Johnny Loves Krissy (21 page)

Turning away, she stomped off to the back of the bar.

The blood drained from Johnny's head and continued down his body. His throat dried, tongue swelled. He labored for breath and his ribs cracked under the pressure of guilt. His knees locked to keep him standing. Beer sloshed onto his shaking fingers.

Drew took the tall glasses from his hands. He set one in front of Gina and guzzled some of the other.

“I need to go after her.” He looked at the back of Gina's head. “Shit.”

“Why don't you let me take care of Gina? You aren't very good at juggling, my friend.”

Johnny slapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks,” he whispered. “Gina, I've got to— ”

“It's fine, John.” She smiled at Drew. “Are you going to keep me company?”

“So Gina, do you like hot tubs?”

Johnny didn't know how Drew did it. And right now, he didn't care. Bringing Gina to the bar hadn't been his most brilliant moment. The last few weeks encompassed a series of bad decisions. He'd always considered himself a smart man. Who knew he could make such monumental mistakes?

He wound his way around the perimeter of the bar. When he didn't see her on the dance floor in the rear room of the bar, he made his way back to the table. “I can't find her.”

Casey pointed across the room. Krissy laughed and flirted with a group of men playing darts. “Don't get pissed. She came here tonight to work it out and you showed up with a date.”

Speaking of dates... “Where'd Gina and Drew disappear to?”

Shelby giggled.

Ryan snorted. “You left her with Drew.”

“Hot tub.” Shelby wrinkled her nose. “Remind me to ask him if he's had it fumigated before we go over,” she said to Ryan.

“Gross,” Casey said. Then she turned to Johnny. “Don't go over there. She doesn't want to talk to you right now.”

“I can't believe I never guessed you were Mr. Perfect.” Shelby shook her head. “We should've guessed,” she said to everyone at the table.

“I can't believe you knocked her up! I suppose that if you have to saddle yourself with a woman and kid for the rest of your life, it works best if it's someone you like.”

Johnny looked away from Krissy and glanced at Ryan. “I love her.” He turned to Casey. “But I want more than to be her baby's daddy.”

“She isn't going to want to hear declarations of love tonight. Dumbass, you brought a date.”

“You're right. I'm an asshole. I have to go over. It only gets worse for Krissy and I if we don't talk.” He'd gone all week without talking to her. And look how great they were doing. Regret squeezed his chest.

Johnny stared across the room. The beat of his heart pounded in his head. Pregnant. With his baby. He hadn't known how he'd feel when it finally happened. He still didn't know how he felt besides being numb. He stepped away from the table. She might not want to talk, but he had to.

He crossed the room. “Can we talk?”

Krissy's hand shook as she held the dart. Johnny's eyes burned her skin, made her heart trip, missing a beat. Did he believe her? It wasn't the way she wanted to tell him. She imagined a slow dance, hip to hip, and whispers in his ear. She'd say something like, “Hold me close while you can...about four more months.” He'd robbed her of the experience by bringing a date.

“Krissy, we need to talk.” He stood to the side with his hands in his front pockets.

“After my game.” She narrowed her eyes, pitched her arm back, and sent the dart in an arc to the board.

“Is it true?”

She gave the man with the darts a smile and took a couple steps toward Johnny. Her palms were damp. She combed her hair off her forehead with her fingers and tilted her head to scrutinize the man she loved. She licked her dry lips as she considered the words and the order in which to give them. Baby first or profess her love? Risk her heart or once again lock it away?

“Not here.” She didn't want to make the most important decision of her life in the bar. Wasn't it enough they might've conceived here?

A wave of nostalgia flowed over her. She took a good look around. It wasn't the last time she'd ever come to the club, but never again as a part of the six- pack. She and Johnny were making it seven.

Maybe they could stay the same. Or maybe it could be better. She'd never know if she didn't try to move past this fear of losing him. She needed to think about how much more she could have in a real relationship with him. Shelby and Ryan's relationship headed in the same direction as she and Johnny. Drew needed a miracle to settle down, and Casey kept her life too organized to make the mammoth mistakes Krissy did.

Only, her baby wasn't an accident. Johnny told her in the beginning that he wanted a baby, their baby.

“We should go.” She lifted her gaze to him and swallowed the lump in her throat. He nodded. On shaking knees, she crossed the bar to the table where Shelby, Casey, and Ryan watched in wide- eyed fascination. Like her, they probably wondered if Johnny would find himself removed from the bar for disorderly conduct. “We're going.”

“You okay?” Shelby came around the table. “Is it true?” she whispered.

Krissy grabbed her cell phone and keys from the table. “I can't talk about it now. I'll call you later.”

Casey leaned in. “Don't worry about calling us. Fix this thing you have with Johnny, or you're going to regret it. Listen to Mother.” She smiled. Krissy chuckled. Casey was drunk. It didn't happen often.

“I hope you're taking her home,” Krissy said to Ryan.

Shelby wrapped her arm around Krissy's shoulder. “Of course he is. We take care of each other.”

“I know.”

Krissy snuck a quick glance at Johnny. He'd always taken care of her. Her stomach churned. And tonight she was about to let him do so again.

Chapter Thirteen

The Baby Bond

Johnny maintained an outward show of composure. Inside, his heart throbbed, his stomach tightened, and his nerves stretched to near snapping. He took in her figure. If pregnant, he couldn't tell. But then, she couldn't be that far along. If she was pregnant. This could all be part of
getting her game on
.

“Are you ready?”

He refocused on her face. Ready for what, fatherhood?

“I'll drive,” she said. “I haven't had anything to drink.”

Johnny reached out and clasped his fingers around her elbow bringing her to a stop. He swallowed the excess saliva in his mouth. “Are you pregnant?”

The texture of her soft skin under the pads of his fingers stirred confusing emotions. Instant tenderness replaced uncertain motivations. He stared into eyes harboring the same fears roiling in his gut.

Her teeth gnawed on her lower lip. They'd done a grand job of fucking with each other's feelings. She didn't trust him anymore. He let go of her elbow. The fact that he questioned her statement of pregnancy reflected that he didn't trust her either.

Reaching into his pocket for the keys, he handed them over. Their fingers touched when she took the keys from his hand, and a slight tremor traveled up his arm. Intimacy hadn't brought them closer together but made them uncomfortable with each other.

He marveled at the realization that Krissy might be the future mother of his child. She'd balk at relinquishing her independence. But if he'd learned anything in the past weeks, it wasn't so much the message as the delivery. He couldn't pamper her. She'd call him controlling. Bringing about changes in their relationship needed done gradually. Life was about to change again.

He smiled thinking about Krissy, about sex, about how she laughed when he filled her with his cock. In bed was the one place they communicated perfectly. Taking it slow wouldn't be a problem. He liked taking it slow.

Over the past weeks, both he and Krissy, mostly Krissy, had focused too much on the baby. He thought about the sex more than making a baby. All that would change if she was pregnant.

Krissy unlocked the truck doors. “Do you want to drive around or go to my place?”

He put his hand on the door, keeping her from opening it. “First, I want the truth.” He sandwiched her body between him and the truck. “Are you pregnant?”

“I think so. The test was positive. I've been sick for a couple days, and if you touch my breasts, even an accidental brush, I'll scream.”

Johnny nodded. Then a slow smile spread across his lips. The tightness in his stomach eased. Warmth started in his chest and radiated out to the rest of his body. His fingers burned to touch her.

“You look pleased.”

A breeze lifted a wisp of her hair. He captured the golden strands between his fingers. “Unless you tell me it isn't mine, then, yes, I'm very pleased.” His finger trailed to her jaw. “Ecstatic.”

Quick, shallow breaths blew against his cheek as he leaned in close to her face. “I know you,” he whispered. “You don't fuck around.” His lips grazed her jaw. A gentle kiss followed.

The familiar scent of her lavender shampoo tickled his nose. His tongue flicked her earlobe. He tasted the sweetness of her skin, blending with the essence of her perfume. “The baby is mine.” She rewarded him with a pleasured sigh. “And so are you.”

He pressed his lips to hers at the same time his pelvis rocked against hers. Her fingers clutched the front of his shirt. “Johnny, we need rules.”

He laughed. “We screwed up a good thing with rules.” He rested his wrists on her shoulders, hands dangling, and stared hard into her eyes. “We both have points we want to make. Can we agree that this thing, whatever it is between us, doesn't have a name, a label, or expectations?”

“But— ”

He stopped her protests with another kiss. She moaned when he slipped his tongue past her teeth and into her mouth. The kiss was hot, erotic, and promised of more. Reaching behind her, he opened the truck door. “Talk at home.”

Krissy slid behind the wheel. He closed the door and walked around the front. He smiled as she stared at him through the passenger window. “Unlock the door.”

She pressed the power lock button. Johnny opened the door and slid in. He cocked a brow. “Ready?”

“Okay.” She started the truck.

Truth struck him hard. Realization that what he thought was the biggest mistake of his life, actually felt like a dream come true. He never would have bore the news that she carried a child that wasn't his. His baby. His future. From this moment forward, they worked for at least one common goal.

Krissy drove the truck on autopilot. Her thoughts drifted from Johnny to the baby. How did she ensure they stayed friends and build a relationship? Yikes, just thinking the word made her look to the sky for a lightning bolt.

She entered the apartment complex lot, drove around to her building, and pulled into her slot careful not to wrap Johnny's truck around the cement pole supporting the carport.

From past conversations, she had a good idea how he'd want to progress from here. Her bottom lip found its way between her teeth. If he asked her for a commitment tonight, she'd give him one. That thought struck fear into her heart. She took a deep breath. Time to remind herself that she would trust in their foundation of friendship even though she had a shaky past when it came to commitment. She took responsibility for her culpability in failed romances. No one had been
Johnny
.

She shifted her stare, taking a quick glance at him. She regretted pushing him away when he wanted to get closer. Tonight, he could get as close as he wanted. She hoped it was very close.

They walked to the apartment. Krissy unlocked the door. Her heart raced. A torrent of emotions swirled in her center, blood pounded through her ears, and her palms were damp.

“Can I get you something to drink?” She tossed her keys, purse, and phone on his throne.

Johnny tracked her movements through the house. He stared, his eyes searching. He probably expected to see the telltale belly bulge. Well, she'd have a pooch soon enough. She hurried from the room so he wouldn't see her. She needed to think, breathe, and regroup. She entered the kitchen and took two glasses from the cupboard with shaking hands.

“Krissy.”

She hadn't noticed him. With a shoulder propped against the wall, he leaned on the doorjamb. He straightened and slipped his hands into his front pockets. “It's just me. All we need to decide tonight is when we tell our friends and family.”

“I believe I already took care of telling our friends. I think we need to talk about us.”

“No. No talk about relationships. Where we go from here will take care of itself.”

But she wanted him to ask her for forever. If she didn't gain some control over her raging emotions, she was going to hyperventilate in the kitchen.

“I'm going to take another test in the morning.” She didn't need to. With the symptoms, she didn't doubt the first one's accuracy. “Would you like to stay tonight? I think you should be here for the confirmation.”

There, she'd done it. She'd put out her desire to have him stay over. He should be able to make the connection. If he didn't, he'd figure it out when she jumped his bones.

He came fully into the kitchen. “I'll stay.” He put his hand on her stomach. “How sick have you been? I want to know everything.” His hand wrapped around her waist and slid up her ribs. Her nipples tightened with awareness, but he didn't touch her breasts. He trailed his fingers over her shoulder and across her collarbone. Then he touched the throbbing pulse point in her neck. Finally, he cupped her face. She closed her eyes when his thumb stroked her cheek. “Most likely, this will be our only baby.” Her eyes flew open. “I don't want to miss a day.”

“I'm sorry.” She stepped into his arms. “I'm not scared anymore.” She chuckled. “Okay, that's a lie. I'm scared as hell. No labels and no limits. I want us to be like we've always been.” She pulled back and looked in his eyes. “No sappy love sick shit like Shelby and Ryan, or pessimism from Drew to interfere.”

“Drew plays both sides. He knows. He heard us when we made love on the washing machine.”

“Had sex,” she interrupted, and then smiled.

Johnny rolled his eyes. “Either way, he thanked me for making laundry a pleasant and
uplifting
experience.”