Like Rabbits

"Wow."

"I'd say you need to see that doctor. You're much bigger than I was. You look like you're between my week sixteen and twenty shots!"

"Ya, I guess I do," Karen agreed. "And another thing, if you don't start wearing maternity clothes, your skirt's going to burst. Look at it. The seams are already stretched to the breaking point. I think it's time to tell people."

Karen quickly put herself back together, and handed the pictures back. "Thanks for showing me those," she said as she left for the door.

Karen stopped at home before going to the doctor's office to put on some sweatpants. At least those weren't tight to the breaking point. She threw the skirt into the hamper; this was the last time she'd wear that for a while. The sweatpants felt a world more comfortable.

Doctor Harrington stepped into the room, looking closely at the chart. "Good afternoon Ms. Denning," he said while looking down at the chart. "We have you at twelve weeks, give or take, right?"

"Yes, doctor." "And you say that you're too big for twelve weeks?" "Yes, everyone tells me that I'm huge for twelve weeks."

"Well, let's see." She reclined on the table. The doctor pulled her shirt up a little and the top of her sweats down a little to expose her belly.

"Yes, you do seem larger than you should." She felt for Karen's uterus just above her pubic bone. "There it is," she said matter-­of-factly. She pulled an ultrasound cart next to the table.

"Normally, we have a technician do the ultrasound, but in this case, I'd like to do it myself. Your uterus is above your pubic bone, and it's a little early for that to be happening.

Normally, it rises above the public bone at 4 months, or seventeen to eighteen weeks, and this is when women who are having their first children start to show. Also, with your athletic condition, that would keep you from showing for longer as well. It would be that your dates are off."

"No, I'm sure about the dates," Karen confided.

She put jelly on Karen's bump and on the ultrasound probe, then applied the probe to her lower abdomen. It felt cold. "Hmm."

"What do you see," Karen asked as she stretched to see the screen.

"Well, quite frankly, it looks like twins." She reclined again, wanting to put her hands on her belly, but not, so as not to interfere with the doctor. She moved the cart to a more comfortable viewing position for her. "See these round objects?"

"Yes."

"Those are the tops of the babies' heads. Yup, you definitely have twins. That would explain your size." She did some measurements with the machine, and confirmed the twelve-­week age of the babies.

"So you're telling me that I am twelve weeks, but that I'm showing as though I'm eighteen?"

"Actually, I would say closer to nineteen on twenty weeks," the doctor corrected. "But this is healthy for a multiple pregnancy. I do need to see you in four weeks though."

Karen left the office that afternoon filled with joy and fear, even more cognizant of her growing belly.

The next night, her friend Janice came to her door. Karen had bought some maternity outfits the day before, and was wearing some stretch pants and a tank­-top. She hadn't been expecting anyone. She opened the door, not thinking that what she was wearing told a story.

"Hey Karen, I was in the neighborhood, and thought I'd stop by." Janice's eyes drifted downward. "Umm, I guess I haven't seen you in a while..."

"It's only been a couple of weeks. Why don't you come in, and I'll fill you in," Karen said nervously. They sat at the kitchen table.

"Remember that guy last summer in Massachusetts?"

"Ya..."

"Well, as if you can't tell, I now have a souvenir. Two souvenirs actually. I'm pregnant."

"What's the second?" "With twins," Karen completed, with a smile on her face.

"Oh – my – goodness! Congratulations, that's great!"

"Ya, not the way that I planned to raise a family, but I'm happy that I'm 'in the family way', as they say." She placed her hands on her belly to show the bulge.

"How does it feel?"

"Well, at first, it was lousy because I was sick all the time, but now, that's not so much an issue. It's fun now that I have a belly to show for all the sickness. I do feel as though I'm carrying around a few thanksgiving dinners all the time though! I had to start wearing maternity clothes this week because my regular stuff's just too tight around the waist.

Janice's eyes were fixed on Karen's belly. "Would you like to feel my belly?"

"Sure!" Janice leaned over and felt Karen's warm belly. "It's soft – I guess I expected it to be hard."

"Ya, I always though that pregnant bellies were hard too, but it's just part of me!"

"You sure that you're happy with this?"

"Ya, I am, but you know, I've been pretty 'in the mood' if you know what I mean. I wish that I had been knocked up be someone who I really cared about, and who was here!"

"Really? You're horny? That's pretty weird. I'd want to hide. No offense."

"Ya, they say that the hormones do that, you're either a nun, or a sex addict. I drew the short straw this time I guess."

"Maybe you'll find someone who likes sex with pregnant women! Ha!" Janice laughed and jumped up as Karen swatted at her with a newspaper.

"Ya, right!"

Chapter 5

It was early November, and Karen was late for the brunch shift. She quickly dressed in some black maternity jeans and white turtleneck, and got in a few minutes past ten. She got a few tables that others had been covering for her.

Chuck had worked hard the month before, and his company had been awarded the contract for the factory work in town, and had personally seen to it that the job was complex enough to require him to be on­site during the process. It was to be a six month job, and he needed to oversee it regularly. He had gotten in the night before in hopes that he'd run into her again. He was waiting in line at the hostess station, part of the breakfast crowd. His heart was beating a mile a minute in anticipation. There she was!

Rushing past, she almost didn't notice him, but stopped on a dime as soon as she did. "Oh, hi, it's great to see you!"

"Great to see you too! How have you been?" His hands were sweating. He did some quick math. This would be week sixteen. That's almost half­way there. Her tummy definitely showed now. Her apron tied above the top of the belly, just over where her bellybutton would be, and created a small shelf that would be just about the right size to carry drinks on! He chuckled in his mind.

"Fine, hey, look, if you want to take table twenty-­three, over there under the tiffany lamp, and in front of that wait stand, I'll be right over." She scribbled something in a book on the desk, and he went right over.

He was more than a little happy that she was there, and even more so that she wanted to wait on him personally. It was Saturday, and that wasted Friday night in the hotel room was worth it already. His mind drifted thinking about what she must look like under the covers, so to speak.

After a few minutes, she came over. "It is really, really great to see you. Things have been going well, and I've been thinking about you a lot. My social life's virtually dead, and I never forget someone who thinks I look good, especially now!" She certainly hadn't lost her energy.

"I've been thinking about you too," he understated, "You look great!"

"You think so?" she said, raising her arms even with her shoulders, and rocking her belly from side to side. "Do I still look sexy to you, even with my belly?" she continued, half jokingly, raising the bottom of her shirt even with the top of her jeans.

Her round belly was enticing, and her playful nature made it even more so. "Even more than I had imagined." She had grown from a little belly to something more substantial. Now there was no denying that she was pregnant. She had outgrown the skirt long ago; when the waistband had become much more comfortable under the belly than over it, she declared that it just plain looked stupid, and hung it up. Her belly now showed quite clearly after sixteen weeks of pregnancy.

"I've found out that I'm having twins! Can you tell?"

"Umm, really, that's incredible!" he exclaimed. "No, I can't tell." He couldn't, but everything that he had imagined about her pregnancy had to be expanded a little.

"I sort of thought that something was going on, because I was growing a little faster than I had expected. A friend of mine suggested that I might have twins, and the doctor confirmed it. I'm looking forward to it, I really am." She sounded as though she was trying to convince herself. She was determined to make the best of it, even if it wasn't how she'd have chosen to do things.

"You'll have a lot on your hands, but I'm sure that you'll be a great mom!"

"Hah, you don't even know me." "We could fix that, you know. When are you off?"

"Umm, OK," she seemed a little taken aback, but he seemed nice , and she was curious. "Four o'clock, why?"

"It was fun talking to you before, and maybe we could go out someplace. I know it's very forward, but I think that we both need to get out." She did. With her social life was nearly gone, this guy was the nearest thing to a companion that she had at the moment.

"That sounds great, but I have a few meals to deal with between now and than. What would you like for breakfast?"

He got back to the restaurant at four o'clock promptly. She was just clocking out. "Hi," he said.

"Hi! I hope you don't mind, but I need to go to my apartment and get out of these clothes so that I don't smell like a restaurant all night. My car's around back, would you like to ride with me?" This was more than he imagined.

"Sure!"

Getting into the car, she fastened her seatbelt, snugging the belt under new belly. The shoulder harness divided and delineated her smooth round breasts. Her nipples were protruding through the soft fabric of her bra and shirt. As she started the car, he was reeling. Never had he enjoyed a ride in a Civic like this.

The ride was a quick one, perhaps too quick for him. He wasn't expecting anything because he didn't know what to expect. They got out of the car, and went up the rear steps to the second floor apartment. She fought with the key a little, and then opened the door. She threw the keys onto the kitchen table. "Make yourself at home, I'll be just a minute."

He followed her into the living room, and sat down. She went into what was presumably the bedroom and closed the door. He waited doing nothing because his mind could do nothing while waiting for her. She eventually came out, wearing a black jumpsuit and white shirt. The jumpsuit wrapped her belly nicely, showing her every curve, but in a way that still left some to the imagination. He liked that.

"Don't you ever wear anything besides black and white?" he joked, secretly hoping that she wouldn't change though.

"It's all I've got that's clean that I can still fit in." She wasn't joking. "What would you like to do for the rest of the day?"

"I don't know, I'm not from here remember? What's there to do around here?"

"We could go to the mall. I need to buy some more clothes. I've run out of things to wear. You can help. You think I look good, so you tell me what I should be wearing!" He was sweating again.

At the mall, they went into the maternity store. He had never been in a place like this before, and it was strange. All kinds of clothes for women who were temporarily round, he thought. He saw a few pregnant women in various stages of pregnancy, and tried to imagine her like that. He was definitely hooked on watching the whole process unfold.

"I need more jeans, something dressy, and some underwear. You can help with everything except the underwear." She took some underwear from a display, and thought better of excluding him from the underwear decision. "Do you think that I should wear something under the belly or over the belly?" She held up two pairs. The over the belly pair was definitely bigger, but all by itself it suggested a nice round belly. The under the belly pair looked pretty normal to him. He really liked the over the belly pair.

"Umm, under I guess, I don't know, whatever's more comfortable," he stammered, trying to act only slightly interested. He didn't know how his new­found interest in the pregnant form might play with her. Would she be enticed or scared off?

"I'll get both. I don't know what's more comfortable, I've never been pregnant before!"

He thought "Great! I don't know which I really like better anyhow!"

He chose some nice jeans for her, a cat suit, and a long skirt. As they were leaving the mall, she decided to use the ladies' room. He seized the opportunity, ran back into the maternity shop, and bought her a nice lace bodysuit. The woman at the counter looked at him with a slight grin; she wasn't going to give away his secret. He was out before she was, and she was none the wiser.

Later that evening, sitting on the sofa watching television, she was rubbing her tummy. She had changed into flannel pajama bottoms because she said that her jeans were tight on her belly. "I'm still not used to this." She pulled the stretchy flannel down, gradually exposing her rounded belly, first a small crescent, and then half of her belly was visible. She put her hand under the part of the material still covering the lower half of her belly. She slowly moved her hand side to side under the fabric, getting used to the shape.

Her belly was a bulge that peaked just at her belly button. It looked soft. Her belly button was still a little concave, but it wouldn't be for long, as the bulge was moving upward and outward.

"I'm not used to it either, I've never seen a pregnant woman's belly before," he said pensively.

"You want to touch it. That's fine, go ahead." He was sweating and almost trembling now. He slowly and deliberately reached out and touched the side of her belly where it was still covered. It was indeed warm and soft, and a shape that excited him. She pried her hand back underneath the stretch material until it was relieved of its strain and rolled up at the bottom of her belly. There for him to see was the full shape of her rounded belly. She looked softly at him. His eyes were fixed on the belly. He drew his hand back along the cloth as she pulled it down, and made contact with her skin as soon as the cloth was no longer in the way.

It was even warmer, smoother and softer now. He froze for a little while, afraid to make a move. After adjusting himself on the couch, he starting moving his hand in small circles on her belly. She just smiled. He made larger and larger circles until the circles were bounded only by the top of her belly and the top of the jeans beneath. He looked at her, and she returned a smile. His face was serious, hers inviting.

"Doesn't it feel nice?"

"This is incredible," he was finally able to blurt out. "This is such an unimaginably wonderful feeling. I've never felt a woman's pregnant belly before," he repeated.

"It feels good to me too. Just wait a few months, there'll be a lot more belly where that came from."

He laughed. Did this mean that she wanted a relationship? He wanted to be cautious, but kissed her anyway. She kissed back in such a way as to reward the motion.

Chapter 6

Karen put on a coat that she was sure would fit over her eighteen week pregnant torso, put on a scarf and closed the door. Ten minutes later, she was at Janice's place for dinner.

As she walked up the steps to Janice's apartment, she felt the weight of her belly weighing her down, and leaned over a little as though she were carrying a back pack. As she reached the top of the steps, she took a couple of extra breaths, and knocked on the door.

The door opened with the aroma of dinner. "Hi there, come on in!"

"Thanks." Karen took off her coat and placed it over a chair next to the door. "What's for supper?"

"Stir-­fry chicken."

"Mmm, that sounds great!"

"You're looking large!" Janice joked.

"Ya, and feeling large too." Karen sat at the dining room table, watching Janice finish up.

"You know that guy that I told you about?"

"Sure."

"Well, we had an 'evening' when he was here last."

"Did you..." Janice started.

"No, no, too early, but you know what? He seems to actually like me pregnant."

"You're kidding? Well, wait until you guys try to get 'busy',and see how he does then. Guys don't like pregnant women."

"He does though, he said so, a few times!" "Well, more power to ya then," Janice said as she put a couple of plates onto the table. So what's next for you two lovebirds?"

"I, uhh, I invited him to stay at my place over the Christmas holiday."

"You're kidding!"

"No, I think that he's great. He's not putting any pressure on me, and that's a change..."

"Ya, because he can't imagine of sex with a preggo!" Janice teased.

"I think that if I had pushed things a little more, we'd have done it."

"Hm. Well, let me know how it goes!" "I will."

"How do you have sex while you've got a big twin belly anyhow?"

"Ah, curious, huh? Well me too, and I intend to find out. I suppose that I could be on top."

"It just sounds too weird to me!" The conversation changed at that point.

Chapter 7

It was a cold December night. He walked up the steps to her apartment juggling Christmas presents. He hadn't seen her in six weeks, and was really anticipating what she might look like at twenty-­two weeks pregnant! Of course they'd spoken on the phone, and she'd described her changes, but he was still dying to see and feel first­ hand. He'd picked up a book about pregnancy, and had read it cover to cover. He thought that getting to know what was going on would help him help her. Not to mention that he was excited by her pregnancy more than he was even willing to admit to himself.

He had come back to the customer the week before Christmas, and had an invitation to stay at Karen's house for the holidays. This wasn't an opportunity to miss. His heart was aflutter.

He knocked on the door. As she walked toward the door, her pregnant silhouette was visible through the curtains.

She opened the door wearing some sweatpants and a t-shirt that had become increasingly too small for the job. "Hi!" As she hugged him, he had to lean into the hug to make it a head-to-head hug. Her tummy pressed into his pelvis, a sensation that he'd never had before. It was a soft feeling, almost as though there was a warm pillow between them.

"You're looking great!" He stepped back a little to check out her newly enlarged figure. "I can't believe how big you've gotten!" When he had seen her last, her belly came out as far as her breasts, maybe a little farther, and her belly wasn't the dominating feature of her body that it was now!

She was definitely bigger than the pictures of pregnant women in the books that he'd bought. But, he supposed, they were carrying one child, and she had twice the load. Had she been carrying one, he'd have figured her to be about thirty­-two weeks, not the twenty-­two weeks that she was.

"How've you been feeling," he asked.

"I've been great," she said, turning to help him with his things.

He took in the whole picture as she turned again to carry some of his things in to the living room. He caught himself. "Here, let me get that stuff! You shouldn't be carrying that in your delicate condition!"

She put down a bag and a suitcase, turned to him, hopped up a little, and gave him a little kiss. "You're too sweet," she said. "You should see what I carry at work!" He put his hands on her belly, trembling a little while he did. She looked down and smiled, putting her hands on his.

He picked up the baggage and brought it through the living room into the bedroom. She followed. He put the suitcase on the floor in front of the dresser, and put the bag on top of it. "What's in the bag," she asked playfully, with her arms behind her back, swaying her belly from side to side. Her sweatpants kept falling below her belly, and the t-­shirt kept creeping up, giving a glimpse of what was underneath and causing the clothes to stretch in ways that they hadn't been designed to stretch.