’d be much better if I was on my way out of here,” I said and he
smiled at me.

“Well
that’s the plan, Sadie. You’ve made significant progress in the last twenty
four hours and I’m very optimistic. I do want to run one last round of blood
and urine tests before you are released and if that comes back good you should
be able to go home.”

“Thank
God, let’s get this over with,” I answered hastily and Dr. Hastings chuckled as
he left to order my tests.

Shortly
after he left a phlebotomist and a nurse came to take samples from me and while
we were waiting for the results to come back, Jude had all of my flowers and
gifts taken to our car and he helped me get a shower and then dressed into a
tee shirt and some comfy sweats. I was just pulling my hair into a messy bun on
top of my head when Dr. Hastings knocked on the door and Jude told him to come
in.

“Well,
you look like you’re ready to run out of this place, don’t you?” Dr. Hastings
asked and I nodded.

“Oh
yeah, just sign my papers and let me get the hell out of here,” I replied and
he chuckled.

“Is
everything okay, doctor?” Jude asked. “Is my wife all right?”

“Well,
I got Sadie’s results and everything came back clear except for one thing,” the
doctor said.

Jude’s
eyes went wide as he asked, “What is it, what’s wrong with her?” Great…this was
just what I was afraid of. Just when things were close to perfect something had
to come along to mess it up.

“Just
tell us, Dr. Hastings. Is it bad?” I asked.

He
shook his head and said, “No, it’s pretty small but it’ll become bigger as time
goes on.”

“What
does that even mean?” Jude asked frustratingly.

Smiling,
he answered, “It means that you two are going to become parents in about eight
months. Congratulations, Mrs. Miller, you’re having a baby.”

Jude

I
was pretty sure the floor was about to cave under me. Or perhaps the ceiling
was going to crash onto the top of my head. Either could happen and it wouldn’t
shock me more than the words I’d just heard come out of Dr. Hastings’ mouth.

Sadie
was pregnant…holy fucking shit.

As
Sadie gasped and grabbed my arm in excitement, I stood there rooted to the
spot, completely stunned. How the hell did this happen? Except for a handful of
times when we first began sleeping together, we made sure to use protection
every time we had sex. I tried to remember a time when I’d forgotten a condom or
one had broken lately and I was coming up empty. I was trying so hard to think
of when it could have happened that I was sure there was smoke coming out of my
ears from the wheels that were rapidly turning in my head.

“H-h-how…w-when…”
I couldn’t form a coherent sentence so thankfully Dr. Hastings answered the
question I was unable to ask.

“The
level of HgC in Sadie’s blood work and urine were very faint, so much so that
our initial testing when she was admitted didn’t catch it. Of course you’ll
need to make an appointment with an obstetrician to get an official due date,
but I’m guessing based on these results that you are about four or five weeks
along and you conceived around Thanksgiving, possibly a few days before.”

A
few days before Thanksgiving…our wedding night. The first time we made love
after our wedding I wasn’t wearing protection. Oh fuck…

“Jude,
oh my God,” she exclaimed blissfully. It was no surprise to me that Sadie was
elated. She loved children and had made no secret of the fact that she wanted a
family.

“I’ll
prescribe you some prenatal vitamins along your with your other prescriptions
but as far as pain killers I’m afraid you can’t take anything stronger than
Tylenol for right now since you’re pregnant.”

“Is
it possible the other medications I had while I was out could’ve hurt the
baby?” she asked, concerned.

“I
don’t believe that the baby is in any danger from that, but as I said, you
should follow up with your obstetrician. Just make sure to start your vitamins
right away and take it easy for the next few days. If you start having any
headaches or any trouble as far as your head injury, definitely call your
doctor or come to the hospital to get it checked, okay?” She nodded excitedly
and he finished with, “Okay, well I will go start your discharge paperwork and
as soon as it’s processed you should be good to go. Take care Sadie.” He shook
our hands and congratulated both of us again before he left.

When
the door was closed, Sadie squeezed my hand and stood up to face me.

“We’re
having a baby. Oh wow, that’s so amazing. Isn’t that amazing?” she asked
happily.

“U-uh,
y-y-yeah. Of course,” I mumbled out.

“Are
you okay? You’ve not really said much about this. How do you feel?”

I
blew air through my lips and answered, “Honestly? I don’t know…I’m a little
surprised. Fucking shocked is more like it.”

She
furrowed her eyebrows and stepped back. “Are you not happy about this, Jude?
Tell me the truth.”

“I
haven’t had more than five minutes to process this, Sadie. We haven’t even been
married for a month and our family just found out about us. I thought we’d have
more than two days to enjoy being together in the open before we were worrying
about car seats, pacifiers, and diapers,” I replied.

“Well
I thought we’d have more time too, Jude, but sometimes these things happen and
it’s not necessarily a bad thing. I, for one, am extremely happy and very
excited about this baby and whether you are ready for this or not, it’s
happening,” she snapped.

I
sighed and put my arms on her shoulders before I replied, “I know it is, Sadie,
and I’m happy that we’re having a baby together, really. I just need to catch
up a bit, that’s all. Five months ago I was a single guy and now I’m married
with a baby on the way. It’s just a lot of life in a short amount of time and I
just need a second to process it.”

“Well
you better get it together soon, Jude,” she stated.

“I
will, baby, I promise. For now, can I just take you home and get you
comfortable?”

“I
think that sounds like a great idea,” Sadie answered.

“Okay,
let’s get you out of here. I’ll call one of the girls to stay with you and make
sure you keep your feet up so I can get your prescriptions filled and then I’ll
get dinner for us. Any requests?”

“Something
completely unhealthy and fattening so I can put some weight on this little
monkey in here,” she said, patting her stomach. As we got Sadie’s discharge
papers and we left the hospital, I knew she was completely right; I did need to
get my shit together about this baby fast because whether I was ready to be a
father or not, I was going to be one before the end of the next summer.

A
week later, Sadie was doing much better and was back to her old self, attitude
and all. No one knew she was pregnant yet and we were keeping it a secret but
only because I still hadn’t been able to clear the air with Beau. He’d been
cordial when we’d all get together, but he’d not yet actually spoken to me one
on one. With Christmas just a week away, Sadie wanted to be able to tell our
family about the pregnancy during our holiday gathering and urged me to talk to
Beau and get things settled once and for all. Actually, she threatened to rip
my balls off if I didn’t do it, so that pretty much made my mind up for me.

I
called Beau and asked if he wanted to meet me on Friday night at our favorite
steak house so we can talk and get things straight. He agreed to come and we
both hung up after the shortest conversation we’d ever had. I hated to admit it
but I was nervous about facing him after everything had come out. However, now
that Sadie and I were having this baby, it was important to me that I make
things right with him for not just her sake but the sake of our child. The
little boy or girl cooking in Sadie’s oven needed their uncle in its life.

When
Friday rolled around and it was time for me to meet Beau, I was actually
getting a bit nervous. Despite all that had happened and everything he’d said
to me, I still thought of him as one of my best friends and always would.

Sadie
and I were sitting in the kitchen where she was finishing off a taco salad I’d
went out and bought for her. As I watched her stuffing a bite into her mouth,
she asked me while still chewing, “So, are you ready to do this?”

“As
ready as I’ll ever be, I guess. You sure you’re going to be okay while I’m
gone?”

“I’m
good, Jude, promise. As soon as I’m finished eating I’m going to go get
comfortable on the couch and watch Netflix.”

“Good,
I don’t want you doing anything more strenuous than lifting a remote control,”
I replied and she laughed.

“Are
you going to be this way for the entire pregnancy?” she asked me.

“Probably,”
I answered. “You’re already tiny enough as it is and you’re growing a person
inside you. It’s a lot of work.”

“Yes
it is but I think I’m up to it,” she said. “Me and our little monkey will be
okay until you come back.”

“You
better be,” I commanded and she smiled. “Oh there was a question I wanted to
ask you before I left.”

“What’s
that?” she asked before she took her last bite of food.

“I
know that we were going to wait until Christmas to tell everyone you’re
pregnant, but I wanted to tell Beau about it first. Tonight actually.”

“That’s
not really a question,” she replied, looking at me intently. Her expression was
blank and I couldn’t figure out if she was happy I wanted to tell him or angry.
“Why do you want to do that?”

“Well
I’m trying to work all of this out with him and considering how pissed he was
when he found out we were married, I think he should be the first to know that
you’re pregnant and I should be the one to tell him. I hope I’m not wrong but I
really believe it would help him hate me a little less.”

“Or,”
she said, “it could completely backfire and make him want to beat you to
death.”

“Gee,
thanks for helping me feel better,” I grumbled as I stood up and pulled my keys
from my pocket. “I won’t tell him if you don’t want me to but this is just
something I think I should do.”

Sadie
looked at me for a long moment before she sighed and smiled.

“Okay,
you have my blessing. Tell Beau you knocked up his little sister. It’s your
funeral I guess,” she said, laughing.

“You’re
a brat,” I replied before I walked around the table and leaned down to kiss
her. “I’m going to head out. You take your hot little ass into that living room
and don’t move off the couch until I get home.”

“What
if I need to pee?” she asked jokingly.

“Hold
it,” I answered and she laughed. “I’ll be back soon. Love you princess.”

“Love
you more, big guy. Be careful on your way, it just started snowing,” she
instructed.

“I
will. I’ll be back soon,” I said and with one more kiss I left the house and
made my way to the restaurant. When I got there, I parked and hurried inside
out of the cold. Once I got inside the door, I saw Beau shaking snow out of his
hair and his back was turned to me.

I
took a deep breath and walked up to him. Tapping him on the shoulder, I simply
said, “Hey Beau.”

He
turned around and nodded at me. “Oh hey man.”

“You
been here long?” I asked.

“Nah,
I just got here.”

“Me
too. I made reservations so we wouldn’t have to wait,” I said and he huffed out
a laugh.

“Even
if you didn’t they’d probably let us have a table anyway,” he replied and I
nodded in agreement.

“Well
yeah, but I guess I didn’t want to be a dick celebrity this time,” I answered
and he laughed.

We
both walked to the podium and the hostess blushed as I told her my name and
that I’d reserved a table. She took two menus with shaking hands and stammered
out for us to follow her. As we walked behind her, several people that were
eating dinner looked up and gasped as we walked by. I’d reserved the table that
was in the far back corner…our usual table when us guys got together. It was
the farthest away from most of the other tables and even though we usually got
a few people that would come up to us and ask for autographs, it was a well
known hangout for Bad Blooded Rebel and customers usually left us alone.

As
soon as we were seated, I ordered a beer and Beau got a club soda. Our waitress
quickly brought our drinks to us and she struggled to keep a straight face as
we placed our orders. After she left the table, I looked at Beau taking a drink
of his club soda and grinned.

“You
know, if I didn’t know you were a recovering alcoholic I’d think you were gay
for drinking that girly shit.”

Beau
smiled and said, “Screw you man. I hope your beer tastes like piss.”

I
laughed and took another drink and after I swallowed, I replied, “Yeah, it’s
nasty.” A few moments passed before I cleared my throat. “Okay, well I’m going
to break the ice here and get this uncomfortable evening started by apologizing
to you. Beau, I’m so sorry things happened the way they did. Nothing went the
way Sadie and I wanted it to.”

Beau
leaned back in his seat, took a deep breath, and crossed his arms.

“How
did you think it would go, Jude? Did you think I’d be happy to find out that not
only had you been secretly fucking my sister for months but that you ran off
and married her without telling anyone, not even her own brother?”

I
hung my head and replied, “I knew you wouldn’t be and we were never just
fucking, Beau. That’s why I wanted to tell you about us way before you found out
but Sadie wanted to keep it just to ourselves so I did what she asked. I always
will because I love her, man.”

He
was quiet for a long moment before he answered, “I know. I know you do but it’s
just taken me by surprise. It’s not just that Sadie loves you because she
always has and it’s not that you finally settled down, which would’ve shocked
the hell out of me no matter who you ended up with. It’s the fact that you used
the word ‘love’ in the same sentence as my sister and it’s just…I don’t know,
Jude. It’s just been hard to wrap my mind around.”

“Well
for what it’s worth, I am really sorry we-no,
I
hurt you. You asked me
when we moved in together to promise not to touch her and no matter how much it
took me by surprise or how hard I fell for her, the fact is I didn’t honor that
promise so for that I truly apologize. I just couldn’t see past her to how much
damage I was causing.”

“Well,”
he said as he uncrossed his arms and shrugged, “all things considered, I guess
the damage was pretty minimal. We’re still a band despite my angry outburst at
the hospital, Jagger’s still alive despite me wanting to murder him with my
bare hands, and Danni let me back into our bedroom the night you called and
asked to meet me here so I guess there are worse things that could be happening
in my life besides my sister and my best friend being in love and married.”