Page 57 of Stalked By the Assistant Coach

“Like, really late.”

“I know that!” I snapped and winced. “I’m sorry, I’m just?—"

“Scared?” he asked, and when he moved, he didn’t stop until he was in front of me.

He picked me up, and I wrapped my limbs around him like I usually did when he did this. And no matter how many times I told Redford Bridges I could walk, he didn’t care. The man liked carrying me around, and I honestly didn’t mind it.

I secretly loved it.

Well, not so secretly, because I was sure he knew how much I loved it. Plus, we didn’t have any secrets between us.

Not anymore.

The morning after I had discovered everything, we talked.

As crazy as it was, I didn’t care. I hadn’t lied to him when I told him that for the most part, I understood why he’d done certain things. I had been guilty of some things, too, nothing as drastic as the lengths he’d gone to, or the lines he’d crossed, but I wasn’t completely innocent either. At the end of the day, all that mattered was that we loved one another.

We had fallen into a routine of sorts after that. But that hadn’t lasted that long.

The day the school year ended, Red managed to move me out of my place and into his. I’d also put my notice in at work and been hired at the local high school about fifteen minutes from the university. Everything had been smooth sailing except for one thing.

Like clockwork, my period came and left.

I’d never been so regular in my life, and I hated it.

Until this month. I was not late by a week. Nerves were getting the best of me, and by the time he sat down on the couch with me draped over his legs, I was starting to shake.

“Ladybug, look at me,” he ordered in that tone of voice I didn’t question. Just staring into the blue pools of his eyes made me feel better. “Breathe with me.” His hand picked up mine and rested against his chest.

I inhaled with him, holding my breath for a moment before exhaling slowly.

We did that a couple of times before he leaned in and rested his forehead against mine.

“No matter what the test says, we’re going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay,” he promised, and I knew he meant it. My eyes filled with unshed tears, and even though he became a blurry mess, I didn’t look away from him.

“What if I’m too old now? What if we can’t—" His lips touched mine with a kiss so sweet my lips wobbled.

“No matter what,” he promised. “We will have a family. We already do, right? You and me?” I nodded and blinked away the tears. But they rolled down my face. Not that he was fazed by this. He simply wiped them away and kissed my cheeks. Pressing one tender touch to the right then the left.

“We can adopt. Foster. We have choices. We can find a surrogate,” he reminded me. We’d gone to the fertility clinic together and had tests run. According to the doctor, we were fine. Other than my age, there was nothing to stop us from conceiving naturally. We’d decided to try for a couple of months before deciding what route to try.

“I know.” I gave him a watery smile. “No matter what,” I whispered back, and he nodded.

“Want me to check the results?”

“Please,” I whispered.

He picked me up and set me down on the couch, wrapping me up with a throw blanket. I watched him walk to the bathroom. The house felt so quiet and still.

It made me think about us getting a pet.

A dog.

No matter what the test said, I’d bring it up to Red.

My ears strained to make out any sound, anything that would give me a clue about his reaction to whatever the test said, but I couldn’t hear anything. My knees bounced, and I rested my elbows on them, holding my face and closing my eyes for a moment.

Our lives were about to change.