Only You (18 page)

Shane’s eyes widened. “You mean?”

“Yeah,” she answered, still smiling. “Mum, if you can lay back and lift your jumper, we’ll get started. You’ll want to unbutton the top of your knickers, or we’ll get this nasty gel all over.”

Camden did as she was instructed, smiling nervously at Shane. Once she was lying back, Shane interlaced their hands.

“This’ll be
a bit cold,” the ultrasound technician warned. Camden shivered when the gel met her belly. When the technician began moving the transducer on Camden’s belly, she advised that she would take measurements first and then would get some good pictures of their baby. Shane and Camden stared at the monitor in awe as the screen altered repeatedly while showing pictures of Camden’s womb.

“Okay,” the technician finally spoke. “Here we are.” She grinned and gestured to a little blob in the midst of a black circle. “That’s baby. She’s about the size of a blueberry right now.”

Shane stared in confusion. “I don’t see anything,” he muttered in frustration.

“Right here, dad,” the technician pointed to the screen again. “See the pulsing area? That’s baby’s heart.”

“That?!?” He pointed straight to the baby’s heart.

“Yep, that’s it. Want to hear it?”

Shane nodded his head vigorously, and the technician pressed a couple of buttons before adjusting the transducer again.

Womp-womp-womp-womp. The sound suddenly flooded the room.

“That’s my baby’s heartbeat?” Camden felt her eyes water. “Is that too fast?”

“No. It sounds just right. Baby’s heart beats pretty fast when it’s in the womb.”

Camden felt relief flood her, and Shane squeezed her hand. She met his eyes and laughed when she realized they both were crying while stupid grins were stuck to their faces.

“We made a baby,” he whispered in awe.

“Yeah, we did,” she whispered back. Shane leaned forward to kiss her softly.

“Would you like pictures to take home?” the technician interrupted.

They broke their kiss suddenly and answered in stereo.

“Yes!”

***

Chapter 21

“Oh my god! I’m going to be an uncle!!!” Eric held the picture of “Baby Hunt” in his hand and danced across the living room. “Little Blueberry is going to be so spoiled!”

Camden threw a pillow at Eric. “I said it’s the size of a blueberry, not that I’m NAMING it Blueberry.” She laughed and Eric stuck out his tongue.

“If it’s good enough for Gwyneth Paltrow, it’s good enough for you.”

Camden giggled. “Fruit names are off the table, Eric.”

He grinned and tossed the pillow back to the couch.

“I can’t believe you are going to be a mommy,” he wondered aloud.

“Me either. I can’t believe you are going to be a big brother.”

He smirked at her. “Me either.”

“How did the family outing go?” Camden was super curious about the baby that Marvin and Tim were adopting.

“Oh, Camden, it was great. I really like this girl,” he gushed. “She’s got a great head on her shoulders. She just found herself in a really hard situation, you know?”

Camden looked at her belly, then back at Eric, and nodded. He smirked and playfully slapped her on the arm.

“You know what I mean. Anyway, she’s only seventeen, but she wants to do what’s best for the baby. I guess she met Marvin at work or something. When he mentioned that he and Tim were talking about adopting, she asked to meet Tim. A couple of visits later, she told her adoption agency that she wanted Marvin and Tim to adopt the baby.”

“How exciting for them!” Camden loved Marvin and Tim, and she couldn’t keep the smile from her lips. “How far along is she?”

“She’s six and a half months, so within a couple of years, my little sister can be a playmate to your bambino.” He grinned.

“She’s having a girl?” Camden grinned. “I bet Marvin and Tim are over the moon!”

“Absolutely,” Eric agreed. “And they plan to let Tori have an open adoption, so she’ll get to be part of the baby’s life. It’s kind of like getting a little sister and a new cousin all rolled into one.”

Camden grabbed Eric’s hand and pulled him onto the couch. She embraced him and squeezed tightly. “I’m so happy for you,” she whispered in his ear. Ruffling his hair, she sat back and met his blue-gray eyes.

“For a boy who always thought he was alone, your family keeps growing by leaps and bounds,” she teased. Eric’s grin was sincere.

“I know,” he murmured. “I’ve got great parents, the best friend in the world, siblings, your family, your baby. It’s like I know deep down, I’ll never be alone again.”

Camden’s eyes watered. Damn hormones.

“So, other than seeing Baby Hunt, what did you find out?” Eric’s expression grew solemn.

“I start chemo in three weeks. Normal strength, so they don’t cause harm to the baby. Once every three weeks for now.”

Eric nodded in understanding, and Camden continued. “They want to deliver the baby at thirty-six weeks, so that they can start the high dose chemotherapy that will hopefully knock me into remission for good.”

Eric forced a smile. “We’ll kick this, kid. We did it before, and we’ll do it again.”

“I want you to promise me something, Eric.” Camden’s expression was fierce when she looked into his eyes.

“Anything, baby.” He knew he’d give her the world if he could.

“When I need to break down, a safe place where Shane doesn’t see me lost, can my safe place be you? He doesn’t need to know when I’m in the midst of a pity party or pissed at the world, and he definitely doesn’t need to see me when I have no hope.”

Eric smiled softly. “I already told you, sweetie. This time around, I have enough hope for the two of us.” He paused to look at her stomach, then met her eyes again. “Well, three of us.” He chuckled.

“Thank you, Eric,” Camden whispered.

“Anytime, babe.” He leaned forward to hug her.

Camden wiped a stray tear before taking control of the conversation.

“Now, no more cancer talk. I want to know what is happening with Jonathan.”

“Oh my god,” Eric started. “We went to this club Saturday night. I totally made him pay for everything , since he’d been such a jerk.” Camden giggled. “So we’re dancing and Jonathan decides to get a drink. I wasn’t ready to leave the dance floor though, so I just told him to hurry back.”

Camden smiled, completely riveted by Eric’s personal soap opera. Camden found it much more entertaining than daytime television. While Eric was searching for Mr. Right, he had no problem with Mr. Right Now, so his relationships weren’t always the longest. She was surprised Jonathan had lasted this long. Then again, she’d seen Jonathan, and she wouldn’t have kicked him out of her bed, either. She giggled at the thought.

“So, he was taking forever, and suddenly I feel a chest behind me and feel someone’s hot breath on my neck. Totally think it’s him, right? So I keep dancing and decide to turn around to face him, only to realize it’s Aeropostale hottie! He’s gay, Cam! Totally out, and I had no idea!!!”

Camden laughed. “How is that even possible?” she giggled. “Can you, as a gay man, actually have a broken gaydar?”

Eric growled. “I know, right? So, I’m totally thrown, and Aeropostale hottie gives me some lame line, like ‘Fancy meeting you here’ or ‘Come here often?’ or something. I’m so stunned, I don’t respond, and he takes that as his cue to kiss me….which is precisely when Jonathan makes it back from the bar.”

Camden groaned. “He threw a shit fit, didn’t he?”

“Abso-friggin-lutely!” Eric yelled. “He started accusing me of cheating and telling me all our problems were my fault. Starts listing a laundry list of my offenses, and THEN confesses to cheating on me with that guy I caught him with.”

“What?!?” Camden shrieked.

“I know!” Eric yelled back. “Bastard actually cheated on me with that pasty fatty!”

Camden broke into laughter. “So what did you do?”

“What any self-respecting man would do. I grabbed his hand, held it to my abs, told him it was the last time he’d feel those, since he was so into flab. Then I pressed it my crotch and told him Aeropostale hottie did that, so he could take his fatty and jump off a cliff.”

By this point, Camden was shrieking with laughter. She had never like Jonathan to begin with.

“And Aeropostale hottie?”

Eric smirked. “His name is Geoff. We have a date this weekend.”

“I love you, Eric,” Camden giggled.

“And I love you, Camicake.”

“You wanna finish that movie marathon?” Camden asked, smiling.

“300?!? Hell, yeah.” Eric leapt off the couch and hurried to the DVD player. He started the movie, and hurried to the couch.

“What? No popcorn?”

“Only because I love you, bitch.” Eric laughed and ran to the kitchen to make
their favorite movie snack.

***

Shane quietly entered the apartment, hands full of take-out bags. He had tried to kill time away from the apartment, hoping Camden would be able to relax and enjoy her afternoon with Eric. He knew the two were as close as any siblings, and while he had no plans to leave, he didn’t want to come between them. Shane felt he owed Eric a great deal for taking care of Camden the last few years.

He dropped the food bags onto the kitchen counter and went to the living room to see what the dangerous duo was doing. He was surprised to find them watching one of his favorite movies. He realized quickly, however, that these two watched 300 for an entirely different reason. Camden and Eric were each looking at the screen in….lust??? What the hell had he walked into?

Shane flipped the light switch and watched the two jump, as if he’d caught them watching porn. Guilt shown on their faces.

“Something I should know about, baby?” Camden’s cheeks flushed.

Eric laughed. “Yeah, Shane. Put on a loin cloth and carry a shield and she’s yours. Anytime. Anywhere.”

Camden’s cheeks grew more inflamed and she smacked Eric’s arm. “Eric!” she growled. He just continued to laugh. Shane raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“I’ll have to keep that in mind.” Camden’s eyes snapped to his, and her interested expression caused him to join Eric in laughter.

“You guys down for some Italian?”

Eric paused the movie and stood, stretching his arms above his head. “Sounds delicious. I’m in.”

Camden grinned. “Me, too.”

She stood and walked across the room to Shane. He immediately pulled her to him, and placed a kiss on her lips.

“I like to see you laughing, baby.” She’d been entirely too serious today.

“Me, too.” She slipped her arms around Shane’s neck. “There are other ways I prefer to see you,” she whispered suggestively in his ear, and then headed into the kitchen, leaving Shane in the living room ready for dessert.

"
You got my favorite,” he heard Camden squeal from the other room. Shane carefully adjusted himself and walked into the kitchen.

“Of course, I did, baby,” he smirked, pulling her back into his arms and kissing her soundly. When his tongue entered her mouth, Camden moaned.

“Eww,” Eric whined. “You two need to keep that crap in the bedroom.” He continued digging through takeout containers and filling his plate.

“Oh please,” Camden stated. “You’ll just be asking for details later.” She rolled her eyes, and Eric feigned confusion. He pressed his hand to his chest.

“Me?” He looked at Shane and shook his head, but Shane laughed at the insincerity in Eric’s eyes.

“Okay, fine. What can I say, Shane? You’re hot. Deal with it.”

Shane laughed again, and served himself a large piece of manicotti.

“So what’s the plan for tonight, babe?” He bumped Camden’s hip with his own. She looked at him, and he winked at her. Suddenly Camden stretched her arms and yawned dramatically.

“I think I need to call it an early night.” She smirked, and dug into her plate of manicotti.

“I think I should, too,” Shane replied. “It’s been a really long day and I feel exhausted.”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Oh please, if you two want alone time, just say so. Some of the guys were hitting a bar tonight anyway.”

“Are you sure, Eric?” He looked at Camden’s hopeful eyes. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, and he loved that, but he loved the happiness and contentment he saw in her eyes since Shane had come back into her life even more.

“Yeah, babe. I’ll call Tommy to see when they’re meeting. You two spend some time together.”

Camden jumped out of her seat and hugged Eric. “We’ve got a few weeks to just hang out before treatment starts, and I’ll be here for all of that, okay?” he promised her.

Camden nodded, and returned to her seat. Her dinner was delicious, and the company was fabulous. She looked at the two men in the kitchen with her, and she grinned. She was one lucky gal, and she was going to make every moment count these next few weeks.

***

Chapter 22

Camden had an enormous sense of déjà vu.