Page 34 of Certified Pressure 3 (Certified Pressure #3)

After a few minutes, the door opened and a petite Asian woman walked in with a calm smile, and introduced herself.

“Good morning, Ms. Monroe,” she said, her voice warm but professional. “And you must be the father?”

I nodded once. “Yeah, that’s me.”

She smiled again and started askin’ Pluto questions about her mornin’ sickness, sleep, and appetite. After writin’ some notes, she wheeled over a small ultrasound machine and turned the screen so we could both see. “Alright,” she said softly. “This is your second appointment, right?”

Pluto nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Then we should be able to get a clearer view today.”

Pluto nodded, nerves written all over her face even though she tried to play it cool.

The doctor dimmed the lights a little and squirted some gel on Pluto’s stomach before pressin’ the ultrasound wand against her skin.

The screen lit up with shades of black and gray, and then, right there, I saw somethin’ move.

“There we go,” the doctor said, smilin’ at the monitor. “Looks like you’re about eleven weeks and four days along. Everything’s measuring perfectly.”

Pluto nodded softly, her hand restin’ at her sides. Then that beautiful sound came through the machine.

“That’s your baby,” the doctor said with another smile. “Nice, strong heartbeat too.”

The sound filled the room, soft and fast like a drum. For a second, everything around me faded out. It was just that heartbeat echoing in my ears. This shit was real now. I leaned forward, starin’ at that tiny flicker on the screen.

Pluto was lookin’ at the screen too, her lips curvin’ into a faint smile.

She looked peaceful, and really happy about becoming a mother.

I could tell how much she already loved the life growin’ inside her.

And even though I ain’t say nothin’, my soul was heavy in a good way.

It was pride mixed with relief, and mixed with a fear I ain’t even know how to name.

When the doctor was done, she wiped Pluto’s stomach clean, handed her a tissue, and told her she could get dressed. “Make sure to schedule your next appointment before you leave,” she said before walkin’ out.

Pluto slid off the table and went to grab her stuff. I was still lookin’ at the ultrasound photo she handed me. It was tiny, barely a shape, but it was mine.

“You might as well not even grab that next appointment,” I said.

She looked over her shoulder at me. “What you mean?”

I held her gaze. “‘Cause you ain’t gon’ make it to it.”

She frowned. “Pressure, I still need to keep up with my appointments.”

“Yeah,” I said, standin’ up. “But your next one gon’ be in Trill-Land.”

She looked irritated but still soft. “That’s fine,” she said, “but I still want the card just in case.”

“You won’t need it,” I told her.

She still grabbed the appointment card on our way out. She tucked it in her hand like she was already plannin’ to come back here.

When we stepped out the clinic and started walkin’ through the parkin’ lot, I reached over and snatched it right out her hand.

“Give it back,” she said, reachin’ for it.

I shook my head. “You heard what I said. You ain’t gon’ need this.”

“Pressure, stop playin’. I just want it.”

“I ain’t playin’ either,” I said, smirkin’ slightly. “You gon’ be home with me soon. I’ll have my own doctor on you every week if I got to.”

She took a step closer, close enough for me to smell her perfume. Her eyes met mine, and I felt it. That same heat that always came when we got too close. She looked at me like she wanted to argue, but her lips were tremblin’.

Before I could say another word, she leaned in and kissed me.

It wasn’t soft or uncertain, either. This shit was deep. Her lips was warm and tasted sweet, like she been eatin’ strawberries or some shit. My hands moved to her waist without even thinkin’, and she melted into me, her body pressed against mine. I couldn’t even remember what we was arguin’ about.

The world just disappeared, and all a nigga could think about was how right she felt…how natural it felt to have her in my arms again. Her fingers slid up the back of my neck, her nails dragging slow. That shit turned me on so bad, I pulled her closer. The kiss got deeper, wetter and rougher.

I gripped the back of her neck, slidin’ my fingers into her hair and twistin’ it until her head tilted back. I knew it turned her on, ‘cause she moaned into my mouth.

The sound sent something wild through me. I kissed her harder, tastin’ everything I had been tryna forget. Our mouths moved together like we was tryin’ to swallow every second we lost. My hand dropped lower, palmin’ her ass, pullin’ her tight against me.

People walked by, some stoppin’, some lookin’ away, but we ain’t break for shit.

Her nails was scraping up my arm while her body trembled against mine. I dragged my lips down her throat, felt her pulse jump against my tongue, then brought my mouth back to hers.

When she finally pulled back, her lipstick was smudged on both our lips, and her chest was risin’ and fallin’. We just stared at each other, breathin’ heavy, and our hearts racin’. My hands was still around her waist, and I didn’t even realize I backed her against a car.

I turned, still holdin’ her, then noticed the shine of the hood. That wasn’t my damn rental.

“The fuck? We leanin’ on somebody else shit.”

Pluto smiled, just barely, and looked down at my lips before glancin’ away.

I knew we was both fightin’ somethin’ heavy as fuck.