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Dixie

I didn't want to be alone in my apartment tonight, so I stayed at Noah's until he came home. Every day, we were getting closer, which both worried and excited me. I saw a bright future ahead of us, and I hoped he did as well. If I was here imagining the next twenty years of my life with him and he didn't even see me around next week, that would be an embarrassing reality. Perhaps this is an exaggeration, but a girl can  only be so certain.

I didn't need to call him earlier, but I did miss him for a moment. The stove question was just a ruse; even the most uneducated person would have understood what the "red light" meant. Dinner consisted of my French macarons and a seafood boil mix. Noah's interest for dinner pushed me to put a little extra effort into the meal. It's amazing how falling in love with someone can alter your entire outlook on life.

I put the wrapped food on the table after cleaning the downstairs. I figured I'd just eat with him when he got home because it was still early. His house was usually clean, which I admired. I hated it when men aren't properly groomed. It's almost as if you can't keep your surroundings clean, how are you supposed to maintain your hygiene? I once dated a guy who wasn't as tidy as this, and we didn't last more than a month. His cleanliness was horrible, and my brain couldn't operate there, as nice as he was.

His bathroom was really relaxing. I felt like I was in a mystical shower since the shower head made the water droplets softer. Halley called as I was about to leave to get dressed. I texted her earlier, but she appeared to be busy.

"Hey," I greeted warmly as I answered the phone.

"Are you alone?" she said, her voice tearful. I was terrified since I had no idea what was going on.

"I'm at Noah's right now. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she said calmly. "I'm just a little scared and confused."

"What's up?" I asked as I approached the bed to take a seat. I wouldn't spoil his sheets; my body wasn't as wet as it had been.

"I want a baby, but I'm not sure if Bryce wants one," she said, her face racing. I didn't expect her to say that out of all the things she could say. After all, she is twenty-five, but I'm not sure she needs a baby right now.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" I said, letting out a sigh.

"What do you mean?"

"There are moments when you ask things theatrically in the heat of the moment, and then there are times when you ask things seriously."

"Oh, I mean it," she said. "I've been thinking about it for a month and have made a decision, but I'm afraid Bryce will say no. How should I go about asking him?"

"Honestly, I think you should speak with him about it."

"Yeah, but how do I start a conversation like that?"

"Make a nice meal or plan an at-home date, and you'll both be very comfortable and at ease in that environment, and then you can bring it up and see how best you two can work it out." Although I lacked experience, my advice was sound and practical.

"I think that's a great idea."

"Well, I'd hope so," I joked, "but don't expect him to agree with your idea," I paused, allowing her to comprehend, "He may want to have children now, or he may want to wait a while. That is something you must keep in mind. Bryce cares about you as well, and I don't think he'd want you to have a baby before you finish school, you know?," I reasoned with her. I had to since I didn't want her to go and get upset because she didn't get a firm "yes" or "no."

"I know, I'm hoping he says yes. I want to have a baby now because I don't want to be too old or too young, therefore I think I'll be a decent age now that I've turned 25." Her logic makes a great deal of sense. She's a shrewd young lady.

"Exactly," I answered as I walked to get dressed in his closet. I had lingerie and a matching outfit with me. We had no intention of having sex, but I enjoy dressing up and looking nice, so I was getting ready in it.

"Thank you, girl; I really appreciate that."

"I love you, Halley," I said, "but wait on, I'm going to put you on speaker phone so I can get dressed."

"Where are you going?"

"I just showered, so I'm getting dressed to go wait for Noah to come back from his brother's birthday dinner," I said.

"Oh, you're staying at his place? Is he at your place, or are you at his?" She didn't seem to be paying attention to me previously, but that's fine because we were talking about her.

"His house, why?"

"You two are dating, dating?"

"I guess," I answered, less as a statement and more as a question, "we're just going along with life right now and seeing where it leads us."

"I love that happiness for you," she said cheerfully, "because you two bring out such amazing things in each other." I'd like to be invited to the wedding," she joked. Or I mistook it for a joke.

"Don't worry, you'll be the maid of honor," I joked.

"As I should," she said after a little pause, "I have to go see my mother now; I'll text you later."

I finished getting dressed after we said our goodbyes. I was wearing a blue silk nightgown with lingerie underneath it. It wasn't intended for sex, but if it did, it happened. Noah and I have a fairly balanced connection. We can tell when or where it's appropriate to have sex and when it's simply time for emotional connection.

I sprayed some body mist on myself and walked down the stairs. The door swung open, and the keys jingled. When I saw him, my body became thrilled, and a fun notion arose in my head. To test how Noah would react, I'd tell him I was pregnant as a joke.

"Dixie," he said repeatedly as he hung the keys on the key rack. When I was walking down the steps, I saw him.

"Hey," I said shyly as I approached him. He appeared to be considerably hotter than when he left. Yum.

"Hey my love," he said, grabbing my ass and pulling me into a hug. Even when my butt was barely fat, he made it feel like the biggest thing in the world.

"Someone's a feisty," I remarked, leaning in for a kiss, "but we need to talk," I continued solemnly. I did my best to keep my giggle contained.

We strolled over to the couch and sat down as his expressions became concerned. "What's up?" he asked, taking my hand in his.

"I'm- no, we're pregnant."

For a short moment, he was speechless, with a shocked expression on his face. "We are what? Are you sure?"

"I am," I replied.

"Do you want to keep it? It's your body, and you have the final say. I mean, the time is off, but it's all up to you," he reassured me and drew me in for a hug. This was the sweetest reaction; I wasn't expecting him to respond like this.

"You're the finest person ever," I gushed, "but I'm not pregnant, I was just kidding." I let out a sigh and laughed, and he ultimately joined in.

"You got me there," he said, laughing, "but I'm glad you're not pregnant yet since we haven't sorted out our life together yet," he continued, kissing the side of my face. When he uttered "we" and "our," my heart skipped a beat. Everything seemed to be heading in the right direction.

I kissed him and whispered, "Me too." We headed over to the kitchen area to begin eating because the time was becoming later and both he and I had school in the morning.

"This dress is hot," he said as he scanned my physique.

"Thank you," I said, pausing for a while, "tell me about your night." On this level, I enjoyed talking with him. There was no sex; instead, there was pure love and profound conversations over dinner and wine.

"It wasn't awful," he shrugged as he began to eat, "and this is pretty great."

"Thank you, and please give me more details."

"Oh, Matt's party wasn't too bad," he said. "My sister and he had a minor argument since they hate each other. There was cake, but I didn't want any, and vanilla cake isn't something you eat. That's pretty much how it went down," he sipped his wine and nodded.

"See, it doesn't hurt to open up to me," I explained. "I enjoy learning everything there is to know about you "I smiled at him and replied.

"I adore everything about you, too," he said, leaning in for a kiss. That statement will remain etched in my mind for the rest of my life. It's something I'll never forget.

"I was leaving your office when I ran into Richard; he was acting strangely, but I just made something up." I meant to tell him earlier, but since we're already talking, why not bring it up now?

Noah pretended to gag as he said, "He gives me the icks."

"He's generally nice, but I'm not sure why he or anyone else cared."

"What do you mean?" Noah asked, confused.

"We're both adults," I said, "and we both have the right to fuck and date if we want to." This whole secret is getting to my brain cells.

"Understood and fair," he said, pausing to sip his wine, "but it's bad in society and morally. I'm not supposed to fuck a student because it's against the rules and they can use the "that's why her grades are so high" card. So, while we're not breaking the law, we're causing some damage." That makes things a lot more complicated than they needed to be, but whatever.

"It is what it is," I murmured. It shouldn't worry anyone as long as I'm getting great dick and being treated like a queen."

"Your style of stating things is funny," he said, laughing, "but yeah, that is right."

We ended our nightly banter and went to bed to prepare for the next day. I'd always loved being in Noah's company and hoped that day where I'd leave it would never arrive. I think he is my person, and I sincerely hope I am right. This will either be my longest relationship or my hardest breakup. No one wants to be in the middle of a split.