“What if she is pregnant?”
“She’s not. But, even if she is, it won’t change a thing for me. But to give us both peace of mind, I scheduled another appointment for this Monday. I’ll get it confirmed so that we can put Elaina firmly in our rearview.”
“That’s two more long days from now.”
“When do you want to move in?” He asked.
Harlem smiled shyly. “How does next weekend sound?”
Carter sat up slightly. “Are you serious?” He didn’t actually think Harlem would say yes on his first ask.
“From the look on your face, I should be asking you that question.” She giggled.
“No, I’m just–” Surprised. Carter stopped midsentence. “Yeah, I’m serious.”
“No take-backs?” She said softly.
“No take-backs.” Gently, Carter pressed Harlem back onto the mattress and rolled over and nestled himself in-between her thighs. “Let’s celebrate.”
Chapter 6
Monday couldn’t arrive fast enough for Carter. He was ready for the entire episode with Elaina to be over.
He had been waiting outside of her townhouse for over twenty minutes before she finally came out.
Elaina had taken her sweet time.
Carter shouldn’t have been surprised to find that she was still playing games.
Elaina got in the car. “You could have at least come to the door, Carter.”
“Why?” He was aggravated. “This isn’t a date.”
The car ride over to the physician’s office was a chore, to say the least. Elaina was like a chatter-box. She talked about everything under the sun as if Carter were interested. He just let her fill up the car with nonsensical bullshit. Soon enough, he would be rid of her.
The experience of sitting in the waiting room with Elaina was a lot different than Carter’s time with Harlem. He figured that was the difference between being with someone out of responsibility and being with someone a person actually loved.
Elaina kept trying to start a conversation. Carter would only respond in one-word answers or not at all when she asked inappropriate questions.
Elaina was irritated too. She had spent hours getting ready to see Carter, and he’d barely looked at her. Elaina felt compelled to do something to change the energy between them. She twisted around in her seat. “Are you really going to sit here and barely say anything to me?”
Carter sat calmly when he was anything but with his leg crossed over his knee, scrolling through his cell phone. “I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t like what I have to say.”
“You’re acting as if I got pregnant by myself.”
Carter frowned. His eyes knitted together as he finally glanced at her. “You’ve been playing games for over a week. How do you expect me to react?”
“I know you’re upset, but this week has been crazy. I wasn’t purposely missing our appointments. And, if anyone should be angry, it’s me. Let’s not forget that I caught you with Harlem. However, I’m willing to forgive that little transgression, so you should be willing to forgive me. After all, we’re going to be parents.”
He couldn’t imagine in a million years sharing a child with Elaina. “I’ll need to hear a doctor tell us that.”
Confidently, Elaina sat back in her chair. Fortunately, there were only a few people in the waiting room. Still, she spoke low enough for only Carter to hear. “If you had come inside, I would have shown you the pregnancy test.”
Carter pinched the bridge of his nose. “Again, I prefer to hear it from a doctor.”
“You didn’t have to drag me all across town. We could have gone to my regular OBGYN.”
There was no way Carter would have trusted that. “This physician comes highly recommended and is someone neither of us knows.”
“When did you become so distrusting?” She asked.
There was no good answer, so he decided to ignore the question and respond to his e-mails. After another ten minutes of waiting, the nurse finally called her name, “Elaina Robbins?”
“Yes, that’s me.” Elaina stood. Carter did too.
The nurse smiled. “Please follow me.”
They did as asked and was led back into one of the patient’s room. The nurse handed Elaina a gown. “You can use the bathroom over there to change. The doctor will be in shortly.” The nurse could feel the chilliness between Carter and Elaina and made a hasty exit.
Once it was just the two of them, Elaina stood in front of Carter. “I don’t need a bathroom. I wouldn’t be showing anything that you haven’t already seen.”
Carter exhaled as if he were bored, and his response was dry. “I have no interest in seeing you naked, Elaina. None.”
Elaina was pissed that she wasn’t able to get a rise out of him. Still, she called his bluff and began to undress. Carter shook his head in disgust and again focused his attention on his phone as Elaina removed her clothes.
“Carter?” She stood butt naked, and the only reaction Elaina was able to generate was boredom.
“What?” He didn’t even look up from his phone. Carter had seen enough tits and ass in his life that Elaina’s did absolutely nothing for him. She stopped producing any feelings in him well before he started dating Harlem. “Put the gown on.”
Elaina was screaming on the inside. Nothing she was doing was working. Carter had completely dismissed her. Elaina was frustrated, but she still had a couple
