LIV

I woke up to the sounds of a soft alarm. Rob's arm was still draped over my waist protectively as he slept, not even noticing the wake-up call. I reached out to silence the alarm, then stretched as much as I could without waking him up. I settled back into the bed, nestling up against Rob when I heard a phone ringing. It was a basic ringtone, so I knew it couldn't be mine--it had to be his.

With a groan, I sat up again and reached for the cell. I rubbed my eyes, still cloudy from the sleep I'd just woken up from. So, I didn't see the name correctly before I answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, is Robby there?"

"Robby...?"

"Yeah...Robert...My boyfriend."

I felt like someone had just punched me in the gut.

It was the worst feeling, not knowing whether he was lying or she was. I believed him when he told me they were over, but my faith in him was wavering after I heard that phone call the day before. The thought of who that woman was still bothered me and the feeling was made worse by Iz.

"Y-your b-boyfriend??"

"Y-yes, b-bitch. Who are you, anyway?" Iz asked.

Just then, I heard Rob move behind me. "Good morning," he whispered groggily. Rob moved to wrap his arms around me and kissed my neck and shoulders. "Who are you talking to," he asked, which was when I turned to glare at him. His smile faded when he saw the look on my face.

"Well, apparently," I looked at Rob as I spoke to the woman on the phone, "he has two girlfriends, Iz. Nice talking to you." I hung up, then pushed his arms off of me as I got out of the bed. He protested and called my name over and over again. The sound of his voice fell on deaf ears. The last thing I wanted to do was listen to him talk, let alone look at his face. I yanked the closet door open, grabbed my clothes, then went into the ensuite bathroom. The door slammed shut behind me, and I made sure to lock my stupid boyfriend out. I stopped to take a breath once I had my clothes on, then tried my best to calmly clean myself up.

My heart pounded as I brushed my teeth, and negative thoughts ran rampant in my mind. I couldn't help but think of the worst-case scenario, and it scared the shit out of me. If Rob was lying, if he really was in a relationship with Iz, I couldn't imagine ever being able to forgive him. Then, I'd be doing this alone; the pregnancy, parenting, life. I'd have my family, sometimes, but I'd mostly be alone. I didn't want that. Not just because it was lonely, but because I'd gotten used to having Rob around. I was falling for him in more ways than one, and the thought of doing all of this without him was not one I enjoyed entertaining.

Rob knocked on the door as I gargled mouthwash, the sound interrupting my thoughts. "Liv, we need to talk about this. Please."

I cleaned my face and took my time doing so. Eventually, I'd open up the door. But, waiting for me to do so would be fine for Rob. I looked at myself in the mirror, and my eyes went to my bulging abdomen. At this point, there was no denying I was pregnant. Half the time, I wore oversized t-shirts, which kind of hid my belly. That wasn't necessarily the intention, but they did keep prying eyes away. Plus, they were comfy. One of my favourite shirts to wear was one of Rob's that he got from university, and the thought had me rolling my eyes. Depending on what he'd say when I opened the door, I might've had to get rid of that thing.

After about ten minutes and his repeated knocking on the bathroom door, I finally opened it up. There he stood, with messy hair and his bare abdomen on display. He looked horrible. Not because he'd just woken up, but the expression on his face was that of stress and deep concern. He was clearly freaking out about the phone call, especially since he'd only heard my side of it. His eyes pleaded for me to let him in, and I stepped aside so that he could walk through the doorway. He reached for me immediately but stopped when I moved to avoid him. My resolve nearly crumbled when I took in the pained look on his face, so I decided to avoid eye contact.

"Olivia, I'm so sorry," Rob agonized, running a hand through his messy hair. I glanced at him, wanting to make sure he was truthful with what he said. "I don't know what she said to you, but we are not together. I did not lie to you before, and I know you're having difficulty trusting me. I-" his voice cracked slightly, and he had tears that threatened to fall in his eyes. I instantly regretted looking back at him, and I fought the urge to cry myself. He shouldn't have even been crying. I was the one that was being wronged here. I shouldn't have had to feel bad for him, and the fact that he had tears in his eyes conflicted with me.

He gulped, "even yesterday, I acted like an asshole after you implied that you didn't fully trust me. But, I haven't given you enough reason to... I just-... I don't want to lose you, and I'm so fucking sorry."

I stepped forward, then held my arms open. My boyfriend hugged me immediately, rubbing my back tenderly as we embraced. I breathed in the faint scent of his cologne as my nose sat in the crook of his neck. "You have to do better," I whispered. I could feel him nod, and he tightened his hold around me. My heart calmed down as we held each other, and my hands ran up and down his back. We stood there for a few minutes, and Rob's continued apologies became like a song. I figured it was time to pull away when he titled his hips toward me.

The action was probably unintentional, and it seemed more like an attempt to readjust so that he'd be a little more comfortable. But, my body didn't know that. My body didn't care. I couldn't help the tingling at my core, and I didn't want to let go of him. Suddenly, the most innocent hug was making me hyper-aware of how sexy my boyfriend was. He tensed his shoulders, and I felt the muscles move underneath my hold. My hands went down to the hem of his shorts, and I could feel the vibration of his laugh on my neck.

"What are you doing, Liv?"

I ignored him; he was intelligent. He'd figure it out eventually. I traced the perimeter of his waistband, all the way to the front of his body, then ran my hands over his chiselled abdomen. Rob's breath caught in his throat, and when he sighed, it was full of sexual frustration. I lifted my head so that my voice would be close to his ear, "I think you know what I'm doing."

He moved to trail kisses down the side of my neck, and it felt better than it ever had before. Everything we were doing seemed sexier, and it didn't make sense until something I'd learned from a book about pregnancy popped into my head. The increased hormones and blood flow affected a pregnant person's sex drive, explaining my sudden initiative.

My fingers hooked into his bottoms, and I yanked them down, revealing his smaller self. Rob seemed surprised; I was never really like this. The last time we'd had sex was the time that got me pregnant, and I hadn't had any practice since. It was pretty good, but I wanted it to be even better. Whether it was or wasn't might not have made a difference to my sex drive; I craved him. That was obvious when I took him in my hand and quickly set a pace. He gasped, struggling to breathe as he asked, "what... What happened to 'take it slow'?"

His tip got wetter, allowing me to quickly increase the pace. Despite his attempted protests, his body was responding. Still, I didn't want to do anything he didn't like. I moved my hand away, and he seemed disappointed. "Do you want me to stop," I asked him. Rob sighed, then moved my hand back to where it was. He shook his head, "no. I just want to make sure you're sure."

"I'm sure. I want this." My tongue ran a trail from his jaw to his ear, and I took it between my teeth gently. "Badly."

That must've sent him over the edge because before I knew it, I was up on the bathroom counter. He made quick work of my shorts, discarding them on the side before making sure I was ready for him. Somehow, his slight haste excited me, and I hummed at the feeling of his hand on me. My teeth grazed his collarbone as he picked up the pace, and my grip tightened around his shoulders. "Tell me what you want, Liv," he whispered huskily into my ear. I pushed him away so that we were eye-to-eye. "I want you." Rob reached for me, taking my lips in a fervent kiss as he moved to make his entrance. With heavy breaths, he positioned himself, "I want you more-"

"Rob, honey!" There was a knock at the door that followed a woman's voice, who I assumed could only be his mother. I threw my hands over my mouth, and my eyes opened as wide as ever. For the first time since I came into the bathroom, I checked to see if the door was locked. It wasn't.

He looked at me and sighed, "yes, mom?"

His mother laughed, "oh, good, you're in there. We wanted to have breakfast together as a family."

"That's fine."

"Where's Olivia, by the way? I don't see her here in the room."

"She's probably somewhere in the house. Maybe her parents' room," Rob added, and I could see that he hoped she'd finally leave.

"Okay, well, come down soon," she said. I finally relaxed when I heard her footsteps ascending.

I smiled up at Rob, "that was a close call." His grip tightened around my thighs, and he moved to kiss my neck. "Where were we-"

"I almost forgot-" His mom started opening the door, and before I could even comprehend what was going on, I was being carried off the counter and swung around to the other side of the room.

"Mom!" Rob stuck his leg out to keep the door somewhat closed. "Please don't open the door out of nowhere."

His mom apologized, "Sorry, I just wanted to... Actually, I'll just mention it at breakfast." With that, she closed the door, and Rob finally locked it. My heart was pounding against my ribcage, and I couldn't stop wondering if she'd seen me straddled around her son.

"I'm sorry," Rob told me. I shook my head, fully aware that it wasn't his fault. He took that as a sign to keep going, but I gently pushed him away. "Liv?"

My eyes were apologetic as I gave him a small smile, "I'm not really in the mood anymore..."

******

"So, I wanted us to go out and tour the town." Liana started as I popped a piece of fruit into my mouth. "There's a beautiful downtown area, and we can get lunch while we're out. Maybe do some shopping, too?"

I nodded, unable to respond audibly with food in my mouth. After a few bites, I covered my hand with my mouth and finally replied, "sounds fun."

Despite Liana's polite demeanour, I was pretty sure she knew what Rob and I had been doing when she opened the bathroom door. Just the thought of walking downstairs after that was horrifying, but I didn't want to be rude. Thankfully, though, she was acting like nothing had happened. My mom smiled, seeming to like the idea. She didn't shop as often as she'd like to because of her busy schedule. She loved smaller towns almost as much as she loved the city, especially their downtowns. Since before I was born, we'd had cute souvenirs from the different places my parents visited when they travelled, and they were something I expected to see whenever they came from somewhere new.

Rob glanced over at me as we ate, and he did his best to gauge how I might be feeling. I ignored him, though, not wanting to look like we were having a moment in front of our parents. As lovely as his mom seemed, she could've been waiting to ambush me with a question that hit way too close to home. I focused on my food, wanting to finish quickly, then head back up to our room. My stomach, however, had other plans. Maybe it was because of the nerves or Lillian's attitude ruining my appetite. Still, I hadn't eaten as much as I usually did, even before growing two tiny humans in my uterus. Before I knew it, I'd scooped up another serving of watermelon and eggs. Rob glanced over as I did; he had noticed my lack of appetite and mentioned it carefully last night. He smiled, ready to say something funny, but I still wouldn't look at him. We hadn't made eye contact at all during breakfast, and it seemed to be bothering him.

After the last few minutes of silence, he could take, aside from the idle chatter of their parents, he rubbed his leg up against mine. I jumped slightly, surprised, and he finally got a look from me. Probably not the one he was hoping for, though. This one had 'annoyed' written all over it. "What is it, Rob," I asked him in a hushed voice.

He quirked his brow at me, "I should be asking you that. What's wrong?" I looked around the table at our family, who were too busy with each other to pay us much attention. "It doesn't feel a little weird to be mushy after your mom basically caught us having sex?" I asked him as quietly as I could. Rob sighed, "she didn't catch us having sex." He shifted closer to me, as subtly as he could manage. "And anyhow, I don't see why that warrants me being ignored..." I looked down at my plate, almost clean, and shook my head. "This is just a little weird for me, okay? And, for the record, she almost did. That's bad enough."

*********
A/N

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-Ruth