Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
“Justin.” I reach out to shake his shoulder, but pain makes me grit my teeth and fall back against the bed, holding my stomach. “Oh, God.”
“Aubrey?” Justin shoots up and looms over me, placing his hand over mine. “What’s wrong?”
“I… I…” I pant, squeezing my eyes closed. “I think I’m going into labor.”
“What?” He shakes his head like he’s still trying to wake up.
I lean up, letting out a sigh of relief as the contraction ends. “I’m in labor.”
“You’re having the baby?” His gaze drops to my belly right before he hops out of bed, wearing only a T-shirt and pair of boxer briefs. I’ve never seen him without any pants on, and his butt looks even better wrapped in just a thin layer of stretchy material. My view of it doesn’t last for long, because he yanks on a pair of sweats and sits down on the edge of the mattress to put on his shoes. When he gets up, he grabs his wallet and cell from the bedside table and shoves both into his pocket. “Your shoes and purse are in the living room. I’ll grab ‘em for you. You need to grab anything else before we head to the hospital?” He turns to find me in the bed still dressed in my leggings and shirt with bare feet.
“I have a bag packed for the hospital.” I start to scoot toward the edge of the bed but stop when he reaches out and helps me up.
“Is it in Shelly’s apartment?”
I nod, liking that he calls it her place and not mine. I feel more comfortable with him here than I ever did living with Shelly. “Yeah, it’s in my room, just inside as soon as you step through the door.”
“All right.” He kisses my forehead swiftly then leads me into the living room and gets me settled on the couch before bringing my shoes over. He drops down to his knees in front of me and slides them on my feet. When they’re on, he leans forward and brushes his lips against mine. “Stay right here. I’m going to run and grab your stuff. Then I’ll take you to the hospital.”
I shake my head. “I think it’s too early.”
“Hospital’s open twenty-four seven, sweetheart. There’s no such thing as too early.”
I point to my belly and smile. “No, I mean it’s too early in my labor. I’ve only had one contraction. I’m not even sure how far apart they are, because I haven’t had another one since the first one hit. The doctor said it usually takes longer with your first baby. I’m not supposed to go to the hospital until they’re like five minutes apart or my water breaks, and I think I have to call the office first to make sure it isn’t just Braxton Hicks that are false labor pains that don’t help things along, no matter how painful they might be,” I mutter, praying that’s not what I’m feeling right now. It would really suck to go through that pain again if I’m not really in labor.
He shakes his head as he walks to the door. “The shit you women have to go through for the miracle of birth.”
“You can say that again.” I blow a piece of hair out of my face and he smiles.
“Here’s the plan.” He opens the door. “I’ll grab your bag so we’re ready, and then we’ll keep track of your contractions. If they even come close to being five minutes apart, we’ll head to the hospital. Which one is your doctor at?”
“Vanderbilt.”
“Perfect. If it’s a problem, I’ll call Autumn and see if she can pull any strings for us, since she’s a nurse there.”
I don’t think hospitals work that way, but he seems so confident that I don’t want to burst his bubble. Plus, I have no doubt that he’ll figure out how to get me admitted if it comes down to that. Honestly, it’s reassuring, especially since I figured I’d be alone when the time came to give birth to my baby girl. This is so much better than my recurring nightmare where I had to drive myself to the hospital but couldn’t get the door to my car open and I ended up giving birth in the parking lot instead.
While he’s gone, I get up and go to the bathroom, wash my hands, splash some water on my face, and brush my teeth with an extra toothbrush I find in one of the drawers. When I pad back out to the living room, I feel a little more refreshed, but I am in no way ready for the next contraction as it hits me. This one is stronger than the other one I felt, and it almost drops me to my knees. I rest against the wall and attempt to breathe through the pain.