Into the Garden Ch. 19-21

"Let me love you, Lindy," he whispered in her ear. She nodded her head, and he slid his hard shaft into her, rocking slowly. Her warmth and wetness surrounded him as the pair stood in the shower, the water forming another cocoon of warmth and wetness around them. Moving slowly at first, he savored how tight she fit him, like she was made for him, rocking back and forth as his whole body pressed up against her. He felt her squeeze her muscles around him once, twice, three times. The obstetrician had told her that pregnant women should do kegel exercises to keep up their internal muscle tone, and she always seemed to remember it was time to "exercise" when he was deep inside her. The pressure drove him crazy as her soft inner skin pressed against him, and he began thrusting more quickly, the friction adding to the heat. With a final few thrusts, he came deep inside her, whispering in her ear, "I love you, Lindy. I love you forever."

Before they went to bed, Belinda sent an email to Jenny Tidwell as chapter president and to the national headquarters of Pi Delta Phi, informing them that because of her marriage on August 8, she would need to be converted to alumna status. She still had plenty of worry in her heart, but she slid into bed with Sam, cuddling up to him with much less stress than she had felt in months. Fortunately she couldn't know what the coming weeks would hold.

As expected, Susannah took to her bed "sick with grief and shame," as she put it. Belinda had sent her mother a long letter explaining her decisions and trying to make peace; only time would tell. Chip sent hateful, racist emails. Belinda read a few, filling with rage has she read the ugly awful words, before deciding she was best off just deleting them as soon as they came in, before Sam accidentally saw one. She remembered how angry he had gotten about the barbeque delivery guy. A fight with Chip was not going to make things any easier.

The pair got more than a few looks when they stepped out as a couple on campus. Belinda could feel some of the black girls looking her up and down in a way that was anything but friendly as she and Sam walked hand in hand. The looks of disgust they got from some of the white students were also unsettling, but the pair kept their heads high and pretended not to notice.

"A lady never loses her cool," Belinda said as they walked to class. That little tidbit came from her debutante training, but it was supposed to cover things like a lost white glove or an open dance on your card at cotillion, not dirty looks and icy stares.

"Big help, Lindy. I'm not exactly a lady over here," Sam joked, trying to ease the stress with laughter.

"You know, every day I feel like it gets a little easier," Belinda told Sam as she served up a plate of some of her favorite comfort food--meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas—at the end of the first week of being public. "The looks are uncomfortable, but no one has been really out-and-out ugly. It's worth it to be a normal couple."

Sam nodded his agreement as he dove into the delicious dinner. Belinda started eating, but was interrupted by the phone.

"Belinda, Jenny's gone crazy." It was Liza. "I just came back from a chapter meeting. She's ordered all of us to have nothing to do with you. We're not supposed to talk to you. We're not even supposed to look at you. If you walk by us, she wants us to turn our backs."

Belinda had handed Jenny the perfect tool to get her revenge and Jenny wasn't going to let it go. "It was horrible," Liza went on. "Jenny said you had shamed the house, shamed the Pi Phi reputation, and the only way to erase the damage was to make it clear that as far as the Pi Phis are concerned, you aren't one of us."

When Belinda hung up the phone and told Sam about the conversation, he was livid, although he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. He couldn't exactly beat up a bunch of girls.

"Don't worry, baby," Belinda tried to assure him. "Everybody knows Jenny Tidwell is nuts. She's gone after so many people in the house, I can't imagine everyone will follow her orders. Enough of them have been on the receiving end of her hatefulness. It will be okay."

It didn't take Belinda long to find out how wrong she was. Girls she had thought of as friends treated her like she had the plague. To a woman, they followed Jenny's orders, and they weren't subtle about it. They made a big show of turning their backs when Belinda walked by, whether she was with Sam or alone, sometimes even laughing or sneering as they did it. One of her "sisters," Stephanie Land, who had been only too happy to borrow Belinda's clothes for dates just a few months before, was in a class with Belinda. She made a point of looking at where Belinda was sitting and choosing the farthest seat away in the classroom. If Belinda spoke in class, Stephanie's face registered total disgust. Of the Pi Phis, only Liza was brave enough say hello to her on campus.

During the day, Belinda held it together. She went home at night and cried in Sam's arms, as he held her and rubbed her back, feeling powerless. On campus, she snapped just once. Between classes, she stopped in an on-campus fast-food place to grab a cold drink. She spotted two Pi Phis but walked by their table as if she hadn't seen them. As she passed their table, she heard one of them hiss a word at her: "Whore." Belinda froze, then turned around slowly. She returned to the table and standing right in front of it sang in a loud clear voice the words to one of the sickly-sweet sorority songs she had always hated.

"A sisterhood so true, a place for everybody

A place where we can share, good times and bad both equally . . ."

The cafe went silent, everyone staring at Belinda and the two girls with their backs turned to her. Belinda kept on singing the words about sisterhood and loyalty until her one-time friends grabbed their things and fled the room. When they were gone, Belinda walked up to the counter and bought her drink, then went on to class, feeling like she had won at least one small victory.

"Poker night at Rick's place tonight," Sam told his friend Ben on the phone.

"What? Does this mean Belinda isn't making snacks for us?" Ben exclaimed. "I mean, I always like taking your money, but I like even better now that you got all domesticated and Belinda makes food for us. Sure beats take-out."

"Yeah, I know. But Belinda's not feeling up to it," Sam told him.

Over pizza at Rick's the guys asked what was up with Belinda. "Great, except for her bitch-ass sorority sisters," Sam spit out. "She's doing fine in school and the doctor says everything is great with the baby, but some stuck-up . . ." Sam paused; he couldn't think of a word bad enough to describe what he felt about Jenny Tidwell. "The president of her sorority, Jenny Tidwell, has them all treating her like dirt. Belinda's holding her head up high, but it's costing a lot for her to do it."

SLAM! All the rage that had been building in Sam as he'd been forced to watch his pregnant wife absorb so much hurt exploded. "Damn it, I promised her I would take of her no matter what! Now some fucked-up bitch is making her cry every day and I can't do a damn thing to stop it." SLAM! Without thinking, he had punched his fist into the wall, the second blow making the first dent into a large hole.

"Fuck! That hurts!" he yelled, rubbing his knuckles.

"Dude, I'm sorry," he said to Rick, calming down as he looked at the damage he had done. "I'll pay to get it fixed."

"No worries, bro. Ben put his big clodhopper through the same wall last year when he got dumped. You can fix it with tape and paint. Good as new. I think I've still got the leftover stuff from last time." Rick wasn't exactly pleased with the damage, but Sam was one of his best friends, and there wasn't any point in making him feel like crap about it.

When Dane heard Jenny Tidwell's name, he almost choked on his pizza. He knew Jenny from his job in the university's accounting office. There had been a mistake on her school credit card account once, and by the time she left his office, she had threatened to have him and two of his coworkers fired and had two of the secretaries in tears. But Dane also happened to have a little information on Miss Tidwell, who wasn't as squeaky clean as she appeared to be, if the noises coming from his upstairs neighbor's apartment on the nights she visited were any indication. He'd had no real reason to use the information before, but it was going to come in handy now. When he got home that night, he phoned his sister, who belonged to a sorority and knew the right lingo to use. With his sister's help, he crafted a letter to Jenny, never telling Sam or anyone else anything about it. If Jenny went looking for the letter-writer, he wanted the trail to be stone cold. All Belinda ever knew was that after six weeks of almost constant harassment, it suddenly stopped.

"I don't get it," Liza told her. "You know Jenny, she's like a dog with a bone when she's after someone. But our first chapter meeting after the Thanksgiving break, she said that no one was supposed to bother you anymore. She said we didn't have to be your friends, but no one could give you any trouble, and if they did, they'd have to answer to her. What I wouldn't give to know what shut that girl up."

Belinda didn't care. She and Sam had had a wonderful Thanksgiving alone in their apartment, cooking, eating and making love. Sam couldn't feel anything yet when he put his hand on Belinda's growing belly, but Belinda had even felt the first flutters of her baby moving inside her. The throwing up, the constant tiredness, none of it seemed so bad when she realized in a few more months she would be holding her baby.

Part of her had missed Thanksgiving at home, but her mother had made it very clear that she wasn't welcome. She had hoped her dad could bring the rest of the family around, but that had been wishful thinking, although John had tried. It was crazy to think of flying to Chicago over the holiday weekend, although the Greene's had asked, or actually pretty much begged. Instead Belinda cooked up the traditional turkey and sides while Sam tackled a cranberry-apple cobbler and his Nana's macaroni and cheese.

"Let's enjoy our romantic dinners for two while we can, Lindy," Sam had said, sensing Belinda's sadness at her continued banishment from her family. "This time next year we'll be trying to cook and eat with a baby crawling around or crying."

As Belinda moved to clear the dishes, Sam grabbed her hand, saying, "I need to talk to the baby." He had subscribed to a "Your Pregnancy Week by Week" email, threatening Belinda with severe consequences if she told any of his buddies. "The baby's hearing is starting to develop. I want her to hear her daddy's voice."

"Don't you mean him? It could be a him." Belinda challenged.

"Him, her, whatever. Just be quiet while I talk to the baby." Sam unbuttoned the bottom buttons of Belinda's blouse and pushed down her skirt to the top of her panties. He made his voice lower and deeper than normal, putting his lips right by her belly button. "Heeyyy baby! Heeyyy baby! This is your daddy. I know you are going to be drinking milk for a long time, but your momma is an awesome cook. You get out here and grow some teeth and you'll see."

"Your daddy's mac and cheese isn't so bad either," Belinda said, laughing at the sight of Sam, pressing his lips to her belly as if he half expected an answer. Sam ran his hands all over Belinda's stomach. He loved the feel of it, whether skin on skin or through her clothes. Just knowing that there was a life growing in there, a life they had created together. He didn't talk about it to Belinda, but when he thought about the baby joy and anxiety fused inside him, making his throat tighten uncomfortably even as he was smiling from ear to ear.

At just about 16 weeks, she had a cute little baby bump growing. He kissed it, then kissed it again, the rise in his pants telling him it wasn't just turkey and stuffing he was hungry for. He slid his hands up and began fondling Belinda's breasts, which were filling out her new C-cup bras more than they had a few weeks before.

"Okay, I still have a kitchen to clean up," Belinda said, starting to pull away.

"I'll do it later," Sam said, his voice husky with desire. He continued kissing and licking her belly as he finished unbuttoning her shirt and pushing her skirt to the ground. He ran his hands over the coffee-colored panties Belinda insisted on calling boy shorts. He didn't see too much boyish about the delicate piece of stretchy lace that was in between him and where he wanted to be.

Leading her by her hand to their bedroom, he laid her down on the bed, stretching out beside her as he began kissing her lips. It didn't take long for the mess in the kitchen to be forgotten as Belinda responded to his kisses by exploring his mouth with her lips and tongue. As Sam unsnapped her bra, she sucked hard on his bottom lip, knowing how he loved the sensation, nipping him gently with her teeth before letting him go.

Sam kissed his way down her neck and over her collarbone, stopping to lick and suck each nipple, feeling them grow hard between his lips. Belinda moaned her approval, sliding a hand under her breast to lift it closer to his mouth. Sam and his buddies had always divided themselves into two camps: tit men and ass men, with Sam being in the second group. But as Belinda's breasts grew with her pregnancy, he found his loyalties divided. He continued down her body, licking and sucking his way toward her hot center. Belinda looked down at her gorgeous husband. She loved to watch the contrast of his dark skin against her own pale flesh.

"Lift up, Lindy," he ordered, grabbing the lace panties and pulling on them. Settling back between her legs, he spread her lips, taking in sight of the slick wetness that was coating her pinkness. He wiggled his tongue into her opening as she lifted up to meet him, Sam loving as always the sweetness of her juices. Slowly, he began sliding his tongue in and out of her, fucking her with it as she moaned her approval. He pushed his thumb against her swollen clit, rubbing it as her moaning grew louder. One of her hands grasped the sheet and Sam felt the other come up against the back of his neck.

"So good, baby. So good," Lindy encouraged him. Sam was torn. He loved giving her pleasure, but his cock was uncomfortably hard as it pressed into the bed. He pulled away, still rubbing her clit with his thumb.

"Get up on your hands and knees, baby. I need to fuck you."

Lindy flipped over. Sam ran the brown tip of his cock up and down her slit, once, twice, and then a third time as Belinda's breathing grew rougher, signaling her desire. His cock now wet with Belinda's slickness, he slipped inside her waiting pussy, then thrust himself deep into his wife. Belinda pushed back to meet him, her pale white ass-cheeks pressing up against his groin. Her skin was so smooth and soft. The feeling was amazing and Sam felt his loyalties slide back into the ass-man camp as he pressed against her backside again and again. Steadying himself with one hand, he moved his other hand between her legs, returning his attention to her clit, rubbing the soft skin of her sex steadily with the side of his thumb, still calloused from the summer's labors.

"Oh yeah, baby, touch me like that, touch me like that," Belinda moaned, thrusting herself even harder against his cock. The pair moved together, a study in contrasts, dark against light, rough against smooth. Minutes passed, but time seemed to stand still for Belinda as the sensations of being filled by her husband's hot cock and rubbed on her clit, engorged with blood, short-circuited her normal thought process. Pleasure was rocketing through her body, overwhelming virtually any other input. She was aware only of the wet sound their bodies made as they moved together and came apart and the swaying of her breasts, growing heavier by the week even as the baby grew within her.

She was climbing the mountain, feeling the sensations tightening within her as her body careened toward its release. "I'm so close, baby," she moaned. "I'm going to come all over your cock."

Sam groaned and strengthened his assault on her tight box; three strokes and he felt her cunt grab him, squeeze him, release and squeeze him again and again and again as her orgasm washed over her. He wanted to keep fucking her, but he couldn't hold on. Biting into her back, he gave a few short pumps, then emptied himself inside her.

They rolled over, his now-limp cock slipping out of her soft folds. Sam spooned up behind her, holding a breast in his hand as he absentmindedly rubbed the nipple. Growing cold, he reached down and pulled a sheet and blanket up around them before he fell asleep.

Hours later, Sam felt Belinda get up and leave the bed. He looked at the clock: 3:37 a.m. "Where are you going, sweetness?" he asked. "You going to be the first one at the stores for some Black Friday shopping?"

"Just going to use the bathroom," she answered. "Besides, I've got more than enough black in my bed. I don't need to do any shopping for that," she deadpanned. Sam was still laughing when she came back from the bathroom.

CHAPTER 21

Instead of diving into a frenzy of post-Thanksgiving holiday decorating, Sam and Belinda set up a little table-top Christmas tree and spent the day snuggled on the sofa catching up on homework and learning about babies. Sam had claimed all the pregnancy and childcare books, leaving Belinda with the books about labor and delivery that their new OB had recommended. They were happy with the doctor Sam's mother, Colleen, had found for them using her medical contacts. The office was efficient and friendly and the doctor she had met with made her feel comfortable. Best of all, when they went for a visit they weren't the only interracial couple in the waiting room.

"I know my brother's being a jerk, and my mom's probably wishing the South would rise again right about now," Belinda had said as they waited for their first prenatal checkup at the new medical practice, "but at least the Pi Phis are off my back and we know we aren't going to have some Klan doctor. I really hated going to the first appointments without you, but how are you supposed to find out if your doctor is a bigot? Ask him if he has a white hood to match his white coat?"

"Greene!" The nurse was calling their name.

She ushered them back, weighing and measuring Belinda before sending her off to the bathroom to leave a urine sample. When Belinda finished, Sam was waiting in the exam room for her. The nurse took her vitals, assuring her everything looked great and that the doctor would be in in a moment.

Dr. Davidson was everything they had hoped for. With tousled white hair and horn-rimmed glasses, he looked like someone's forgetful uncle, but he was quick and efficient with the business at hand—measuring Belinda's belly while asking rapid-fire questions about her health. But despite his no-nonsense manner, he still made plenty of time to answer their questions.

"Have you been reading the book list my assistant emailed over?" he asked.

"I have," Belinda said. "He," gesturing at Sam with her thumb, "is reading all the good ones about swaddling and tummy time. "

The doctor gave Sam a smile and clapped his hand on his shoulder, "You're going to be in the delivery room too, son. The more you know, the more you can help your wife. Just one last thing: we just need to listen for the baby's heartbeat."

After spreading Belinda's stomach with a clear jelly, he pressed a small tool he called a Doppler monitor against it. Sam clasped Belinda's hand as the doctor moved around. The only sound coming from the machine sounded like swirling static. Belinda felt a panic rising in her. Was something wrong? But a look at Dr. Davidson's face showed no concern. Finally, they heard it, loud and strong beating with the swishing noise behind it Belinda that had thought was static.