Page 33

Chapter 32

DANI

Ten Weeks Later

“You see that little bubble right there? That’s the sac, and inside of it is your baby—” The tech stopped talking for a moment, moving the wand a little more. “Actually… babies .”

“I’m sorry, did you just say babies?” I gasped. “As in, plural? As in more than one?”

“I sure did. You are having twins. See the other sac right there? There’s two.”

I turned to find Jordy, whose eyes had rolled back in his head as he fell out of the rolling stool and onto the floor. “Jordy! Shit.”

The other nurse in the room rushed to him with a light chuckle. “Eh. It happens more than you think it does. So, how long have you two been together?”

I thought back to how long we had actually been together and smiled. “A while,” I replied. Yeah. That was a good answer to give her.

“Well, it looks like you have two healthy babies growing just like they should. You are right at twelve weeks, so we’ll see you back in eight weeks for the twenty week ultrasound. Sound good?” She wiped the gel off of my stomach, and I started to fix my leggings. It wasn’t going to be long; I’d have to tell people I was pregnant soon because there’d be no hiding this belly.

“What’d I miss?” Jordy asked as he came to.

I laughed as the tech handed me the pictures. “We’re having twins.”

“Damn. So that wasn’t a dream.”

“Don’t forget to schedule your next appointment. Y’all have a great day.” The tech and nurse made their way out of the door, leaving us for a moment.

"Oh my God, we're having twins! They could be Jordy Jr. and Danielle Jr., or even Huey," he muttered, his eyes wide with shock.

I giggled, standing and grabbing my purse. “No. We will not. We can discuss it later.”

“So, can we tell people now?” Jordy asked.

“No. Not yet. Maybe after this weekend.”

There was a big game this weekend. It was their final game before playoffs and beating Atlanta would push them to being in first place in the division.

“Fine. But I want you to know that I am chomping at the bit,” he groaned.

“Oh, I’m well aware.” I grinned, putting the pictures in my purse as we walked to the desk.

We made the appointment for the ultrasound and follow up with the doctor. Before I got in the car, Jordy gripped my hips and leaned me against the car door. “You look so sexy today.”

“You’re just saying that because you feel bad for me getting big, and you’re required to because you love me.”

“Oh, quite the contrary. Yes, I do love you, but you in these leggings…do you know how bad I wanna bite your ass? Uh, you’re perfect.”

I rolled my eyes. “Seriously, I can’t take you anywhere.”

“Wanna have a quickie in the backseat? Give me five minutes tops,” Jordy pleaded.

I shoved him and he chuckled, knowing that I wasn’t going to give into that right now.

***

It was game day. Everyone on the social media team was stationed where they should be, and I was in my favorite spot—on the sidelines. It was where I thrived the most.

Today was a big day for Jordy because he wanted to break his yard record, and he was playing against Calvin Moore, who was opposing cornerback and his high school nemesis. They both played for the same college team and consistently butted heads. Eventually, Calvin went through the transfer portal and ended up playing against Jordy. It was a lifelong battle between them, and I didn’t see that ending anytime soon.

While rechecking my camera settings, I felt a sting across my ass cheek.

Jordy.

He pulled off his helmet, tossing his sweaty hair back and smiled that charming smile. “Looking good…mama.”

“Ah. Was that your plan all along? I knew you had a hidden agenda calling me that name.” I shook my finger at him, but it does nothing to stop him.

He leaned down, pressing a kiss against my lips. “You’re gonna be such a hot mom. I can’t wait.” He peppered another gentle kiss before putting his helmet on and jogging towards the rest of the team. I returned my gaze to my camera, making the final adjustments on the focus when my eyes pulled to the field, caught in the snare of Calvin’s dark eyes.

He had been staring at me, and that made me feel very, very uncomfortable.

Somehow, Jordy knew and cut his gaze to me. “It’s okay,” he mouthed.

I sure as hell hoped it would be okay.

Only three minutes remained in the fourth quarter, second and five, spread offense. Calvin was guarding Jeremy, our tight-end. The ball snapped and players began to run their routes as the ball was thrown in a perfect spiral to the sideline, Jeremy caught the ball and side-stepped Calvin before he jogged out of bounds.

But Calvin didn’t stop—he ran directly into me.

The full weight of two hundred pounds of muscle crushed me, knocking the breath out of my lungs. I winced as pain shot through me.

The sting of the turf shattered against my back, halting my movement. I tried to sit up and noticed Calvin standing there, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t linger as the network camera crew began to help me up. I was pulled to my feet, and when I glanced back at the field, Jordy was sprinting full speed toward Calvin.

Once Calvin noticed him it was too late.

Jordy slammed into Calvin, leveling him to the ground. They were only a few feet away from me, and I could practically see the red flames of anger in Jordy’s eyes.

Ripping off Calvin’s helmet before his own, he slammed his fist into Calvin’s face repeatedly, until one of the offensive linemen grabbed him and pulled him off.

“Don’t ever fucking touch my woman again. You hear me?” Jordy screamed. He spat blood, Calvin must have been able to get a few punches in.

“Fuck you!” Calvin yelled, lifted to his feet by his teammates. All Jordy did was flip him off, the ref threw a flag and ejected Jordy from the game, but Jordy didn’t walk to the locker room.

He came directly to me.

Blood stained the collar of his jersey and there was a cut across his brow. “You okay?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper as his hand coasted over my stomach. “Are the babies okay?”

I nodded. “I think so, but I’ll go to the hospital just in case.” His eyes said that he didn’t believe me, so I reassured him. “I’m alright, Jordy. I’m okay.”

Anger was embedded within him, and there was nothing I could say or do to convince him otherwise. His shoulders rose and fell in sharp bursts, his cheeks red and glistening with sweat. He leaned down to kiss me, his hand still on my stomach. “No one touches what’s mine. You and our babies included. Understand?”

“I understand.”

He kissed me again before heading towards the locker room. He was delightfully cheered on by the fans near the exit, and he jumped up and down, pumping his arms. One of the athletic trainers told me to go ahead and pack up and head to the hospital to get checked out, even though she didn’t know I was pregnant. As I’m putting away my things, I notice two women staring at me with ‘you better start talking’ expressions.

Instead of dragging this out, I gestured to my stomach and made a round shape, mouthing, “I’m pregnant.”

Becca and Lenna glanced at each other briefly before jogging down the stairs, climbing over the railing and onto the sideline. Security tried to stop them, but they couldn’t, as Becca side-stepped the large man in the vest.

“Ahhhh! Oh my God! I’m gonna be an aunt!” Lenna yelled, hands waving in the air with Becca trailing right behind her.

They hugged my neck and I smiled. “Actually…”Leaning away from the hug, they stared at me. “It’s twins,” I revealed.

Their mouths dropped open and they started jumping, pulling me along with them in the circle.

Yep. I was having twins.

“Wait, are you okay. Let’s get you to the hospital,” Becca suggested, but I already knew I was headed there. I needed to make sure these babies were okay. I knew they were.