Free The Question by Zena Wynn

stiffen beneath her hand and he froze as though turned to stone. Her hand had been uncomfortably close to the bulge in his pants.
    “Before we go,” she said quickly, trying to distract her mind from the hard-on he was sporting in his pants, “there’s something else you need to know about me.”
    He leaned forward and braced his hands on his knees. “Whatever it is, tell me quickly. My control is hanging on by a thread.”
    She rushed into speech. “I’m about four months pregnant with twins. You should know because if we start dating, people are going to assume they’re yours.”
    She fell back against the couch with a gasp as he loomed over her. “Who’s the father?” he asked through clenched teeth. “Scratch that. Were you raped? ‘Cause I know damned well you didn’t go to his bed willingly, did you?”
    “What! No! It’s nothing like that. I agreed to be a surrogate mother for my best friend and her husband.” Gail was shocked by his reaction.
    Greg drew back with a frown. “Let me get this straight. Your friend asked you to be a surrogate for her, knowing you’d already lost one child? Are you sure she’s your friend?”
    “Yes! Well, she can be a little flighty sometimes, but we’ve been friends since junior high. She’s really been there for me through the years. Helping Crystal and Rashid have a child of their own is the least I could do after the way they stood by and supported me when I lost Jason and Marcus.”  Gail defended Crystal, even though in her heart of hearts, there was a part of her that agreed with his assessment.
    “Un-huh, I’m sure you’d know better than I.” He held his hand out and let it hover over her stomach. “May I?”
    “Yeah, sure.” She held still as he placed his hand on the small mound of her belly.
    “You’re not very large. Is this why you fainted at the office?” his hand measured the roundness of her stomach, massaging it lightly.
    “Don’t worry. I’ll blow up soon enough. And yes, this was the reason for my fainting spell. I kept getting sick so I wasn’t eating. The doctor put me on bed rest until I could keep my food down and gain back some of the weight I lost.”
    “Speaking of food, let’s go and get you fed. I don’t want you sick again. You just got back to work. I couldn’t handle another long absence.” He stood to his feet and reached for her. Gail took the hand he extended and allowed him to help her to stand.  “You’re sure you’re alright now?”
    “I’m fine. Dr. Hagan said now that I’m in my second trimester, things should go much smoother.”
    “Well, I still think your friend’s got a screw loose for asking you to do something like this, but if you need me for anything, just call and I’ll come running. What’s the deal with your friend anyway? Why can’t she have her own kids or adopt like everyone else?” he asked as they walked out of the door.
    “She’s had several miscarriages,” she said as they entered the elevator. “The doctors don’t know what’s causing them but the last one almost took her life. She really wants a child of her own but says she’ll settle for one fathered by her husband. As for why she asked me, she doesn’t trust anyone else. She’d rather the eggs come from me than some faceless stranger.”
    Greg cupped her elbow as he escorted her to his car.  “So, does she go with you to the doctor? How involved are they in this process?”
    “Very. I spent the time that I was on bed rest with them in their home. Crystal’s been to all of my appointments except one. We agreed that she would be to all of them, as much as humanly possible, so that she can feel connected to the babies even before they are born. Rashid has recently started coming as well. The first one he attended was as a fill-in for Crystal. Now he’s really intense and focused about the whole thing, wanting to be involved with every aspect of the pregnancy. It’s annoying, but it’s not like I can deny him.