Her mouth felt it was both watering and dry with this sight in front of her. She realised she was fanning herself when King asked “Hot?” with a self satisfied smirk. She felt her blush flame her cheeks and she tried to clear her throat so she could speak. They were all looking at her now, appearing equally smug.
She tried throwing a dirty look but she didn’t quite pull it off as she was trying not to smile at the same time. She wished she could get changed into her own clothes as she self-consciously rearranged what she was wearing. The sweats were comfy but they didn’t exactly fit her small size without a lot of rolling and tucking.
“You hungry, love?” Digger asked.
Her stomach rumbled loudly in response and they burst out laughing. She tried to shrug it off, “I could eat.”
There was a knock at the door. Bianca felt the need to hide and was backing up into the bathroom when Bones caught her hand. Digger opened the door and she saw a stunning woman smiling as her hands rubbed against her heavily pregnant belly. Standing behind her was a man about the same size as these guys, in other words; huge.
“Hey Nicole, Duke.” The guys nodded.
Pointing at a large bag that Duke was carrying Nicole said, “I’ve just come drop off some clothes for Bianca. Shel and Jewel kicked in the most as mine are a bit bigger now.” Duke huffed in agreement, causing Nicole to twist and throw him a scathing look. He instantly looked contrite and pressed a kiss to her neck. “Anyway, I figured you’d like to change before meeting everyone,” she directed at Bianca with a friendly, commiserating smile.
Bianca moved forward a couple of steps. “Thank you very much, I appreciate it.”
She was surprised that she’d managed to sound normal. Her heart was pounding – they wanted her to meet everyone. She didn’t want to do that, she wasn’t ready and didn’t know what to expect. Yes, it was reassuring that a pregnant woman obviously felt safe here but she was still incredibly apprehensive. Here in this room, she was secure and not scrutinised and judged. As soon as she steps out, everyone would be looking at her. She didn’t know how to act or what was expected of her so she couldn’t even pretend and muddle her way through. What did the guys expect of her, would they treat her differently around other people? She waved at Nicole as she and Duke left.
“Right, lets get downstairs and get some grub. If Nicole’s cooking, I want to get there before its all gone,” King mumbled as he finally managed to right his t-shirt.
Bones was going through the bag that Nicole had dropped off and was going sorting it into piles on top of the dresser. It was sweet and she was looking forward to seeing what they’d given to her but she wasn’t leaving this room.
“Looks like they brought you plenty of options, angel. Get over here and pick something and then we’ll go.”
She didn’t move. She just shook her head as she was desperately trying to think how she was going to explain to them how she was feeling. It took a couple of minutes but the guys eventually saw that she was still not moving.
“What’s going on, beauty?” Bones asked, his eyes lowered with suspicion.
“Its nothing.” They all straightened their stances as if to say ‘we’re not moving until you talk.’ “Fine. Look, I’m not sure what’s going on. I feel really mixed up and I don’t want to be around other people right now.”
“What are you ‘mixed up’ about?” Digger asked.
“I just don’t know how all this is going to work.” She threw her hands up in frustration and just let all her thoughts spew from her mouth. “I’m going to go out there with you and they’ll all be looking at me and comparing me to women you’ve been with in the past. I’ve never been in a club like this before. I was in that cell at Riot and before that I didn’t know where I was. Those aren’t my clothes so I wont feel like myself and what do I tell people when they ask what I am to you? Do I say girlfriend, fourth, lady you rescued, woman who got your house burned down? What if I’m not enough for you, I mean what happens when you bring another woman in? Do I get a vote, do I have to pick one for you, what’ll happen when we’ve got rid of Dane and I can go home? No one is going to accept this whole thing out there in the real world. This kind of relationship just doesn’t exist. Are we in a relationship? What about…”
Digger interrupted, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Fuck woman!” He rubbed his face with his hands as if to check his skin hadn’t melted off with her tirade.