After Hardin

32

~ HARDIN ~

I wake up at 5:30 AM to Kim shaking my arm. "Hardin, I need you to take me to the airport." I slowly slide out of bed after Kim leaves the room. I pull on the clothes that I wore yesterday and slip out of Tessa's room without her waking. Kim is waiting by the door with her luggage.

"I have to piss first." I tell her and walk into the bathroom. When I come back out of the bathroom, Kim is smiling at me.

"I'm not sure if you have really changed, Hardin, I hope for Tessa and the babies' sake that you have. It was cute seeing you two in bed together, both sleeping soundly. If I didn't know what you two have gone through and where your relationship is right now, I would guess that you two were in love and in a very committed relationship." Her smile falls from her face and she speaks again. "Don't fuck this up, Hardin. You won't get another chance."

Kim opens the door and walks out dragging her bag behind her. It takes me a moment to catch up with her and when I do I take her bag from her as we get into the elevator. The rest of the time we are together on the way to the airport is spent in silence. As we pull up to the departure drop off I break the silence. "I don't plan on fucking this up. It's too important. Thank you, Kim, for giving me the chance to be in my children's lives and for taking care of Tessa when I didn't know what was going on. I don't know how I will ever repay you."

She opens the door and before she closes it she says, "The way you can repay me, Hardin, is by being the best father to those two boys that will be here soon, and treating Tessa with the love and respect she deserves. If you do that, you will have repaid me exponentially." She closes the door before I can respond and walks into the airport. Her keycard for the hotel room is laying on her seat.

I think about the conversation with Kim on my drive back to the hotel. I will do everything in my power to prove to her that I can repay her in her terms. I will exceed her expectations. I'm deep in thought when I walk back into the hotel suite. Tessa isn't in the living room, so I sneak back into her room. She's still sleeping. She looks like an angel, so innocent and pure in sleep. I shuck off my clothes again and crawl next to Tessa in bed wearing my boxers only. Tessa mumbles and rolls over, her back facing me. I scoot up behind her, wrap my arm around her enlarged belly and drift off to sleep. I want to fall asleep like this, in bed holding Tessa, every night of my life.

~ TESSA ~

Normally I'm not a heavy sleeper, so I thought I would hear when Hardin woke to take Kim to the airport. When I woke and realized the sun was high in the sky, I knew I slept through them leaving. Hardin's arm is wrapped around my waist, his breath tickling my neck. I have to pee so bad, so I try to gracefully sneak out of bed without waking him. It's getting more and more difficult to do anything gracefully with this big belly on me. I'm proud of myself that I was successful sneaking out and not waking Hardin. When I return to the room, Hardin is awake and sitting up in bed.

"Hey. Where did you go?" He asks, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His hair is standing up all over. He looks like a sexy, rumpled mess.

"I had to use the bathroom. It's noon already." I announce. "I'm starving. Want some leftovers from last night?"

Hardin and I both wander to the mini kitchen area in the suite. We warm up food and take it back to the bed to eat. We both sit with our backs resting on the headboard of the bed. We eat in silence. I finally break the silence when my belly is full. "So what are your plans for today?"

He takes both of our plates to the kitchen area and washes them before answering my question. "I have to go tutor this afternoon. So I was thinking that I could drop you off at my place and I'd go there and tell them that this week is my last week. I have to say goodbye to Cam, I'm the only person that he has keeping him in line. I'm a little nervous of what could happen to him when I leave." I can see the nervousness in his eyes.