The Dom on the Naughty List (13 page)

Visions of parent
/teacher meetings just a few years down the road flashed past. Her mind kept drifting back to that situation, like it was the defining moment for her as a mother in the eyes of society. The teacher would simper at Jude, smile pleasantly at Sabrina, and merely raise a brow at Q. Would they go to those together – would they come out at the school? The baby probably would if they didn’t.

She looked again, trying to imagine how other people saw her.
The tattoos, the dark clothes. She gave the air of being too immature to be a good mother. She hoped the baby wasn’t ashamed of them – of her.

Baby.
Her hands flattened protectively over her flat stomach, then lifting her shirt so she could look again – like a little pot belly would miraculously appear between one moment and the next.

My baby.
Our baby.

A warmth
suffused her. They’d made this baby together, the three of them. Even though Sabrina’s genetics wouldn’t be involved, she’d helped – she was there when it happened, and not just as a spectator.

Although it didn’t look like a baby yet, more like a speck.
She’d looked it up. It was amazing to Q how quickly a baby could be built – even stranger that her body would just do it without her having to concentrate on where to put everything.

Sabrina had ambushed Q with the laptop before they’d left the house to look at baby furniture.
And shoes! She hadn’t shut up about baby shoes on the car ride over either. If this baby was a boy, he’d better get used to having a lot of pretty things. His
mommy
had her eye on a round crib with eyelet bedding. His
mama
had her eye on something a little more sedate – oak furniture that they could use for his or her brothers and sisters.

Q had this weird feeling that it was a girl though. They’d better start talking names
soon, because it would take them forever to agree.

And Jude.
She’d never expected his reaction. The man was strutting around like he’d won the Nobel Prize. Like he hadn’t been cocky enough in the first place! Q chuckled to herself. Apparently, even more brag-worthy than being a Dom with two subs, or a guy with two girlfriends, was getting a girl pregnant. It was good he was feeling virile, because she’d been so horny lately. Probably the hormones.

God forbid he ever
knock both of them up at the same time – his head would explode.

It would be fun to be pregnant with Sabrina some day, if the opportunity arose.
Like having twins. And children? Q wanted a houseful. They’d discussed it before, and they all seemed to be on the same page. It had been a long-range goal, but here they were. Apparently, Santa had decided it was time.

As she opened the door, she deliberately removed her hand from her belly. It was going to be hard not to give away her condition with her body language before they decided t
o announce it. They’d wait a few months before they shared their news though. They needed time to adjust to their relationship before they sprang this on them.

Jude had told them in no uncertain terms, though, that he would be telling Cross the next time he saw him. He just had to tell another man – someone who would understand. Sometimes she forgot how outnumbered he was in the house. He might have been the Dom, but it was in a house of
diminutive Amazons.

One of Sabrina’s cousins waited on the other side of the door with her three
-year-old daughter, Ava. She grimaced an apology as Ava scooted past. “Have to go potty
now
!”

With a smile that made her feel warm and fuzzy down to her toes, she walked to the living room. It had been filled
with people moments ago, but was empty now. There was hollering from the basement turned man cave by Sabrina’s dad, and she guessed they’d started the home video of Sabrina’s cousin’s wedding. Hollering while watching a wedding might seem odd, but with the Romanos, it was the polite way to show affection.

She hoped they would truly accept her and the baby into the family. They had Jude’s family – Q adored his mother and brother, but it was such a tiny, polite family. Not the same as how sh
e remembered her own childhood.

The
Romanos were loud and affectionate. Children ran wild through the house, patted affectionately by random family members. People argued politics, dogs tumbled around your feet and people grabbed you and kissed you without any warning or apology. This is what she wanted for their baby. A big, messy family.

She was glad Jude had convinced Sabrina to give her family a second chance. It’d been nerve-wracking when they’d first walked into her mother’s house. Sabrina had squeezed Q’s hand so hard she could still feel it. Aside from a few stares and a couple whispered, no one treated them any differently than before.

A small movement caught her eye, and Q realized she wasn’t alone. Sabrina’s mom stood, quiet and still at the window, looking out into the snowy night. She turned, and Q fought the urge to flee. They were going to have to talk to each other someday though, if family ties were going to stay intact.

Momma pursed
her lips, then gave Q a tight smile. “So glad you could make it, Q.”

“Thanks, Momma Romano.” She winced. She’d been calling her that for so long it was second nature. Maybe it
would grate on her now, considering what she knew.

“It’s okay. You can still call me that.” She smiled vaguely. “I don’t blame you. I know you didn’t aim
to ruin my Sabrina. You had no mother to teach you right from wrong.”

Q tactfully chose not to argue. “You really feel like she’s ruined, Momma?” Q felt terrible for her and for Sabrina.

“She’s always been a bit of a disappointment.” Momma sighed. “Not pretty like her cousins, or good in school. I hoped the silly ghost chases were just a phase. I’d say this…this threesome thing is a phase but I know Sabrina well enough to see when her heart is set on something.”

She paused
, then looked at Q. “Would you let her go? If it made her life easier? If it meant she didn’t have to experience the hurtful comments over and over again?”

Q
wanted to tell her Sabrina was most hurt by
her
comments, but this was hard enough for Momma as it was. “If Sabrina wanted an easy life, then I would. But she’s brave. And strong. Most people just don’t see it.”

Momma nodded though Q knew
she didn’t really hear. “You could choose for her, you know.”

“No.” She shook her head vehemently. “I won’t do that. Momma, I know you think Sabrina’s going to
hell, that I am too,” she blinked back tears, “but your daughter is a good girl. If anyone is going to heaven, it’s Sabrina. She’s like an angel. God wouldn’t turn her away because she loves me. I refuse to believe that.” Without realizing it was coming, Q burst into tears.

Momma Romano went into full-on Momma mode. In a heartbeat
, she was wrapped in the woman’s strong embrace – her hair was petted and her back was patted. Q tried to pull away, embarrassed, but Momma refused to let her go.

Now, more than ever, Q missed her own mother. Another sob shook her.

“Shh, now. Maybe you’re right, Quimby. You’ve always been a good girl too. You’ve been a positive influence on her, even though it was hard to admit it for the past couple of days. You and Jude ground her. I just wish it wasn’t three of you together.” She sighed. “It’ll be so hard to explain to people. Even harder than telling people she’s…
gay
.”

Q tucked her chin against Momma’s shoulder. “
She’s not gay, Momma, we’re bi. Otherwise we wouldn’t be with Jude. But I understand how you must be feeling. We didn’t mean for this to happen. It just did. We never meant for any of
you
to get hurt. We had no intention of bringing shame to the family.”

They both went quiet. Q gave
Momma time to sort through her thoughts.

Eventually, she heaved a sigh and let Q go. She picked a piece of lint from Q’s black Christmas sweater. “Bah! This family can han
dle it. There are so many people that most everybody will assume you’re a cousin of so-and-so and you’ll blend right in. You’re like a daughter to me, Q. Even when Sabrina is rude because of my big mouth, you don’t tell this old lady to shut up. Maybe between you and Jude you can finally teach Sabrina some manners.”

She fo
rced herself not to laugh. Teach Sabrina manners? Mmmmm.
That
thought gave her some ideas for later tonight. She hoped Momma couldn’t read her mind, because it had suddenly gone straight into the gutter.

Sabrina’s mother took Q by the hand and pulled her toward the stairs. “
Let’s go watch the DVD and make my sister happy. That Jude can really cut a rug. The camera zooms in on him a lot. That’s what they get for letting Sabrina’s gay uncle do the video.” She rolled her eyes and laughed. Her voice dropped to a more serious tone. “Really, though, you and Sabrina should convince him to go back to medical school. Although construction isn’t so bad. My brother Sylvio made good money at it, until the day he died – God bless him.”

Before they reached
the top of the stairs, Sabrina came bounding up and stopped in front of them. She looked upset to see them together. Q guessed her trip to the bathroom had taken too long and made Sabrina suspicious. Subtly, Q gave her a thumbs-up, and Sabrina’s small smile was more relieved than she probably would have admitted to. Q knew that she did care what her family thought, although her initial anger had given her some false bravado.

“You were looking for Q?
” Momma said, eyeing Sabrina. “She’s in one piece. I promised your father I would behave. But if she breaks your heart it may be a different story. Come on, we’re going back to finish watching the video.” Momma wrapped her arm around Sabrina’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Just never come to me for advice on bedroom issues, okay? I’m old and I don’t want to think about that.”

Sabrina gave a short laugh. “No, Mo
m.”

They descended arm in arm, then Momma sent them on to sit with Jude, while she stopped to chat with one of her sisters.

Q slid onto the couch on one side of Jude and Sabrina took the other. He winked at Sabrina, then gave Q a dazzling smile and a subtle stroke to her belly, before turning politely back to face the television. Sabrina’s hand tugged on her sleeve behind Jude’s back, and their fingers linked there secretly, away from the eyes of their prying relatives.

Sabrina

“Mmm,” Sabrina murmured into her mug. Jude’s hot chocolate was the best. “Where did you learn to make this?”

“Mexico,” he answered, handing a mug to Q
, then settling down on a pillow in front of the fireplace. “Me and a buddy worked just outside Tijuana, building houses with Habitat for Humanity. The locals gave me the recipe.”

“It’s got a little
kick,” Q said after sipping hers. “What’s in it?”

“Secret ingredient.”
He winked. “If I tell you, what’s to keep you from running off with some hotter Dom?”

Sabrina snorted.
“How about a baby?” Her heart sunk at the reminder of the news they’d rejoiced over just that morning.

A baby.
At first, she’d been excited, thinking only of baby shoes. As a self-professed shoe whore, it was the first thing that came to mind. Even as a child, her dolls would go naked for days but always have the best shoes she could find.

But then…it had fully sunk in.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want a baby. Q had been talking family for a few months now. She’d known it was bound to come up sooner or later – just maybe not this soon. In some ways, she was ready. The house was coming along nicely – most of it was refinished and usable. They had steady jobs and moderate income. She loved children. Playing with Jude’s niece and nephew had been a blast and she had to admit, it made her own biological clock tick a little louder. So it wasn’t that. Her reservations about this baby came with being the third wheel. Everything would change. What would her role be with a baby that wasn’t biologically hers?

“We need to start thinking names,” Q said, scooting closer to the fire with a little shiver. Jude had insisted on turning down the heat at night to save on the heating bill. It was romantic because it made for lots of cuddling and roaring fires, but cold toes in the morning wasn’t fun.

“We could go with the letter theme,” Jude offered. “Maybe X? Or Z?”

Q laughed. “No. The baby should have a real name. And nothing that can be shortened to any reproductive organs.”

They chuckled, then Jude looked at Sabrina. His smile faltered. “Come here.”

She scooted her pillow next to his. “What?”

“Something’s up. I know that look. You’re holding back. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

After a glance at Q’s worried expression, she wondered if she should tell the truth or give them what they wanted to hear.

“Answer honestly, Sabrina,” Q said.

With a sigh, she did. “I love kids and I’m thrilled for you, Q, but…” She stared down at her half-empty mug. Was she selfish to feel this way?