much better than where I was. Just go now, okay? Go back to the bar. Find that woman. Have fun. I’m going out.”
“To do what?” I asked. “To let some guy fuck you? I don’t think so.”
“You don’t get to tell me what I can or can’t do with my body,” Maya said. “I know what I’m doing. I would never hurt our baby.”
“That’s what you really want to do?” I asked.
“Goodbye, Cole,” she said. “I’m going to be late for my date.”
Date…
Anger flowed through me.
Maya walked by me.
“You better fix your shirt again,” I said. “You look pregnant.”
I looked back and Maya was pulling at the front of her shirt again.
She walked to the door and turned her head. “Lock up when you leave. I don’t know when I’ll be back. Might not be until morning.”
She winked and left the apartment.
I stood frozen in place.
In one swift move, Maya cut my legs off… and cut my heart in half.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Maya
That’s right. I went on a dating app and got a date. So what?
I opened the door to the nice Italian style restaurant and looked around.
There were stringed lights along the top of the wall and the place smelled like warm garlic. The soft murmur of conversation welcomed me, as did a young woman hostess.
Before I could tell her what I was doing there, a man walked up to me and touched my arm.
“Maya?”
“Clyde?”
“That’s me,” he said.
He had a round face, slicked back hair, dark brown eyes, and was in need of a shave.
But he was company for the night.
And he…
He pointed to my stomach. “You look amazing.”
I smiled and blushed.
He knew that I was pregnant.
There really was no hiding it anymore.
I just wanted to make Cole think that I was able to hide it. I wanted him to writhe and seethe, thinking about another man touching me, kissing me, having me.
“I have us a table,” Clyde said.
He touched my back and led the way.
The table was in the corner of the restaurant near the front window.
It was probably the best place to sit.
He pointed to a bottle on the table.
“It’s white grape,” he said. “I figured we could drink it for fun.”
“You don’t have to drink that because of me,” I said. “I’m fine with water or soda.”
“No,” Clyde said. “I want to make a toast to you. To us. For tonight. Is that okay?”
“Sure,” I said.
He pulled my chair out and I sat down.
He lingered and stared down at my stomach.
Then he crouched down. “You’re glowing, Maya. You look stunning. It’s just such a radiant thing. You’re carrying life inside you. I mean, other guys… you know what? Take all your athletes and superheroes and have them. You’re the real superhero right now.”
I smiled and swallowed.
Okay… dude… ease up…
Clyde took his seat and poured us each a glass of white grape juice.
“A toast,” he said. “To us. To the three of us. Right?”
I gave him a weak laugh. “Yeah. The three of us…”
He took a sip of the white grape juice first.
Then I did.
I didn’t like the taste of it.
“This is gross,” he said.
“Right?” I asked.
“Sorry about that. I tried.”
“It’s fine. It was sweet. I liked the gesture of it.”
“You know what I like?” Clyde asked.
“What?”
“Your pregnant belly. I like it a lot, Maya.”
He stared at me.
He was dead serious.
Ut-fucking-oh.
I tried to shift the conversation to life.
To work. The city. Hobbies. Careers.
Anything but my stomach.
I realized really quick that the reason why Clyde was okay with me being pregnant was because pregnant women were his thing.
His fetish.
“Let me ask you something,” he said. “Did you know when it happened?”
“What?”
“When you got pregnant. Did you know?”
“Oh. Uh… no. I didn’t find out for a while. My roommate actually told me I was.”
“Ah, right,” Clyde said. “She could see the changes.”
“Changes?”
“Well, your breasts,” he said. “I mean, I hope I’m not stepping over the line here, but the shape. You can tell right where the milk is forming. I can easily picture what your normal breast is compared to now. And they’re only going to get bigger. Fuller. Heavier. Engorged with… milk…”
Clyde licked his lips.
I slowly smiled. “So, Clyde, you said you work in software. Is that fun or boring?”
“It’s a job,” he said. “It’s not who I am. I don’t work to have an image, you know? I know who I am inside and outside the office. Not many people can say that. Most people are chained to their desks. They forget about their true calling. Their wants, needs,