Summer's Last Breath

Part 39

My baby bump was growing.

I'd ditched wearing jeans for yoga pants and leggings. At night, when Jamie and I would lay in bed, he'd curl his hand around the small mound and marvel at the idea of a tiny life growing inside of me; a life we'd created. Now that we knew it would be a girl, we spent hours under the stars or in our bed with the night quiet around us, discussing names.

Tonight, as we'd lain in Jamie's bed we'd gone through the whole alphabet, suggesting a name for each letter, a process that left me feeling languidly relaxed and absurdly happy. We'd narrowed it down to Caroline, Everly, and Lyla though my mind kept getting stuck on Lyla.

"Have you felt her move yet?" His hand spanned nearly my entire abdomen.

"No." It would be any day though according to the app on my phone, and Jamie seemed especially impatient for me to feel her. I promised he'd be the first to know when I did.

"How was school today?" As usual when he asked about school, his body tensed as if he expected to have to spring from the haven of our bed and fight the world for me. I had no doubt that he would.

"It was good." I pressed up against the length of him with my head on his shoulder and one leg thrown over his stomach. Salt air funneled through the open window along with the hypnotic rhythm of the rolling waves. "I didn't feel the urge to puke when I walked into the cafeteria."

"I'm relieved to hear it, but that's not what I meant." Since Noah's fight, he was always anxious when I had to face my school mates. He pulled the covers over my shoulders, covers he never needed. He was warm all the time, like my personal electric blanket. "I worry about you."

"No more worrying. Like you said, everything is okay. I'm happy." And that was the truth. I couldn't imagine being any happier. I'd explode if I were any happier.

"And Noah is behaving himself?"

I hadn't wanted to tell Jamie or my dad about Noah's fight and the reasons for it, but it had been unavoidable with the resulting suspension. Mrs. Jacobs had been called in for a parent conference, and I couldn't help thinking she must blame me for causing trouble in both her boy's lives.

"Yes." Noah's three-day suspension had come and gone, and if people were still prone to express their disgust of me, they kept it to themselves. I hadn't heard the word slut or whore, whispered or otherwise, in days.

All in all, life felt pretty normal.

Coach Hall had invited me to volleyball tryouts for the team for next year. I'd gotten back on the court and hit a few balls. Some of the girls were even talking about throwing me a baby shower. Looking on the bright side, if there was ever an ideal time to be pregnant, it was now. The baby would be born in early June which would give me a few months to get back into playing shape. The club deal was out, but Coach assured me my place on the team was still open whenever I decided to come back.

"Well," Jamie said, the mountain of his body seeming to sag in relief. "What do you think about finding a place of our own before the baby's born?"

I smiled into his shoulder, stifling a giggle.

"What?" he asked, sensing my amusement.

"If someone had told me a few months ago I'd be lying in bed with the man of my dreams naked and discussing baby names and a place to live, I would have thought they were nuts."

"I guess I should say I'm sorry, but I'm not anymore, especially about the naked part. I like you naked, which is why I think we need a place of our own." He turned over on his side and propped his head on his elbow, his eyes like glowing emeralds in the darkened room. They followed the path his hand traced, starting at my shoulder and skimming to my wrist.

"We can live here if you want. I know this house is convenient for you. I'd hate for you to give that up." I knew how important proximity to the water was for Jamie. I thought he'd go crazy if he had to live somewhere he couldn't hear the waves constantly, and that wasn't even considering his basic need for it.

"Do you really want to live with my mom and brother?"

"Well, we can't afford anything on the Gulf. Probably not even the bay."

"You let me worry about that." He leaned toward me, his hands slipping around my neck and securing something in place. It was the pearl he had offered me on our wedding day, and its warmth spread through my entire body from my chest all the way to my toes.

"I picked it up from Maggie today," he said, kissing me gently. My thoughts scattered as his hands roved over my skin.

"I'll never take it off," I vowed.

The hand on my stomach dipped lower and I moaned, arching into his touch. He rolled over on his back, rolling me over him. He wouldn't lay on top of me anymore for fear of squishing us, and he'd pretty much perfected the art of slow and gentle.

We slept after, or at least I did, held in the protective curve of his body. Jamie didn't always sleep in the bed with me. He would always start off beside me, but sometime during the night he'd end up on the beach.

The first few times I'd woken up and found his space beside me empty, I'd gone looking for him, finding him under the stars. Sometimes he'd be asleep. Other times he'd be staring at the sky. A few times he'd been in the Deep and I'd felt my first pangs of jealousy that she had the power to lure him from our bed.

He was always apologetic, afraid I'd taken his absence personal, but I was well aware being inside for too long made him restless. Besides, he always came back before the sun started to rise, and I'd spend the early morning hours sleeping in his arms.

Tonight, he'd stayed all night, the sure beat of his heart a constant rhythm at my back. At one point, he'd whispered into my ear, "I like Lyla."

I smiled drowsily. "Me, too."

Minutes later he kissed my cheek and moved to get out of bed.

"Where are you going?" I opened my eyes a fraction. The sun wasn't up yet and the room was still dark, my body warm where he'd been spooning around me.

"I have something to do for Marshall. It won't take long." He kissed my cheek.

"Jamie." I grabbed his hand. "Be careful."

He bent down and kissed me on the mouth and skated his lips down my body and kissed my stomach too. "I'll be back later today. I love you."

My hand lifted, fingering the pearl around my neck. Pregnant and married at sixteen. I sank back to sleep, marveling at my perfect life.