“Those are nursing bras,” Tracy said.
I closed my eyes and tried not to look mortified. This suddenly became very real to me.
“That was really cool of you to call Adrienne and have her help Pam,” she said.
“I just don’t want Pam to be made fun of.”
“Maternity clothes can be dreadful,” Tracy admitted.
“How’s Pam doing?” I asked.
While we did talk in Indianapolis, we hadn’t really talked about the fiasco. I suspected she wanted Tracy along to make sure we had a referee if need be.
“I think she’s horny,” Tracy said and giggled.
“And you’re not?” I teased.
Tracy just gave me a cryptic look. Pam came back to us and handed me my phone.
“She’s going to hook me up. She said that you owe her, though. It has something to do with allowing her to sell the first photos of our baby.”
I just rolled my eyes.
“Are we done shopping?” I asked hopefully.
They took pity on me, and I took them back to my apartment. Duke was happy to see his friends but needed to go outside. I let him out and then ran back upstairs, and Pam and Tracy were no longer in the living room. I found them digging in my dresser, going through my t-shirts.
“Hey, you have to earn those.”
They both gave me ‘the look.’ Even Mr. Happy, ever the optimist, realized that this look meant I might not ever get sex again. I did the smart thing and backed out of the doorway and returned to the living room where my buddy, Duke, needed some loving. As I loved him up, I realized that getting Pam pregnant might mean she could take all my t-shirts, if she wanted to. She’d more than earned them. I wondered if that was how Greg felt when he found out about Angie being pregnant with Kyle.
I decided to watch Monday Night Football. They had a lousy game on, the Texans against the Bengals. After a half hour, I decided to check on the girls and found them lying on my bed, talking. Pam saw me and put her arms out.
“Come here,” she said.
I crawled onto the bed, lay down beside her, and she hugged me.
“I’ve missed you,” I said.
“Me too,” Pam said.
Tracy started to get up, but I reached across Pam and grabbed her hand.
“Thank you for standing by her. I knew I could count on you to be her friend when she needed one,” I said.
Tracy’s eyes misted up, so I leaned across Pam and kissed her. When our lips pulled apart, Tracy got out of bed and meandered to the living room. I still was leaning over Pam, so I turned, and she captured my lips. Things heated up to the point we found ourselves naked. I made a point to let Pam know that I found her sexy. She had just started to thicken around the waist and had the beginnings of a baby bump.
I reached for my condoms, but Pam stopped me.
“You can’t get me any more pregnant,” she reminded me.
We’d talked about this in Indianapolis, but I was in the habit of using one. Then again, who was I to argue? I covered her body and slowly entered her. Pam wrapped herself around me, and I made slow love to her. I really had to go slow because the difference between wearing a condom and not was dramatic. This way, I felt everything.
I believe we both needed a reaffirmation of our feelings for each other. We hadn’t really talked much since our night in Indianapolis. I hadn’t pushed it, because she acted a little nervous about her role in everything. Hopefully, tonight would assure her that I understood and still cared for her. I’d missed Pam and her quirky sense of humor. When I finally came, it wasn’t earth-shattering or epic. I wasn’t even sure whether Pam had gotten off or not; that wasn’t what this was about. We ended up just holding each other in comfortable silence.
“David?”
“Yes?”
“You’ll really help me through this?”
“Of course I will.”
“Okay.”
◊◊◊ Wednesday November 18
Our college prep class was canceled today, so we were able to catch up with our friends at lunch. Or at least I thought I might get a chance. Mike Herndon, of all people, stopped me before I made it to our usual table.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
I thought we should go out behind the school and have our talk but decided that could wait until after football was over.
“Uh, I guess,” I said and followed him to a table on the other side of the cafeteria.
We’d ordered Chinese for the prep class. I would call it in and pay for it over the phone, and they delivered it to the office each day. Several people came over to get their share before we were left alone. I noticed that no one offered to pay me today, so I would have to track them down later, or they could buy next time. I would bet none of them wanted to get in between Mike and me if something went wrong. Most everyone was aware of our altercation in the parking lot.
When things finally settled and we’d started to eat, Mike finally told me what was on his mind.
“Do you think the team will accept me again?”
