Ch 42:

Mike’s grip tightened around her hips, every thrust harder, deeper, shaking the bed beneath them. Renee clutched the sheets, her body raw with sensation, heat building again in her core with alarming speed. She could feel him growing even more desperate behind her, breath ragged, rhythm almost brutal.
But just as she began to lose herself completely, he pulled out, suddenly. She cried out, frustrated, breathless—only for him to grip her waist and flip her back onto her back in one smooth, commanding motion. Her body trembled beneath him, flushed and open, lips parted, hair tangled across the pillow.
“I want to see your face,” he growled, eyes wild with need. He entered her again with one hard, final thrust, burying himself fully inside her. Her cry matched his low moan, both their voices rising in the same breathless moment. He didn’t move right away—just held himself there, deep, his forehead pressed to hers, their sweat-slicked bodies trembling with the weight of it all.

“You feel that?” he whispered, his voice raw. “No more hiding. This is real.” Renee couldn’t speak. Could barely breathe. Her legs wrapped around him instinctively, pulling him in as if she never wanted to let go.
And then he began to move again—slow, deep strokes that lit her nerves on fire, building the heat between them all over again. Mike's hands gripped her thighs, spreading her wider beneath him as he started to thrust again—this time with force. The bed rocked beneath them, the headboard knocking faintly against the wall with each powerful movement. Renee gasped, her back arching, nails digging into his shoulders. The pressure, the heat—it was overwhelming.

He picked up the pace, hips snapping harder, rougher. Her breath hitched, a sharp wince catching in her throat from the sheer power of him inside her—yet it melted into a moan just as quickly. Pain and pleasure blurred, crashing through her in waves. She clung to him, the rawness of the moment stripping her of everything but sensation. "Mike—" she choked out, barely able to speak. “I know,” he panted, sweat dripping from his brow. “I’m close.” And with one final, brutal thrust, he drove into her as deep as he could, a broken groan tearing from his chest as he came, the intensity of release wracking through him. She felt it—hot, deep, claiming—as his body shook above hers.
He collapsed forward, chest heaving, mouth pressed to her shoulder. For a long moment, there was only the sound of their breathing, tangled together in the aftermath.

Then, his voice broke the silence—low, breathless, but suddenly serious. “Have you… tested yet?”
Renee’s eyes widened, her stomach twisting. Because in that moment, everything changed.
Renee’s heart thudded against her ribs, the heat of their bodies still clinging to her skin. Mike’s question echoed in her head, louder than the silence that followed it. *Have you tested yet?*
She blinked, trying to form words, her body still trembling in the aftershocks of what they’d just shared.
“No,” she whispered. “I—I hadn’t let myself think that far.” Mike pushed up slowly, resting his weight on his elbows as he hovered over her, searching her face. “Renee… if you are…” He trailed off, like the words wouldn’t come. She stared at him, wide-eyed. “That changes everything.”

He nodded, but didn’t pull away. “It does. I won’t lie to you—it does. But I wouldn’t walk away from it. From you. From any part of it.”

Her throat tightened. “You just said you wanted to put a baby in me.”

“I did, I do,” His voice was raw, steady. “And maybe that was heat-of-the-moment, maybe not, I won't lie that scares the hell out of me Renee, I only want you to be with me because you want to, not because there is a baby- that is if you are...." he trailed off as he pulled out of her, making her moan slightly.
She sat up slowly, clutching the blanket to her chest. “So what do we do?” Mike stood, pulling on his jeans. “We find out. Right now.”
“Now?” she said, surprised. “Yes.” His eyes locked with hers. “Because sitting here wondering, making promises in the dark—we need to know what this is before we can even begin to talk about what comes next.” Renee didn’t argue. She got dressed quietly, her thoughts spiraling through every possible outcome. The ride to the nearest pharmacy was filled with an uneasy silence. Mike drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting protectively on her thigh. They didn’t speak much, but the weight between them grew heavier with every passing mile.

When they returned an hour later, Renee held the small white bag like it was something sacred—or cursed. Her hands trembled as she opened it in the bathroom. Mike waited just outside the door, pacing the hallway. She stared at the stick like it might explode. She followed the instructions, then placed it on the counter, stepping back as if it might bite her. Then she sank to the edge of the tub, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Mike knocked gently. “Can I come in?” She nodded, even though he couldn’t see it. “Yeah.” He stepped in, his bare feet quiet on the tile. She pointed at the test on the counter, her voice barely a whisper. “It has to sit for a few minutes.” Mike didn’t go to the test. Instead, he sat beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.
“If it’s positive,” she said quietly, “everything changes.”
“I know.”
“I don’t even know where we are—you and me.”
“I don’t either,” he said honestly. “But I know I want to find out. I know I want to be in this with you—whatever this is.” Her eyes stung, but she blinked the tears back. “We weren’t even finished figuring out the past, and now the future’s barging in.” He smiled faintly. “That’s life, isn’t it? I do know that if it is positive, I will be here no matter what, even if you choose him, even if it mean we need to find a way for us all to work together, either way if you are, we will have a baby together who will know love.”
***The timer on her phone buzzed.***
Renee froze. Mike’s hand squeezed hers. She stood slowly, legs trembling, and walked to the counter. The test lay there, face down like a taunt. Her hand hovered over it, chest heaving. Mike moved beside her. “Do you want me to look?” She shook her head. “No. I have to.” She picked it up, breath catching as she flipped it over. And then— Renee’s eyes widened. Her breath stopped. The stick trembled in her grip as she stared at the result. Mike’s voice was quiet, but strained with anticipation. “What does it say?”
Renee looked up at him— Eyes full of something he couldn’t quite name.
Mike walked over to look at the test in her hand and what he saw he thought he would feel pain, knowing where they stood but something else hit him in the gut, the truth, the place they really stand now. Mike stepped closer, eyes locked on the test shaking in her hand. He braced himself for heartbreak, for clarity, for something final. But when he saw the result, the breath left his lungs—not from pain, but from something deeper. The truth hit hard, cutting through the silence like a blade. This wasn’t what either of them had prepared for. Just the raw, undeniable place they now stood—together, yet utterly uncertain.