Here we are, another double chapter to conclude the previous section. Enjoy!
'I think it's time you saw this.' Jeremy got up, found the laptop to bring back back to bed; he plunked it down, lifted her head so she was pillow on his left knee.
'What is it?'
'The pregnancy diary you asked you Onlyr website programmer put up, or rather the x-rated portion of it.' Jeremy clicked on it and a little agreement dialogue box popped up. 'Yes I am over eighteen and aware this link contains sexuality.'
He clicked 'OK' and turned the computer for Sloan to see. 'Check...this...out.'
Sloan blinked, saw a deep-red web-page with a polyphonic version of Peggy Lee's 'Black Coffee' playing in the background. Square in the middle of the page was a black and white picture of her taken at Christmas, when she'd let Jeremy into the studio and they'd taken topless-and-jeans monochromatic photos together, Jeremy with one arm cover her breasts, the other protectively over her bump. Below it was a caption in silver crawl 'One Hot Mama', and in a little side-to-side clip gallery were the pictures Jeremy had taken of her, the little captions detailing what week and day of her pregnancy she was in.
'Click on a picture.'
'Okay.'
Sloan scrolled through, picked one of her favourites - she'd been watching The Seven Year Itch and Jeremy had taken pictures of her on their bed, channeling Marilyn Monroe in her Playboy spread. She clicked the button to select it and immediately the image became larger, and the counter said 4,336 comments.
'Four thousand?'
Sloan began to scroll through the list and felt her jaw drop as she read the of comments.
Cupcakesupreme says: Man, I would never let my man take pics like that!
Chuck06 says: There is nothing hotter than a naked woman with a baby bump!
RogersUpNorth says: Agreed, Ultrapop, I read that too, being pregnant makes doggy-style sex a given, and you know she looks like a lady who digs the dirty stuff!
Ultrapop says: I read somewhere that pregnant women like a LOT of sex and to support the belly, the like it from behind and on their knees :)I'd bend her over like a crazy-straw #ohyeah
'Jesus,' Sloan breathed, 'they're all like that?'
'And you've got some celebrity admirers too.' Jeremy flipped to the page with the Twitter links. 'Read that one.'
*cranBerry - doods! If you love Sloan Machado's photographs, check this out, and be prepared to have a few more photos for the spank bank!
'God,' was all Sloan could say. cranBerry was Millicent Berry, one of Sloan's favourite models to photograph. She was the definition of Glamazon - five-eleven and one-twelve soaking wet with red hair and laser blue eyes, and had all her professional headshots and body shots done by Sloan. That someone she admired was complimenting her so highly was downright freaky.
'It's not just me, baby. Plenty of people think you're great.' Jeremy put the laptop back, and slipped into bed with Sloan, tucked her long dark hair behind her ear. 'You aren't a cow, or a pig, or whatever it was you said before. I will be here tomorrow, and the day after that and that and that until the end of time to remind you that you are loved and beautiful.'
The next morning, Sloan awoke to gentle, tiny hands on her belly. She peeled an eye open and saw Devon sitting on the bed beside her, fully dressed. 'Hey, King Devon. What are you doing in here?'
'Daddy an' me haffa 'pise.' His dark little eyes were filled with worry. 'Why sad yesserday?'
'I didn't think I was very pretty anymore because the baby is so big inside me.'
You silly, you so bee-oo-tee-foh, bes' mama ever. You a pin'cess. Wash.'
Devon reached behind him and found a little plastic tiara, plopped it on Sloan's tangle of unbrushed black hair. 'See? Boo-tee-fo Mama.'
'Thanks baby.'
'No, this baby.' He patted her belly, then hollered over her shoulder, 'Daddy! Ready!'
The door opened and Sloan propped herself up in bed as Jeremy, also fully dressed, brought in a breakfast tray that was nearly overflowing with food. 'What is all this?' she laughed.
'After you went to sleep last night, I did a little digging on the net and found Ava Carter's pregnancy blog. She wrote this was her favourite breakfast-in-bed when she was bulking up the sixty-five pounds she had to gain to deliver her twins healthily, since she was so underweight from modeling.'
Sloan looked at the plate, saw there was a verifiable feast before her - a BLT made with low-sodium bacon, cilantro-seasoned tomatoes, rye toast and olive-oil mayo, an egg-white and cheddar cheese omelette,a cup of berries, and two mini waffles with peach jelly. On the tray beside the plate were a cup of herbal tea, a glass of orange juice, and a pint of chocolate milk with a straw in the carton.
'Ava Carter would eat all of this?'
'Yep, she even said sometimes she'd have a few links of turkey sausage, and whipped cream on her waffles, and when she had to have her gown let out for the Golden Globes two months before she gave birth, Ava wasn't crying tears of disgust.'
'No?'
'Nope, she was crying tears of joy that her tailor wasn't booked up so she could have an emergency letting-out of her gown and feel beautiful on the red carpet. Her make-up person had had to do touchups in her limo before she got out because she was still pumping out the water works.'
Sloan thought of how envious she'd been of Ava, like all the woman had on her mind was a fun and glamourous night of awards-show banter. She pictured her at home in her pyjamas, no trio of make-up artists there to dab away sweat with their fine-haired brushes, the sheets of her bed tented up from her baby bump as her husband brought in a breakfast tray and the lovely Ava diving into a BLT and omelette with two hands.
She gave Jeremy a smile, picked up her fork to cut a bite of omelette. 'Did Devon help you?'
'He sure did, didn't you King Devon.'
'Pu' rassies in bow' Mama,' he said proudly. 'An' juicy in-a cup.'
Sloan stabbed a berry onto her fork, popped it in her mouth, and wanted to melt. It was tangy and tart and delicious. She looked at her son with doe-eyes. 'Oh, yeah, Devon, that's the stuff.'
'Yea! Juicy too!'
Obliging him, she took a sip and looked at them both. 'This is too much, you guys.'
Devon looked over at Jeremy. 'Mama nee' odder 'pise!'
'Yes, she does.' Jeremy reached into his pocket, for his phone; it buzzed in his hand and he grinned at the incoming text. 'Guess what, Devon, the surprise is here.'
'Yea!' Devon leaned over, kissed Sloan's cheek that was full of food being chewed. 'Love Mama, see soon.'
'Love you too, and you too,' she replied as her boys left the room; Sloan was too engrossed in her breakfast to pick up the voices from the living room. She was just polishing off her peach-jelly waffles and chocolate milk when there was a knock on teh door and she looked up to see Meredeth there, grinning.
'Jeremy called last night, said you could need some girl time and as it happened, I had a very special day planned today that is now going to include you.'
'Oh?'
'Mm-hmm. Just promise me you won't lose your mind when you see who is in your living room, okay?'
'What did you do?'
'Swallow and grab your hairbrush and come with me.'
A million ideas passed through Sloan's brain as she followed instructions and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who it was - Ava Carter, the woman herself, was standing in her living room, each of her hands clasped in those of little girls.
'Oh my Jesus,' Sloan said faintly, and Ava smiled, blue eyes - void of all makeup - crinkled in the corners.
'I get that a lot. Girls, this is Miss Machado, she is a friend of Miss Milly's and Meredeth's. These are my daughters, Cressida and Octavia.'
'Hi,' they chorused.
'I thought having Ava bring her daughters for a play-date might make it a little less intimidating for you,' Meredeth whispered to Sloan.
'If I'd know you were my guest, I'd have cleaned myself up,' Sloan started, and Ava shook her head, waved her off.
'Girl, when I was seven months with my babies, I couldn't even get out of bed on my own. You look so beautiful.'
'Oh, I-'
'It's true. I was getting pimples by the hour my skin was so oily when I was at seven months. I would look in the mirror and think, man I look like Braille pizza. And that's why we are here today.' Ava looped her arm through Meredeth's. 'We are taking you for a day of mama beauty.'
'Mama, pay time?' Devon asked.
'Yes, and apparently, I'm going out to get myself all pretty with Meredeth and Miss Carter.'
'Be e-fin boo-tee-fo-ler,' Devon told her and gave her a hug. 'Mama so go-shus.'
'Thanks baby.'
'Time fo' new fins.' Devon turned to the girls and asked, 'Pay Go Fish?'
'Uh-huh.' They nodded and Ava gave Sloan a wink.
'Well, that's the babies looked after, now let's go pamper the mama.'
