The Silencer: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (13 page)

Shelly

It had been three weeks since Jason proposed to me. It had also been three weeks since I first started feeling sick and the feeling had not gone away. Except for a few rare exceptions, I’d been vomiting every day. My body constantly felt like it was rebelling against me as my muscles ached and I had no energy whatsoever. It wasn’t exactly the best way to feel considering that I had a job that demanded a lot out of me.

With each day that passed, I told myself that I was sure I’d feel better the next day. This became an ongoing hope until I started to realize that it wasn’t going to happen. Was there something seriously wrong with me? I’d been so weak and nauseous that I knew it had to be something more than just an upset stomach.

I avoided it as long as I could but I eventually gave in and called my doctor. His office is always ridiculously busy and the next available appointment was almost two weeks away. I accepted the appointment but also had the office assistant place me on a call list in case anyone canceled their appointment.

That afternoon, I got a call from my doctor’s office saying they someone had indeed needed to reschedule their appointment so the assistant gave them my appointment in two weeks and swapped me into theirs. I clocked out a little more than an hour early and nervously made my way to my appointment.

“So what seems to be the problem today?” the doctor asked as he walked into the room. Of course, he could have simply asked the nurse who had just asked me the same question. Alternatively, he could have read the notes that the same nurse wrote in my chart, which he happened to be holding in his hands.

“I’m not entirely sure. I’m sick and I’ve been sick for a few weeks now. I keep hoping that I’ll feel better but I never do.”

“Can you describe what you mean when you say you’re feeling sick?”

“It’s mostly nausea and muscle aches. I’m getting headaches too but I’m pretty sure that’s a result of throwing up.”

“Okay, I’m going to have my assistant come back here and draw some blood so we can run some tests. I’m also going to have you give a urine sample. I’ll be back in shortly.”

The doctor left the room and his assistant came in a few minutes later. The first thing she did was draw my blood. I closed my eyes hard and turned my head away. As funny as it may sound considering the career I chose, I can’t stand the sight of blood. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I can’t stand the sight of my own blood. Fortunately, the assistant was easy and got my blood quickly. All that was left to do was give a quick urine sample and sit in the room to wait.

Waiting is always the hardest part when it comes to going to the doctor. I knew he wasn’t going to be back in right away so I pulled out my tablet and started reading a book that I’d downloaded. If there was one thing I’d learned it was that if you want someone to come into the room, start reading a book. It’s all but guaranteed that you’ll be interrupted right as you get to a good part. On this occasion, I made it through roughly four good parts of my book before the doctor came back into the room.

“Okay, we won’t have your blood work back for a while but I tested your urine and I’m pretty sure I’ve got a good idea as to why you’re so sick lately.”

“Oh good. What is it?”

“You’re pregnant?”

There wasn’t a mirror in the room but I was sure my face went white. Pregnant? How in the hell could I be pregnant? I mean, I knew
how
I could be pregnant but it sure wasn’t something I was planning on. Jason and I always tried to be safe. At least most of the time. Right then, every single spontaneous moment entered my head and I realized we were probably not being safe far more than we were.

“Oh my God,” I said. “What am I going to tell my boyfriend?”

“I don’t know. That’s not a service I offer here,” the doctor laughed. “This is going to be your first child, correct?”

“Yeah, no other kids.”

“Okay, I’ll get you some things to take home with you so you can read up. I’m also going to write you a prescription for a prenatal vitamin and folic acid supplements. I’ll see you back here in four weeks for a checkup.”

The drive home was a blur. I was in shock that I was pregnant and had no idea how I was going to tell Jason. His arm was still going to be in a cast for a few more weeks but he was set to leave in less than 48 hours to go to Atlanta to sign his contract. From there, he was going to fly to Chicago where his new team would start working on his cardio until his cast came off.

Apparently, Championship Cage Fighting had already decided on who Jason’s first opponent was going to be and he was going to be fighting on a live pay-per-view event. That was big news for him. He thought that at least his first couple of fights were going to be un-televised. By being featured on a pay-per-view, he’d be able to get his name out there much more quickly, which could lead to bigger fights.

During my drive home, I had to decide whether or not I was going to tell him about the pregnancy. I knew that he deserved to know but I also didn’t want my pregnancy to be a distraction to him. I debated whether it would be better to tell him when I got home or wait until he returned home. The problem with that was that I didn’t know when he would be back exactly.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jason

My life had been a whirlwind and nothing had happened the way I expected it to. People say that life takes many detours but you always end up at the destination that was intended for you. I never quite understood what that meant until I was experiencing it. All I ever dreamed about was being able to make enough money to bring my brother. Never in my life did I think that I’d be on the verge of achieving that dream while simultaneously being engaged to the woman of my dreams.

I had to leave the next day. Although I was excited about turning the page and starting the next chapter of my life, I wished that I could take Shelly along with me. I knew it wasn’t possible. With her being so close to getting her promotion at work, she was on the verge of accomplishing things she had dreamed of as well. I just hoped that she’d meant what she said when she told me she’d be patient and wait for me to get back.

Since I wasn’t going to be seeing her for a while, I wanted to give her something to remember me by. Before she got home, I lit some candles in the dining room and sat out plates for dinner. Of course, my arm is still jacked up so I wasn’t able to cook. Instead, I ordered some Chinese takeout and had it delivered to the house.

We had a nice meal but I could tell she was drained. She had said that she just wanted to get some rest so after dinner, I told her to go take a hot bath while I threw away the trash from dinner. I was hoping the bath would rejuvenate her but she still wasn’t feeling all that hot so I turned on her favorite show and we both climbed into bed. Within a few minutes, she was sound asleep. I watched TV for a while before drifting off as well.

I was sleeping very well. I was dreaming about fighting but something woke me up. It happens pretty regularly and I don’t really have an explanation for it. I just have trouble sleeping through the night sometime. I tried laying there, hoping I’d fall back asleep but it wasn’t happening. I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 4:00 in the morning. The alarm was set to go off at 7:00 so I could make it to the airport by 9:00.

The moon was shining in through the window, casting a bit of a glow onto Shelly. She always gets hot when she sleeps so the covers frequently get kicked off her. She was completely nude, which is how she likes to sleep every night. It’s not a sexual thing. She tosses and turns at night and hates getting caught up in whatever she happened to wear to bed. Of course, I’d never dream of complaining. She has a great body and I never miss a chance to take a peek at it when I can.

Since I wasn’t able to sleep, I laid on my side watching her sleep. Her perky breasts rose and fell with each breath she took. The longer I watched her, the more I realized I was becoming arouse. This woman was beautiful and she was going to be my wife. This gorgeous woman was going to be mine. I’d never have the need to go anywhere else. She was attentive and loving, two things that I appreciated.

There was something about her that night that made me want her in new ways. Most of the time, whenever we had sex, it was pretty much a rough fucking session. As I watched her, I realized how much I loved her and I wanted to make soft, slow, sweet love to her. Sure, it was out of character for me but what if it wasn’t? What if I had just been waiting for the right woman to come along and bring that side out of me?

I reached over and slowly slid my hand along the top of her left breast. I loved the way it was so firm while still being soft. In my opinion, her breasts were perfect. I moved my hand up to her areola, tracing my finger around it before gently touching her nipple. I was starting to get hard but was far from being fully erect. This surprised me. Most of the time, when I would go to touch her nipple, she had already been awakened from my other touches and we would be well into our foreplay.

On that night, it took a little more time and touch to get her nipple where I wanted it to be but I eventually got it there. I moved onto the left side with the same result.

Shelly continued to sleep deeply. It wasn’t going to happen that night but I was okay with it. I knew she had been exhausted lately and deserved to get some rest. There was no way I was going to be able to go back to sleep, however, so I decided to get out of bed and jump into the shower before making myself something to eat.

Showering had been a pain in the ass with the cast on. I’d been having to tape grocery bags to my arm and hope the tape would hold. It sucked but that was the price I had to pay to not smell like ass.

Just after I had turned my shower water off, I heard the sounds of someone running down the hall and into the bathroom. That was followed immediately by the sounds of the toilet seat being raised and vomit filling the bowl. Shelly was still sick.

“Are you okay?” I yelled from inside the shower.

“No, I’m so sick of throwing up,” she replied.

“You poor thing. Go on back to bed and try to get some rest.”

“No, you have to leave in a few hours so I’ll stay up with you.”

I got out of the shower and got myself dressed. Starving, I went into the kitchen where Shelly was sitting at the table looking sicker than I’d ever seen her look.

“We need to talk,” she said.

“Oh shit, those are the words a man never wants to hear. What’s up?”

“I went to the doctor today to try to figure out what’s been wrong with me lately.”

“You did? How come you didn’t tell me?”

“I was trying to wait for the right time. You’ve got so much going on and, with you about to leave, I didn’t want to make you any more stressed than you already are.”

“Fuck that. You’re my priority baby girl. I always want you to come to me no matter what. What did the doctor say?”

“I’m pregnant.”

I nearly spit out the coffee I had just taken into my mouth. I was expecting to hear about some kind of illness but hearing the word pregnant really caught me off guard.

“Pregnant? Are you sure?”

“Very sure. The doctor did a test in his office. I have to go back in four weeks for a checkup.”

“How did this happen?” I asked her.

“Do you need me to draw you a diagram?”

“No, I know how it happened,” I said, realizing how stupid the question had been in the first place. “So, I’m going to be a father? We’re going to be parents?”

“Yes, that’s what typically follows a pregnancy and the subsequent birth.”

Shelly looked at me as though she was trying to read my thoughts on the matter. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure what to think. I had been caught by surprise with the revelation and wasn’t sure what the right reaction should have been. Secretly, I was surprised and happy but didn’t want to act like I was ecstatic. I knew she must have been scared. I leaned over to her and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close to me.

“I love you and I think we’ll make a great team as parents.”

Shelly smiled and let out a little sigh of relief. Not only had she managed to tell me but I was okay with it. That seemed to make her feel better. The only problem was that I was about to leave and I’d be gone for the majority of the pregnancy.

I hated the fact that I had to leave her. Not only was she going to be my wife but she was also going to be the mother of my first born child. As much as I didn’t want to leave, I knew I had to. Our livelihood was at stake. I knew that with a few good wins, I could make some incredibly large payouts and set my family up for a long time.