Jim wasn't sure if she should be relieved or angry. "Holy shit. Don't do that to me, Rick! With a fright like that, you're lucky I didn't go into labor."
Rick's face fell. "Sorry," he apologized with simple sincerity.
It took an act of will for Jim to tamp down a flash of anger and not lash out at her friend. "For what? Almost making be pop a kid out, or for turning me into some kind of pregnant, bloated bombshell?"
Swallowing with an almost comic gulp, Rick took a deep breath, as if bracing himself for Jim's reaction. "For falling in love with you."
Like a small animal, trapped by a car's headlights, Jim froze. "What did you say?"
"I love you," confessed Rick, his heart melting with the joy of confessing the truth at long last.
The basement went silent except for the quiet hum of the computer's fan. The two of them stared at each other. Jim, on the verge of being a caricature of a woman as well as being pregnant, stood with both hands on top of her distended belly, knees trembling. Rick sat behind the computer, as if it could shield him, eyes wide and waiting for a response.
Rick had wondered what Jim would say when he finally confessed his true feelings. What he wasn't prepared for was action. He watched in suprise as Jim ... :
Thu Jan 27 17:06:58 2011
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