Maybe Not (Maybe #1.5)(27)

“Warren!” Whitney yells from the top of the stairs.

“I’ll be right back.”

Bridgette shakes her head and points to Conner. “But . . . but . . . this . . .” she stutters.

I pat her on top of her head. “You’ll be fine. Just keep him alive for two minutes.” I scale the steps and Whitney is standing in the doorway to the nursery. She’s wiping her neck with a rag.

“He pissed in my face,” she says. She looks so frazzled. I want to hug her, and I would if she weren’t covered in infant piss. She hands me the baby. “Take him downstairs while I jump in the shower, please.”

I lift him out of her hands. “No problem.”

She begins to head to her room, but pauses right before I make it back to the stairs. “Hey,” she says. I turn and face her. “Who’s the girl?” she signs.

I love that she signs this, so Bridgette has no chance of hearing her ask. Having a family that is all fluent in sign language definitely comes in handy.

“Just my roommate,” I sign back to her, shrugging it off. She smiles and walks into her room. I walk down the stairs holding the baby against my chest. I step over Brody, who is still playing dead on the floor. When I make it to the doorway in the kitchen, I pause. Bridgette has sat Conner on the kitchen island. She’s standing right in front of him so that he doesn’t fall and she’s holding up her fingers, counting with him.

“Three. Can you count to three?”

Conner touches his finger to the tips of hers. “One. Two. Twee,” he says. They both start clapping and he says, “Me now.”

Bridgette begins to count his fingers this time. I lean my head against the doorframe and watch her interact with him.

I don’t know why I’ve never spent time with her outside of the bedroom before this. I could add up all the things she’s done to me at night, and I’m positive I wouldn’t trade today for all of that combined.

This is the Bridgette that I see. The part of her she gives to me. And now that I’m watching her, I see that she’s very capable of giving it to others who deserve it.

“Do you stare at all your roommates like this?” Whitney whispers in my ear. I spin around, and she’s standing behind me, watching me watch Bridgette. I shake my head and look back at Bridgette. “No. I don’t.”

As soon as I say it, I regret saying it. Whitney will be texting me within the hour, wanting to know all the details. How long I’ve known her, where she’s from, if I’m in love with her.

Time to leave.

“Ready, Bridgette?” I ask, handing the baby back to Whitney.

Bridgette glances up at me and then back to Conner. She actually looks a little sad that she has to say goodbye.

“Bye, Bwidjet,” Conner says to her with a wave. Bridgette gasps and turns to face me.

“Oh, my God! Warren, he said my name!”

She turns back to Conner, and he’s still waving. “Shit on me,” he says.

Bridgette immediately picks him up and sets him down on the floor. “Ready,” she says quickly, walking away from him and toward the front door.

Whitney is pointing at Conner and looking at me, “Did he just say . . .”

I nod. “I think he did, Whit. You need to watch your language around your kids.” I give her a quick kiss on the cheek and head for the front door.

Bridgette is standing over Brody, looking down at him. “Seriously impressive.”

He’s in the exact same position we left him in. “I told you he dies better than anyone I know.” I step over him and hold the front door open for her. We walk outside and she doesn’t even flinch or pull away when I slide my hand through hers. I walk her to the passenger side door, but before I open it, I turn her to face me and I press her against the car. My hand touches her forehead and I wipe away a wisp of hair.

“I never thought I wanted kids,” she says, glancing back at the house.

“But you do now?”

She shakes her head. “No, not really. But maybe if I could have Conner. At that age, for like a year, maybe two. Then I’d probably get tired of him and not want him anymore, but a year or two out of my life might be fun.”

I laugh. “So why don’t you kidnap him and bring him back when he’s five?”

She faces me again. “But you would know it was me who took him.”

I smile down at her. “I would never tell. I like you better than I like him.”

She shakes her head. “You love your sister too much to do that to her. It would never work. We’d have to kidnap someone else’s kid.”

I sigh. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Besides, we should probably kidnap a celebrity’s kid. That way we could get ransom out of it and never have to work again. We could give the kid back, take the money, and spend the rest of our lives having sex all day.”

Bridgette smiles. “You’re so romantic, Warren. No other guy has ever promised me a kidnapping and ransom.”

I tilt her chin up so that her mouth is positioned closer to mine. “Like I said, you just haven’t met the right *.” I press my lips to hers and kiss her, briefly. I keep it PG in case Brody has come back to life and is watching us.

I reach behind her and open the door. She walks around me to climb inside, but before she does, she stands on her tiptoes and kisses me on the cheek.