said.
“Here he comes now,” Cole said.
Cole stepped back and swung.
He punched Clyde in the jaw and Clyde fell to the floor.
“Find some other pregnant chick to hit on,” Cole said.
“Cole!” I yelled.
He looked at me.
I felt everyone staring at us.
The wait staff and management were on their way.
“We better go, Maya,” he said.
“I didn’t even get to eat,” I said.
Cole grabbed both plates of food and rushed toward the front of the restaurant.
I couldn’t believe what was happening.
I ran after him.
“The ravs are pretty good,” Cole said.
He carried both plates of food down the street, into a car, and when the car stopped at a random spot, he carried the plates out of the car and up a hill to where we were sitting right now together.
He ate the rest of Clyde’s food while I ate my own.
The raviolis were a little cold by then but still delicious.
I put the plate on the ground and looked at him.
“Don’t say anything,” he said.
“How can I not?”
“You went on a date with some guy with a pregnancy fetish.”
“You were at a bar trying to pick up some half-drunk woman.”
“That wasn’t my intention, Maya,” Cole said. “And I didn’t even…”
“What? Only because I called you.”
“There’s one more breadstick,” he said, changing the subject. “You should eat it.”
“Why? To feed the baby? So I get fat?”
“No,” Cole said.
He looked forward.
I noticed the stars gently twinkling.
It was kind of a rare thing to see the stars in the city.
“So is this where you bring women to seal the deal?” I asked. “To throw some cheesy lines at?”
“If need be, yes,” he said.
“What was the point of all that, Cole? Do you really want to keep me hidden like a bad secret? Do you really want to control me in and out of the office?”
Cole set his attention on me.
Instead of answering me, he leaned in and kissed me.
His lips gently touching mine at first.
Then came his left hand.
Stroking my cheek.
His lips parting my lips.
Our tongues touching and swirling together for a few seconds before Cole closed his mouth and pulled away.
“It made me jealous, okay?” he confessed. “I want to figure this out. For both of us.”
“Oh, this is the sex talk,” I said. “You’re looking to get laid.”
“And you’re not?” Cole asked.
I stared into his eyes.
Fuck, he was gorgeous.
And he was built like a rock.
And he knew how to fuck.
And he knew how to touch and taste me.
“I’m not some leftover woman,” I said. “Or your second choice.”
“Of course not, Maya,” Cole said. “I would never do that to you.” He waited a few seconds, then he grinned. “So… do we have a deal…?”
I didn’t answer.
Cole moved his left hand from my face to my stomach.
I put my hand to his.
Right on cue, I felt the baby actually kick hard for the first time.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cole
I took the long way back to my place to give myself a chance to think.
Once inside the super fancy apartment, I poured myself a drink just to ease my nerves.
Then I got changed and left.
Another car ride through the city and I ended up at the other apartment that was mine.
Well, Maya’s apartment.
I opened the door and found the place quiet and empty.
“Maya?” I called out.
Two steps later, I saw the light from under the bathroom door peeking out.
I hurried to the bathroom door and before I could open it, she did.
When she saw me, she screamed.
I started to laugh at the screech of her scream, but something came flying at my head.
I felt a thud and I stepped back, putting my hands up to protect my face.
“Maya!” I yelled. “It’s me! You knew I was coming over!”
“Cole?” she screamed. “What the…”
She gasped for a breath.
I stood outside the bathroom and noticed she was in nothing but a long, thick, black towel.
Her hair wet, resting against her shoulders. Tiny droplets of water trickling from the ends of her hair down her chest, quickly absorbed by the towel.
“Are you okay?” Maya asked.
“I’m fine. What did you throw at me?”
“A bar of soap,” she said.
I looked at the floor and saw the white bar of soap.
I picked it up and handed it to her. “Note to self… bars of soap hurt.”
“It’s a fresh bar,” she said. “It was the first thing I could grab.”
“I was kind of hoping that towel was going to fall off though,” I said with a grin.
“Oh, please, tell me this isn’t your fetish. Creeping up on someone and catching them naked and then fucking them. I