On my first check-up, Justin was almost skipping by my side as we walked into the clinic.

At the reception desk, I gave my name and after the secretary stared at me then at Justin for what felt like hours, she smiled widely.

“Oh, you’re that guy! Can I see?”

I gritted my teeth. “No.”

She looked desolate, but focused on her job, calling Dr. Hump to let him know I’d arrived. She waved to the corridor to the left, telling us we’d find him in the third door on the right.

Dr. Hump was at his desk, looking through some files, but pushed away from the desk, standing when he saw us enter.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Kinney. Oh, I see you’ve brought your partner.” He approached, shaking our hands.

“I’ve been bribed,” I mumbled.

“With lots and lots of food. Hello!” Justin grinned at Dr. Hump. “Justin Taylor.”

“Nice meeting you, Mr. Taylor.”

“Justin, please.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whenever you’re done hitting on Dr. Hump, can we get a move with this charade?”

Dr. Hump shook his head. “If you change in that plastic gown, we’ll proceed with the check-up. Bathroom is through that door.”

Yeah, right. Like I’m a prude.

But when I was down to my boxers, I scowled at my stomach. There was definitely a bump, small but still present.

“To the scale first.” Dr. Hump steered me to the devil device.

“I don’t want to know. Just write down whatever it tells you. Don’t tell me,” I begged.

“What’s your usual weight?”

“Around 170, on the less side,” I answered, keeping my eyes closed. I was afraid to look at how fat I'd gotten.

“Oh!” Dr. Hump gasped, making my eyes fly open.

My mouth dropped when I saw what the scale read.

Fuck no!

I glared in Justin’s direction. He shot me a small smile, shrugging.

177. Can I faint, please?

About 7 pounds in a few weeks?

“Has the morning sickness disappeared? It seems you’re eating and gaining just fine.”

“No, it’s not fine! Can’t I be like one of these women who barely look the part?” I whined, stepping off the scale. “No more food after seven. I’m going back to my golden rule.”

“If your body asks for it, you should indulge—whatever food, whenever.”

I scoffed, lying on the bed for the second part of the check-up.

“Can I ask something?” Justin skipped to our side.

“No,” I barked.

Dr. Hump nodded, smiling.

“Do you know exactly how far along Brian is? I tried calculating, but I think I’m wrong.”

“That would be a first,” I said under my breath.

Dr. Hump felt my stomach, making me squirm once again.

Seriously. Did he have to do it every time?

I hated it. Peanut hated it. He was forbidden to do that again.

“I’m thinking you’ve entered the second trimester. Let’s make sure of that with an ultrasound.”

“Oh, so I was a week off.”

“Warm it,” I hissed at Dr. Hump when he brought the lube closer.

He laughed, but did as told. It was still cold when it made contact with my stomach, but better than the last time.

Justin squealed when the image of our baby appeared on the screen. He took my hand, squeezing it, as tears pooled in his eyes.

“Yes, congratulations!” Dr. Hump beamed at us. “You’ve entered your second trimester. You’re fifteen weeks pregnant.”

“Was it a lemon or an apple?” Justin mumbled, frowning.

Dr. Hump eyed him curiously.

I waved my hand dismissively. “Don’t mind him. He’s found this website that says all kind of stuff about the baby and how it looks like.”

“It’s apple,” Dr. Hump explained. “The baby is four inches long and weighs about two and half ounces. The respiratory system is developing, which means he or she can inhale through the nose amniotic fluid. Don’t worry, it’s something natural. That’s what nurtures the baby. Also, the baby can move their limbs.”

“Right. Got it!” Justin came up with a sheet of paper, grinning. “I have it all printed out. Fifteen weeks along. Oh, it’s that cool thing I wanted to test! It says even though the baby’s eyelids are closed, they can sense the light if you shine a flashlight to you tummy, and they’ll move away from the light! Is that true, doc?”

“If you’d like, we could test that now.”

“Hey, what the fuck am I here? Your guinea pig? No.”

“Pleeeeasee!” Justin pouted.

“No. Are you done?” I turned to the doctor.

“Well, considering how far along you are, I’d be able to tell you the sex. That is if the picture would clear.”

Justin rushed to the other side, getting glued to the monitor. “Can we try the flashlight thing? Please, Brian.”

I groaned, knowing he wouldn’t relent until he had his way. “Fine.” I was also curious to see if it was true what he'd read on that silly website of his.

When the doc waved a small flashlight over my stomach, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I could see it on the monitor, and not only that, but the baby moved away, flailing its small limbs.

“Oh, damn.” Dr. Hump switched the light off. “It was a bad idea. Now, they’re treating us with their ass.”

“And what a cute little butt is that,” Justin gushed. “Can you print us a picture?”

“Of course. I’ll schedule you again in a couple of weeks. I need to see you more often than my other patients.”

I cleaned up and got dressed, while Justin was glued to the picture Dr. Hump gave him. Before leaving, I was advised to keep eating, because it was okay the way I’d gained.

It wasn’t, but I gave up making anyone understand what a tragedy it was for me to become fat.

Dr. Hump also advised me to do cardio exercises, but no more gym trips or heavy weight lifting. I hadn’t visited the gym since I’d found out. Not like I’d appear in public looking like this.

Soon, I was going to lock myself up in the loft. Or maybe the new house.

Which reminded me, we had to visit and decide what we wanted to do with it. There was some serious remodeling needed, and the rooms needed repainting.

“Do you want to go to the house?” I asked, once we got in the ‘vette.

“Nah. I’m sure you’re tired.”

“Come on. If we want to move in there before Peanut is born, we need to get a move on,” I urged him.

“All right. But we stop by the diner to get food.”

“You just want to show off Peanut.”

He chuckled, leaning closer to kiss me. “Did I tell you how I love it when you call our baby Peanut?”

“Though, it’s Apple, right?”

He grinned. “Peanut sounds better. And I have to say, his or her ass is awesome!”

“Everything about Peanut is awesome, Sunshine. Even that cute, little butt.”

At the diner, Justin slumped over the counter, waving the photo in front of Debbie. “Meet Peanut! The most awesome baby in the world!”

I sank in the booth across the counter, sighing. It was going to be a long few months.

“Aww! She’s precious, Sunshine!” Debbie squealed, lunging to kiss and hug him.

“He! Try calling Peanut a he, too.” I scowled at the two of them.

“Oh, Brian!” Debbie rushed to me, but I held my hand up.

“Don’t get moist.”

She battled my hand away, before catching me in a bone-crashing hug. “Are you taking care of yourself?”

“Yup. Sunshine gave me a blow job this morning.”

“Brian!” Justin hissed, blushing. “Yes, I try my best to make him eat healthy and not overexert himself at work.”

“While you two chat, I have an errand to run down the street. I want a turkey sandwich,” I told Justin, before leaving.

If I took him to the new house, I wanted to have a memorable time there. I’d already planned everything to the last detail.

Just the center piece of our journey over there was missing, but I was taking care of it now.

I entered the small shop, heading right to Jared, the guy I’d discussed about my present for Sunshine.

“I have them right here.” He pulled the small jewelry box from a shelf behind him, handing it to me. “I had one of them engraved as you said.”

I checked to see how the rings looked, and pushed away all the fear that started coursing through me.

“Thanks, Jared. Remember, I promised to make you a kick-ass campaign. Just say the word and you’ll get a great discount at an advertisement.”

“I’ll give you a call. I hope he likes it.” He winked.

“Don’t worry about it. In case size adjustments are needed, I’ll send Justin to you.”

By the time I returned to the diner, I was ready to head to the new house. I’d never been so excited to do something, especially something that screamed commitment.

“Where have you been?” Justin jumped up when he saw me entering the diner.

“It’s a surprise. Now, are we all set?”

“Yes. We can go. Do you really want to go there? It’s just such a long drive…”

“Yes, I want. Bye, Debbie!” I called to her, steering Sunshine out the door.

The thirty minutes drive to the house, located in West Virginia, was enough to stop Justin from fretting over how I felt. I was perfectly fine.

I could still remember the look on Justin’s face when we first visited the house. His excitement over the pictures in the file was nothing compared to the reality. He clung to my arm, dragging me from room to room, pointing and laughing, squealing in excitement when he discovered the tennis court, the stables, the pool, and generally the vast area surrounding the house.

It didn’t matter I paid for this more than I cared to admit, but Kinnetik was doing great and so was Babylon. I had profit and Ted had been telling me for months to do something with the money. What better way than to spend it on our future?

“It’s even more beautiful,” Justin whispered as I pulled up in the driveway.

“We’re here to use your creative eye on how to paint and decorate, not squeal over how pretty it is,” I reminded him.

The second we were out of the car, he seized my hand, pulling me to the front door, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

I handed him the key. “Go right in. I’ll bring the food.”

“No heavy lifting for you, mister.”

“It’s just food!” I pushed him to the door. “I’ll be right behind you.”

I took advantage of being alone to grab not only the bags of food, but the blanket and candles as well. I had a feeling the electricity wasn’t working.

“What’s all this?” Justin gaped when he saw my arms full. He took everything, and I closed the door behind me.

Home. It really felt like home, even though there was nothing but walls and floors. I could already see us everywhere in this house.

“Living room.” I directed him to the left. “I thought we’d have a little picnic.”

I spread the blanket on the hardwood floor, while Justin pulled out the food. He caught my eye when he extracted a box of guava juice.

I reached to cup his cheek, bringing him closer and kissing him deeply.

If only I could tell him how I felt. I’d tried saying the words, but every time, they got stuck in my throat, choking me up.

We lay sideways on the blanket, picking at the variety of food he’d gotten at the diner.

“I’m itching for a smoke,” I admitted, washing my sandwich with juice. “And a shot of Beam.”

“Brian, you’re doing wonderfully. I never thought you could give up these vices.”

“So you decided to test me by knocking me up.”

“If the shoe fits...” He laughed, rolling on his back and stretching. “Damn, I’m stuffed.”

“It’s a miracle. Let me write down the date and time. I might never hear these words out of your mouth,” I teased, shifting around until I was lying diagonally with my head on his lap.

“Don’t be an ass.”

“It’s the hormones,” I joked. Saying that made me peer at my stomach, but I quickly averted my eyes. My shirt was tight around it, the buttons looking ready to pop.

“Time for shopping?” Justin had turned into a mind-reader.

“If only I could find clothes to fit me even when I turn into a baby whale. But I doubt Giorgio ever thought of creating a line of clothes for males in my situation.”

“Aww. Don’t worry. We’ll find something for you. There are plenty fat people out there. They find clothes just fine.”

“They’re ugly,” I protested.

“The fat people or the clothes?” Justin combed his fingers through my hair.

“Both.”

We ended up laughing until tears sprang into my eyes.

Justin’s hand inched closer to my stomach, and I tensed up, like every time he did that. I wasn’t comfortable with people touching my stomach, especially now that it looked like I had a small ball stuffed in there.

“I’m thinking red,” he said after some time. “Burgundy red and maybe some panels of dark oak wood on the far wall, maybe light orange for the curtains, and I want one of these iron wrought chandeliers dangling from the ceiling.” His hands moved above his head, his eyes staring off into space, picturing how the living room would look like.

“What about the floor? I don’t like these floors.”

“A dark wood again. We need to look at what might look nice with that shade of burgundy red I have in mind.”

“It might be a bitch to find what you want and there’s the possibility that the painters might mess it up.”

“What painters? I’m doing this, Brian!”

I turned my head to gape at the news. “What? We’re hiring people—”

“No way! It’s our house. I want to do this. Alone.” He pressed a finger to my lips. “In case you forgot, I paint for a living… so I intend to paint our house too. How hard can it be to paint on the walls, instead of canvas?”

I took one of his hands, placing it on my cock. “This hard.”

“You’re impossible.”

“I’m horny.”

“The website said something about horniness.”

“We should take care of it. It might be dangerous.” I rolled on top of him, kissing up and down his neck.

“Did you pack lube and condoms?”

“Do I ever go anywhere without them?” I lifted an eyebrow in challenge.

I pushed his shirt up, deftly unbuttoning his pants with the other hand, as I went to kissing and licking his warm skin. Justin moaned, arching into my touch. I made quick work of our clothes, and tried not to be self-conscious of the way I looked when I sat on my hunches, opening the condom foil.

“You’re gorgeous,” he murmured, running a hand down my side, leaving it around my hip.

As I lubed him up, he pushed at the plates so he’d have space to thrash around the way he usually did when we fucked.

I smiled down at him, when I placed his calves on my shoulders, handing him the condom.

He beamed, remembering the last time we’d been in a similar position—our first time.

“Slip it on my dick.”

His eyes rolled back and he moaned loudly. “Fuck. I’m going to come just by you reminding me of that night.”

I snorted, fisting his dick. “Don’t come yet.”

“Don’t do this, Brian. That was the best night of my life.”

“Reaally?” I inched inside him, catching his hands in mine.

He caught my eye. “Focus on this. I don’t want any other memories to mark this moment. It’s our first time making love in the new house.”

To both our surprise, I didn’t scoff at his way of describing what we were doing.

I maintained a slow rhythm until we both exploded, and I fell on top of him, exhausted. Justin pulled half of the blanket over my back, hugging me tightly.

I swallowed nervously, readying myself for saying something I’d never envisioned myself say to anyone.

Nuzzling the side of his neck, I pressed my lips to his ear. “I love you.”

Justin froze, before quickly turning to look into my eyes. His filled with tears when he saw I meant it and he wasn’t hearing things. “I love you, Brian.”

I smiled, relaxing into his side. I never thought how much better I could feel after telling him how I felt. In hopes of not sounding like a muncher, I felt so much closer to him.

Now, on to the second part of the plan. Hopefully, the shock wouldn’t be too much for Justin.