Chapter 7

My mind was in a whirl.

‘Wh-what?! You’re pre ... wait, is it mine?’

Mel’s face, which had previously been overwrought with worry, now twisted into a frown.

‘Of course it’s yours, you dimwit, ‘ she accused me, very lightly cuffing me on the head. ‘The only people I’ve ever done anything sexual with are you and Ro. And last time I checked, one girl can’t get another girl pregnant.’ She rolled her eyes, but then, clearly remembering something, paled. I could easily see the whites of her eyes in her worried face.

I took a deep breath. ‘Are you absolutely sure you’re pregnant?’

Mel nodded seriously. ‘I even took a test.’ Then she bowed her head. ‘I guess I should have told you all this before talking about getting married. I was trying to; I was going to tell you earlier, if I’d been able to go on errands with you. But you turned me down.’ Seeming to further lose strength and happiness, Mel sagged. ‘I’ll understand if you don’t want to marry me now, I--’

‘No!’ I burst out, grabbing her shoulders. ‘Melody, my love. Look at me.’

She did, her brown eyes filled with tears threatening to spill over. I brushed back a few locks of auburn curls, and then pressed a kiss to her cheek.

‘I meant what I said about marrying you, whatever the circumstances. You’re mine, and I don’t know how I could live without you.’

Still not completely consoled, Mel said, ‘I can get rid of it if you want--’ ‘No, Mel. Not unless you want to do that for you, not for me. This baby is mine, just like you are, and I’m going to look after both of you ... if you decide to keep it.’ I hadn’t wanted to add that last part, but I did. I realized that I DIDN’T want her to get rid of our child.

That’s when she started to cry, really cry. Auburn hair flying, she flung herself into my arms, burying her face in my shoulders.

‘Oh, Burton!’ Mel sobbed. ‘I was so afraid you’d make me get rid of it. I don’t want to. I was so afraid you wouldn’t want me anymore, I was so--’

‘Shh, ‘ I said softly, my chin resting on her head as I pulled my beloved close and rubbed her back soothingly. ‘It’s okay. Neither of those things is ever going to happen, ok?’

She must have agreed with me, because she didn’t say another word. In fact she didn’t say another word until the next day.

But we lay together and I held her until she slept.

It took me a long time to get to sleep, since I was seriously thinking.

All the things I’d said to Melody, I meant. I was just figuring out how we could work it.

I wasn’t sure how my parents would take the news, or hers, for that matter. My parents loved Mel very much, but I’m not sure how they’d take the whole best-friends-turned-lovers thing. It was the same dilemma with Mel’s mum and dad. The cherry on top would be telling them that not only was Melody my girlfriend and now fianceé, she was also pregnant.

The second problem was getting a job. There were not many opportunities for that in my community lately. I’d probably have to go into a trade, construction or such, which wouldn’t be too bad, since I’d helped my dad out building stuff for years.

I would be okay with Melody working if you she wanted to, a job that would work out well with her condition, but in the later months I was hoping she’d stay home or take a lot less shifts. I wanted her and our child to be in prime health.

We could get our own apartment...

Overwhelmed, I rubbed my eyes. Best to think about everything when we were both fully rested.

And so, I slept too.

I awoke to the feeling on Mel’s soft body pressed on mine. Some time in the night she must have lain on top of me, her head on my shoulder, and I obviously hadn’t minded. It made me smile to see her there, sleepy, cuddly, innocent. I kissed the top of her head and wrapped my arms around her back, snuggling down to sleep again.

I could feel Mel’s heartbeat on my chest, and mine beating along with hers. I imagined, too, that I could feel a third heartbeat in her belly, a soft, bird-like rhythm.

I liked the idea. In fact, I liked it a lot.

Suddenly, thinking about having gotten my woman pregnant made me territorial. I’d claimed her. She was mine. Everyone would know it.

Oh, shit...

Why was that making me hard?

I struggled to stop thinking about the primitive instinct rising up in me to make duly sure that Mel was, in fact, pregnant, but it only served to make my cock hard as stone.

Helplessly I buried my face in Mel’s hair and tried to think of anything else to make it go away. She woke a few minutes later, her body immediately convulsing in a cat-like stretch, clenching her eyes shut hard as she yawned. Then she smiled, looking up at me.

‘Good morning, ‘ Mel said.

‘Morning, love, ‘ I replied, giving her a gentle kiss on the mouth.