"Can you zip this for me?" Natalie asked.
Joe tugged at the zipper of her black skirt, but couldn't get it to budge past the point Natalie had already pulled it to. Her eleven weeks pregnant body wasn't having it. Joe had noticed that her normally flat stomach had started to jut outward to a small bump that was noticeable on her otherwise lithe body, but he hadn't been about to point it out – and he wasn't going to then, either.
"I think the zipper's broken." Joe lied.
"I swear this happened overnight." Natalie whined. "What am I going to do? All of my clothes are form fitting. None of them are going to fit because I'm getting fat."
Natalie yanked her articles of clothing, which had overwhelmed Joe's small and sensible wardrobe to one small corner, out of his closet piece by piece. His bedroom quickly became a collage of bold colored pencil skirts, floral and animal printed blouses, and the occasional cocktail dress.
"It is not fat, Natalie. It's just your uterus starting to expand."
Natalie turned to him and glared. "Have you been on fucking Wikipedia?"
"Web MD." Joe said, dodging a leopard print skirt that came flying his way.
"Jesus."
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and let his hands rest on the slight curve of her abdomen. Her first instinct was to push his hands away from her stomach, but instead, she found herself placing her hands over his and holding them there.
"You're beautiful. Your body has to change, Nat." Joe said gently.
"That's why being a woman isn't fucking fair." Natalie whimpered. "You don't have to get fat, and this is half your fault."
Natalie turned around and dropped her head to bury her face in his shoulder. He embraced her while he tried not to laugh at her sudden mood swing.
"What about this?" Joe reached around her into the closet and pulled out a printed black and white faux-wrap dress with ruching across the front. "I bet it'll fit, and it'll hide the bump. I'm guessing you haven't told our friend Linda that you're pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's baby?"
"Nope. She's a psycho bitch. I'll be damned if I'm pushing her crazy buttons on purpose." Natalie said, taking the dress from him and holding it up. Her face brightened. "I think this will work. Good job."
"I don't know why you're freaking out." Joe sat down on the edge of the bed. "I thought you weren't working today anyway. You can always go shopping."
"I'm not going to work." Natalie took a manila envelope from on top of his dresser and tossed it to him. He opened it and pulled out a small stack of papers attached to a blue back. He quickly skimmed through the paperwork and raised his eyebrows when he realized what it was.
"Divorce papers? Wow, we're not even married. You could just dump me, you know." Joe joked.
"I'm taking them to Jason today. They are way overdue." Natalie struggled to clasp her bra, then threw it down in frustration. "This doesn't fucking fit anymore either."
"I kind of like that part."
Natalie rolled her eyes and shot the bra at him like a slingshot. She started digging through the dresser drawers for another bra. "I have whored myself out for him long enough. Do you know how many donors have smacked me on the ass? How many benefits and galas I've been his arm candy for? Not to mention embezzling money for his campaign. And for what? So he could get himself a fuckboy?"
"To be fair, you got yourself one, too." Joe said with a smirk. Natalie patted him on the cheek and smiled.
"I'm giving him the house." Natalie took the papers back. "I just want out. I'll find an apartment or a condo or something."
"Why not just live here with me?"
"Here?"
Joe laughed. "Face is, Natalie. You've lived here for months. I have no closet, dresser, or sink space left."
"Moving in would make this awfully… Official."
"I think me knocking you up made it pretty official."
"Would I be able to redecorate?" Natalie asked. "This place looks like it was painted with the Sherwin Williams Lonely Bachelor Pad Collection."
"That would sell, you know." Joe said. "Well, you'd have to tweak the name."
"I'll think about it."
"Well hello, my dear husband." Natalie called out sweetly later that morning. "I've brought you a present."
Jason looked up at his wife as she entered his office. Natalie dropped the papers onto his desk unceremoniously. He eyed them laying on his desk before putting on his glasses and picking them up to read them. She kept her distance, standing across from him her arms crossed.
"What would we tell the press?" Jason finally asked, looking at her above his glasses.
The press. Natalie almost laughed. His number one concern, and at one time, hers. How many years of her life had Natalie spent caring about "the press" above all else? From what she wore and her hair and makeup to what she said to them and when. How many times had she masterminded responses to them on his behalf? She was far smarter than Jason – probably could have been better at his job than he was – but he had the benefit of a family name of a long line of politicians.
"Good Lord, you've been a politician for how long, and you still can't make up a good statement?" Natalie rolled her eyes and thought for a moment. "You spin it like this. 'We have decided to dissolve our marriage as our lives have headed in different directions, but we remain close friends. Natalie wishes Jason the best in the rest of his term as state senator, and Jason thanks Natalie for the support she's given him over the years.'"
"And what do you want out of this?"
"You keep the house. We split the rest of the assets 50/50. No alimony. Just keep it simple and quick."
"Where is all of this benevolence coming from, Natalie?" Jason leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "I'm not buying that you aren't trying to take me for all that I'm worth in this."
"The way I see it, we have enough dirt on each other to completely destroy each other. I'm not interested in doing our own remake of 'War of the Roses'; I just want this façade to end."
"Why now, though?"
"You'll find out anyway." Natalie stepped back and sank down into the black leather couch she had chosen for his office. "I'm pregnant."
Jason nodded, unshaken. "I thought your breasts looked bigger."
"I'm surprised you were ever interested enough in them to notice."
Jason crossed the room from his desk and sat on the coffee table across from her. "Caputo's?"
"Well, it's obviously not yours since you haven't had sex with me in about two years." Natalie retorted.
"What happens when the press finds out you're pregnant?"
Natalie laughed bitterly. "I don't really give a flying fuck. You can tell them I was abducted by aliens and impregnated, for all I care. Being married to your career isn't going to be my concern anymore. I'm not your ghostwriter anymore. Let Gavin figure out what to tell them."
"Do you love him?" Jason asked quietly.
"I care about him."
"That isn't what I asked."
"I know." Natalie replied flippantly.
The truth was that she hadn't quite worked out her feelings for Joe herself. Somewhere along the way, they had gone from co-workers who hated each other to fuckbuddies to confidants with benefits to having an actual relationship with a baby on the way. Admitting that she might be falling in love with him was terrifying; it put her in a position to be hurt by a man again.
Jason took her hand in his. She stared down at the golden band that was still on his finger but hadn't been anything but a showpiece for years. "Believe it or not, I do want you to be happy, Nat. When we got married, I really didn't know how I felt about men. I did love you, Natalie. I still do in some ways."
"Just never in the ways I wanted and needed you to." Natalie whispered, blinking back tears.
"I'm sorry."
Natalie yanked her hand back. "It doesn't matter anymore. I'm surprised you're not fighting against this."
"What's the point? Like you said, we have enough on each other to ruin our lives permanently and land us both in jail. Let's just fly to the Dominican and get it done quickly." Jason suggested. "That'll help keep the press out of it, too."
"Aww, the same place we went on our honeymoon." Natalie shouldered her purse as she stood. "Life really does come full circle, doesn't it?"
"I'll have the travel arranged, and I'll text you the details."
"Then tell Gavin that I'll be needing a full spa day while we're there, and that he can put that and the rest of the trip on your personal credit card." Natalie said with a smirk as she sauntered out the door.
Jason half laughed. "Now that's more like the Natalie I know."
Joe returned home that evening from practice with his band to find a huge, fully-packed Gucci suitcase by the front door. A knot immediately formed in his stomach. Natalie wasn't anywhere in sight.
"Natalie?" Joe called out.
"Hey." Natalie walked out from his bedroom, carrying another piece of luggage. She greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.
"What's with the luggage? You have a business trip?"
"Oh, no. Jason and I are just flying to the Dominican Republic for a quick divorce." Natalie dropped the matching Gucci carry-on next to the suitcase. "I'm just trying to figure out where my passport is. It must be in my desk. I'll have to stop by work."
"A Dominican quickie divorce?" Joe repeated. "That sounds like it's something from a TV show."
"Yes, they're for soap opera characters and rich real people who can't stand to be around each other anymore. We fly down there, stay a couple of nights, say 'I don't anymore,' and fly back free people. Just like that."
"You need all of that for a couple of nights?"
"Have you met me? I did some shopping today for clothes that fit."
"So you're leaving the country with Jason." Joe said uncertainly.
"You can't honestly be threatened by me flying to the Caribbean with my gay husband to get a divorce." Natalie laughed.
Joe shrugged and looked away. He remembered the last time that a woman had packed luggage and left it sitting by his front door; Lisa had left him for Hank with the baby he had helped raise. He couldn't imagine losing another woman and baby at the same time and facing that pain again. He'd barely survived it the first time.
Natalie frowned slightly, realizing that he actually looked concerned. She reached out and touched his cheek lightly. "Hey. I promise I'm coming back. Haven't you realized that we always end up coming back to each other?"
"That's true." He remembered all of the times she'd ended up in his bed and the time he had shown up at her door, even when he thought they were done with each other.
"Look, my flight doesn't leave until morning… What about if we do something you can think about while I'm gone?" Natalie pulled him to her aggressively by his belt buckle and began fumbling with it.
"Wait." Joe stopped her hands. "I want to try something different."
"Are you talking about that thing we were sexting about the other day?" Natalie smirked. "I don't know if we have the supplies. We might have to go to Lowes."
"No, I want to take it slow."
"Slow?" Natalie echoed.
"I want to really touch you, hold you, kiss you…"
"You are such a woma—"
Natalie was cut off with a little gasp as he swept her off her feet – literally. He cradled her to his chest and captured her lips with his as he carefully carried her to his bedroom. When they got there, he laid her on the bed and moved his lips down her neck. Joe was so slow and gentle with his kissing, sucking, and nibbling that she found herself nearly breathless. He broke contact between his lips and her skin long enough to slide her dress off and over her head, tossing it to the floor.
Her black bra went next as he teased each new piece of skin he revealed with hot kisses. She undressed him down to just his boxer shorts. He eased the lace panties that matched her bra off, then stopped for a moment and just stared down at her naked body, his hand softly brushing through her hair.
"You are so beautiful."
He lowered his mouth to her inner thigh and continued his soft kissing. She felt him groan against her skin as she reached inside his boxers. Her back arched as his lips moved higher and higher.
"Oh, Joe… Please." Natalie begged.
He teased her a little longer before acquiescing and joining their bodies as one. Even then, his movements were slow and gentle. It was the opposite of what they usually did. His eyes caressed her body almost as much as his hands did. She couldn't handle all the sensations he was throwing at her for long. She came apart in his arms, and he quickly followed, breathlessly crashing down beside her and drawing her close to him.
That night, nestled in his arms with her head against his chest, she fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat and woke more rested than she had in years.
Review are love. :) I'm also open to suggestions!