19 & Pregnant (BOOK 1)

Chapter 15

LIV

"Let's check out this maternity store," Liana practically squealed as she led the group of us into a store downtown. We were in this old-fashioned town area of the city Rob's family lived in, and all the stores had red brick on the outside and mostly wooden floors on their interior. As more of a homebody, I couldn't remember the last time we'd done this much shopping. Rob's mom and my mom were very excited to buy things for their grandkids, and for me. In all the excitement, they seemed to forget that I was walking on pregnant feet.

We walked through the store, and our mothers looked through cardigans, jeans, and dresses among other items. When they were distracted enough, I found a comfy bench in the shoe section and took a seat. "Ah, thank God," I sighed, relieved to take a load off for the first time in a few hours. Rob was right behind me, his eyes wide as he watched me. "Are you okay?"

I looked at him, then down at my feet as I kicked off my shoes. The veins in my feet were more easily visible than usual, and they looked better than I expected. "They're not swollen," I told Rob, "but kinda sore." My eyes met his. "Our mothers are very excited about the twins." Rob laughed, a little nervous, and I  gave him a small smile. I finally took a look around us. Being so preoccupied with school and the pregnancy, it was easy to forget some of the things I needed, like new shoes.

"Could you pass me those sandals?" I gestured toward the rack next to him with a nod of my head. Rob turned, got up, and pointed at a pair, "these ones?" I nodded, and he grabbed the beige Birkenstocks from the rack. He sat down on the floor in front of me, "these look comfy-" "You don't have to do that," I protested as I tried to pull him off the floor from where I was seated. He just waved my hands away. "I don't mind. And you said your feet are sore."

Reflexively, I rolled my eyes, but my heart melted just a little more. Just when I thought I was getting the hang of him, Rob surprised me with something else. "Five minutes," I relented. He smirked, the both of us knowing it would be longer than that. Who'd be keeping track of the time, anyway? I watched as he picked up one of the sandals, placing it gently onto my left foot. Rob looked up at me as he waited for my critique. "So far, so good," I told him. "They're not too tight?" He wondered about the fit as he looked back down at my foot.

"No, they're fine."

"Well," he started as he quickly placed the right sandal on my right foot, "let's get you up so we can see how they move." I could barely resist before I was pulled up from the bench. Rob gave me a look as I stood there, unmoving. "Do you really want to buy shoes that might suck?" He questioned. I pouted, "I guess not." With that, I took some steps around the shoe section. With each step, my feet sunk just enough into the sturdy material, and my legs felt strong and sturdy. The sandals were extremely comfortable, didn't pinch, and left plenty of space for my toes to sit naturally.

I made my way back to the bench, and Rob was back on the ground within seconds. He took off each shoe with a small smile, "what's the verdict?" It was pretty obvious he knew I liked them. "They're nice." I looked over at where the shoes had come from, hoping to see some different colours. Relief washed over me when I saw a pair in black, and another in white. "Let's take the black and white ones, too," I said to Rob, and he nodded. "Sure."

My eyes roamed to the rest of the shoes, and I thought about other occasions I'd need new footwear for. I couldn't wear the sandals all the time. 'What about when I was going to workout? Or when I had plans with my friends? How about the holidays?' My thoughts started to get away from me, and I didn't notice Rob had started massaging my feet until I felt his thumb press into one of my big toes.

"Rob!" I exclaimed. "What if someone sees you?"

He looked around, "well, if they did, I don't know why they'd see a problem with a man massaging his pregnant girlfriend's feet. This is a maternity store." Rob gave me a look before he tried to go back to the massage. I shook my head, trying to move my foot away from his grip. "It's unsanitary. How would you feel if you saw someone touching someone's feet in public?" He opened his mouth to protest, but I interrupted him. "I would feel uncomfortable. Man, I'm uncomfortable right now."