After dinner was done, they cleared the table and Juliet helped him to pack the leftovers away in the fridge.
They locked their gaze for a long moment after she put the last of the ziplock bag in the fridge. She looked away and closed up the door of the fridge. He moved closer to her, closing up all the space between them.
She exhaled.
He raised her chin with two fingers. She tried to look away, but he wouldn’t allow her. His hand was so firm on her chin.
“What?” she asked in a whisper when he wouldn’t allow her to look away.
“I want you, Juliet.” He put his hands around her. “I want your heart.”
Her eyes glanced up at him and she went rigid for a while in his hand. She gulped the air.
“I am falling in love with you every day.” A ragged breath escaped his lips. “I have never loved anyone the way I love you and it’s the truth.” He sighed and tried to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat. “I want to be with you. Please say yes,” he rambled on. “I want us to be much more than friends.” He paused for a moment to catch his breath.
Juliet just looked on, blushing.
“I know you can feel the sparks between us as much as I feel it,” he whispered. “Let’s take this friendship to the……”
“I love you too Kurt,” she finally admitted.
“Did you just say you love me?” Relief flooded his expression. He grinned and wrapped his arms around her. Pulling her to himself tightly. “Say it again, babe,” he smiled.
“Yes, I love you, Kurt.” She gripped his arms with the intensity of her feelings. Juliet felt an overwhelming excitement spread all over her.
The last few months had been magical for her. Their friendship had developed into something stronger. No, she couldn’t deny the fact that she was in love with him anymore.
“I love you too,” Kurt growled. “More than you could ever imagine.”
It was as if he had been given a new lease on life. Unquantifiable joy washed over him. It was as if his soul and heart were made to be one with her. Her presence in his life had brought a certain stillness that he couldn’t explain.
“Juliet, I am going to kiss you now.” He grabbed her head and pressed his face to hers, then he claimed her mouth in a passionate kiss; their first kiss!
When they broke the kiss to catch their breath, he still clung to her, with Juliet resting her head on his shoulder.
They stayed that way for a very long time; their bodies shivering with the intensity of their emotions.
******
Five weeks later, Juliet stared unbelievably at the medical test result in her hand.
She looked into Kurt’s face, “this is a pregnancy test result!”
“Yes, Juliet,” he said brusquely. “It’s a pregnancy test result, and it says you are thirteen weeks pregnant.” Anger and pain surged through his body as he said those words.
When Juliet had the flu the third time in less than two months, Kurt, who disliked self-medication, had driven her to his friend’s clinic for a proper check-up. So she could get proper treatment. The clinic lab was already closed by the time they got there at around eight pm. Dr Charles however took Juliet’s blood sample with the promise that the Technician will work on it immediately he resumes the following day. Kurt had gone to collect the result on his way back from the office.
“There must be a mix-up somewhere.” Juliet said. “How can I be pregnant?”
“Charles said after all the tests he ran came back negative, he asked the Technician to run a pregnancy test.” Kurt explained in a tight voice.
“You know I can’t be pregnant!” Juliet said.
Suddenly, a million light bulbs went off in her head. She stood still for a few seconds and then looked at the result again, making some calculations in her head.
“Could it be?” but I still saw my period last week… She thought to herself. Unspeakable terror engulfed her when she remembered her elder sister also experienced something similar when she got pregnant the first time and their mom had said some people in her family do experience it.
Juliet covered her mouth with her hand and dropped the paper on the sofa. She didn’t know what to say at first. She just kept quiet.
Her palms were getting sweaty. She rubbed them on the legs of her suit trousers.
“Kurt,” she finally called out and looked into his face, but she glanced away.
She couldn’t hold his gaze. Guilt and shame consumed her. “I’m so sorry,…. I….. I can explain.”
A dry laugh sprouted from Kurt’s lips. “Really, Juliet?” He paced around the room. “I can’t believe this!” his voice bellowed angrily at her. He walked to the window, where he stood looking outside.
Unshed tears clogged Juliet’s eyes as she walked up to him. “Please, let me explain, please,” she held his hand.
“Leave my hand this minute!” He jerked away from her. “What do you want to explain? Can you imagine how stupid I felt when Charles told me you are thirteen weeks pregnant?” He gave that bitter laugh again. “We’ve only been lovers for four or five weeks!”
Something deep broke inside him the moment Charles slapped him playfully on the back and said, “congrats man, Juliet is pregnant! Thirteen weeks.”
“Pregnant?” He smiled at Charles in spite of himself and asked calmly, “are you sure?”
“Of course, my man.” Charles handed the envelope containing the result to Kurt. “I made sure the Technician ran the test twice in my presence. You just start preparing for little Kurt.” Dr Charles smiled broadly at Kurt.
Hearing those words sent cold shivers down Kurt’s spine. He felt numb all over and he had to make so much effort to appear happy.
Kurt turned his back to Juliet. “keep your explanation to yourself. “So while you were doing friendship with me, you were busy sleeping with someone else, right?”
He ran his hand through his hair. “I just can’t believe it. I have been such a fool.”