57. Carried Away

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I wake up from a surprisingly restful nap and lie still. Waiting for the signs of nausea has become my new daily routine.  I'm lucky today — ten minutes pass without me needing to dash to the bathroom.

Brian's mom will stop by, and the thought makes me happy. I spend way too much time on my own, which leads to overthinking and worrying about the baby and Brian, who's been even more tired than me for a while.

He's my biggest support. My rock. But taking care of me takes its toll on him. He hasn't studied much over the last few weeks, and, knowing how demanding his degree is, I'm sure he can't afford to take breaks. 

I want him to succeed. The lost boy I knew turned into a determined man who knows what he wants and works hard to get it. He changed, and so did I. If only I could say the same about my mom. 

It took me days to stop replaying her words in my head. Despite knowing why she was more concerned about my internship than my pregnancy, her reaction upset me. I didn't need judgment. I needed a bit of reassurance, something to ease my worries and make me believe I could have it all — our little family, my studies, and later a good job. 

Mom was probably scared I'd repeat her story, but that's far from the truth. Even if I make mistakes, I'll own up to them and find a way to do things better. It's my life, my journey, and my kid.

I rub my stomach and jolt at the sound of the doorbell. Smoothing a hand over my hair, I pad to the hallway to let Aria in.

When the front door opens, and she sees me, she doesn't say a word. She crushes me into a hug, and it takes all of me not to cry. 

"How are you?" she asks, letting go of me and stepping into the apartment.

I manage a smile. "Good. Better today. I haven't thrown up in a while."

Aria sighs and rubs my back. "Go back to bed. I'll make you something to eat."

"I can sit in the kitchen," I say. "My body hurts from lying for so many hours."

"For a little while only, deal?" She smiles.

"Deal."

I lower myself onto a chair at the kitchen table and watch Aria make a chicken sandwich. My mouth waters, and my stomach growls. I haven't felt hungry in so long the feeling is foreign.

"I'm gonna make some ginger tea as well," she says. "It was the only thing I could drink when I was pregnant with Jimmy."

"Did you have morning sickness?"

Aria chuckles. "I had an O'Brien inside, which is no joke. He came with morning sickness, swollen ankles, tender breasts, and crazy mood swings. Good things, too, like wanting Axel day and night. Good for my husband, that's for sure."

"Did your nausea get better?" I ask.

Aria puts my food in front of me and sits by my side. "It did. Not immediately, but it became manageable. The first months are hard, and so are the last ones, but you'll get to enjoy the happy middle."

"If everything goes well," I mumble.

Aria squeezes my hand. "It will. And if it doesn't, you'll know both of you did everything you could. We're happy for you. Brian's young, but I know him well enough to be sure he'll be an excellent dad, just as you'll be the best mom."

"I feel helpless," I say. "And scared. Everything will change, and I can't even allow myself to think about the future until we know the baby is okay. I'm afraid to make plans in case…" 
My voice breaks. I swallow and pick up the sandwich.  

Aria keeps quiet while I eat. When my plate is clear, she leads me to my bedroom and perches on the bed as I sip the tea.

"I love how you decorated your place. You have good taste," she says.

My cheeks warm. "I wanted to make it beautiful. I didn't have nice things growing up."

"You'll have it all. It might be hard at first, but you and Brian have our support. We'll help you. Axel and I were your age when we had Jimmy. Of course, he was a surprise. I was still a student, and I remember feeling stressed out and overwhelmed, but our families made it better. There's no shame in leaning on your people and letting them take care of you."

"Thank you," I say. "I worry about Brian. He's been stressed out, too, and I don't want his studies to suffer because of it."

Aria takes the empty mug from my hands and stands. "It's temporary. Once the baby's safe, you both will be calmer, and he'll focus better. I'll take this to the kitchen, okay?"

When she leaves the room, I rest my head on the pillow and close my eyes. Calm washes over me, and Aria's words have a lot to do with it.

The front door opening pulls me out of my daze. I'm back to being anxious — it's too early for Brian to come home. 

He appears in the doorway, and I gasp, sitting up. His bottom lip is swollen, and so is his cheek. 

"What happened?" I throw the comforter aside.

"Stay in bed, Kitten." Brian walks up to me and brushes his lips across my cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling? What happened to your face?"

"Gave Chad the fucker what he deserves. It's nothing, babe."

Brian is chill, but tears spring to my eyes, and he rushes to hug me. "Baby, it's nothing, okay?"

"What's nothing?"

Aria halts and stares at her son. "Brian!"

"Hey, Mom. Thanks for stopping by."

"What the hell happened?"

"A stupid fucker happened, but I'm positive he'll keep his mouth shut after the little chat we had. Did my girl eat?"

"Your girl can tell you that herself." I cross my arms.

"The sass is back." Brian winks. "I guess you're feeling a bit better, babe."

"She is, but you'd better behave, young man." Aria gives Brian a stern look, and he rolls his eyes.

"He was asking for it, Mom. Don't make a fuss about it, okay?"

Aria grimaces at his words. Brian probably said them more than once in the past.

"I'll leave you two alone so Leah can rest," she says. "Call us if you need anything, okay?"

Brian's mom kisses my cheek and says goodbye. Brian accompanies her to the front door.

"I'm gonna shower," he says when he's back.

Tons of questions float in my brain as I wait for him. Chad repeatedly pushed Brian's buttons, but Brian hadn't lost his cool until now. What that guy said must've been bad, and that Brian didn't tell me much only confirms my theory.

The bathroom door creaks open. I can't help but stare at Brian's wet body as he exits the en-suite. Water droplets slide down his chest, and he's naked, drying his hair with a towel. When he catches me ogling him, his lips spread into a smirk.

"Your girl is on vacay, Kitten. Don't look at me with your fuck me eyes."

"Then stop being pretty."

Brian laughs. "Handsome."

"Whatever."

He opens the dresser and grabs a pair of boxers.

"Don't," I say.

Brian frowns. "Don't what?"

"Don't get dressed. Just come lie with me."

The mattress dips under Brian's weight as he gets under the covers and wraps me in his arms.

I kiss his chest, inhaling the scent of his body wash.

"Mom said you ate," Brian says.

"I did. I feel better. I guess it's because she calmed me down a bit."

"Thank fuck." Brian kisses my forehead. "I talked to Harper. We'll stop by her office tomorrow. She wants to see if she has to treat your nausea."

"Okay. What happened with Chad?"

A chuckle falls off Brian's lips. He shoves a hand under my tee and caresses my stomach. "I knew you'd insist. He's an asshole, Kitten, and my tolerance for bullshit was particularly low today. He started to talk crap about me scoring points with Harper and then—"

"He said something about me, didn't he?"

"Kinda." Brian rubs his thumb across my cheek. "I didn't get in trouble if that worries you. Even the prof was tired of Chad's shit, so it's all good."

I look into Brian's eyes. They're a bit red, surely because of the sleepless nights.

"I'm lucky to have you," I whisper, pushing his hair back. 

"Stop." Brian kisses my cheek and muzzles into my neck. "I'm the lucky one."

His lips place soft kisses on my skin, and desire courses through my blood. 

"Fuck." Brian breathes out. "I got carried away."

"We can kiss. We can't have sex, but kissing is safe."

He cups my jaw with his warm palm and presses his mouth to mine. I lick Brian's bottom lip, and he groans. 

"Baby…"

"I want to make you feel good," I whisper, kissing the column of Brian's throat. My fingertips trace his abs, and my hand glides down until I can grip his cock. 

He's hot and rock hard. I stroke him slowly, biting his flesh at the same time. 

"What are you doing to me?" Brian rasps. I sense his struggle. He's not a selfish lover, and letting me pleasure him without him reciprocating isn't what he's used to. 

I silence him with a deep kiss. Our tongues rub against each other, and the movements of my hand grow faster, becoming more determined. I smooth my thumb over the tip of Brian's erection, collecting the moisture there to spread it over his length. His moan makes me fist him, applying enough pressure to send him over the edge.

Brian's fingers weave into my hair. He tilts my head back and devours my mouth, kissing me so deeply I feel it with every cell of my body.

"Fuck." He pants against my lips, leaning his forehead against mine. 

I touch him faster. His body tenses and seems even hotter. I put my free hand on the back of Brian's head and tug at his hair. I want to see him lose it.

"Almost there, baby," he says, his voice strained.

His body shakes as he comes into my hand. The vulnerability in his expression stirs something within me. I kiss him softly and study his features.

They relax. Brian breaks the kiss and swallows. "I love it. God, I love what you do to me. And I also hate it cause I want to touch you so bad. If it didn't harm the little one, I'd spend all afternoon fucking you with my fingers."

I giggle. Of course, he would.

Brian squeezes my butt and plants a sound kiss on my forehead. "You'll have to wash the little O'Briens off your hand, babe.  We can't risk another one getting in your girl and giving us twins."

"Or triplets."

"I'd cut my dick off, Kitten."

"Don't touch my boy." I pout. "I hope to use him soon."

"He wants to be used, babe."

Brian's eyes twinkle and soften. With a sigh, he presses me to him and whispers that he loves me in my ear. 

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