She sighed angrily as she stared at his back, her left hand unconsciously coming to rest on her swollen stomach as her wedding band shone in the dim light.
"Of course he can sleep," she growled. "He doesn't have a stomach the size of a goddamn watermelon."
"I can't sleep on my side… And I'm not allowed to sleep on my back! Stupid doctor… What does he know? I slept on my back with June and Louise and they turned out fine! But no! The stupid doctor had to open his fat mouth in front of Herbie… And now I'm not allowed to sleep on my back. So I can't sleep!" she complained to no one in particular as she stared at Herbie's back.
She felt the baby kick and she glared at the bulge in her stomach, "Now what's your problem? And leave my bladder alone. I'm tired of running to the bathroom!" As though the baby had heard her and decided to spite her, she felt the sudden need to pee. Sighing irritably, she rolled onto her other side and threw her legs over the side of the bed to waddle to the bathroom.
Rose smiled despite herself as she stared at Herbie sleeping peacefully, one hand resting on her stomach again as the other went to the curve of her back. "It's a good thing I love you," she told his sleeping form as she hauled herself back into the bed.
Thoughts of their wedding sprang to her mind as she glanced down at her wedding band again. It had been a simple ceremony, to be sure.
Her darling baby June dancing down the center aisle and throwing rose petals of assorted colors into the air to call to the floor around her as Louise followed quietly after with their rings. Both girls had worn matching rose pink dresses.
That was the theme: Roses.
Herbie thought it was cute.
Rose thought it was revolting.
Everything was rose petal pink: the girls' dresses, her flowers, Herbie's and her father's bowties.
It was sickening.
Then, on Papa's arm, she had been paraded down the aisle in a satin, off-white gown that Herbie had picked out. So that everyone could stare at her and her swollen stomach like she was a sideshow act at a freakshow.
And, of course, everyone told her she looked beautiful: the picturesque blushing bride.
She thought she looked like a blimp.
She knew how they were talking about her, all her father's friends that he'd asked to attend. She could hear them whispering, talking about her. Like she was a whore.
"Little Rosie is getting married again!"
"Did you see her yet? She's not little by any stretch of the imagination."
"I heard she's pregnant!"
"She definitely is. I'll bet she tricked this poor sap into marrying her… It's probably not even his!"
And they'd had to stop the ceremony at least five times cause the baby seemed to enjoy kicking her bladder.
She remembered, vividly, cursing Herbie and the dress he'd chosen for her. Could he have picked something with a longer train and more poof for his fiancée that was twenty weeks pregnant? Please? Cause then she might have been able to trip even more each of the seventeen or so times she'd scurried to the bathroom.
But it had been worth it. Herbie was happy, overjoyed even, and so were her girls. Papa had even taken the girls for the night so she and Herbie could attempt to have a proper wedding night.
And, oh! Their wedding night! Liquid heat surged between her thighs just thinking about it.
Herbie had slowly stripped Rose of the huge dress that had made her look- in her opinion- like a snow-beast, kissing and sucking on the plump, newly exposed flesh before teasing and caressing her until she begged him to make love to her.
"Herbie?" she whispered quietly. The memories of their wedding night had her wanting him now.
"Herbie?" she repeated slightly louder as she gently shook him. "Honey, are you awake?"
"Herbie!" she finally shouted, shaking him roughly.
Herbie woke with a start, flying into a sitting position and turning to face her, "What? Rose, honey, are you okay? Is it the baby?" He reached for her stomach, placing his palm across the swell of her stomach.
Rose smiled playfully, taking his hand in both of hers and bringing it to her lips. "Oh, good." She sucked purposefully on two of his fingers, one of her hands going to his lap and resting on his thigh, "You're up."
"Of course I'm up," he told her, his mind still too groggy to comprehend her attempt at seduction. "You woke me up. What's wrong?"
"Nothin's wrong, honey," she smiled, batting her eyelashes. She kissed his fingertips gently, slowly moving her hand from his thigh to the slight bulge in his boxers. "I just wanted…" She trailed off, cupping him gently as she leaned up and captured his lips with her own.
He sighed against her lips, leaning downward so that she was lying comfortably again as he ran his fingers through her flattened red curls. He broke the kiss, his forehead resting against hers as he stared into her chocolate eyes, his eyes drifting downwards to her swollen stomach for an instant before snapping back up.
"What is it, honey?" she breathed, her full lips moving slowly over the sensitive skin of his neck as she slipped her fingers into his boxers. She pulled back to look at him and she saw that his eyes were trained on the swell of her stomach. She took a deep breath before turning his chin to make him face her. "I'm here, dear. Look at me."
He smiled before pressing his lips to hers again, his tongue darting into her mouth as he pulled her nightdress up in fistfuls, caressing her thigh slowly. He ran a hand over one of her full breasts, cupping and squeezing gently. She moaned in response, arching slightly as she closed her fingers around his length.
"Herbie," she breathed against his lips. "Oh, God… I want you, honey." She opened her eyes and saw that he was staring at her stomach again. Tears sprang to her eyes and she was instantly overwhelmed with insecurity.
"Am I too fat? Is that what it is, Herbie? You don't want me cause I'm fat?" Rose demanded, tears falling from her eyes as she pulled away from him. "I don't turn you on? I'm not attractive? Well, I'm sorry that my body disgusts you!"
It took some effort, but she managed to roll over so that she wasn't facing him any longer, instead staring at their bedroom door as hot tears spilled from her eyes.
"Honey, no," Herbie cooed, placing one of his hands on her waist as he pressed a kiss to the back of her neck.
"No, don't bother," she cried, swatting his hand away and wriggling away from his kisses. "You don't need to have sex with me since I'm so repulsive. Don't touch me." She was crying freely now, gesturing wildly as she refused to face him, too overcome with her insecurity and sexual frustration. "I'm just so fat and ugly, it's a wonder you can even sleep in the same room with me without getting nightmares! I suppose you only married me for the baby since God knows I'm too fat to be sexy or attractive. No wonder you don't want to make love to me."
"Rosie, it's not like that at all," he whispered, kissing her neck again and wrapping an arm around her so she couldn't pull away. "I just didn't want to hurt the baby. If I wasn't so afraid of hurting the baby, I'd take you right now, over and over again. I love you and you know I find you sexy and desirable." He slid his hand between her thighs as he kissed and sucked at sensitive points on her neck.
She swallowed, her eyes fluttering close as she leaned back against him. "Herbie," she whimpered, her breathing quickly becoming erratic and uneven.
He slid his fingers into her panties, teasing her as he nibbled on her earlobe.
"Oh, honey," she breathed, her nails digging into his forearm in an attempt to increase the light pressure he was applying to her clit. "Herbie, please… Just-Oh, God-Take me."
"You know what the doctor said about you lying on your back, Rose," he whispered, tracing her slit with a single finger. She moaned lightly and squirmed in response.
"Can't I-Can't I be on top?" Rose panted, her hips bucking against his fingers. "The doctor didn't say anything about that, right?"
Herbie's response was tugging her panties down her legs before he helped her maneuver so she was straddling him.
She crooned, moaning deeply in her throat as she eased herself down until he'd entered her. She moved on him slowly, her eyes tightly closed in a state of bliss as her hands reached for the headboard to help control her movements. He reached up and pulled her hands from the headboard before pulling her nightgown over her head and covering one of her breasts with kisses.
"Herbie!" she breathed, her muscles clenching around him suddenly. Her body tensed before shivering as her nails bit into the wooden headboard.
Herbie stared at her in shock. She never finished before him.
Her head lolled back and she clenched him between her thighs, moaning loudly as she started moving again, riding him harder and forcing him to fill her.
"Did you-?" he breathed, unable to get over his confusion. She had just climaxed, hadn't she? Shouldn't she be tired now?
She nodded once as she increased her pace, groaning as one of her hands left the headboard to pull his mouth to hers. "Herbie! Oh, God!"
He kissed away from her mouth, kissing and sucking a path down her slender neck back to her breasts.
"Mmmnnnmmm," she moaned, her head lolling back again as she tightly clutched the headboard. "Herbie! Honey-Oh, God!" He ran his teeth over her taut nipple, relishing in her shudder of delight. "Oh, Herbie! Oh, oh, OH!" she cried, her muscles squeezing him as she surrendered to the orgasmic waves of pleasure washing over her from breast to groin.
He bit into her breast as he released within her, and she squealed louder, grinding downwards and forcing herself to accept his entire length.
Her skin shone with a thin layer of sweat as she panted and huffed above him, releasing her grip on the wooden headboard to push his hair out of his eyes before caressing his cheek gently. She ran her free hand through her hair, teasing her red curls away from the sweat that lined her forehead, before weakly motioning for him to lift himself up to her level for a kiss. She kissed him hungrily, moaning lightly into his mouth as she started grinding her hips downward.
"Rose, my God," Herbie gasped, breaking the kiss. "Are you still raring to go?"
She grinned sheepishly before pulling his mouth hard against her own.
"Rosie, honey, I-I can't."
Rose pouted, "Why not? I thought you said you find me sexy and desirable… Why don't you want to make love to me? I love you. And I want you, Herbie."
He smiled and sighed, gently disentangling her and easing her into a sitting position against the pillows. "Honey, I do want to make love to you," he accented each word with a soft kiss to her neck, making her groan quietly, her eyes drifting closed.
"Herbie," she breathed, her fingers lacing in his hair as she pulled his mouth hard against her own.
"Shhh, honey. Just relax," he told her, pressing her back into the pillows as he kissed her. He slid his hand between her thighs again and spread her slowly, his thumb circling her still-engorged clit. She moaned loudly into his mouth in response.
"Oh, God!" she panted, breaking their kiss as her head lolled back and her hips bucked against his hand. "Herbie! Please!" She reached behind her with one hand to grip the headboard again as her other hand skirted around her stomach to cover Herbie's between her quivering thighs. She panted and groaned with pleasure as her back arched, her body shuddering as she inched closer to another orgasm.
"I love you, Rose," he whispered before covering her full lips with his. He pushed just a fraction harder against her clit and she cried out in ecstasy, her body squeezing as she fell limp against the pillows, finally spent.
Silently, Herbie rolled her onto her side and curled behind her, pulling her against him as he kissed the back of her neck and pulled her frizzy curls out of her face. "Shhh, it's okay. Go to sleep, Rosie."
Rose panted, struggling for a proper breath, as she pulled Herbie's hand to her lips to kiss his palm lightly. Then she brought both of their hands to rest on her swollen stomach and she felt Herbie's smile of contentment against her skin as the baby kicked their joint hands. "I love you, Herbie. So much."