AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story's lead male character is a supporting character in my first story, "Ashley's Angelic". It's not strictly necessary to read that one first, but it will help in explaining some of the backdrop and references in this one. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this.
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My name is Geoff. My two best friends in the world are Jay and Ashley. Jay usually has his stuff together pretty good; he often calms me down and talks me out of some of my more reckless tendencies. Lately he had been acting a little squirrely though, he was depressed and withdrew from Ash and I for a while, just not himself at all. I think he's figured out whatever was bothering him, at least I hope so, he seemed a little more back to normal the other day. And what can I say about Ash, I've known her basically all my life. She's just a sweet girl, as nice a person as you can find. I don't have much more to add, really. Well, except this; I hope to god they stop beating around the bush and hook up already! I mean, the sexual tension is just ridiculous right now. It's obvious they were meant to be a couple, so I don't know what the hell they are waiting for. Hell if it doesn't happen soon I may just have to tell them myself!
But I didn't have time to worry about that, I had my own issues of the heart to deal with! You see, one recent morning I got a text from another female friend of mine, Erica.
Ah, Erica. We dated for a few months but it never became anything serious. I had come to think of her as "the one that got away". I'm usually very confident around women but she was different. Something about her always made me hesitate at the moment of truth when we were together. Soon after we stopped dating she met some other guy and the rest as they say is history. We have remained friends at least so that was better than nothing, but I'd be a liar if I said I didn't regret telling Erica my true feelings for her.
Since she met her latest guy, however, we haven't seen each other much at all. I think his first name is actually Paul but he usually answers to P.J. One thing I do know about him for sure is that he's a real asshole. Honestly, I cannot understand what Erica ever saw in him. Last time I saw them was about 7 or 8 months ago, I was out with Jay and some friends when I happened to see Erica and P.J. walk into the bar. Or, more accurately, I saw P.J. drag Erica into the bar. I noticed P.J. ignoring Erica throughout the night, instead flirting with seemingly every girl in the place, none of whom could hold a candle to Erica in any way. A little later in the evening Erica accidentally knocked a bottle of his beer off the table, and he totally flipped, yelling at her and grabbing her forearm. That was enough for me; I got up and marched over to confront him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the recognition and then look of fear in Erica's eyes but I ignored it for the moment. I pointed at P.J. and looked at him straight in the eye and yelled, "Hey dumbass, that's no way to treat a lady, what the hell's wrong with you!" It wasn't until he stood up that I realized how big P.J. was. I'm not a small guy by any means but he towered over me, looking like an angry roided up freak. I tried to look tough but figured I was going to get my ass kicked. Lucky for me Jay and a few other guys stepped between us and played peacemaker, and cooler heads prevailed. P.J. grabbed Erica's hand and growled, "Let's go!" On their way out Erica only had time to say "I'm so sorry!" before P.J. hustled her out the door.
That was the last I had seen or heard from her, until she texted me. Her message was "Hey Geoff, I'd love to see you right now!" That was all I needed. I left so fast I barely heard Ashley trying to talk to me at first. I opened the door only to hear Ash yell out "Geoff!"
"What?" I asked.
"Where are you going?"
I was in a big hurry to leave because I was so eager to meet Erica, so I wasn't thinking straight. So even though I usually tell Ash everything because we've been close friends for so long, I just blurted out a pretty lame excuse. "I... uh, have to take care of something right now, it's kind of an emergency. See ya!"
I left before Ash could ask me to explain myself. I briefly wondered what Ash would think about both Jay and I acting strangely lately, but I had to let that go for now. I ran down the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator, to the parking garage.
As I was driving through traffic to Erica's place I started to think how I had no idea what I was getting myself into. For all I knew that lunkhead P.J. could be there waiting for me. I tried to ignore that possibility as I pulled into the parking lot. Erica lived on the 7th floor, but again I didn't want to wait for an elevator so I ran up the flights of stairs to get to her apartment. I knocked on the door and waited.
When Erica opened the door, I could not hide the look of surprise on my face. Erica was smiling and radiant as usual... but she was very, very pregnant! Needless to say I was not expecting that.
Erica laughed and said, "Come on in Geoff, sheesh have you never seen a pregnant woman before?"
I finally snapped out of it and gave Erica a big hug while trying to be careful not to crush her belly. "Sorry Erica, it's just... I mean... wow I had no idea!"
I congratulated her as she brought me inside. Thankfully there was no sign of P.J. We sat down in the living room and talked for a good hour or so, getting caught up on our lives. I tried to listen closely to what Erica was saying but found it very difficult at times. Her shoulder-length hair framed her round face, which was positively beaming. Pregnancy really seemed to agree with her. She looked to have gained a little weight but not an excessive amount, and it had gone to all the right places. Her breasts, previously a good average size, had swelled with milk and looked deliciously ripe and full. I was envious of her soon-to-be-born child.
After a pause in the conversation I looked her over and said, "Wow, I still can't believe you're pregnant. I have to say, you look great!"
Erica's face blushed. "Oh Geoff, you're so sweet! Sometimes I don't feel great though, carrying around a kid all day is hard work you know!"
I chuckled at that. "How far into your pregnancy are you?"
"Just past six months," she said.
"I don't want to sound upset, but... I kind of wish I would have known sooner."
She took a deep breath and responded, "I know, I feel bad about that... things have kind of been like a whirlwind ever since I found out though."
For the first time I felt Erica wasn't being entirely truthful with me. I followed up by asking a question I didn't really want to ask but felt I had to. "How's P.J. handling the news of being a father?"
Erica paused, looked like she was about to answer, but instead she burst into tears and sobbed uncontrollably. She had looked so happy until my last two inquiries; it was obviously quite an acting job. I guessed that this might have been the reason she wanted to see me, needing a friend to talk to and commiserate with. I sat next to her and gave her a hug as she cried on my shoulder. I hated to see Erica so upset. I also burned with a white-hot hatred for P.J. Whatever this shit-for-brains did, I hoped he'd pay for it, and that I'd be the one to make him pay.
As I watched Erica cry, thoughts of revenge drifted to the back of my mind. Despite knowing it was not the right time or place, I couldn't help but be incredibly turned on. I found Erica to be stunningly beautiful normally, but being pregnant somehow made her even sexier. I wondered if I would ever have the chance to tell her or better yet show her my true feelings.
I tried to concentrate on something, anything to help prevent a raging hard-on, when Erica finally lifted her head and wiped her face, her crying mercifully over for now. I was genuinely concerned for Erica's well-being. When the time seemed right, I asked, "Are you OK? Do you want to talk about it?"
She sniffed and appeared to gather her thoughts for a while. I thought maybe she decided not to say anything, but then she did respond. "P.J. has been such a jerk! He didn't react much at first when I told him the news but I chalked that up to him being nervous and adjusting to this lifestyle change. But since my body has been changing he's been insulting me, calling me fat and disgusting. He won't touch or look at me at all! We got in a fight and he said he never wanted kids anyway!"
My anger started rising again. "What an asshole! Where is he? I don't care how big he is, if I see him I'm gonna punch his stupid face in!"
Erica shook her head and said, "I kicked him out. Maybe for good, but I don't know yet. He can be very sweet when he wants to be, and the baby will need a father."
