Bear My Babies

Melissa spotted Thomas as soon as she made it downstairs. He was leaning against the wall of her building, his hands in his pockets. Melissa’s mouth went dry at the sight of him. His tall frame demanded attention, and his rugged face required it.

He shrugged off the wall when he saw her come out of the building. Melissa waved shyly at him. It was dark, but she was certain his eyes widened when he saw her. She did a tiny happy dance in her head. She made the right choice by dressing up tonight.

“Melissa, you look amazing,” he said. His voice deeper than it was on the phone.

For a moment, Melissa was positive he was going to kiss her. When he held out the crook of his arm for her to take, she felt a sliver of disappointment race down her spine. She took his proffered arm and walked with him to his car. They made small talk on the way over, and he held all the doors for her as they made their way into the restaurant.

Neither of them said another word until they sat down at the table and ordered their drinks. Why was she fantasizing over something they’d said wasn’t ever going to happen?

Melissa watched him over her menu as he conversed with the waiter, and was shocked when she realized she liked him. She wasn’t sure when it happened. It had only been a week and a few short phone calls, but that didn’t seem to matter. Her body and mind were accepting him as the man that not only was going to be the father of her child, but the man she wanted to have a life with. It made no sense to her at all, and until she was off the hormones, she couldn’t trust her body and the emotions it thrust on her. Yet there was something there.

She hid behind the menu as she tried to process what she had concluded.

“So what did you decide?” Thomas asked, making Melissa almost drop her menu.

Was he a mind reader?

“Excuse me?”

“For dinner. Their chicken is really good here.”

Melissa’s heart slowed down when she realized he wasn’t a mind reader. Thank goodness for that. She also made a mental note to study if there were paranormals out there that could step into another’s thoughts.

Thomas was right: the chicken was incredible. Throughout the meal, he had Melissa laughing so hard people around them were giving her dirty looks. Thomas gave them back, raising one perfectly-shaped eyebrow at them as if daring them to say something.

When he mentioned one of his co-workers getting so drunk the night before, he hit his head on a bar stool and then got right back up to dance, Melissa snorted, causing him to throw back his head and release a belly laugh.

“That is so exciting about the Hilary Dalton account! Do you think you’ll get to meet her?” Melissa asked without thinking.

Why would she bring up a young beautiful woman she couldn’t compete with when was having a great time with a sexy man who wanted to have a baby with her?

“Actually, I have a date with her this Saturday. Do you want me to get you an autograph?”

Damn that man. In one statement, he ruined a perfectly good meal. The chicken she just finished now sat in her stomach weighing more than it did when it was on her plate. Thomas took a drink as Melissa tried to school her features and not show the hurt his words caused her.

“I don’t really know who she is, but I bet Tilly would love an autograph,” Melissa forced herself to laugh as she willed the tears burning the back of her throat to stay where they were.

***

Thomas was having a great time with Melissa. When she stepped out of her building wearing that little black dress, he had to discreetly adjust himself before walking over to her. The little nerdy doctor had legs for days, and curves he could sink his teeth into.

During dinner, he kept reminding himself about how bad it would be to get involved with Melissa. He didn’t want any drama involved with his child. Even though his di*k was more than happy to dismiss his desire for a conflict-free life. He had to stop himself on several occasions from asking about Bruce and what he was to her.

He refrained from calling Blair more times than he was comfortable to admit just to get him to tell him who Bruce was. Blair would have delighted too much in it anyway, and Thomas was always happy to withhold pleasure from his friends.

Dinner was more fun than he had ever had with a woman. The slight bruising under her eyes showed she was tired, but even that couldn’t take away from her beauty. He wondered if he could convince her to have s*x more than once just to make sure it would take. He immediately squashed that thought in his mind, telling his di*k to stop trying to take control.

After his comment about Hilary, he watched her shut down. Her face lost the glow it had on it all night as she laughed and seemed to enjoy the night. He wanted to switch the subject with every intention of bringing the glow back to her face.

“So how are the treatments going? I know we talk about them over the phone, but it never feels long enough to know exactly what’s going on.” Thomas figured steering the conversation back to their inevitable encounter would help her forget about Hilary.

Her reaction to his date was something he hadn’t expected. When she talked to Bruce while he was on the phone, she had no problem talking about her date while Thomas waited on the line like some lovesick cub hoping the girl he liked would pay attention to him. In fact, if he wanted to point petty fingers, her conversation with Bruce led him to ask Hilary out on a date to begin with. He knew he was being ridiculous—Bruce could just be a colleague.