“You sure? They’re probably not going to be all that sexy.”
“Fuck sexy. I want my tits taken care of.”
I did laugh then and cursed at his ability to make every worry he’d caused fall away with just the sound of his voice.
“What time is the sonogram tomorrow?” Adela called from the bathroom.
“Two,” I said around a mouthful of Doritos.
“And Everett is going?”
“Yup.” I grabbed the remote, clicking through channels.
Adela exited the bathroom in a cloud of perfume and hairspray. “How fucking exciting. Are you finding out the gender?”
“Too early for that, but yeah. Don’t exactly have the funds to go out and buy stuff that’s not yellow or green once he or she arrives.”
She fluffed her hair with one hand, a sly smile on her face as she checked her phone with the other. “Okay, don’t wait up.” She kissed the air, heading for the door.
“Same guy?” I called, shoving another Dorito in my mouth and crunching. She’d been seeing some guy from the dance studio where she worked. I’d met him once as he was leaving our place and still pulling his shirt on, and though he’d been in a hurry to leave, he seemed nice and pretty into her.
“His name is Bentley, and yes.” The door closed, and I gave my attention back to the TV.
My phone beeped, and I dusted flavoring onto my pants before snatching it from the coffee table.
Prince: How’re you feeling?
I stared at those three words, confused.
Me: You’re still here?
Prince: I said I would be. But I flew back to Atlanta for a meeting. Got in this morning.
Huh. My fingers hovered over the keypad, the little letters teasing with their infinite ways to cause trouble.
I locked my phone and set it down, dropping the remote when I saw Jaws was on. I then did my best to immerse myself in cheese supreme goodness.
Banging on the door woke me, and I startled into a sitting position, the bag of Doritos falling from my lap to the floor.
An infomercial was playing on the TV, and I squinted at the time on my phone. It was almost one in the morning. I’d passed out hours ago. I was falling asleep earlier and earlier each night.
Bang, bang, bang.
I frowned at the missed call notification from Aiden and the five missed calls from Everett before dropping my phone and forcing myself up.
Carrying my half empty glass of water with me to the door, I took a long sip before checking the peephole. Golden hair and a stubble-lined cheek stared back at me.
I opened the door, and Everett all but fell through it, stumbling into the hall table and cussing as he tried to right himself. “Holy shit, where’d that come from?”
“The thrift store,” I said, still trying to wake up and take in what was happening.
Everett chuckled, shaking a finger at me before continuing down the short hall into the living room. “You’re funny, Clover. Funny and beautiful.”
Closing the door, I set my glass down on the hall table and followed, my stomach souring. “How much have you had to drink?”
“Only a little.” Everett flopped onto the couch, then kicked off his boots. When he tried to yank off his socks, he fell to the floor with a thump.
“Only a little?” I asked when, groaning and laughing, he made no move to get off the floor.
I walked over, and he turned his eyes up at me. He squinted, shying away from the bright globe in the ceiling above us. “Yeah, but listen. Don’t be mad, ’kay?” Rolling side to side, he tried to get up. “Just, just… don’t be mad. It’s really fucking all right.” Then he stilled, his face paling. “Oh, shit.”
Vomit flew out of his mouth, flooding the hardwood floor and dribbling down his chin as he coughed. “Jesus,” he wheezed, coughing some more. “Haven’t done that in a while.”
My heart screamed and shattered, but I couldn’t move. I just stood there, watching as he struggled to keep from puking again.
“Come on,” I said, trying to stop my frenzied emotions from entering my voice, and reached for his arm. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
He slapped a hand to the floor, then slipped, not realizing he’d put it in his own vomit, and slid into the puddle of brown mush on his back. “Aw, fuck.”
Aw fuck, indeed.
Not once had I felt the urge to puke during this pregnancy, but that did it.
I turned and bolted down the hall, making it to the toilet