Marital Bitch (Men with Badges) - By Jc Emery Page 0,60

we’ve ever used a condom. Come to think of it, I never even thought about a condom or birth control until this moment. I had stayed on the shot for the convenience of it, despite not needing birth control. I suppose that it should have been more of a priority, but clearly it wasn’t. My brain thinks over the time frame and I realize that my shot would have been wearing off right around my birthday. And it’s then that I remember I was supposed to reschedule my doctor’s appointment because it interfered with our trip, and I just didn’t remember.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

(Brad)

Of course, I love you.

“AH, COME ON, stink. Don’t hide from me. You know he was only joking!” I shout, rushing up the stairs. As I walk into the bedroom, I find Colleen curled up underneath the covers. I crawl in behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. Her head is beneath her pillow. She refuses to move it.

“Why are you hiding from me?” I ask, somewhat afraid of what the answer might be.

“I’m not hiding from you. I’m hiding from the world. I stink,” she whines, clutching tightly to her pillow. I know that’s not the real reason, but I’ll accept this answer for now.

“Yeah, well, you just stay right there,” I say, curling around her and getting comfortable. “We have a few hours before we have to go. Let’s nap.” She doesn’t speak, but she does remove the pillow from her face and toss it across the bed opting instead, to lay her head on my arm. We lay like this for a while before she dozes off. Sometime later she stirs and her body stiffens in my arms.

"Brad?" My pretty girl's voice breaks my thoughts. She shifts in my arms and turns to face me. Only, her head is cast down and she's refusing to meet my eyes. "I'm not on anything," she whispers.

I'm a detective. I should be perceptive enough to know what she means. At the very least I understand that this statement has significance.

"I never said you were," I defend myself, thinking she thinks I'm accusing her of something. Colleen likes to fight with me, so there's a very good chance she's just throwing this out there to see how pissed off she can make me. She knows I hate it when she puts words in my mouth.

"Do you get what I'm saying?" her voice gets small, almost indistinguishable from the low whizzing of the heater as it pushes warm air through the house. The thing is, I don't get what she's saying. Though, in the back of my skull, I wonder if I really do get it and I'm just playing dumb.

I lift up her chin, forcing her to look at me. She stubbornly refusing to look me in the eyes; instead opting for staring at my ear. I use my other hand to lightly flick her nose. Immediately, she shoots me a glare.

"The hell?" She grumbles.

"Eyes front and center, pretty girl," I demand. Okay, so it's not much of a demand. If she didn't do it, what could I really do about it? Nothing. But she does look at me. Just when I think she'll never listen, she does. And that's part of what I love about this insufferable woman-- she keeps me guessing.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds important," I say. Being straightforward is probably the best option at this point. I think.

"Brad," she whines and tries to cover her face, but I block her. Without turning away she from me she says, "I'm not ON anything." It takes only a split second before her meaning seeps through my thick skull. She's not ON anything. No birth control. We've never used a condom, and it’s been great.

Not for a single moment have I ever considered birth control. It just wasn't a concern. With every other woman, I've been Captain Careful; but this is Colleen. Who cares if we have a kid? I guess that's what I was thinking at least, because the fear of pregnancy never struck me.

"Please say something," she whispers, her eyes filled with unshed tears. I smile at her as best I can. It's not that I'm annoyed with her, I'm just in shock. I don't know what to say or do right now. I can't place the responsibility on her because I never brought it up. And even if I could, I'm not pissed about the possibility. Maybe I