Tripping (Iced #2) - Kristine Allen Page 0,82

character.

“Yeah. And I was on antibiotics for like three weeks, remember?” she questioned nervously.

“Yes,” I drawled out. I was still confused. “Are you sick again?”

She was holding her breath, and I lifted her chin with the edge of my forefinger to meet my gaze. When her woodland eyes met mine, I saw tears shimmering in them.

“Babe?”

Her breath escaped in a whoosh. “I’m pregnant,” she whispered.

Everything seemed to stand still. The background noise faded, and the only sound I heard was the blood rushing in my ears. We’d talked about kids before we got married. We both wanted to wait about five years due to our careers.

“Are you mad?” she asked, and her voice quivered. I blinked and knew I must’ve looked like a fucking owl.

There was so much running through my mind so quickly, I couldn’t get any of it out. She mistook my silence and a tear slipped free to run down her cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” The stuttered sob that followed snapped me out of my shocked stupor.

I gave my head a brief shake and kissed the track of her tear. Then I wrapped her up tightly in my arms. The news finally sank in, and the shock gave way to this weird warmth that started in my chest and spread to my extremities.

A grin kicked the corners of my mouth up. “We’re gonna have a baby,” I said in questioning wonder. She nodded against my chest. “We’re gonna have a baby,” I repeated happily. She drew back to look at me in confusion.

“So you’re not mad? I know we decided on four years before we started trying, but my doctor thinks it was because of the antibiotics. She said there are mixed beliefs about it, but she tends to believe the studies that antibiotics interfere with birth control.” Her brows drew together as she watched me to see if she was reading me correctly.

My mom once told me that babies happened when you least expected it. Looked like she was right. “No, baby, I’m not mad.”

My grin was contagious, because she broke out into a watery smile. I swooped her up and spun her around. She laughed as she sniffled. I looked around to the few people that were watching us like we’d lost our minds.

“We’re having a baby!” I announced to them. Clapping and smiles followed as they cheered and whistled. Then I realized I was squeezing her tight and gently set her down.

“Fuck! I’m sorry! Do you think I hurt it? We need to find out if it’s a boy or a girl. I can’t keep calling my kid an it. How soon can we tell what the sex is? Oh! Can we do a gender reveal party? Holy shit! I’m gonna be a dad. You’re gonna be a mom. Fucking hell, we’re going to be parents!”

By that time, she was laughing at my rambling. “Yeah, that usually is how it goes,” she said with a giggle.

“We need to go tell everyone!” I clasped her hand and rushed back into the party. I let out a loud whistle over the music and conversation. Everyone stopped talking and looked at me like I was nuts.

“Hey, everyone! I thought tonight was the best night of my life because we’re going to the final round. I was right and I was wrong.” Everyone looked really confused. I wanted to tell them that was how I’d felt five minutes ago.

I dipped my head to kiss my wife, then I met the gazes of my friends, teammates, and our families with a huge smile. “We’re having a baby!”

My mom started crying, hugged Bleu’s mom, then rushed us to frame Bleu’s face and laugh as she cried. She then wrapped her in a big hug. Everyone started cheering, and I raised my glass of water like a king toasting his subjects. The rest of the night was spent accepting well wishes.

By the time we got home, we were exhausted. I helped Bleu get ready for bed because I wanted to worship her. As I stripped my jersey off her and peeled her jeans down, I rained kisses everywhere I could reach.

Kneeling at her feet, I held her by her hips and laid the side of my head to her still-flat abdomen. “I had no idea you were coming. I have no idea if you’re my son or my daughter, but I love you already. We may mess up from time to time as we try to get the