Dear Baby Gecko,
Listen here you fidgety little one, I love feeling you move and it makes your momma's heart so happy, but you think we could take it easy on my bladder for a bit. Momma's got a lot on her mind and her heart right now, especially when it comes to your father. I know you love him already, I can feel you react to him and I think he's getting used to you too… but no fair playing favorites when I'm carrying you around.
I love you already. – Kate Fuller.
Hey kid...guess you can hear me, so, hi. - SG
Kate and Seth are spending a weekend on the beach in Galveston in an effort to get to know each a little better. It's the first part of July and that hot Texas sun probably isn't Kate's favorite by this point in her pregnancy. Seth's been his version of good for almost a month and now that he'd got Kate alone…well he thought he was ready for this. Kate's fighting against her own insecurities, but she's great people in her corner to help her find her confidence. And while the lovebirds are away Team Blue Eyes has set to finishing that nursery for Baby Gecko, which with the self-control these two have I'm sure it won't be over the top at all…um yeah right.
WARNING:
We are diving a little into Seth's past a bit here – so while I am keeping it mostly light: there is a mild trigger warning for mentioned past child abuse. Also ADULT situations between Seth and Kate – as in sex.
Notes:
Thank you, thank you for your patience with this update. I know it took forever. I'm fairly certain it was worth the wait. I am overwhelmed with the response to this story – I know I say this with every update, but I don't think you guys realize how much your comments mean to me. There are moments where I am exhausted and sad and reading your comments makes my heart lighter and puts a smile on my face.
I sincerely hope you enjoy this update. THANK YOU for reading!
Chapter Seven: Love is not easily angered; Anger is the last thing on Seth and Kate's Minds Right Now
…
(26 weeks in, Thursday)
Kate looked at the dress in the garment bag for the third time, then at the clock; maybe just pack a backup dress? She rubbed her hands over her belly and her overactive little one, sighing she pulled out the simpler sundress and put it in the bag with the emerald green one. It would give her an option if she chickened out and couldn't convince herself to wear the vintage looking number. Her finger felt naked without her opal ring, but her fingers kept randomly swelling, so it was now hanging from a thin chain around her neck. She examined herself in the mirror one more time and decided that she could do her make-up when they got to Galveston, it was an hour drive and she'd probably doze off anyway. She should pee before they left. Dear Baby, maybe we take it easier on kicking my bladder tonight? Please? I'm nervous enough as is.
She could hear Richie and Eddie roaring with laughter and she zipped up the bag, before grabbing it and her purse.
"What's so funny you two?" Kate questioned as she walked into the main room.
Seth took the garment bag from her, "Nothing. They've both got brain damage is all. This the last of it?"
"Yeah. Did you want to take a shower before we leave?" She glanced at Richie who was fighting back a laugh, whatever joke she missed it must have been a good one.
"Naw. I figured I'd take one we got down there." He shrugged, "Speaking of, we should get going."
Kate nodded. "Okay."
"Have fun." Richie and Eddie offered in nearly perfect synch.
Oh, she was so gonna get this joke out of Richie later, now she had to know. She was genuinely excited about going to the beach and enjoying some quiet time with Seth. She needed to figure out what she and Seth were to each other independently of the baby between them. "We'll have a good time I'm sure. Oh, I should grab my camera to take pictures." The beach and the sunset would be amazing this time of year.
Eddie cleared his throat, "Please don't."
"Really, that's okay." Richie snickered.
"Huh? I'm so confused." Kate cocked her head to the side.
"Like I said they've got brain damage, ignore 'em." Seth groused, "Let's go."
"Okay, just let me grab my camera real quick." Kate hurried back to her room and grabbed her camera slipping it into her purse, before snatching her pillow too. She figured out that a pillow under her belly was required for sleeping comfortably the nights she didn't fall asleep with Seth and even some of those nights she still needed the extra support. Joys of being pregnant.
She hugged the pillow to herself and nearly collided with Richie, who'd walked back down the hallway with Eddie, who commented, "Careful, Angel I'm not paid up on my collision insurance."
"Noted, but what's going on." She wondered before mocking a gasp, "Oh no, is this the intervention were you guys tell me not to go?"
"Well, you are about to spend four days alone with him, so…" Richie started before Kate smacked his arm.
"Be nice you."
"I'm trying to be nice." Richie adjusted his glasses, "Matter of fact, we figured we'd be nice and paint the nursery for you while you're gone."
"Really?" Kate smiled brightly. That would be such weight off her shoulders that would be one more thing off her checklist.
"Yes, really." Eddie tapped her nose, "But we do need to know how you want it done."
Kate pressed her lips together. "You know what? Richie's seen my Pinterest board, you geniuses to come up with something because my baby-brain is fried." She started to walk back down on the hallway, as Seth came back in the front door.
"Oh, you're the one that showed him that infernal site?" Eddie folded his arms over his chest.
Kate laughed, "Sorry Eddie, guilty as charged. All I ask is that its gender neutral, other than that I trust you two to come up with something amazing."
"I've got some ideas, Sis. Don't worry, you'll like it." Richie winked.
"Okay." She took the bottle of water Seth offered her. "I'm ready. I just wanted an extra pillow."
"Nothing over the top." Seth pointed his finger at Richie and Eddie, who both held up their hands as if to say: who us? He wrapped his arm around Kate's shoulders, "The kid's gonna have a mini-theater by the time those two are done."
Kate giggled and leaned against him, just enjoying the easiness of their contact. He held the door for her so she could climb into the car and they pulled out of the driveway.
"So before we get anywhere, I just want to remind you that this doesn't need to be anything more then us just spending time alone." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge her reaction.
Kate barely resisted rolling her eyes, "Is this gonna be the 'no means no' speech again?"
"It's the 'stop means stop' speech, and I'm dead serious about it. If you aren't comfortable with anything we're doing at any point you need to tell me. There is no point of no return moment, that's a load of bullshit that assholes tell girls. I don't care if we're both naked and I'm about to…"
Kate covered his mouth with her hand, "Do you always need to be colorful?" She squealed and pulled her hand away as he licked her fingers. "Gross. Are you six?"
"Seven and a half actually." He smirked, but caught her hand and kissed the back of it. "And you were not complaining about my tongue on your neck two days ago, which by the way isn't even my best move."
"I'm pretty sure it's still just the hormones" She turned up her nose and looked out the window. "Have you been to this place before?"
"Been to Galveston, plenty. Haven't been where we're staying since it got remodeled. It's right on the beach though and plenty private, which is good 'cause after tonight it might get busy with Fourth of July coming up." He flicked the turning signal as they pulled onto the highway. "It should be good. Narciso's a stand-up guy, worked with him a time or two."
"Back in your crime days?" Kate knew she shouldn't push, but she couldn't help it sometimes. She wanted to know what his life was before, not to judge him, but she wanted to understand.
"No Smart-Alec, back from my I-owned-a-bar days." He shook his head and took a long drink of his water.
Kate fidgeted with her necklace and opted to be quiet for a spell, knowing that was a touchy subject. She was a little sleepy; maybe she'd just rest her eyes, and try not to think about all the things that were packed in her bag. Oh god, how would she explain the little bottle of olive oil if he saw it? Why was her life this random series of embarrassing moments? She glanced at Seth and couldn't keep the smile off her face this weekend was going to be good for them. She hoped.
…
"So Becki's gonna met us here before we go to lunch?" Margaret asked as Kate held the door for them. "Oh thanks, Sweetie."
"No problem. That's the plan. I guess the woman who owns this place was doing some alterations for her." Kate looked around the shop and to her surprise, it was warm and welcoming. The walls were painted with bright vibrant colors and decorated with photographs featuring women of all body-types in varies types of lingerie, but none of it seemed oversexualized. The store was stocked with various types of pajamas, bathrobes, and underthings ranging from comfortable to very…daring?
"Oh yeah, that's the best thing about buying from Theresa, if you pop a wire or break a bra strap she'll fix it. Sometimes for free, if you ask really nice."
"Only if I've known you for ten or more years. Don't go cheapening me." A deep-female voice, with a distinct Texas accent, teased. "How on earth are you, Mags?"
"I'm good. Although I'm considering jumping on a trampoline to get this boy out of me faster." Margaret hugged the tall, curvy woman with a laugh. "This is my friend Kate. Kate, this is Theresa one of my oldest and dearest friends."
"You can call me Tessa. It's so nice to meet you, Kate." Tessa shook Kate's hand. "What are we in the market for? Nursing bras I'm guessing?"
"I hear they are the rage for a girl in my condition." Kate smirked and Tessa let out a loud laugh.
"You heard right, Sweets. Well as far as those go Bravado makes them in cotton and silk with no wires, so very popular sleeping bras, and you can use them if you do yoga too because they're super flexible but still supportive. For everyday Rock Candy is my best-selling brand, but Bella Materna makes a phenomenal t-shirt bra, which I will be pulling for Mags, since she's in her I will only t-shirts stage again."
Kate blinked slightly overwhelmed, "Um… I'm not really sure what I want exactly. I don't even know what size I am anymore."
"Oh no worries, I'll measure you and pull a little bit of everything, see what you like." Tessa started to move away, but Kate called out to her.
"Wait, I need something…" She trailed off, feeling her cheeks burn as she forced herself to spit out her thought. "I need something prettier, but not cute-pretty, like, um…sexy-pretty."
"I see," Tessa tapped her finger on her chin, "So this something pretty is for someone that is not you?"
"Yes? I mean, yes." Kate fidgeted on her feet.
"I like her." Tessa beamed at Margaret, "You always bring me the best people, Mags." She regarded Kate as she asked. "So for this pretty thing that is for someone else to lay eyes on, I've got a couple of top sellers: Le Mystere, Hot Milk, and Cake, but what I need to know from you is what kind of not-cute pretty do you want? Do you want classic, racy, super-sexy, or a little crazy?"
Kate was a loss; she didn't know what she wanted. She knew she wanted to somehow look sexy, even though she was very obviously pregnant. She wanted Seth to look at her like she was…was desirable. But what would that look like? What would he even find sexy? Maybe this whole thing was such a dumb idea. She wanted to look good. He was taking her away for a long weekend on the beach, going out of his way for them to spend time alone. Even though they'd done some things since the barbeque and their first kiss, it was still so new to her and Seth seemed more determined to keep the focus on her and her clothes on. Which was weird, wasn't it? She swore she heard him mutter something about 'being his version of good' one night. She wasn't sure how to be sexy and he had so much more experience in that arena. Plus he was probably used to women that looked like his ex-wife and not pregnant-but-still-inexperienced-with-sex church girls. "Um…I'm not really sure."
Tessa's eyes softened, "Let's try it this way. What do you not want? Any colors you want to avoid? Any fabrics?"
Kate bit down on her lip, "No red and no leather. I wouldn't feel like myself dressed up in leather."
"Great start. I've got already got some thoughts. I'm thinking some classic black lace will do the trick." Tessa nodded, "Is he hands-on kinda guy?"
"Absolutely." Margaret laughed from the seat she'd taken. She defended her position when Kate shot a look, "What? He was incredibly helpful when we were taking your maternity pictures. I have photographic evidence of him being a hands-on kinda guy."
Tessa motioned Kate towards a dressing room, "You take that first one, Sweets. Let's get you measured." She measured Kate quickly and disappeared, coming back in a flash with a six bra of varying styles. "Start there so we can figure out what you like and don't like, while I'll go find the fun stuff. I just got a shipment from Mommylicious this morning."
Kate took off her top and her stretched out bra and sighed as she put on the first one, the silk fabric was so comfortable. She moved her arms up and down to test how easily she could move in it. Well, this one was certainly a keeper. She hung the lavender bra on one hook than grabbed the next one to try.
Kate situated herself in the second bra and looked down at her phone as it went off.
JG: Good Morning to the hottest Mama I know! 3 (11:32 AM)
KF: Morning? It's 11:30. (11:32 AM)
JG: Workd until 2. Sooo tired. How are u? How's ur mini? How's things w/Seth? (11:34 AM)
She stretched her arms over her head and decided that she didn't like this one, it pinched. She removed it and hung it on the other hook, to keep it separate from the one she liked and grabbed the third bra. She like the flower pattern on this one, at least it wasn't as plain as the others. She picked up her phone again as the door chimed.
"Hey Becki, how are you, Hun?" Margaret called out.
"We're good, Margaret. Hi Kate, wherever you are." Becki responded and Kate waved her hand over the dressing room door. "Tessa, do you have those pieces for me? I brought Tobias."
"I do, give me another couple of minutes. I'm pulling some things for Miss Kate. Then that baby-boy is all mine, while you see if the alterations fit."
Kate marveled at the strong women that she met along this journey. This life was not what she planned but she was growing more and more grateful for it. She unlocked her phone screen and smiled. She had a text from Manola, asking Kate if she could send her pictures of rings because Manola was trying to pick out an engagement ring for Kisa. She excitedly answered Manola that she could send her all kinds of pictures and she'd be glad to help. Kate had called Manola after the barbeque to thank her again for the gift and found out that Manola was from a small town just like Bethel, except in Idaho. Apparently, when Manola's family found out about Kisa, they disowned her, which broke Kate's heart. How could you ever turn away your family? Kate had lunch with Manola when she came by Eddie's to pick up a jar of homemade pickles, and Kate decided then and there that she wanted to be friends with Manola. People were better together and small-town girls had to stick together.
She re-opened the thread from Jess with shaking her head.
JG: Wait! 911! This weekend is THE weekend! (11:35 AM)
JG: Just u & Seth! (11:35 AM)
JG: Alone on the beach 3 3 Eeeeeeee! (11:36 AM)
JG: Are u so excited?! Girl he's gonna rock ur world! (11:37 AM)
Kate bit her lip and looked at her reflection in the mirror: rounded belly, thick thighs, big butt and different sized boobs…Not exactly the supermodel types that Seth was probably used to. Add the pregnancy in and she wasn't sure how he'd ever even find her pretty, let alone sexy.
KF: Yeah. (11:41 AM)
The facetime app chimed out on Kate's phone, but she swiped to ignore it.
KF: I'm not dressed. (11:42AM)
The app went off another two times from Jess with Kate swiping the call away both times. She was about tell Jess to calm down when a knock sounded against the door. "Okay if I open the door?" Tessa questioned.
"Sure." Kate moved away from the door and held her hands up to her chest reflexively.
Tessa's blue eyes were bright with excitement as she closed the door behind her. "You look adorable in that. Is it comfortable?"
"Yeah. I like the ones without wires a little better." Kate motioned to the 'yes' hook.
"Pretty normal. Let's take a look at the fun stuff." Tessa hung up the options on the hooks for Kate to look at. "I was thinking classic black, but then I saw this black satin and emerald green lace number and with your eyes…well, I think this is a winner."
Kate touched the delicate item, the satin felt cool on her fingers. It was perfect; too bad she didn't feel like she could live up to it. She bit her bottom lip, "It's so pretty."
"I thought you'd feel that way. So I grabbed some thigh garters and a matching pair of French cut knickers that'll knock him on his butt and make your ass look amazing."
Kate let out a strangled laugh because it was impossible not to gain a little confidence from Tessa and her exuberance.
"Try it on. Take a picture and sent it to someone you trust or knock on the door and we'll peek in on you and be honest." Tessa encouraged.
Kate nodded as Tessa let herself out of the dressing room. She slipped on the fancier bra and shimmed out of her leggings, pulling the aforementioned knickers over her plain pink underwear. She slipped one of the garters up her leg and winced at her reflection. Her thighs looked like sausages and her….her phone was still going off.
KF: I'm in my underwear! I'm not Facetiming you. (11:50 AM)
JG: Then call me! ASAP! No joke! (11:50 AM)
Kate hit the button to call Jess, who answered immediately, "Are you not ready to sleep with him? Because if you aren't sure; don't do it. I know, I've been all sorts of all for this, but I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do. Do you hear me? And if he's pressuring you, I'll hitch to Houston and kick his ass! Hell hath no fury like Jessica May Grant! I swear to God, Kate…"
"Jess." Kate tried to interrupt.
"This is all my fault. I've been all up in your business and putting all this stupid pressure on you. I mean this isn't high school. You're an adult and you can make those choices for yourself. I'm so sorry. I've been an awful friend and…"
"Jess!" Kate hissed into the phone, mindful of the thin walls. "Take a breath, please."
The girl on the other end took a long breath, "Sorry. I just could just tell something was wrong. You're my best friend and I worry about you. I want you to be happy."
"I know, Jess, I know." Kate looked at her reflection again. Maybe if she worked out a little more, she could make herself look a little tighter before the weekend. Nothing would change her belly though. She rubbed her free hand over her twitching stomach.
"What's wrong then? You responded with just a 'yeah' and that's not like you. What's on your mind? No secrets." Jess's voice was full of concern.
"I look like a whale and I…I…just want to look sexy when he…when we…Jess, I don't even feel pretty right now, let alone sexy. This is so stupid." Kate sniffled and clamped her eyes closed, "There's no way he really wants me. You should see what his ex-wife looks like, she's like all exotic model pretty and I'm so plain…"
"Stop that right now!" Jess snipped over the phone making Kate jump. "You stop being mean to the nicest person I know. Kate, you are beautiful and you need to stop cutting yourself down."
"But Seth…"
"Seth is what exactly?!"
"I mean you met him, he's all dark and dangerous remember? And I'm just…"
"Oh I'm gonna reach through this phone and smack you. Kathryn Grace, there is nothing, I repeat nothing 'just' about you. Unless you are saying that you are 'just amazing,' 'just beautiful,' 'just breathtaking,' or 'just the best thing that's ever happened to anyone that you've ever met' any man would be lucky to have you. And listen here, you didn't see the way that he was looking at you. You've got nothing to worry about. He thinks you're beautiful, trust me."
Kate blinked the tears out of her eyes, "Thanks, Jess, really."
"You're welcome. Now take a dirty picture for me. I wanna see what you look like, Hot-Momma."
Kate shook her head, "Goodbye, Jess."
"Spoilsport." Even without seeing her, Kate knew Jess was sticking her tongue out at her phone. "At least send me a pic of it on the hanger. I love you!"
"I love you too. Goodbye, Crazy-girl." Kate clicked off the call and looked at herself in the mirror again, maybe it wasn't so bad. I mean the color was pretty against her skin.
There was a knock on the door and Becki's voice called out, "Can I sneak in to have you help me with something? Tessa's glued to my son and Margret's on the phone with her husband."
Kate looked down at herself, slightly uncomfortable, but answered, "Yeah."
Becki slipped into the room wearing a light blue baby-doll lingerie set, but her eyes were closed. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but I just can't reach back there. Can you fasten the top hook? If it'll even go…I think I might need Tessa to let out the top out a bit more. Breastfeeding and breast growth is not a myth."
Kate managed to connect the top hook, but it was awfully tight. "It does seem a little snug."
"I've been stripping for four years, Kate, you aren't going to hurt my feelings. I promise." Becki turned around and her eyes still closed, "It feels like I'm gonna fall out of it. Is it bad?"
"It's not that bad. You can open your eyes, its fine." Kate kinda wanted an opinion and Becki had just had a baby, so she wouldn't judge her for her belly.
Becki scanned Kate quickly, "So cute. Love the lace detail. You're not feeling confident?"
"I'm trying to get there."
"Let me show you something. See this paneling under the lace? It's to hide my C-section scar. I've always been comfortable in my own skin. But now that I'm going be behind the bar wearing more clothes then I ever have at work, but I'm terrified and self-conscious."
"But you look so beautiful."
"So do you." Becki turned her back around to face her own reflection in the mirror. "We always see our flaws and not what makes us special. This is a great look; he'll be eating out of your hand. But piece of free advice if you want to keep the garters, go with a belt. Those bands slide down and it's a disaster."
"Thanks for the tip." Kate was actually sincerely grateful for the advice.
"No problem. Now let's get this finished up because I'm starving and you've never had guilty-pleasure fried chicken until you've had a glazed donut and chicken strip sandwich from Lee's." Becki gave her a quick hug and dashed out of the dressing room.
Kate rubbed her growling stomach and called out, "Hey Tessa, can you find me…"
…
"Hey Princess, rise and shine." Seth nudged her shoulder and Kate gasped at the ocean in front of her.
She hadn't been to the beach in years and the blue of the ocean always caught her off guard. "It's beautiful." She stretched in her seat and sat up a little straighter.
"Didn't figure you'd been over the Causeway before, figured you'd wanna see it. Have a good nap?"
"Mhmm." She took a drink from her water bottle. "So listen before we get there..."
"Is this my 'stop means stop' speech?"
"He thinks he's a comedian folks." Kate screwed the lid back on her bottle. "What I was going to say, is that I want this weekend to be about us separate from the baby. We need to figure out what this is," she motioned between them, "without everything else."
He was watching her out of the corner of his eye, "That everything else is kinda permanent stuff." He cleared his throat, "Kate, I like you. That's not exactly a secret at this point, but I'm still not sure about this whole parenting thing. People either gotta have the DNA or the training for it and I got neither. Ray was a bastard and my mom just couldn't be bothered to give a shit." His hands gripped the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles were turning white.
"You know, you've mentioned your father a few times, but you never talk about your mother at all." Kate dared the statement because whoever the Gecko's mother had been, her name was never spoken and other than a passing comment from Eddie, Kate knew nothing about her.
"Nothing to say about her; she wasn't there and that's on her."
"Are you angrier at her than at your father?" Kate was genuinely surprised that Seth was actually opening up about his past with alcohol or some kind of threat to his life.
"Yeah." Seth shifted in his seat. "There's this saying 'don't fear the king, fear the queen.' Basically, the king is whatever asshole that he is and he's born that way, but the queen sees who he is and chooses him anyway. 'Cept in my mother's case she decided that she chose wrong and left, which is all well and good, but she left without me and Richie. We were little, Kate, too little to stand up for ourselves. She knew what he was and it didn't matter." He cracked his neck. "She just left and you don't do that. You don't just abandon someone you're supposed to love and take care of."
Kate hurriedly wiped the tears away from her face, so Seth wouldn't notice. "My mom left me too."
His tone wasn't condescending in the slightest as he clarified, "You said she died in a car accident, that's not quite the sa…"
"My father was driving her to the hospital to have her stomach pumped. She swallowed every pill in our house, while we were at choir practice." Kate jumped as Seth grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
"You never told me that."
"Not something I like to talk about." She threaded her fingers through Seth's. "Thank you for this weekend. I've been looking forward to it."
"Me too." He pulled off the bridge and a few turns later they were at an elegant looking resort.
"Whoa. This is…"
"Free; 'cause I know I guy." Seth chuckled as he pulled up to the main building. "Otherwise where we're staying is almost a grand a night."
"Seriously?"
"Yup." Seth popped the 'p' on the end of the word as he climbed out of the car, "Pays to know people. I'll be right back."
Kate drew in a deep breath as she had a moment to herself. She knew that Seth wasn't completely on board with being a parent, but she knew he cared about her and she cared about him. Maybe just for now, she could just be her and he could just be him. She ran her hands over belly. Dear Baby, I know that I need someone who's all in for both of us, but maybe you let your mom have a weekend for…
Seth crashed back into the driver's seat. "We're around back right on the beach."
"Wow. Really?" Kate beamed as they pulled around the back of the resort to the standalone villas right on the ocean. "What kind of favor did this guy owe you?"
He just shrugged and helped her out of the car, "Here's the key, I'll grab the bags."
"Let me at least carry your suit and my dress, they don't weigh anything." She held out her arms and Seth paused but finally handed her the garment bags. She unlocked the door and propped it open so Seth could follow her. She could believe how nice this place was, she only stayed in a few hotels in her life and those were all backroad motels, they were nothing like this opulent modern suite. There was a bedroom and an attached bathroom, but unlike those motels, there was a sink and lighted mirror built into the wall outside the bathroom and a hallway that led to a full living room and kitchen.
Seth let out a low whistle, "Damn he really upgraded these. Too bad you can't take advantage of a hot tub because we've got a private one on the deck."
"I mean I could use it, but I can only have my core temperature over 102 degrees for like ten minutes or so not much point." Kate hung up the garment bags on the closet door as Seth opened the windows that looked out over the ocean.
He hugged her from behind, arms draped over her shoulders, "You're going to love waking up to the sound of the ocean."
"I'm going to love waking up with you with nowhere to go and you not being so jumpy about being caught being sweet." She wrinkled her nose, but he caught her chin and drew her into a soft slow kiss making her smile.
He traced his fingers down her arms, "Not gonna lie, been looking forward to having you all to myself." As if on cue Baby Gecko started moving, "Well mostly to myself." He chuckled, "You need the bathroom before I take a shower?"
"That's rhetorical right?" Kate disentangled herself so she could pee quickly. She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She was a little nervous about tonight even though she knew she didn't need to be. Seth wasn't going to push her past her limits, but it was like being on the edge of roof and jumping without knowing if there was anything to catch her. She ran her fingers through her hair and bit down on her lip, before drawing herself up to her full height. She might not know how everything would turn out, but she knew that she wanted Seth and for right now that was enough. She walked out of the bathroom and up to Seth, who had his garment bag over his shoulder; she pushed herself up on tiptoe and kissed him.
He quirked his eyebrow up, "What was that for?"
"Just because I can."
"Sweetheart, you can just do that anytime." He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'll grab a shower then we'll go grab a nice dinner."
"Sounds good."
Seth disappeared into the bathroom and Kate pulled out her phone and found her makeup bag. She hit the Facetime app for Jess and her friend answered immediately.
"Hey Hot-Mama, I thought your phone was gonna be off this weekend." Jess appeared on the screen tying up her hair in a ponytail.
"It's going to be, but I need some makeup advice. Do you think you can walk me through that bedroom eye look that you pulled off for your Marilyn Monroe costume last Halloween?"
"Hells yes I can! But is there a defibrillator in the room? 'Cause you'll probably need to revive him."
.:.
Seth stepped out of the shower and toweled his hair to get out the excess moisture before wiping the steam from the mirror. His brain was moving about a mile a minute because he wasn't a planned sex kinda guy…Wait; rewind that and go back. He had a plan when it came to sex with a woman, but not this whole planned romantic getaway thing, it just wasn't his style. When he was married to Vanessa he couldn't even pull off a decent dinner without her bitching about something. So this whole bit he was doing with Kate right now? It was completely out of his comfort zone. He didn't do romantic shit well, always fucked it up.
.:.
"What did you call this again?" Eddie questioned.
"He called it a Babymoon, because if he called a sexcapades weekend, which is what it is," Richie sidestepped Seth's attempted blow and continued, "Kate would die of embarrassment."
"You're both assholes, you know that?" Seth growled.
Eddie arched his eyebrow, "I just asked a simple question. Now, are you sure about this? Kate's…"
"Fully capable of making choices for herself. And for your information as far as I'm concerned, this weekend is about us spending time alone and that's it." Seth folded his arms over his chest.
Richie shook his head, "You keep telling yourself that. We're not blind, we both know Kate's special to you. Maybe just get out of your head for once, try to enjoy yourself. But we can be spared the details."
"I think this would be the first time, we've been spared the details." Eddie chuckled before he and Richie both broke down laughing.
"What's so funny you two?" Kate wandered down the hallway with a garment bag.
"Nothing they've both just got brain damage…"
.:.
Seth pinched the bridge of his nose; why was he related to Heckle and Jeckle?
He'd been thinking about this weekend a lot and for more than one reason. This was going to change things between them because sex always changed things. His brain kept replaying that conversation that they'd had in the car about figuring out who they were separate from the kid and it made him feel a little better. He wasn't taking this lightly: not Kate and what this meant for them and not what it might mean down the road as he tried to figure out if he really was okay with trying to be an actual parent. He knew the kid was a thing, but he was trying to focus like Kate requested, on the two of them and not the kid.
Kate hadn't exactly been shy about her intentions for this weekend and after that clean bill of health came from the clinic; she'd been trying to get more, for lack a better expression, 'hands-on' with him. He'd kept her at bay, for the most part, been his version of good. Frankly, he was worried that once she got her hands on him, the little self-control that he'd been clinging to was going to fly right out the window. She made him feel things he hadn't felt in a long time. She chipped at his self-control, which if he was being honest made him feel more like a teenager than an almost thirty-year-old. Hell for all the messing around that they'd done over the past month, he'd managed to keep her mostly in her clothes. Again his version of good here, which was real new for him too.
He wasn't a complete man-whore or anything, but there was that summer right after him and Richie graduated from high school...Him and Vanessa were on a break and it had been a different girl in every town. After he got back with Vanessa it was basically just her on and off with her, and then a couple of one-night stands after he got out of prison. He hadn't connected with anyone in a very long time, he wondered if he was even capable.
Kate was something completely different, he cared about her. There just something about her that made him feel good. He wanted to return the favor, make sure she felt good, enjoyed herself, but…Gah….Virgins were a pain, so he'd heard. He'd never been someone's first. His brain flashed back to this super uncomfortable conversation with Richie about the kid's first real girlfriend, which somehow made him snicker and cringe at the same time.
Speaking of his brother, Seth picked up his phone and noticed the missed texts from Richie… oh shit. He flicked open their conversation thread and skimmed the messages.
SG: Got a question for you. Don't be a dick about it. (7:02)
RG: Me?! Never. Perish the thought. Ask away. (7:04)
SG: Never mind. (7:05)
RG: But I'm curious now. Is this about Kate? Or a pregnancy question? (7:05)
RG: Seth… (7:08)
RG: You know if you don't answer I'm just going to come up with my own question, then answer it myself and you hate that. (7:10)
RG: You brought this on yourself. (7:13)
RG: Don't let her get too hot, her core temperature shouldn't get over 102 for more than 10mins. So no shared showers at the nuclear temperature that you enjoy. (7:15)
RG: No raw seafood – arguably she could have a regulated portion, but mercury levels can be damaging to the baby. (7:17)
RG: Obviously no alcohol – oh wait your baby momma isn't legal. (7:18)
RG: Nevermind I know what your question was. Sex with a pregnant woman is perfectly safe. Which they should have covered in your baby class, if you were paying attention…(7:20)
RG: FitPregancySex-RelationshipsBestSexPositionsForPregnantWomen,com (7:21)
RG: BabyCenter101PregancySexPositions-Illustrated,com (7:22)
RG: Parents-PregnancyAdviceMyPregnantSexLife-DoThisNotThat,com (7:23)
SG: I'm gonna shoot you in the head when I get back. (7:37)
RG: Love you too brother. (7:37)
He shook his head and would never admit to doing it, but he clicked on one of the links because his brother had found medically linked sites. Seth was begrudgingly grateful because everything he googled on the topic was...Well, he didn't know that was fetishized thing, but it was and fuck, he'd seen things that he'd never unsee. The word 'safe' kept coming up on these sites, which was reassuring as he had this somewhat irrational fear about poking the kid…Which medically couldn't be possible? Could it? So for once, he appreciated Richie's overly analytically mind and his constant need to share information when he learned it. The general consensus was that there was nothing dangerous about having sex with Kate as long as she was comfortable and not flat on her back. He made a mental note to request more pillows before they left for dinner.
He was getting ahead of himself because despite the tension in the air he needed to focus on taking her out for a nice dinner, then they'd go from there. He finished drying himself and ruffled the towel in his hair one more time before unzipping the garment bag. His black suit and white button-up were there, but his black tie was gone and it had been replaced with a dark green one. He knew he hadn't packed that one. He remembered packing his black one; why had one of those idiots replaced his black tie with a green one? He threw on his suit jacket and was tying his tie as he walked out of the bathroom to see how ready Kate was.
She was standing in this…Holy Fuck…
That was why an emerald green tie. He'd come to a complete halt as he stared at her in this pin-up girl number. His hands had completely forgotten how to knot a tie. Kate stepped closer to him, her makeup was soft but darker than normal something like…all he think of was Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass. Kate brushed her hands over his, before moving them away as she started to tie his tie for him.
"What are you doing?" He asked dumbly because his brain wasn't functioning at all. The green dress hugged her curves and well she looked…she really looked like something out of a movie, but better. She was real and right in front of him. His; she looked like she was his. Somehow in this moment, Kate looked like she was for him.
"Helping you. I used to tie Scott's all the time. I can stop." She looked confused but before she could do anything else he buried his hands into her soft curls and claimed her mouth. She moaned into his mouth gripping his tie, helpfulness forgotten. He drew it out as long as he could, finally letting her up for air. Her cheeks were flushed as she breathlessly managed, "I can help you with your ties more often if it's gonna get me that."
He chuckled and traced the line of her face as she finished his tie. "You look beautiful."
"Thanks," She started to look away as she slid the knot up to his neck, but he lifted her chin so she looked him in the eye again. She looked almost shy as she questioned, "You don't think it's too much?"
"I mean, I don't want to leave the room now." He admitted raising his eyebrows and she barked out a laugh.
"Well we got a free dinner from your friend and I'm starving, so we are definitely leaving the room." She spun around and swept her hair over her shoulder, "Can you finish zipping me up?"
He didn't miss the green lace of her bra straps as he slowly tugged up the zipper, thinking about how much he wanted to pull it down instead, but patience. Hopefully, he'd get to see it all of it and all of her later, but he didn't want to make assumptions. He let his finger linger on her skin watching the gooseflesh cover her skin. He kissed the base of her neck as he fastened the hook. "There you go. What do you mean free dinner?"
Kate moved away from him, with a slight wobble in her gait and slipped into the kitchen, coming back with a slip of paper. "The maid dropped off a voucher for a bar and grill, up the beach." She handed him the paper, "Said to take them with compliments of the owner."
Seth knew what bar and grill it was before he read the name: El Rey… His bar, his blood, sweat, and tears; his little piece of heaven on earth…that wasn't his anymore. He kept his face passive as he imitated reading it.
Kate grinned, "I looked it up online and they've got a live band tonight on the patio tonight. Doesn't that sound amazing?"
She was so happy and she couldn't have known. He'd never mentioned the name or location of his former bar, only that he owned one and that Vanessa had sold it. "It does. Let's go." He snagged his wallet and offered her his arm. "We can walk up the boardwalk it's not that far." He could handle this. He could absolutely handle this.
"You know where it is?" She grabbed her purse, " Have you been there before?"
"A time or two."
They walked up the boardwalk and thankfully it wasn't that hot. They had a couple of hours before sunset and he was going to enjoy the daylight with Kate next to him. They got to the bar and he held the door for her. He could do this. The interior hadn't changed that much, but it was enough for him to notice and not like it. His eyes must have narrowed as he looked around because Kate squeezed his arm.
"Was somewhere that you used to come with Vanessa?" Her voice laced with concern.
He shook his head, "No. Nothing like that. Let's go sit on the patio." He led her out onto the raised patio, and the band was already playing. The singer wasn't bad, sort of a soft pop, country kind of sound and it worked for a quiet dinner overlooking the beach. He held her chair out for her and his eyes scanned the space settling on the wet-bar that he and Richie had built together when he first bought this place. At least that prick hadn't fucked that up. There were soft white lights hanging from the posts, making a canopy of light above their heads, it was the original design that Richie had come up with…something about the science of lighting to make people look better or some such bullsh...
Nope, not bullshit…Somehow the reflection of those lights off Kate's skin made her look almost ethereal. It was going to be worse after sunset, or better depending on how he viewed his potential impending torture.
"One Old Fashion made with rye whiskey and two orange twists." The glass was set in front of him and he jumped as he glanced up at the blonde.
She looked a little older and despite her professional attire, all he could see was the eighteen-year-old kid with flowers braided in her hair begging him for a job. He got up from his chair and gave her a quick hug, "Kalinda, how the hell are you?"
"I'm good. Really good. I'm the night manager now, a big step up from the bus-girl you hired, huh?" She was proud; he could hear it in her voice.
"Good for you. New owner treating you okay?"
"He's kind of a prick, but I'm hanging in." She glanced at Kate then back at him.
"Oh, this is my girl, Kate. Kate, this is Kalinda she used to work for me." He introduced them and Kate shook Kalinda's hand.
"Nice to meet you." Kate flashed the other girl a polite smile, but were her eyes watering?
"Likewise." Kalinda regarded Kate for a moment, "What can I get you from the bar? I make a great Shirley Temple, someone insisted on perfection with mixology."
"Hey, it's always good to know a few virgin drinks." He defended before Kate could put her foot in her mouth by assuming that the drink was alcoholic,
Kate nodded, "That would be nice, thank you."
"No worries." Kalinda touched his arm as she moved away, "Never thought you were the family-type guy."
"I'm getting there." He admitted. Kalinda walked away and he sat back down at the table, noting Kate's sad expression, "What's…"
"This was your bar? She looked so overwhelmed, definitely getting ready to cry.
"Hey." He reached over and cupped the side of her face with his hand, "I'm okay, it's fine. I'm fine."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
He wiped the solitary tear that had escaped away from her face. "Because you were excited about going and honestly the last memory I had of this place wasn't great, so being here with you sorta reclaims it for me."
She squeezed his hand. "If you're sure."
He nodded and as they ate dinner he told he about buying the bar and about how lucky he was to get it at the price he had. The El Rey had been a hole when he bought it. Even Eddie, who loved a comeback story, had looked skeptical about it before they walked inside and the three of them examined the 'bones' of the place. It had taken almost five months of back-breaking work to make it perfect, but it had been worth it. He'd never really talked about the bar after he lost it, even Richie and Eddie knew the topic was off-limits. Dinner had been good, but he couldn't stop staring at her. She had that natural beauty that made her pretty even half-awake with no make-up, but tonight she was breathtaking.
The band started a cover of an old Elvis song and he thought that it should be slow enough for his two left feet to handle. "You wanna dance?"
"Really?" Her eyes lit up at his inquiry.
He pushed himself up from the table and offered her his hand, "Seems a shame to waste such a beautiful dress." Kate let him lead her onto the dancefloor and she rested her head on his shoulder as they swayed back and forth. "Fair warning, I'm a shitty dancer."
"You're fine." She moved in synch with him effortlessly. "I've had my feet stomped on before. Kyle…"
"Sorry, Kyle? First I'm hearing of a Kyle." He teased.
She arched her eyebrow at him, "You met him at my father's church in Bethel."
"The hippie, Jesus-freak kid?"
"Careful that Jesus-freak kid took me to my prom. We went as friends, so no need to get jealous."
He lifted her chin and stole a quick kiss, "You look incredible tonight."
"Thank you." Her cheeks tinted pink and they settled back into rhythm for the rest of the song. "I think I'm ready to head back."
"Getting tired?"
"No. I just want to be alone with you."
Message received. He truthfully wasn't sure how this was going to go, but he wasn't going to argue with her. "Okay." He led them back through the restaurant, and Kate ducked into the bathroom and he handed the bartender a tip for Kalinda.
"This is a sight I never thought I'd see again, a Gecko in El Rey." The voice to his left made Seth clench his fist. "I thought Geckos traveled in pairs, but maybe there's in the making if I saw what I think, I saw…"
"There a point here, Carlito?" Seth glared at the other man, "Or are you just being the stunning vision of a prick that you always are."
"You wound me, Seth, I've missed you. It's been so quiet with you and your brother out of the game." Carlos picked at his teeth with a toothpick. "Who is the girl…"
"None of your fucking business." Seth growled. He didn't want Kate's name in this guy's mouth. He'd developed this irrational hatred of Carlos because he bought the El Rey for a fucking song from his ex-wife then refused to even consider selling it back.
"So touchy. You like what I've done with the place?"
"It's not mine anymore, so it's not really my problem." Seth folded his arms over his chest.
"Jim's your problem right now if I hear correctly." Carlos looked around before leaning closer to Seth and dropping his voice, "If you're interested I've got a small job coming up. Solid pay off, for the right person."
"Not interested."
Kate stepped up him beside. "Are you ready?"
"Absolutely." He turned around with Kate and walked out of the bar with her.
"Who was that guy? He gave me the chills." She admitted pulling herself closer to his side.
He kissed the top of her head, "No one important." He needed to lighten the mood, or this was gonna chase him. That prick was not ruining anything else in his life. "So you ate a completely normal dinner. No weird cravings tonight?" He liked this; he liked her tucked into his side, walking beside him. This connection they had felt natural, but he still wasn't sure what to do with it.
"I've told you those cravings aren't my fault. But I'm thinking banana pancakes tomorrow morning."
He made a face, "Just make sure you brush your teeth after eating that."
"Really all the strange things I've eaten and that's the one you're gonna be weird about? You hate bananas that much?"
"I'm allergic actually." He admitted.
"Really?"
"Yup."
"What a random thing to be allergic to. How did you figure that out?"
"Made a drink for Vanessa once and tried it myself first. My lips and tongue swelled up so bad that I ended up in the ER." He shook his head, "She was so pissed that I ruined her birthday."
"By nearly dying? That's horrible! You can't blame someone for an allergy."
"Yeah, but taking care of someone is a pretty lousy way to spend your birthday."
"Better to be spending the time together than apart. I wouldn't have minded taking care of you, but I think I'll skip pancakes, I don't want to risk it." They made their way along the walkway. "Strawberries sound better now anyway."
He shook his head again as he held the door for her and they stepped back into the villa. He walked by her and turned on the light in the living room, before noticing that she was still leaning against the door.
He paced back to her noticing that she was looking anywhere but him, "Something wrong?"
She shifted on her feet, "I'm just a little nervous, I guess." She'd worn flats so he had a few inches on her despite the fact that he wasn't that tall. He moved a little further into her space and she looked up at him as he traced a hand over her hip before letting it rest against the small of her back. His other hand trailed up her arm, over her mostly bare shoulder and up her neck until he cradled the side of her face. "Seth?"
He drew her into a slow, lazy kiss tasting the overly sweet grenadine that still lingered there mixed with the unique flavor that was Kate. He kept them both still, but buried his fingers her hair, again marveling at how wonderfully soft every part of her was. He finally pulled back so they could both breathe and nuzzled the side her face loving her little breathless sound. "Don't be nervous. You're in charge. You wanna stop, I'll stop."
"I know you will. I don't want to stop." She started to unknot his tie, "I just…I mean…I um…"
He pulled his hands away from her body and covered her shaking hands with his, letting her settle a bit. He leaned his forehead against her. "Just talk to me."
"It's so silly." She whispered; the embarrassment unmistakable in her voice.
He kissed her knuckles. "Doubt it."
She fidgeted again, but he kept himself pressed against her effectively pinning her to the door. "What if…" She started again, "What if I'm bad at it?"
He chuckled, really not able to contain it, despite the fact that he really tried. She huffed, but he cut her off with another kiss, this one a more intense, a more indicative of what he wanted. Trying to communicate how much he wanted her, without his colorful vocabulary that was probably a bit much for her. "You won't be bad at it. Trust me."
"You can't know that."
"Sure I can." He shucked his jacket and tossed it behind him. "Kate, what you do to me…I'm barely touching you right now and I can barely keep my head straight. I've been thinking about this, thinking about you like this since that first kiss you stole from me. Just relax and let me take care of you. Trust me."
"I do." The phrase was so simple, but it carried so much weight. Trust was something so rare in his world and to have her give it to him so freely was a powerful thing. She tugged him down for a more fevered kiss as her nimble fingers his fussed with his tie, making quick work of knot and the top few buttons of his shirt.
He groaned into her mouth reaching behind her to get the hook of the dress undone, so he could start getting her the fuck out of this dress, but patience. He kissed his way up her face and pressed his lips to her forehead, he wanted to make this good…
Her tongue ran up his neck along the pattern of his tattoo and his brain shorted out for a second. He growled pushing her hard against the door body flattening his body against hers as he palmed up her thigh, feeling the edge of her stockings underneath. He needed to get her out of this dress; needed to see if she'd continued this retro theme under the dress. She nipped at his neck and he hissed, slamming his free head against the door.
"Careful, Princess…" He managed through clenched teeth, "it's been a minute. Don't want this over before we start."
He could feel her smile as she sucked on his skin and he pinched her hip making her giggle. "What was that?"
He grabbed her chin and forced her to look up, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, exploring as her nails dug into his shoulder. "That." He chided between kissing her. "Was. Distraction." He stopped for a moment, but she chased his mouth. He let her lead the next few kisses, let her get bolder as figured out what she liked. "Come on with me. This ain't happening against the door."
He took her hand and she followed him down to the bedroom, there was just enough moonlight to illuminate the room in a silver glow. He tore off his dress shirt and kicked off his shoes as he watched Kate toe off her own shoes. He ran his fingers over the straps of the dress, "Did you pick this out for me?"
"Happy accident." She bit down on her lip, but he pressed his thumb against it to keep her from making the indent that she always made when she was nervous. "I almost sold it back to the resale shop." She admitted as he started to slide the zipper down with an intentional lack of speed. "I picked out what's under it for you."
"Did you now?" His fingers skimmed over her spine as he exposed it, "Do I get to see it?"
"If…if you want."
"Trust me when I tell you that there is only one thing I'd rather see than that. And before you ask," He finished with the zipper, "the other thing I want see is you. Over your head or down your body?"
"Over my head." She raised her arms over her and letting him lift the dress and tossed it to the other side of the room.
Now truth be told lingerie wasn't really a thing for him; never really got him going. He liked naked, okay? Naked was so much better because it was so much less to fight with, less to undo, and less to mess with. Give him a girl naked, except for maybe one of his shirts, and he was fucking good to go. She'd stuck with the pin-up theme, whether she'd meant to or not. Fucking hell. The black satin was accented with dark green lace and everything matched, she looked like a burlesque dancer in the best way. Her eyes glued to the ground.
"Christ you have no fucking clue how sexy you look right now do you?" He growled, kissing the column of her neck as he gripping her ass. "You look like a damn wet-dream. So fucking perfect."
She gasped and untucked his tank-top finding his bare skin and he closed his eyes as she mapped his abs with her nails.
He could feel her legs shaking and knew he had to get her off her feet. He could put her on her back for a bit, but he couldn't fuck her like that, bad for the baby and bad for her back. He kissed his way up her neck until he caught her earlobe with his teeth and she yelped as she arched against him, panting out a desperate: yes.
"Sit down for me." He requested as he helped her perch on the edge of the bed. "There you go, Beautiful." He unclasped each of the fasteners of her garter belt and he rolled one stocking down one of her legs. Her pale legs were patterned with sporadic freckles and he found every single one with his mouth. He kissed and licked his way back up, before rolling the second one down and repeating the process.
She whined and shifted but he remained between her legs, tugging at the garter belt and she lifted up slightly to allow him to slip that off as well. She moved her hands to strip off her underwear, but he stopped her.
"It's mine. So I get to decide when it comes off."
"I said I picked it out for you, not that it was yours." She countered.
He traced a finger over the satin and lace as he kissed her belly because he discovered that she was really fucking into that and he was all about making her feel good. He smiled as she moaned and pressed her feet against the floor.
"Seth." It was desperate and needy…fuck; it was music to his goddamn ears.
"Not yet, Princess, not yet." He leaned forward and latched onto one of her nipples through the fabric of the bra knowing the friction it would cause as he continued to tease her with feather-light strokes over that delicate fabric. He switched to the other nipple and she moaned again louder this time. "Unhook the bra for me." He kissed the center of her chest as that single finger traced circles over her still covered center.
Kate complied instantly, but instead of letting her take it off after she unhooked it, he captured her hands behind her back.
He moved up her body, finger still teasing, as he nipped at her collarbone. "Still good?"
She nodded so he pulled down her bra straps with his teeth until they were resting off her shoulder. He kissed his way across her uncovered shoulders. How the hell was she so soft? He was still teasing her, denying her and himself actual contact with her core, until she shifted just enough that his finger slipped beneath the fabric and brushed over her outer lips. He knew logically that some of this was her hormones, but it made him rock hard to feel her that wet already.
"Oh my god, Seth, please."
"So impatient." He teased letting go of her hands. He continued to deny her what she was pleading for, barely giving her any friction despite her desperate pleas…He knew he was kinda being an asshole about this, but he was determined for this to be a religious experience. She already knew how good he was with his hands, but that's where they'd been for nearly a month. He had been patient: his version of good.
She growled as she got rid of the bra, but before she let him have whatever sass was impending, he captured one of those perfect darkened nipples in his mouth. She let out a shrill whine. This is why I wanted us to be alone…
"It's so much better bare skin to bare skin isn't it?" He paused between her tits, marveling at the perfect arch of her back and her wanton expression. "I love how you fucking taste. I've gotten myself off so many times imagining how perfect it was going to be to hear you scream my name. You gonna be good for me? I want to hear my name on your lips when you cum."
"I will be. God just…please…"
He kissed his way back down her body, over the swell of her stomach and knelt between her legs again. This was gonna be fucking hell on his knees, but so worth it. He spread her legs and flattened his tongue over the fabric, breathing in her heat.
She gasped and tried in vain to move against his tongue, but he held her still as he pulled away the last piece of her clothing.
He swiped his tongue over her perfect pink flesh and she tugged at his hair to get him closer.
"Fuck, Seth."
Well, that was new. He wanted to give her hell about cussing because he'd never heard her say anything that dirty, but it turned him on way too much. Oh to make a good girl go bad…fuck there was a fantasy that he'd thought he'd outgrown. He was a talker, always had been; just couldn't help himself, but to hear that dirty language from Kate… Christ, she was so loud.
She fisted the sheets, knuckles turning white, "Oh god yes! Don't stop. Fuck…please don't stop!" She moaned and he lessened his grip on her to let her rock against his tongue as her first orgasm washed over her.
Her first one was always so fast that it had caught him off guard the first few times, but he knew how to work her now. He continued to lap at her as he pressed his thumb against her clit. "Doing alright?" He sucked on her making writhe and moan out his name again.
"Kiss me." She demanded, pushing herself up to look down at him.
He grinned against her pressing kisses to her oversensitive flesh. He could feel her pulse; the racing beat in that swollen flesh. She whimpered as he swirled his tongue around her clit. To be fair he was technically kissing her, and she hadn't been specific as to where.
She tugged on his hair, "Seth!"
"First impatient and now trying to call the shots…" He teased as he moved up her body and captured her in a fevered kiss. It was tongues and teeth as she tugged at his tank-top. She broke away to breathe and he stripped off his shirt. He lowered himself over her, keeping his weight off her, but relishing the feel of her skin against his. He sipped at her mouth, "Now…"
She palmed the front of his pants and his body bucked forward without his permission. "Seth, I am calling the shots tonight. I want to touch you." Her face was flushed, with the hot-as-hell take-no-shit attitude she always got with her first afterglow. She undid his belt, "You're wearing too many clothes."
"You sure?" He was trying to go slow, give her a chance to think. He needed her to be sure about this. He did not want to fuck up whatever this was becoming.
She unfastened the button and dragged down the zipper, "That you're wearing too many clothes? Yes, I'm sure of that. That I want you naked with me? Absolutely, I'm not going for subtle here."
He pulled off his remaining clothes and sucked in a sharp breath as Kate wrapped her hand around his dick. "Fuck."
"Did I hurt you?" Kate questioned, a little of that bravery slipping.
"No. Just feels good." He assured her forcing himself to be still as she got a little bolder.
"I'm not sure what...I mean, I've never…" Her grip was just enough to be pure torture: feather-light touches from her soft fingers.
It had been way too long since someone else had touched him and he ground his teeth together. "You're doing just fine, but you don't need…"
"I want to. My turn to make you feel good."
"You do…Shit." He growled as her lips encircled him, her tongue rubbing over the overstimulated head of his cock. He buried his hands in her hair, but resisted pulling her closer to force himself deeper. She was new to all of this and he wasn't going to scare her, or take advantage, or…. Christ she was clearly trying to kill him. "Fuck, Kate."
She got bolder sucking more intently, saliva dripping from the corner of her mouth. She pulled back and stroked him slow and even with hands. Her eyes meeting his as she admitted, "I like how you taste."
He pushed her down on the bed and claimed her mouth, unabashedly groping at her bare skin as her nails dug into his arms. Her belly pressed against him, making the angle awkward, but he couldn't give a fuck less right now. He couldn't get enough of how she tasted or the sounds she was making. He maneuvered her to her side, but before he could figure out his next move Kate threw her leg over his hip and he slipped inside of her.
"Fucking fuck." The penetration was shallow given the angle and the swell of her stomach, but it felt so damn good. She was so hot, so tight and...so fucking tight…Her pussy was practically gripping him and he thrust into without realizing what he was doing. He started to pull back because he literally just started fucking her with no warning and without any…
"Don't." She grabbed his hand and gripped it tightly. "Please…please just…It feels so good."
Oh, he shouldn't, even with a clean bill of health and her pregnant; he really shouldn't be doing this without a damn condom.
"Please, Seth."
He couldn't refuse her breathless request...just couldn't. It went against every rule he'd made for himself since he started having sex, but he shifted his hips and pushed back into her. The angle wasn't the great, but the friction seemed to be enough for her and the firmness of her belly made this incredible pressure on his dick. He was even and slow with his movements, fighting his body's instinct to thrust harder into her. Even barely inside of her, he couldn't remember sex ever feeling this good. He watched her flushed face contorted as she tried to move against him.
"Tell me what you need." His voice was hoarse, blame the self-control he was trying to exercise.
"More. I need you…I need more of you…" She puffed out the request, desperation for release evident in her voice. "Can you do that harder?"
He was back to the theory that Kate Fuller had been brought into his life, with the sole purpose of killing him. There were only two options he could really think of at this point, a minor miracle that he could think period, and that was putting her on top of him or rolling her over so he could spoon her. She whined as he withdrew from her, "Roll over."
She complied, but looked at him over her shoulder, eyes questioning the change in position. He held her gaze as he pulled her back to his chest thrusting inside of her with more intent. "Oh my god..."
"That better? Or too much?"
"It's so good. I...oh my god…it's so good…" Her body trembled as her inner walls clenched down on him, her second orgasm nearly taking him with her, but he managed to keep it together.
He kissed behind her ear, letting her ride it out. Where had that even come from? Thank god for hormones he guessed. "That good, huh?" He couldn't keep the arrogance out of his voice; he tried, really he did.
"Hormones." She panted out, but hitched her feet behind his knees, giving her more leverage to bear down on him. He pinched one of her tits and she moaned, deep and guttural, and that twitch of her hips, got him about as deep as he was going to get into her at this angle.
He dropped his hand down to her belly, supporting it as he rocked into her with more force. "Fuck you are so beautiful. You feel so fucking good."
They got into a rhythm, gentler than he was used to, but somehow excruciatingly perfect. She was still practically vibrating and didn't seem like she was going to be stopping anytime soon. He wasn't going to be able to keep this up, as good as she felt. What he needed to do was pull out and snag a condom while he had enough brains in his head to think clearly about it.
That plan was completely out the fucking window, because… Kate was impatient. The realization hit him over the head as she hooked her leg over his hip and the new angle sent this electric shock of pleasure down his fucking spine. Oh, fucking hell.
Kate entwined their hands, sliding them down her body to settle over her clit. He got the hint; he knew a demand when he felt one. "Are you close, Princess?"
She rolled her hips and gasped, repeating the motions. "Come with me." She whimpered, kissing his cheek. "Seth, I want to feel all of you. I need to feel all of you."
He lost it. He lost all his patience, his self-control, and that shred of good he was being and bit down on her shoulder as he thrust into her with abandonment. He vaguely heard her screech out his name as she came for a third time, pulling him into climax with her. He knew he said her name in somewhere in the broken, expletive-laced line of praise he sputtered into her hair, but hand on the Bible he couldn't be sure of what exactly he said.
He flopped against the pillow because he sorta blacked out for a second. He was trying to catch his breath. He felt like he just ran half a mile to a chapel in the middle of the desert. Because that? That was a fucking religious experience. There was this thump-thud, constricting his chest and he was staring at her. Just staring at her parted lips and flushed cheeks as she tried to catch her own breath and he realized that he'd just broken his cardinal rule about sex.
Sex could be just sex, example: drag a girl into a fast food joint's bathroom and throw her up on the counter and lose as little clothing as possible – that was just sex. He wasn't one of those 'sex is just sex,' kinda guys, he wasn't an asshole…all of the time, he wasn't an asshole all of the time, just some of the time. It wasn't a crime to connect with someone during sex, feeling that good it was normal to at least like the person you were screwing. It wasn't about the emotional connection that he had just had with Kate, but it was the fact that he was physically careful when it came to sex.
He had just broken every fucking rule that he had had about fucking. Not only had she gotten him to forgo the condom, but he'd finished…Fuck he didn't do that. He'd tested clean, but he still shouldn't have done that. There was this twinge in the back of his brain, some part of him that found that it hot as hell that he was bare inside her, still pulsing with the aftershock of all of that.
Kate's leg was still over his hip, so when he collapsed back, he took her with him and that angle could not be comfortable. He pulled out and she whined as she tried to stay close to him.
"I'm not going anywhere." He assured her. "But you shouldn't be on your back." He helped her settled on her side, she was facing him and he brushed a lock of sweaty hair behind her hair. "You okay?"
She nodded, but her eyelids were fluttering, all fuck-coma sated. "I need…" She blinked as if surprised she couldn't remember the word. She did her puppy-yawn and wrapped her arms around his neck, snuggling against him.
"You need to pee, don't you?" He asked trying not to laugh, despite his similar half-awake state.
"No." She muttered, before groaning as she changed her mind, "Yes. But I don't want to get up."
"I'll help ya." He didn't want to get up either but they needed to clean up. He helped get up on her on her wobbly feet and caught her in a long, tender kiss before letting her go into the bathroom. He strode over to the closet and took out an extra blanket to cover the mess that was all over the bed. Mental note for a towel for the next round.
Kate walked out of the bathroom and grabbed the pillow that on the chair by the bed, putting it between her legs before sighing loudly.
"Forget something, Princess?"
"I have this oil…" She trailed off.
"Oil?"
"Coconut oil for my belly." She quickly answered.
"Okay."
Her make-up bag was sitting on the edge of the sink so he unzipped it and snagged the little vial of oil out of it before noticing that it wasn't coconut oil. He unscrewed the cap and sniffed at it, Olive oil? What the hell was she doing with that? He was the last one to judge someone for being kinky, but considering how new Kate was to this it did strike him as a little odd. Olive oil wasn't the best for a massage, it would work in a pinch, but he'd suggest a few better things if that was something she wanted to try.
He found the container that he was actually looking for and stepped back over to the bed. "Here you go."
"I'm too sleepy." She murmured, curling up to the hotel pillow.
He chuckled, "I'll take that as a compliment." He put some of the oil on his hands and touched her stomach, making her jump. "Relax, it'll take me a half a second."
She watched him wide-eyed the entire time he was touching her but said nothing. He finished and got himself cleaned up in the bathroom before settling back in bed behind her.
"I love…" Her voice was sleepy but it made his heart stop because that phrase she was about to finish meant nothing but bad things.
Love made things real and when they were real they didn't last. Love left. Love abandoned you when you really needed it to be there. Love made you need it, and then it walked away. It left you high and dry. Love caused pain. She couldn't…she couldn't… This was something, but he didn't know what it was. Some people just didn't get love stories; it wasn't how the world worked.
He remembered hearing this thing about cats and their kittens: if you took the kitten away too soon, when the kitten became a cat she didn't take good care of her kittens. He remembered hearing the factoid clear as day, but he couldn't remember when he heard it. Must have been Richie, 'cause his brother had this habit of rambling out pointless facts when he was nervous and trying to look smart. He was the same way as those cats. No blueprints and no genetics to make him capable of caring for a family.
But somewhere beyond the dread, there was this moment of clarity that cried out: I want it to be real. He curled around her ignoring the panic and as his hand covered her belly their baby moved against his palm. He somehow wanted this. He wanted this. He wanted her in his arms every night. He wanted his chi…But he couldn't do it. He'd fuck that kid up so badly if this continued. He didn't want to ruin Kate or the baby. But he wanted…
He wanted this. He wanted to live in this moment with the smell of her hair and sweat in his nostrils, the taste of her lingering on his tongue and feel of her body soft and inviting against his. This was it. This was that connection that he didn't realize that he'd been craving. He wanted Kate; wanted to keep her, but he had no idea what to do with that kid. He didn't want to lose her, but he had no idea of how to make her stay. People didn't just stay…But goddamn-it he wanted her too.
Please don't say it, Kate. Don't say you love me. I don't know how to be what you need.
"I love how it feels to be this close to you." Kate finally finished her sleepy thought and he sighed in relief before kissing the side of her neck.
"Me too." He admitted quietly. "Get some sleep, Princess."
"Goodnight."
He let himself drift off to sleep pretending, even if only for a moment, that this life could somehow be his.
.:.
Kate woke up feeling an arm around her and pressure on her bladder because it was no doubt 3 A.M. and time for Baby Gecko to kick the hell out of her. Dear Baby, thank you for waiting on the bladder kicking thing tonight. But you're awful fidgety now. Were you napping earlier? She rubbed her hand over her belly and felt Seth's overly-warm hand splayed across her bare skin.
Oh my god, I'm still naked! The thought caused her face to flush, which was completely ridiculous with everything that had happened earlier. She remembered all of the things Seth had said to her about being beautiful and perfect, he was certainly talkative. She glanced over her shoulder at him and he was sound asleep. She didn't want to move, but she needed to pee, badly.
She wiggled her way out of Seth's grip and while he grunted agitated at being jostled, he didn't seem to wake up. After finishing in the bathroom, she stared at her reflection in the harsh bathroom light, angling her head this way and that trying to decide if she looked any different. She washed off the make-up and brushed through her hair, it would get messy again, but that was okay.
She really should put on a bra. She'd regret it if she didn't, but she didn't want to go through any of the drawers, it would just wake Seth up. She couldn't be just naked though, that was so awkward. She crept out of the bathroom and took Seth's shirt off of the pillow she'd brought from home. She put the pillowcase back and tugged the shirt over her head. Her belly made the shirt shorter, it was barely appropriate, but it would be fine for sleeping…if she wanted to sleep…Did she want to sleep?
Her cheeks stained pink as the wicked thought that ran through her head. Seth had flopped over on his back and she bit down on her lip as she climbed back into bed next to him and traced her fingers up his chest.
"Seth." She whispered, kissing the side of his neck, trying to be sexy. He muttered something but barely moved. "Seth…" She nipped at him this time and moved her hand down his stomach.
"Oh no, you don't." He grumbled, toppling her over on her side and pinning her arms. "You keep your immoral hands to yourself."
Kate would have been offended, but Seth sounded like he still mostly asleep...and wait what he had just said?! "My what?"
"Immoral hands." His low voice vibrated near her ear, making her shudder, "It's too early. Just wanna cuddle."
She choked down a laugh because Seth Gecko liked to cuddle?! What strange reality had she stumbled into? She questioned in disbelief, "You just wanna cuddle? You?!"
"Mhmm." He mumbled into her hair. "And I'll give you a helluva good morning if you let me just go back to sleep, Princess."
She wanted to make all kinds of jokes here about Seth's age and a few other things, but it was just too cute. She laid there in the dark, already drifting off as Seth started to rub his hand gently over her belly. She wanted so badly for it to be real. She wanted this to be a love story. Everyone deserved a love story; didn't they?
She felt so much when she was with Seth, but even those feelings paled to how she felt about her child. She was one-hundred percent in for raising her child and if this thing was going to work between her and Seth, he had to be on the same page with her.
Dear Baby, you're awfully wiggly in there now. Thank you for giving me a little break from all the kicks to the bladder earlier. I've got a secret for you…I think I'm falling in love with your father, but I really need him to love you too. I need a partner to help take care of you. I need someone to have my back and if you're anything like your father, I'm gonna need an extra pair of eyes to watch you. I love you so much.
She didn't know how long she laid there, but Seth started to shift behind her in his sleep. His legs twitched and he gripped at her. She'd noticed this behavior a few other times when she'd stayed in Seth's bed; he seemed to suffer from nightmares.
"Seth." She rubbed her hand over his, trying to calm him despite her limited ability to move.
His grip intensified as if he was worried someone or something was going to steal her away. "Never came back…" He heaved for air.
"I'm right here." She smoothed, "It's okay. I'm right here. Shhh. It's okay."
"You left." He buried his face in the crook of her shoulder.
Kate could feel his eyelashes moving, he was deep in REM sleep, but there were tears falling from his eyes as he coiled around her. He was trying to get her closer and there was this heartbreaking desperation to his movements that made tears form in her own eyes. She cleared her throat and touched his face, even though she couldn't see him.
"Seth. Seth, I'm here. I couldn't leave you. I could never leave you." He voice cracked, but it seemed to finally get through to him and his grip lessened enough for her to draw a full breath.
As tough as Seth was, Kate saw more and more of that little boy that had been abandoned by his mother and abused by his father. Her heart broke for him and all she wanted to do was make him understand that his DNA didn't damn him. That he was a good person, even if he'd made bad decisions in the past.
She didn't know what weird fate or plan had brought them together, but she knew her feelings for him were more than hormones. She'd almost told him that she loved him earlier that night. She had to figure out what that was. But she knew that she wasn't going to figure it out tonight and she needed some more sleep.
.:.
The peaceful sound of crashing waves woke her up, but Kate scrambled out of bed because she had to pee again; thank you pregnancy. Seth grumbled something about breakfast as she got up to made her way to the bathroom. As she washed her hands she heard him on the phone ordering pancakes with strawberries. Her heart did this little flip without her permission. Dear Baby, you're gonna have to settle for strawberries. I'm not taking any chances with bananas around your father.
She ran her brush back through her hair, pondering her reflection in only his shirt. She really needed to put on a bra, going without one wasn't good for her boobs. She stuck her tongue out at herself as she turned in profile. This was the most cliché thing ever… Girls didn't really do this, did they? Parading around in the guy's shirt? It probably only happened in movies and romantic novels…This wasn't something that happened in real life and even if it did it wasn't like Seth was going to find her sexy in a t-shirt.
Her hair was a bit fluffy from the style she'd had it in last night, but it didn't look awful. She did need a shower, she smelled like sweat and sex…like sex with Seth. A flush rushed all the way down to her chest as the memories of what they'd done last night flashed through her mind. Had all of that been real? There was a small red mark on the crook of her neck that assured her that it most definitely had been real.
Kate stepped out of the bathroom and Seth was still sitting on the bed, blanket still covering him below the waist. She said good morning, but instead of saying anything in response he simply stared at her, his dark eyes analyzing her.
"What you think it's silly to see me in your shirt?" She would have put her hands on her hips, but he crossed the room in a fraction of a second and pinned her to the wall. She jumped surprised at his sudden invasion into her space, "Hi."
His gaze was intense as he stared down at her. "Mornin'. I've been looking for this shirt."
"You have?"
"Mhmm." He kissed the side of her neck, his breath hot and heavy as he moved the collar of the shirt to kiss her flesh as he exposed it.
"Whatcha doing?" She was a little embarrassed at how shaky her voice sounded.
He nipped the crook of her neck, tongue laving over the red mark as he ignored her inquiry and informed her, "You look good in my shirt."
"Oh okay. Thank you?" She didn't mean for it to come out inflected like a question, but she wasn't entirely sure that she knew what was happening right now. Seth's intent became very clear as his hand settled on her hip and pushed up the shirt up exposing her bare legs. "Didn't you just order breakfast?"
"Got like twenty minutes...plenty of time." He muttered into her skin, before capturing her in a long slow kiss that pulled the air from her lungs.
His stare was so intense, that she had to question it, "What?" He didn't say anything, but his expression was…hungry? What was happening right now? He was staring at her unabashed, and she couldn't help the nervous giggle that escaped her lips. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Looking at you like what?" He was teasing her, the playfulness evident in his eyes, like that moment by the car before the first baby class.
"Like I'm dinner"
"No," He flashed a devilish smile, "I'm looking at you like breakfast and I promised you a good morning."
Oh, that happens? Oh, that happens... Oh god. She wasn't entirely prepared for him dropping to his knees in front of her. He braced one of her feet up on his shoulder and her eyes rolled back into her head at the first swipe of his tongue. Her head hit the wall, but she didn't care because it felt so good. She fell apart with her nails scratching against the wall and his name on her lips. He kissed her trembling legs before standing up and leaned his weight against her, flattening her to the wall as she came down from the high. He worked his way back up her neck before claiming her mouth again.
The kiss was passionate and intense, but with this edge of tenderness. She could taste herself on his mouth and it was somewhere between odd and erotic and…Where were these words coming from?
His hand brushed over her stomach as he resituated the shirt and her stomach muscles contracted. "You okay?" He asked against her lips.
"Yeah, just a contraction." She assured him.
"Sorry, a fucking what?!" He looked ready to run her the door…completely naked. How had she missed the fact that he was still very naked?
She rubbed his arm lamely, still buzzing from her orgasm, but needing to get him out of panic mode. "It's perfectly normal for orgasms to cause contractions. It's fine, nurse-in-training's honor."
He didn't look completely convinced as he rested against the wall next to her.
"I'm surprised you didn't notice it last night."
"I was a little distracted last night." He toyed with a lock of her hair before tucking it behind her ear. "Never really done that before."
He'd never done... Um… wait, what? Her train of thought started to spiral so she spit out the only thing he could have possibly meant. "Never slept with a pregnant girl?"
"No. I mean yes… wait; stop…That's not where I was going with that." He huffed and kissed her temple. "You remember the day we met?"
"The day I threw up on your shoes and you yell/asked if I was legal?" Kate had no idea where he was going with this.
"And you almost pepper sprayed me? Yeah, that day…" He drew in a deep breath before attempting to finish his thought, "Look, I don't have sex without a condom and I sure as hell don't finish without pulling out, even with..." A blush flew into her cheeks, but before she could turn away embarrassed he cupped her face in his hands. "Kate, I'm not sure what this is, but I want to try…I want to try and make this work. I'll figure the kid thing out, but I need you to be patient with me."
She nodded numbly because words were impossible right now. She pushed herself up on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his shoulders to pull him down to kiss her. Another shiver ran down the entirety of her spine and he was hard against her leg, maybe if she shifted a little…A knock on the door interrupted that plan. She whined in annoyance, but her stomach growled.
He chuckled in her ear, "I got this. I'll be right back."
"Pants." She yelped. Why? Well, that was simple it was because baby-brain assumed that he would forget if she hadn't reminded him.
He quirked his eyebrow at her. "I can't tip the kid if I don't grab them."
Kate heaved out a long breath. She grabbed a pair of underwear and a bra, because despite all of that, she just couldn't be this naked, the shirt just wasn't enough for her relax. She wasn't that comfortable with herself. She cleaned herself up in the bathroom and powered on her cellphone, because she should check for messages.
She had two missed messages from Manola, both were simply pictures of rings and Kate quickly texted back her opinions, before opening the thread from Jess.
JG: I'm not like being a perv or anything…but….how's ur night?! (7:45 PM)
JG: Side Q – where is that lingerie shop you went to? (7:47 PM)
JG: Nvrmnd we'll go when I get back to Houston next mnth. (8:32 PM)
JG: Kate…(8:35 PM)
JG: Kate…(8:56 PM)
JG: Katie-Grace…okay I know ur phone's off, but you get the point. (11:02 PM)
JG: U looked so pretty in that dress – did he LOVE it? (11:15 PM)
JG: Did he love what was under it? (11:15 PM)
JG: I'm referring to ur hot-mama body, btw. (11:16 PM)
JG: I'm up stupid early… stupid double shifts. Ugh… (8:05 AM)
JG: Good morning, Hot-Mama! 3 (8:05 AM)
KF: Good Morning, crazy-person. (9:03 AM)
JG: OMG! Ur alive! (9:03AM)
JG: Though u'd be in a post sex-coma (9:04 AM)
JG: Do I get details? Are u going to tell me anything?! (9:04 AM)
KF: For the sake of science: Whiskey and cinnamon – yes, the only tattoo he has is a hot button, yes about his tongue and very good 'insert fortune cookie game here.' (9:06 AM)
KF: Phone's going back off now. (9:07 AM)
JG: OMFG! KATE! (9:07 AM)
KF: Love you, Jess. Bye. (9:08 AM)
Kate powered the phone back down and walked back into the bedroom, sitting against the headboard to support her back.
"You okay?" Seth asked handing her a plate, he'd left his pants on, but they were slung low on his hips.
Kate nodded, but her mouth was watering at the smell of the pancakes and coffee and the sight of Seth. There was only one thing that could make this better…
"Now," Seth had gotten into the mini-fridge and was holding up a small container of ice cream, "I got this for you, but you are wearing my Patriot's shirt, which is mostly white and I'm rather fond of it, so..."
"So?" Kate smirked because she was pretty sure she knew where this was going.
"So if you want the ice cream, you're going to need to lose…"
Kate stripped off the shirt and tossed it into the corner of the room. Slightly self-conscious about sitting in just a bra and underwear, but this was for ice cream.
"I'm pretty sure you only did that for the ice cream."
"Mostly yes." She confirmed as he sat on the edge of the bed, handing over her prize. She giggled triumphantly but clapped a hand over her mouth. She couldn't just act like an idiot half-naked in front of him.
"Hey," He kissed her cheek, "this whole thing, it's allowed to be fun. You're allowed to have a good time with me and still be sexy. In fact, that little laugh that wrinkles up your nose is somehow very adorable and very hot all at the same time."
She kissed him and he tasted like coffee and she moaned into his mouth deepening the kiss with abandonment.
"You using me for the taste of coffee?" He teased pulling back a bit.
"Yes. Absolutely yes." She laughed and he echoed it back.
"Eat your breakfast. We've got the whole weekend."
"But we can stay in bed today, right?"
"Princess, I'm never gonna argue with a day in bed with a beautiful woman."
They did spend most of Friday in bed and it wasn't all sex, but that as a big part of it. She figured out that she liked to be on top, it felt good and it let her set the pace. She had been a bit self-conscious at first, but every time some awful thought about her weight or what she might look like flashed in her mind, Seth seemed to sense it and would breathe out some graphic compliment that would make her blush and feel beautiful at the same time.
She had mapped him with her hands, finding scars on his body, some he explained easily and others he changed the topic. There was a circular burn scar on his back, near his hip; it was so small that he must have been young when it had happened. Seth had brushed off her questioning, supposing that he must have walked backwards into a lit cigarette when he wasn't paying attention. Kate very much doubted that, since she found a jagged scar on Seth's scalp near the base of his skull, probably from a broken bottle. Some of the scars were from bar fights, he'd had his appendix out when he was eleven, there one on his thigh when he'd been grazed by a bullet when he and Richie were escaping from a bank, but when her fingers found the marks on the inside of his elbow, she could feel his embarrassment.
He led her fingers to each phantom mark as he quietly explained that he used to shoot up in prison because apparently other than women you could get about anything in prison if you knew the right guy. He got caught by a guard and forcibly detoxed.
"Did it hurt?" She braved finally.
He shrugged, "They pumped me full of anti-opioids and put me under, guess it's cruel and unusual punishment to detox you cold turkey. I don't remember much. Just remember this weird fever dream about Vanessa leaving, telling me she'd never come back." He cleared his throat and tried to turn away from her, but she touched the side of his face. "I don't do that shit anymore. I just wasn't in a good place. Richie was already out and I got the divorce papers and I just felt so alone…which ain't a fucking excuse for…"
Kate pushed herself up over him and kissed him to stop his self-destructive rant. "Seth, a bad choice doesn't make you bad." She couldn't read the expression on his face, but he nodded and asked her if she wanted to take a walk.
They spent the rest of the weekend half in the room and half exploring Galveston, Seth showing her all of his favorite place, little nooks that only locals knew about. He was glued to her side, holding her hand or resting it on the small of her back. He took her to a little cove that he'd only taken Richie to before and Kate hadn't ever felt more like she was a part of his world. He snapped a picture of her in the sunset and then wouldn't let her see it, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face even as she tried to get the camera away from him.
It got busier and busier as the weekend wore on, but even when they were in a crowd, Kate felt like they were in their own little world. He was a little overprotective, but she couldn't bring herself to be mad about it. They were curled up on the bed watching a movie when she noticed Seth's hand absent-mindedly over her belly and she had to clamp her eyes closed to keep herself from tearing up. Dear Baby, I don't think he knows what to do with you, but I think you're father's falling in love with you too.
"Does it always move that much?" He questioned sleepily.
"The Baby," She corrected emphatically, correcting his word choice before continuing, "is pretty wiggly at night. You should talk."
"Why?"
She partially still wanted to flick his ear for the 'it' comment, but explained, "Because your voice has a calming effect on Baby Gecko."
"It does?" He sounded genuinely confused.
"Here..move your hand...up there." She shifted his hand until it was closer to Baby Gecko's heart. "That's the heartbeat and when you're around I notice the heartbeat more than the kicking against my organs."
"You can feel BG's heartbeat all the time?" He tapped his finger to the rhythm of the internal heartbeat as her little one wiggled to get closer to his over-heated hand. Seriously, was he a living furnace?
"BG?" She arched her eyebrow.
"Yeah," He shrugged, glancing down at her. "BG: Baby Gecko, since you won't find out if it's a girl or a boy."
"I just want a healthy baby. That's all that's important." She interlaid her fingers with his. "Sometimes, when I'm really still, I can hear the heartbeat, or at least I think I can. I guess I'm more feeling it in my ears than actually hearing it per say…"
"You hang out with Richie too much; you're getting rambly." He snickered and she pinched his nose in response. He caught her hand and kissed her knuckles, "What do I say?"
"Anything." Kate offered. The fact that he was willing to talk to the baby at all was a momentous step in the direction of Seth actually accepting…
"So this one time when I was in prison…"
"Oh god, not that!" Kate cut him off, but he was laughing. "You're such a jerk."
"Sorry, I couldn't help it."
"Uh-huh." She grabbed her water bottle and took a sip of it. Seth shifted on the bed next to her, and she thought he was moving away, but instead, he laid his ear on her belly. She swallowed down the lump in her throat, "Amazing...Isn't it?"
"Yeah…" He shifted back up but laid his head on her chest. "This okay?"
"Yeah, it's good. I like how you smell today."
"Lucky me."
"Baby makes up my mind."
"I know." His hand was rubbing on her belly again, slow steady circles. "BG, we gotta talk about these 3 AM wake-up calls, they're getting old. So I'm gonna tell you a story and you're gonna give your mom here a break, deal?"
As if answering Seth directly Baby Gecko shifted in her stomach to be closer to his hand again. Dear Baby, are you already playing favorites? Not cool, I'm carrying you around.
"When your Uncle Richie and I were little we used to sit outside for hours at night and he could remember all the myths about the stars. So he used to tell me all about them, but I've got a shitty memory so the only one I can remember is about Pegasus and Medusa, which is probably because of movie Clash of The Titans that Laurence Olivier was in…"
Kate was trying so hard not to cry. Of all of the things that happened this weekend, this was the most important thing. Seth continued the story, his voice lowering as his breathing deepened. She'd never seen him like this, he was relaxed and he seemed happy, even falling asleep with his head on her chest, while she ran her fingers through his hair. She realized as started to doze off that she wasn't wearing her chain, but she'd just find it tomorrow before they left.
.:.
(27 weeks in, Sunday)
Seth glanced at Kate out of the corner of his eye, she was curled up in the passenger seat leaning against the window. "I'll call, Kalinda, have her look again. Maybe you had it on at the El Rey."
"I don't want to talk about it." Her voice was hoarse, she'd been crying on and off since she discovered her opal ring was missing this morning. "I mean it, not another word. I'll just start crying again. I don't actually remember having at the hotel, so I'm just gonna assume that it's back at the house. How much longer until we're back?"
"About ten minutes. I can help you look." He offered because he felt fucking awful about her losing that ring. The last thing her mother gave her, a fucking family heirloom. Fuck; this was all his fault for getting the bright idea of taking her to the beach. If they would have stayed…
"I'd like that, but it's not your fault." She interrupted his thoughts. "And it's gonna be in my drawer at home, so it's gonna be okay."
He reached over and brushed the single tear away from her cheek, before gripping her hand tightly. "I'll go in first and tell those two to scram if you want to be alone when we look."
Kate shook her head and lifted up her phone, "Richie's super excited to show me the nursery; I don't want to ruin that. So I'm just gonna find it tomorrow morning and that's that." She set her jaw, but squeezed his hand as she requested, "Just don't say anything to them, please."
"You got it." He turned the last corner and they settled into a long silence.
"Thank you for this weekend. It was incredible. I'm really happy, Seth. I really am." She was trying to reassure him, but her voice still cracked a bit.
"You're welcome. I think it was good for us to just be us for a bit." He kissed her hand, "I'm glad you're happy, Kate. I am too."
They pulled into the driveway and Richie came out to greet them as Seth popped the trunk. His brother immediately pulled Kate into a hug and she hung on a little longer than necessary. He was pulling the bags out of the trunk, listening to Richie ask Kate if she was alright and her assuring him that she was just fine.
"You're moving a little slow there, Brother. Age catching up with ya or you just tired, maybe a little sore?" Richie snickered as Kate giggled, clapping her hands over her mouth as she looked behind her probably to make sure Eddie wasn't in earshot.
"Fuck off." He growled at his brother, tossing him a bag, "Be useful."
"I'm always useful." Richie informed him, before giving Kate a once-over.
"What?" She questioned, raising her eyebrows getting ready to challenge whatever was about to come out of Richie's mouth.
"Well you are a very fair-skinned girl, you're not one bit burned, not even pink. So either my brother helped with a lot of sunblock... Or you two didn't bother to leave the room."
Kate smirked as she simply answered. "Both." Richie snorted out a laugh, but gave Seth an oh-really look, before Kate retreated into the house to pee.
Seth went to follow behind her, but Richie cleared his throat.
"Listen I don't need any shit from you about…" Seth started before Richie could.
"Whoa." Richie cut him off, "You got it all wrong. Seth, I just want to talk to you for a second."
"What happened?" Now he was playing through every worst-case scenario in his head: Vanessa somehow suing for custody of the kid, Jim demanding all the money to be paid back tomorrow, or something being wrong with Eddie, or…
"You can do this." Richie broke through his thoughts and they made eye contact. Richie's blue-grey were stone serious, all joking aside. "I know you don't think you can do this, but you can. You and I were in it together when we were kids, had each other's backs. I remember you making me feel safe under the stars when Ray would go nuts… So just, just keep a hold of Kate and you can do this. Happy looks good on you, Brother."
"Just grab the other bags, will ya?" Seth stomped towards the house with Riche behind him but paused just before they walked in. "Thanks, Richie."
"Anytime."
Kate was standing in the living room next to Eddie, beaming. Well, he'd missed something for sure. "They finished the nursery while we were gone. Put the bags down so we can go look."
Seth didn't miss the look he got from Eddie or the blue stains on his uncle's hands. "Lead the way, Princess."
Kate practically skipped down the hallway with all three of the trailing on her heels. She opened the door and gasped, hands covering her face and she was already crying.
"Here you go, Angel." Eddie handed her a tissue.
"Thank you. Oh gosh, guys, it's too much! It's so perfect."
Seth watched Kate flit around the room looking at all of the details. There were framed message: "I love you to the moon and back;" "On the night you were born, the moon shone with such wonder, that the stars peeked in to see you and the night wind whispered, life will never be the same;" and "You are my sun, my moon, and my stars." The walls had been painted a gradient pattern to make it look like the sun was setting in one corner and the night sky was coming out, making the room incredibly peaceful.
Kate was trying to not break down bawling and she was clutching the little dog he bought her for the kid.
"You guys outdid yourselves." Seth complimented because this must have taken for fucking ever.
"You haven't even seen the best part yet." Richie was grinning, that wildcard-you'll-never-believe-what-I-pulled-off smile, the one that usually resulted in them running for their lives.
Oh, fuck, what had he done?
"Kate, you want to do the honors?"
"Huh?" Kate cocked her head to the side.
"See the light switch?" He motioned to the wall. "Flip the switch off, turn the dial, and look up."
Kate complied and for a moment they were plunged into darkness before a soft glow started getting stronger. "Oh my god. Richie, you… Oh my god, Seth, look at the stars."
He could hear Kate gushing about the lights, hugging Eddie and Richie, and his brother explaining the that constellations over the crib were the star signs for 'Nugget' if the baby was born in October like they were supposed to be, but there was something else ringing in his ears.
There were bottles breaking and a man screaming at the television as the two boys huddled together on the porch in the cooling October air. A boy in glasses whimpered as something else broke and he covered his ears. The older brother put his hands over his brother's to try and block out more of the noise for his younger brother, "It's okay, Richie, it's okay. Tell me about the stars. You can't hear it if you're telling me about the stars."
Eddie's hand clamped down on his shoulder drawing him out of his memory. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good. This is fucking amazing." He couldn't keep the awe out of his voice.
"Glad you feel that way because it took us over nineteen hours to get those stars right because you're brother's such a damn perfectionist. And if you ever get the bright idea to change this room, you'll be eating your front teeth."
"That's fair." Seth nodded at his uncle and then hugged him. "Thank you for this. She's over-the-moon about it."
"Come on, Richie, let's give these two a minute." Eddie smiled and gave Kate another quick, "Glad you like it, Kate."
"I love it. It couldn't be more perfect." Kate wiped off her cheeks.
Seth hugged Richie, "Thanks, man, really thank you."
"It's no big deal. Just remember what I said."
Kate hugged him as soon as Richie closed the door. "Can you believe this?"
"No, not really." He kissed the top of her head, "You okay?"
"I am." She bit her lip.
"What?" He questioned, concerned at her unsure look.
"I know the bed in here is a lot smaller, but can we sleep in here tonight?"
"Sure, but if you get uncomfortable you have to let me know." He leaned down and kissed her slow and sweet. "I meant what I said this weekend. I care about you, Kate and I want to figure out how to make this whole mess work."
She hugged him tightly, her body shaking a bit as she was probably trying not to cry, "Okay."
But fuck, if he was gonna do this for real, then he needed to get clear of Jim, now. Maybe he could run one job solo, not a bank job, but something. Maybe see what that job Carlos was talking about was? It would just be one more job and then he'd be clear.
.:.
The Song they danced to in the El Rey was Anthony Mossburg's cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love"
