The Other Side

“Absolutely.”

“Mark? Mark, hello?”

It took a moment for Mark to remember that he had his cell phone to his ear and that Stephen was on the other end. He had called to remind Mark that he was due a block of free time and he should make the most of it. Unfortunately when he had said that Mark’s mind had wandered to Charli and what he could do to her with his free time.

“Sorry, Stephen, my mind was wandering.” He tried to focus on his coach. “You were saying?”

“Are you feeling okay? You’ve been really distracted the last couple of weeks.”

Mark grinned. That was an understatement.

“You could say that.” He said lightly.

In the two weeks since that night, Charli had spent more time at his apartment. She claimed she was keeping an eye on him as his concussion could hit him at any moment. It was a lie but Mark wasn’t complaining. There had only been two nights where she hadn’t slept with him in his bed. She had practically moved in.

Mark hadn’t been in a relationship for a long time and none of his girlfriends had moved in with him. So he had been surprised when he hadn’t panicked at the thought of Charli being around his apartment so much; he had welcomed it and found it the most natural thing in the world.

There was no doubt about it. He had fallen in love with Charli. He didn’t know how Charli felt but was sure she felt the same. And that made him feel good.

“How’s Charli?”

Mark grinned and sat back. Charli was at her apartment, claiming she wanted a quiet night without any distractions so she could go to her hospital appointment in the morning without being delayed. Mark hadn’t wanted her to go but knew she was right, promising to pick her up. It felt strange without her in the apartment.

“She’s doing fine. We’re going to her twelve-week scan in the morning. I’m picking her up at half pasteight.”

“Will you find out if you’re having a boy or a girl or do you want a surprise?”

“That’s the twenty-week one.” Mark raised an eyebrow. “I thought you’d had a baby.”

“She didn’t inform me I had a child until after the birth. As a result I’ve never been to a scan.”

Mark laughed.

“Well, there’s your answer.”

Stephen grunted. Then his voice softened.

“Have you made up your mind on her yet?”

“You know I have. I love Charli and I want her in my life, no doubt about that.” Mark had confessed to Stephen and Roberto about his feelings the week before and had received no amount of teasing, saying his bachelor status was at risk. He sighed. “But I haven’t told Charli yet. She doesn’t know what she wants.”

“But she’s virtually living with you and I’m guessing she sleeps in your bed with you.” Stephen sounded guarded. “She’s not leading you on, is she?”

“No, that’s not her style.” Mark sighed. “I’m not going to force her to give me an answer yet. She has had a few tough months, what with Henson and everything.”

“Is he still bothering her?”

“Regularly, both in person and online. He’s been trying to taunt her on her Facebook. She’s putting a restraining order on him. Should go into effect at the end of the week.”

And hopefully the stress Charli was carrying would dissipate. Mark didn’t like seeing her worried because Henson was around the corner, going from begging to have her back to threatening to get rid of her baby for her.

“Let’s hope that does something.” Stephen said grimly. “Stress can harm a baby as well.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to the baby, Stephen.” Mark was certain of that. “I won’t let it.”

Henson wasn’t going to ruin the chance he had at happiness by getting at Charli. There was no way he was ruining what they had between them. Mark was going to become a father and he couldn’t remember looking forward to anything more in his life.

He just needed to get Charli onto the same page and see if she would have him more permanently in her life.