“Do you… slide down the hallway in your socks? When you undress, do you leave a path? Then sink to your nose in a bubble bath?”


“Oooh! This is cute!” Kennedy ran up to a mobile that was dangling from the shelf. Attached to the end of each string was a little cloth car.

“Yes, but it doesn’t go with the theme Jamie and I have agreed upon,” Cassidy smiled, gently pulling Kennedy away from the spinning mobile. “We’re looking for animals… Jungle and safari stuff.”

“I don’t know why you just didn’t do a hockey theme,” Kennedy blurted out, picking up a stuffed dinosaur from another shelf.

Cassidy set her hands down on her protruding stomach and squeezed her eyes shut. The twins were slowly getting into the nasty habit of kicking against things they shouldn’t be. “I don’t want them starting out, day one, thinking they have to become athletes. They can be whatever they want to be,”

“Well I’m gonna buy them hockey gear. They’ll be like little Jamies, it’s gonna be so cute.”

“You and Jame both. I’m sure he’ll have them in ice skates before they can even walk,” she was finally able to open her eyes again after taking a few deep breaths. Silently, she was beginning the motherly process of disciplining her children on why they shouldn’t kick.

“You alright,” Kennedy set her hand on Cassidy’s shoulder, squeezing it gently.

“I’ve got a karate kid jabbing at my liver, and another attempting kung fu on my bladder… I pee on the hour, every hour… and I’ve become fond of pickle juice… not the pickle, just the juice. Oh and I’m about twelve minutes away from an emotional breakdown, but other than that, I’m fine. How are you?”

“That bad?”

Cassidy sucked in a deep breath and let out a sigh as she picked up a stuffed monkey and then a stuffed elephant. “It’s not easy. I’m starting to freak out as it gets closer and closer, plus Jamie can barely walk so it’s already like I’m taking care of a child.” Cassidy shook her head, “not that he’s childish, or complaining… I just don’t want him to hurt himself… I really needed this girls’ day, Kennedy. And I know it’s not easy for you to be here right now, but I really do appreciate it.”

“You’re my number one, so if you need me here all summer, I’ll be here.” She linked her arm around Cassidy’s as they made their way for the cashier. “But try not to need me all summer,” she stuck her tongue out and began loading all of the baby gear onto the check out counter.

Once back in the car, Cassidy hunkered down in the passenger seat, trying to get in any sort of position that was comfortable. When she was satisfied, Kennedy began the drive back to the house.

“What about the whole giving birth part? Have you decided what you want?” At a red light, both girls watched as a mother toted her young children at her side.

Cassidy smiled, and then when she processed Kennedy’s question, her expression turned to one of slight horror. “No water births, or hypno-births… none of that. I respect women who can do it that way, but I’m not strong enough for that. I want a big comfy bed, surrounded by doctors and nurses. Hell I’ll even take a shot to the spine. You know my pain threshold is not very high.” She turned and looked out the window as Kennedy began to drive again, “as much as I hate hospitals… I think it’d be better for the twins to be closer to medical attention in case something happens.”

“You’re not anticipating anything to happen though, right?”

“Stranger things have happened. All I know is that for being twenty weeks, they’re smaller than they should be. I already lost one kid… I don’t want to carry these two boys, then at the last minute, lose them.”

Kennedy glanced at her quickly as she began weaving through the residential neighborhood to get back to the house. “Everything’s going to be okay, Knoxious… have you been thinking about any names?”

“Well Knox for one,” Cassidy smiled when Kennedy got a huge grin on her face. Now she’d have someone new to call Knoxious. “I might suggest Shea to Jamie… or Pekka. Just to piss him off,”

Both girls looked out the windshield at the house. It was still surreal for Cassidy to think that this was where she lived, because for all intents and purposes, it looked like a castle, or a mansion. And never in a million years did she think she’d be living in one of those.

“How much you want to bet Jamie’s not in bed like he’s supposed to be,” Cassidy murmured as she pushed open the car door. After thanking Kennedy for spending the day with her, but before she closed the door, she glanced at her friend. “Go to Montreal. I know it’s killing you to be here, so go. I’ll be fine without you until August or September.”

“You sure?” When Cassidy nodded and waved her hand, Kennedy smiled, “love you, Knoxious.”

“Tell Jason I say hi,” Cassidy shut the car door and watched Kennedy leave before she turned and walked to the front door. Truth was, her walking felt more like waddling by this point, and the short trip up to the porch had her sucking wind.

As suspected, Jamie was not in bed when she entered the house, but rather lying on the floor, play fighting with the dogs. It wasn’t anything too rough, but as she stood in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest, Jamie could tell she was angry when he finally spotted her. He rolled over onto his stomach and slowly stood up, groaning as he did so.

“Hi gorgeous,” he set one hand on her stomach and leaned in to kiss her cheek. When she didn’t move or react in any way, Jamie backed up to look at her.

“I ask you to stay in bed for one day… one day! Just give your hips a break. But no, I see you flailing on the floor with the dogs. Jamie Benn, I know you don’t feel disabled or that you need any time off, but you do. So give your body a chance to heal… please?” She brought her hands up to her face and rubbed her eyes.

“Is this just about my hips…?” He took her hands in his and lowered them away from her face.

Cassidy looked up at him, squeezing her fingers around his. While she pouted, a small, exasperated sigh left her lungs and she shook her head, “it’s that and buying all the things for the nursery, and thinking about the day when these two little humans have to leave my body, and the fact that I really want some papayas, but I don’t think it’s papaya season, and I ache, Jamie, I ache all over, like my feet just want to fall off and hide.”

She had shut her eyes through her rant, but when she looked back up at Jamie, he was smiling, and she noticed his hands were now cupping her face. He pursed his lips and shook his head, embracing her in a tight hug, “do papayas have a season?”

They both fell silent for a quick moment, and then with her head buried into his shoulder, Cassidy let out a quick chuckle and kissed Jamie’s chest softly. “I don’t even like papayas. But I want one so bad,”

Jamie smiled again and ran his fingers through her hair, still clutching onto her. They were pressed, as close together as possible, but with her belly between them, Cassidy wasn’t nearly as close as she wanted to be.

“How about I draw you a hot bath, and you just sink down in it and let it soak all your worries away?”

Cassidy smiled and pressed her hands against his chest, “I’ll do it… I don’t want you to see me naked.”

“Why not? I’m your husband.” He held onto her shoulders, catching a glimpse of her unsettled expression. “You being pregnant is the sexiest thing I’ve seen in awhile. I never thought I’d say that, but it’s true. Remember my birthday last year… the night we were talking about shit together and then you came out in that incredible lingerie?” Cassidy kept quiet, but Jamie knew she remembered, so he continued on, “you being pregnant is sexier than that, you know why? Because you’re responsible for allowing me the opportunity to be a father; you’re housing our little offspring, and I don’t think there’s anything more attractive than that.”

Cassidy licked her lips quickly, “did you just call me a house?” A tight-lipped grin crossed over her face.

Jamie too, tried to suppress his own smile, “maybe. But I think that came out wrong. What I meant was that I love you, and you should not be embarrassed of your body because of me. Hell, I love the way you look, so I might just keep you perpetually pregnant.” Cassidy cringed at the idea, and Jamie spun her around, guiding her up the stairs, “let’s get you that bath.”

---

She had relented in stripping down as Jamie drew the bath in their new master bathroom. It was the first time either of them was using it, and as Cassidy waited for the bath to fill, she realized how big it actually was. Eventually though, she stepped up, with the stability of Jamie’s hand, and sunk down into the bath where the lightness of the bubbles were immediately soothing to her.

It wasn’t long before Jamie had undressed as well, leaving his clothes in a heap on the floor. Cassidy stared at him as he climbed over the tub wall, the forming scars on his hips more real now than ever before. He slid down behind her and pulled her body into his, ending the motion with a satisfied sigh.

Jamie cupped her breasts and dropped his head to kiss the top of her shoulder. Slowly his hands meandered down to her prominent stomach. It was the skin on skin contact she’d been craving even more than papayas and pickle juice. He massaged his hands over her, smiling at the way she seemed to succumb to his touch. No doubt the warm water was doing its part in relaxing her muscles.

“I picked out some stuffed animals today,” Cassidy murmured as she closed her eyes, tucking her head into the base of Jamie’s neck. When he let out an interested hum, she grinned, “I think I went a little overboard though… Nearly bought out the store.”

“So we have a stuffed animal zoo?” He tilted his head downward to glance at her. When he slid his fingers down in between her legs, her eyes shot open and she held his hand still. “You don’t want me to… it’ll help you relax,” When she pressed her head tighter to his chest to look back at him, he exposed his teeth with a quick smile.

“I don’t know how you could possibly find me attractive.” Cassidy whispered, slowly loosening her grip around his hand.

“I don’t know why you find it strange that I do.”

They stared at each other silently, and Cassidy only moved when she felt Jamie’s fingers dancing over her slit. She lifted her arms and set her hands on the back of his neck, guiding him to her lips. He was obviously determined, and just as she was craving the contact, it was apparent that Jamie was craving it too.

Her breathing became heavier and more ragged the more she got turned on, and by the feeling of it, Jamie was getting turned on by getting her off. His fingers circled her clit with extreme precision, and the muscles in her legs began to pulse each time he passed over her sensitive areas.

“Jamie, I…” she moaned out quietly as he sunk his middle and ring fingers into her.

“Shh…” he cooed, thrusting into her quickly while his thumb played against her swollen clit. He pressed his lips to her jaw, kissing his way down to her neck so he could suck on her soft skin.

She smelled the way he always remembered; like a valley of flowers. He could feel her getting close as her muscles contracted around his fingers, and she cursed at herself quietly for already nearing her climax. All Jamie could do was smile and press his lips to her temple, whispering small remarks, which made her come undone, trembling in his arms as her legs squeezed together, holding his fingers still inside of her as she came around them.

“Awh, my beautiful wife,” he spoke softly, waiting for her to ride out her orgasm before slowly pulling his fingers out of her.

With the emptiness inside her, Cassidy felt her muscles clench in on themselves, still recovering. She heard Jamie groan, and just a moment later, she was being nudged forward. Jamie stood from the bath, cupping himself and stepped out, reaching for a towel folded on a shelf.

“Keep soaking and relaxing. I’m gonna go take care of this,” he looked down at his waist and chuckled, making off towards the bedroom.

“Think of me,” Cassidy smiled before he could exit the bathroom completely. He nodded without missing a beat and left the room, giving Cassidy the chance to sink down to her nose with the warm water surrounding her.

The thought of what Jamie was doing kept racing through Cassidy’s mind. So much so, that only five minutes after he had left, she lifted herself out of the tub and carefully stepped onto the bathmat, drying herself off. Then she tiptoed into the bedroom and went for the closet, pulling out one of Jamie’s Dallas jerseys and tugged it over her head. Even with the baby bump, it still hung long enough to act like a dress.

Clutching onto the railing, Cassidy strode down the stairs, now being led into the living room by Jamie’s guttural moans. He was propped back on the couch, teeth biting into his bottom lip as his hand pumped his shaft quickly, curling over the tip as he mumbled profanities to himself. On the couch beside him, Cassidy spotted one of the boudoir pictures she had given him for their wedding. But when he saw her standing in front of him, he stopped looking at the photo and stared at the woman in front of him, eyes drifting over her body to get himself off.

Cassidy felt her cheeks become hot when she knew he was looking at her, and she walked to the couch to sit beside him. She cupped her hand around Jamie’s chin and turned his head towards hers, laying a deep kiss on his lips. She moaned quietly as he pulled away, the muscles in his chest and shoulders flexing as he reached his climax, shooting his thick load over his waist.

Before he could wipe the towel across his waist, Cassidy dragged her fingers across his skin and then brought them to her mouth, tasting him. She smiled and then set her head down on his shoulder.

“Who would’ve thought less than a month into marriage, we’d already be resorting to masturbation…”

Jamie laughed softly and set his head down on top of hers as he pulled the towel across his waist. “It’s not ideal. But there are other ways of showing you that I love you, without fucking your brains out. Although that is a preferable way,”

Notes

This chapter is titled after "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking" by Blake Shelton.

Only 2 chapters left! Can't believe this story is almost finished :)