Blowing Smoke (Harry Styles)

Chapter 75

I was swollen. My lower belly was bloated, filled with my child. I touched my palm to the skin delicately, afraid to come close to touching my child. My abs were still prominent, but my stomach was swollen like I had eaten too much. My child was getting bigger inside of me, surviving off my body. I was getting closer and I wasn’t ready for it. Soon, this baby would be out of me and in my arms. This baby would be brought into the world in six months. And it would be my job to protect it, care for it, and be kind to it.

I circled my palm on the swollen part of my lower stomach repeatedly, staring down at my bloated belly. I lowered my tank top, sighing at how prominent the bump was beneath the cotton material. I stripped it off and put on one of Harry’s jumpers, which was just baggy enough to hide the bump. I slid back on my pair of football shorts and tied up my hair into a tight ballerina bun on the back of my head.

I jogged downstairs to the kitchen where Emilie, Jeannie, and Eleanor were cooking breakfast. They always all went full out for breakfast; letting it include chopped fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice, bacon, scrambled eggs, French toast, and regular toast.

“M-morning.” I mumbled to the three women. “D-do you need any h-help?”

“Good morning, Monreau. And no, we don’t.” Emilie answered, not looking towards me, keeping her gaze in the frying pan where she fried the French toast. “But you can stay and chat with us, if you want.”

“Sure.” I mumbled with a shrug of my shoulders, leaning against the countertop opposite of Jeannie. “W-what have you l-ladies been up to l-lately?”

“Oh my god!” Jeannie suddenly squealed, making me jump. “Last night, Jarred took me out to dinner at Nicastro’s, that Italian restaurant on Fifth.” She turned to me smiling as she spoke rapidly. “Dinner was going pretty normally but then when we were going to leave and he told me to wait a second. I waited for him, but then he suddenly dropped to one knee, took out a ring, and proposed!”

“Wow! That’s s-so exciting!” I lied. I honestly wasn’t that shocked and I didn’t really care if they were married or dating. I believed that marriage wasn’t that big of a deal, it was just to say to your boyfriend or girlfriend that you wouldn’t leave each other. But why not just stay boyfriend and girlfriend forever?

“I know!” she squealed, flashing the back of her hand to me so that I could see the large and extravagant ring on her ring finger. I took her hand in mine to examine it closer. It was a half-inch square diamond on top of a double gold band. I think that it looked very strange. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

“S-stunning.” I lied, faking a smile. “You’re s-so lucky! C-congratulations.”

“Thank you.” She gushed, staring at it yet again. She was obviously much more materialistic than I originally thought. “It is gorgeous.”

“When is the wedding planned for?” Eleanor asked, frying the sizzling bacon.

“We haven’t talked much about it,” Jeannie pointed out, “But I was thinking this time next year.”

“Wow. It’s so exciting.” Emilie admitted, giggling to herself.

“What about children? Have you guys talked about it?” Eleanor asked Jeannie.

I instantly flinched at the mention of children, but it was discreet enough that no one noticed. Jeannie smiled to herself at the mention of children, opposite of my own reaction.

“We both want kids.” Jeannie admitted with a giggle. “And we’re going to probably start trying pretty soon.”

I was grossed out by the conversation, so I cringed, shying away from it. This topic was one that should be much more private, yet some women decided that it was alright to blab about their sex-life’s. The only people that should know about someone’s sex-life are the two people involved. When people started to talk about it, I gave them the privacy they probably should give themselves and their lover.