I go from groggy half sleeping to wide awake in a nanosecond as I sit up, glancing around the room. She wouldn’t have ducked out this early, right? Not without saying goodbye.
My mind slams back to our first hookup, when she tried to sneak out in the morning without even waking me or saying a damn word.
But that was different. We thought that was a one-time thing. Last night was—
I hear a toilet flush and smile with relief. “Hey, come back to bed,” I call, my voice coming out sleepier and raspier than I expected.
“Hang on. I will…I’ll be right there.” She sounds upset or something.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, no, I’m good. Just a…” She groans, and I can hear her splashing water on her face in the sink. “Just some morning sickness, I guess. Not exactly the sexiest thing in the world.”
Oh shit. I forgot women puke in the morning when they’re pregnant.
I jump up out of the bed and stand outside the bathroom door. “Can I get you anything? Some…” I rack my brain. “Tums?”
Tums? I’m an idiot.
“It’s okay, Matt, seriously. I don’t want you to see me like this.” I swear she laughs a little, but she still sounds really sick.
“Aw, Ellie, I don’t care. I’ve seen everything. At least let me get you a cold cloth.”
“A cold cloth?”
“Yeah…you know. A wet washcloth.”
She pauses for a long time. “I appreciate the kindness, but why would I want a wet rag?”
“Because it’ll…it helps with…” I rub my forehead, laughing. “It’s Grandma’s cure for literally everything.”
She takes a deep breath. “You’re ridiculous.”
I take that as enough of an invite to at least crack the door open. I’m surprised by how much her being sick and in pain upsets me. I mean, after all, it’s kinda my fault she’s pregnant.
“Oh no. Look at you.”
Ellie is slumped on the floor with her hair tied back in a messy knot, leaning against the glass shower door. “Hi.” She looks up at me with watery eyes and a little quiver in her lip.
“I never knew somebody who just got done vomiting could look so fucking adorable.”
She weakly smacks my leg. “Shut up.”
I smile at her, opening the cabinet under the sink and pulling out a clean washcloth. “Here. This should help.”
She narrows her eyes at me and pushes a strand of hair behind her ear. “Zofran would help.”
“Just trust me, Pukey.”
She kicks me playfully, the tiniest bit of energy coming from her lump of a self.
I soak the cloth in cold water and wring it out, shooting her a reassuring smile.
When it stops dripping, I sit on the cool tile next to her and hold the cloth to her forehead, then the back of her neck. “See?”
She shuts her eyes, leaning against me a little. “Okay…oh.” A hint of a smile pulls at her pale lips. “That actually feels really nice.”
“See?” I chuckle and press the cloth onto her skin, watching a bit of color return to her face. “I don’t know the science behind it, I just know it’s a miracle fix for anything.”
I hold the washcloth to her forehead, and she places her hand on top of mine, turning to face me. “Why does that help so much?”
“Grandma knows her shit.”
“She sure does.”
I wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her tightly into me. She folds her legs up and hugs her knees, snuggling against me.
I smile and kiss the top of her head, feeling a warm comfort fill my chest. Like she’s right where she belongs.
“I guess so much for you ever being attracted to me again,” she mumbles, still holding the washcloth to her cheek.
“Oh yeah. That’s donezo. Never again. You might as well just be a dude now, as far as I’m concerned.”
“You suck.” Her body shakes with a little laugh, and I pull her in closer.
“Ellie, I don’t think I could stop being attracted to you if my damn life depended on it.”
She sighs and smiles up at me, her face looking considerably less nauseated than a few minutes ago. “Matt, what are we gonna do?”
The question comes out less dreadful and terrified and more…lighthearted.
“I don’t know. Let’s see. Here I am, sitting on the bathroom floor with a girl who’s about nineteen leagues out of mine—”
“Oh, hush.”
“—yet for some reason she’s here with me. Oh right, she’s having my baby in just over seven months.” I kiss her forehead. “That’s probably the only reason.”