Page 153 of Stay With Me

“I can’t! It’s gonna leak down my legs soon.”

“Yes, you can. You’re stronger than you realize. Just don’t think about it.”

“Easy for you to say.” I cross my legs.

“Remember the time you and Noah snuck out to go to some field party?”

I nod but what a random thing to bring up.

“You guys drank for like three hours straight before Noah finally called and asked me for a ride. I was fuckin’ pissed, but y’all knew I couldn’t say no. By the time I came out, you were clenching your legs together because you had to go so badly.”

“Yes, and you told me to go squat by a tree.” I make a disgusted face because hell no was I about to expose my whole ass and vagina where bugs live.

“And since you’re stubborn as shit, you wouldn’t, and I warned you that you’d have to hold it until we got home.”

“Which was over thirty minutes away.”

“And you begged me to distract you so you wouldn’t think about it.”

“Oh yeah.” I smile at the memory of him giving me his undivided attention for a solid half an hour. “You talked aboutTwilightwith me the entire ride home and by the time we got back, I didn’t even have to pee anymore.”

He shakes his head as he chuckles. “Fuckin’ vampires, but yes. So you already know you have the self-control to do this. I’ll be right next to you to keep you distracted. Okay?”

I nod. “Okay.”

He holds up the gown and opens it for me. “Pants and underwear off.”

Twirling my finger, I motion for him not to look. Instead, he closes his eyes and stays put. Once I slide my arms into the gown, I spin around, holding it closed the best I can so he doesn’t see my bare ass, and then he ties it for me.

I situate myself on the table, and when Ginny returns a few minutes later, she turns off the lights and explains more of the process and what she’ll be looking for on the screen.

She lubes up the mammoth wand and slowly slides it between my legs. It’s not as bad as I anticipated since she’s not shoving the whole thing up there. Just a little discomfort.

“Alright, you see this here?” She points to an avocado-shaped bubble. “That’s the amniotic sac and right inside there is the baby. You can see their two little legs and arms.”

“And a big head,” Tripp teases, gripping my hand with both of his.

“Yep. And it’s movin’ a lot. Very active. That’s a good sign,” she reassures me.

My heart’s ready to beat out of my chest as I stare at the screen and take in everything she’s telling me. I can’t believe that’sinsideme.

“Told you it’s a little minnow.” Tripp chuckles, and I grin.

“See that little flutter in the center? That’s the heart beating.”

A quick, loud squishing noise fills the room, and my eyes gloss over because for the first time since taking those pregnancy tests, it feels morerealthan before. Being able to see and hear it makes a huge difference in understanding all the changes my body’s going through.

It hits me that I’m going to be amomin seven months. A wave of panic hits me alongside excitement. I thought I’d be much older when I’d have kids, but now that it’s happening when I’m twenty-three, I can’t say I’m mad about it. Despite how it happened and being scared for what the future holds, I already love this baby more than anything in the world.

“The heartbeat is 155 beats per minute, which is perfect,” Ginny says. “I’m gonna measure from the top of the head to the feet and do a few more to see how far along you are and get your estimated due date.”

I nod and Tripp squeezes my hand.

Ginny looks between us. “Dad, if you wanna record the screen, feel free. I’ll print out photos at the end for y’all.”

Tripp looks at me, either waiting for me to correct herassumption or give him approval to take a video. I’m not sure. But I tell him to go ahead and start recording.

“The baby is measuring exactly ten weeks.”