“He’s your dog, too,” I protested, then shut my eyes, wondering what the hell was wrong with me. I couldn’t think. There was a baby inside Marie. My baby. Holy fuck, there was gonna be a baby coming out of her and it would be my kid.
Mine.
I pictured her holding a little pink infant, nursing it in the living room while I stood over them protectively. The thought of it was enough to cut through the fog, and I had a sudden, magnificent realization.
“Your tits are gonna get huge,” I blurted out.
Marie sat back, blinking at me.
“You accuse me of cheating while we’re scrubbing skunk off the dog, I tell you you’re going to be a father, and all you can think about are my tits?”
I shook my head at her slowly. “Marie, babe . . . you know I think about your tits all the time.”
Ariel snorted and the stench rose thick between us. Marie shook her head slowly, and for long seconds I thought I was screwed. Then I caught the first hint of a smile. A real smile.
“You’re hopeless,” she said quietly.
“I know what I like,” I countered, grinning back at her. “You’re gorgeous, you know—it fucks with my head, and I’m kind of a moron to begin with. How far along are you?”
“I think about ten weeks, although I’m not totally sure. I had my last two periods, but they were really light. Spotting, more than anything. That threw me off.”
“This is amazing,” I said, feeling my stupid smile getting bigger. My baby. I wondered if the kid would be a boy or girl. Fuck, did it matter? “Christ, I love you.”
Leaning forward over the dog, I tried to kiss her. Panic crossed her face, and then she was turning again, gagging and heaving.
“You have morning sickness,” I realized. She ignored me, and Ariel whined, staring at us with big, sad eyes. I needed to get moving. If we didn’t get the dog clean, the smell would stick around for weeks—Marie couldn’t handle that.
Not with morning sickness.
“Go inside,” I told her. “Just strip off your clothes out here and I’ll take care of them. Clean up and go to bed—you need rest.”
She pushed herself up and rolled her eyes, weak but determined.
“No, I want to help you,” she said. “Despite you being a dumbass, we’re in this together. If you smell, I smell.”
“You’re crazy,” I said bluntly. “No sane person chooses skunk over bed, so get those clothes off and go inside. My baby hates skunk smell. Don’t fuck it up for him.”
Marie laughed.
“And how would you know that?” she asked, raising a brow.
“Everyone hates skunk smell. Just go . . . be pregnant somewhere. Wherever it smells the least.”
Marie rolled her eyes.
“Horse?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s not even nine p.m. yet,” she pointed out gently. “I’m knocked up, not a hundred years old. And you need help—we’re running out of time.”
Fuck. I looked down at the dog, whose mouth lolled open in a grin. Then his tongue caught a taste of the skunk-cleanser mix, and suddenly he was twisting his head around, smacking his lips, trying to get rid of it.
“I’m killing you when we’re done here,” I told him.
Ariel gave me an anxious whine.
Marie laughed, grabbing her sponge as she started scrubbing again. I wanted to push the point with her, but she was right—we were out of time—so I grabbed my own sponge. I lifted it to the dog’s side, watching as it bubbled up through his fur, hopefully taking the stink out with it. My mind was still racing, though.
Marie was pregnant.
I’d been a jealous asshole.
Babies were scary.
Marie’s tits were gonna get huge.
“You’re thinking about my boobs again, aren’t you?” she asked.
I looked up at her, busted. “No.”
She raised a brow, and I shrugged because of course I was thinking about her boobs, and we both knew it.
“It’s okay—I’m kind of excited about it, too.”
“Then why were you crying?” I asked, suddenly remembering what she’d looked like when I’d come in. “You do want the baby, don’t you?”
“Of course I want the baby,” she said, her face puzzled. “And I didn’t even realize I was crying. Must’ve been the hormones or something. But I was nervous about telling you—this isn’t what we planned.”
I shrugged.
“Waiting was your plan, not mine. I just wanted you to be ready before we started trying, that’s all.”
“So you’re ready to be a daddy?” she asked, looking up at me. “Because it’s a big deal . . . Everything is going to change for us.”
“Life is change,” I pointed out. “And I like the idea of you all big and round with my kid in you—it’s cute.”
Marie frowned. “I’m gonna get fat.”
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes.
“Carrying a baby is not the same as getting fat,” I pointed out reasonably. “And I think it’s sexy.”
“You get turned on by pregnant chicks?” she asked, her voice dry. “I know you’re a perv, but this is a new one. How long have you had this fetish?”
Dipping my sponge back into the mix, I laughed.
“Don’t worry, it’s recent—specific to you. I’m fuckin’ crazy about you, babe. You know that, right?”
Marie smiled at me, and I swear to God, she started glowing like some pregnant lady cliché, right in front of me. Beautiful. My beautiful, beautiful girl . . .
“I love you,” I said, my voice dead serious.
“I love you, too,” she whispered back. “I even love your dog. But let’s get him clean, sound good?”
Nodding, I agreed, although the smell wasn’t even bothering me that much anymore. How could it, after getting news like this?
_______
By the time we finished, we reeked. Both of us.
I had a feeling it was worse than we realized, because I’m pretty sure at least half the nerves in my nose had committed suicide. Our clothes were outside in the plastic garbage bag, along with the paper towels and the sponges. I’d wanted to throw away the bowl, too, just on general principles, but Marie wouldn’t let me.
Apparently pregnancy can make women stubborn.
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of closing the windows,” Marie mumbled around a mouthful of toothpaste as I stepped out of the shower. She sat on the toilet, still wrapped in a towel from her own shower. Normally we’d clean up together, but tonight she was obviously exhausted, and I wasn’t sure I could handle a slippery, naked Marie without fucking her. Hell, I was so tired I’d probably drop her or something. Not that being exhausted had ever slowed me down before, but things had changed.
There were three of us now.
Right on cue, I felt that dumbass grin take over my face again.
“It’s not that bad, we can handle it,” I said, shrugging. She raised a brow.
“Go into the bedroom, and then tell me that again.”
I wrapped the towel around my waist and stepped out into the hallway, heading toward our room. As soon as I opened the door, I realized she was right—we’d fucked up. The windows had been open on all three sides when the skunk hit, and now the place was so thick with stench that you could practically see toxic green tendrils hanging in the air. The windows were still wide open, which I guess made sense at this point—the damage was done.
Fucking great.
Walking over to the dresser, I found a pair of briefs and pulled them on, followed by jeans and a shirt. Then I grabbed one of Marie’s pretty panty and bra sets (damn, but I loved those) and a sundress before heading back to the bathroom.