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Chapter Fifty Two

Lily took a break about an hour before my shift was over. When she came back, she scooted her chair close to mine.

“Anything new?” she asked. I was in the middle of processing some new books; I paused and shook my head.

“It’s been pretty quiet.”

“Yes, but is there anything new in general? You look like you’re feeling better than yesterday,” she continued. I nodded.

“Yeah, must have been something I ate,” I said.

Lily gave me a knowing smile.

“Is that all?”

I looked at her surprised. “Yes, why?”

She leaned even closer. "I was coming back from the break room and I saw a certain blonde beau camped out in the stacks in the nonfiction area upstairs.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“He was in the 616’s,” Lily said. Only a librarian could insinuate in Dewey language.

The 616’s were the pregnancy and health section.

“Oh?” I said. I played with the corners of the book I was holding.

“You’re fidgeting. C’mon, give,” she said.

I sighed. She knew my nervous ticks as well as my mom.

“I don’t want this to get out,” I told her. “But since you’re my supervisor…”

I gave her basically as much information as I gave my mom, which at this point was pretty much just my due date. I let her conclude that Nick was the source.

“As your supervisor, your secret is safe with me,” she said. “I’ll let you tell everyone else in your own time.”

I sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

She headed back to her office; I continued to work at the desk. I don’t know whether I had just woken up on the wrong side of the bed or if this was what everyone talked about when they mentioned pregnancy hormones, but the longer I sat, the angrier I got at Nick.

Nick came down to escort me out to the car just a few minutes before the end of my shift. He walked up with one of those amazing devil-may-care smiles. In return I gave him yet another look. He stopped in his tracks.

“What did I do now?”

I shook my head and pointed to the boat. “Sit in the boat. I’ll talk to you in five minutes.”

Like a child going to the time out corner, Nick slumped down in the boat and watched me under low lidded eyes.

I finished up some statistics and shoved the project I was working on out of the way. Disappearing through the employee hallways, I punched out and then swung back through the department to grab my purse and meet up with Nick.

He stood as I approached the boat; he took my hand and gave my fingers a loving squeeze. I didn’t say anything until we were in the car.

“What were you doing?” I asked him as he started the car. He looked confused.

“What?”

I clicked my seatbelt into place with more force than usual.

“You were in the 616s!”

“The what?”

I took a deep breath. “My supervisor saw you in the 616’s up in the nonfiction area,” I explained. “The pregnancy section?” I added. Recognition lit up his face.

“Oh! I was just getting some information,” he said. He looked at me apologetically. “As a librarian you should be proud. I used books, not the internet to make sure I was getting good sources,” he reasoned.

Oh, he was good. At that moment, I felt like the Librarian Grinch. My heart grew three sizes. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Okay, I’ve got to give you credit,” I said. “But, my boss put two and two together and I had to tell her about…” I placed a hand gently on my stomach.

Nick made a face. “I didn’t even think about that. I just thought I’d kill some time before picking you up and do a little reading. I was even incognito; I was wearing my reading glasses.”

I smiled. “They doesn’t change you from Clark Kent to Superman just by putting on or taking off glasses,” I said gently.

“Well, I am sorry,” Nick said. “Can I make it up to you by buying you dinner?”

I shook my head. “I’m not hungry.”

“You have to eat more than crackers. You’re eating for two.”

I sighed. “Maybe in an hour or so.”

Nick assented. “Okay; then how about this? We’ll stop by the gym and I’ll work up an appetite and then I’ll take you out to dinner.”

I smiled. Maybe the sight of a hot and sweaty Nick would turn my mood around. “Deal.”

----------------------------

Instead of using the gym at the Holiday Inn, Nick stopped at the 24-Hour Fitness location near my house.

“I prefer 24-Hour if there’s one available,” he explained. “Every location is set up the same. Plus the Holiday Inn only has a treadmill and a recumbent bike.”

I nodded. “Yeah, there’s not much hotel traffic here. You should have seen my face the first time I stayed in Florida for the internship job,” I laughed. “I felt like a princess.”

“You are a princess,” Nick said. He kissed me softly and then pointed to one of the leather couches. “Sit back, relax. I’m going to go change and I’ll be right out. You can be my motivational coach.”

I laughed as he disappeared into the back of the room. Things were looking up.

After about five minutes, I began to think things were looking down again. Then ten minutes later, Nick still wasn’t out. I stood up intending to go in the back and take a peek, when all hell broke loose.

At first I didn’t realize what was happening. One moment I heard some loud arguing; the next moment two men basically rolled out of the changing room in a tangle of fists and kicks. As the taller of the two got an advantage, he pinned the other, heavier guy down and I saw a fist fly through the air. A flash of red hair retaliated and managed to get a knee to the taller’s stomach.

I groaned.

It was Nick and Hunter.

A couple other guys stopped working on their machines stopped and rushed over. One looked like Hulk Hogan, the other Bret Michaels. It must have been long blonde haired rocker night. Even with them intervening, Nick didn’t give up without a fight; at one point he seemed to take them all out. His face was angrier than I had ever seen it.

Finally, with the help of the two guys and the employee on duty, Nick and Hunter were separated. Both lunged at the other, but were restrained tightly by the arms.

“What the hell is going on?” I said, finally deeming it safe to approach. Nick looked over at me; I think he half forgot I was there. His lip was swelling; a thin trickle of blood ran down his chin. I could hear sirens in the distance.

“Your boy toy doesn’t seem to like me,” Hunter said. He spit on the ground; a tooth flew out. “Maybe he’s going to like the guys in jail better.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Nick growled. He made another attempt at a lunge; the guys holding his arms struggled to keep him back.

At that moment the police walked in. One of the guy’s restraining Nick went over to restrain Hunter as the employee was led away to make a statement. Tears sprang to my eyes.

This was ranking right up there on my “worst days of my life” list.

I watched helplessly as the officers returned and cuffed both men. Nick was still in macho mode; his jaw was set, his eyes were on the ground. Hunter was a little more carefree. He addressed one of the officers by name and he was slowly trying to play up his role as victim.

Nick tossed me his car keys. He was hauled out first; Hunter followed. Before Hunter got to the door, he turned and smiled at me.

“You sure know how to pick them, Livvy. Oh, and I hear congratulations are in order. What a slut,” he snickered. The officer pushed him out the door.

I sank down on the couch, burying my head in my hands.

It was going to be a long night.