“Okay,” I say. “How about tomorrow night? Your house?”
“I can’t wait,” he says as I make my way to the door. We share a kiss as I step outside, and I make sure to close the door behind me.
As I walk to my car, I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. I pull it out, smiling to myself as I see who is calling. It’s Amy.
“What’s up?” I ask as I reach my car.
“What’s up with me? What’s up with you? You told me you were meeting Blake again today. How did it go? Tell me everything!”
“Yeah, it went pretty well. Nothing too exciting.”
I look over my shoulder, as if someone might be watching me. The lie is an obvious one, and even I don’t believe myself.
“Girl, you have got to be the worst liar. Just tell me! Something obviously happened. What was it? Sex? A blowjob? Oh, you definitely blew him didn’t you? You dirty little…”
“I didn’t blow him,” I hiss into the phone. As I do, I climb into the car and strap myself in. “But we did almost have sex. Like really close to it.”
“Amazing! Where are you now? What are you doing? I want to hear everything. Oh wait! Is that the time? Shit! Look, I have a client. What are you doing later?”
“Nothing.” I chuckle as I shake my head at my friend’s eccentric nature.
“Okay, I’ll call you. I want to hear everything.” She hangs up the phone, leaving it beeping in my ear.
I shake my head again as I start up the car. As I do, I notice that my hand is still shaking. In fact, my entire body is. That moment with Blake has left me a wreck. I need to get home as soon as possible and take care of this aftershock. If I don’t, then I truly will explode.
Chapter 17
BLAKE
I know that Carrie isn’t too fond of her apartment, and as I pull up out the front of it, I can kind of see why now that I see it in the fading daylight. It’s not that it’s a terrible place or anything like that. It’s more that there is nothing inherently great about it.
First of all, it’s tiny. I can see that from the outside. And as I walk to her front door, I instantly spot the dirt and grime lacing the walls. I guess it to be pretty old and has most likely passed through a dozen hands by now.
My main concern isn’t so much for Carrie’s living conditions, but for those of my soon-to-be unborn child. I can’t have it being born in a place like this. I don’t even want it in a place like this while it’s in the womb. This worry is further compounded as I knock on Carrie’s front door, and a piece of the drywall crumbles and falls to the ground.
“Coming,” I hear her call as she rushes around the apartment.
It sounds like a damn hurricane inside as she runs back and forth.
I remain where I am, rocking back and forth on my heels as the sound inside slowly dies down. The lock unclicks, and the door flies open, almost off its hinges.
“Hey,” Carrie says, as soon as the door is open.
She looks a little flustered, like she’s just run a sprint. Actually, as I step into the apartment and see the attempted clean-up job that she has done, I figure that she is more akin to having just run a marathon.
“Quaint,” I say as I look over the apartment.
It’s not a messy place, or at least, not anymore. It’s a studio apartment. I guess the entire mess to have been shoved into a corner somewhere where I can’t see it.
“Shall we go?” She asks, still sounding flustered as she picks up a small bag.
The way she tries to push me out the door, I’m sure that she doesn’t want me seeing any more of that apartment than I have to.
“Is that all you’re taking?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she says, still trying to lead me out of the building.
“Listen, I’ve been thinking,” I say as I turn back on her, halting our exit. “I don’t think that one night will be enough. In fact, I would be shocked if it were. While you are ovulating, I think it would be best if you stay at my place.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that we’re going to have to fuck a lot, and I think you should stay at my house permanently until you have conceived. What do you think?”
As I ask I notice her trying her hardest not to smile. She is really fighting against it. “Sure, I’d like that,” she finally says. “I’ll just grab some more stuff. I’ll be quick, okay?”
She hurries away, throwing her overnight bag onto her bed as she begins to grab more clothes from her closet. As she does this, I remain where I am, looking around the apartment. The inside is exactly as I thought it would be. It only confirms what I know to be true, that my baby can’t be born within these walls.
That’s the biggest reason for asking her to stay with me. Sure, I would like her to be around while her fertility window is open so there is more of a chance of conception. But if this all goes well, I imagine that I will be asking her to stay while she is with child. But that’s a conversation for a later date.
“Finished,” she exclaims, catching me off guard. I’m still looking around the apartment as she sidles up to me, bulging suitcase in her hand.
“Let me.” I take the suitcase from her hand and lead her out the front door to my car.
“I always forget how nice this car is,” she says as she climbs in the passenger seat. “Like seriously,
