The Experiment 2: The Journey

Birthday in Springtime

"Babe..." RJ whispered as he peppered Dei's neck and shoulder with kisses. "Happy birthday!"

It was the third of March, Dei's 26th birthday.

She turned her head around to face him and gave him a sleepy smile. "Thanks, babe... O god!" The smile was gone from her face in an instant, and then she was stumbling out of bed and running towards the bathroom clutching her stomach.

"Babe?" RJ called after her, confused. He quickly got out of bed to follow her, and found her slumped on the tile floor, literally pouring her guts out into the toilet. He sat beside her and started rubbing her back up and down.

"What's that smell, babe? Why do you smell like that?" she asked him weakly and with a disgusted look on her face.

"What?" He started sniffing his shirt and shoulders consciously. He worked out for thirty minutes that morning but he had already taken a shower, and he had made sure that he smelled good before waking her up hoping to entice her to some morning action before she got out of bed. His fresh shower smell was one of the things that turned her on after all. "I just took a shower, babe," he said.

She leaned her face towards his neck and sniffed, and she quickly got a whiff of his aftershave again. She grimaced, the musky smell of it making her stomach churn at once. "I don't like that smell," she said, dropping her head to her hand as she felt another wave of nausea coming.

"You mean my aftershave?" he asked and she nodded. "But you bought this in December when you went shopping with mom," he said.

"I don't like it," she said again as she slowly got off the floor and walked towards the sink to rinse her mouth and brush her teeth. "It makes me sick, babe. Please get it off before you come near me, I swear."

"Wow," RJ muttered as he stepped into the shower stall to rinse off the smell. He grabbed the soap and rubbed it around his neck to mask the scent of his aftershave and then walked out of the stall when he was done. "I was hoping to get into some early morning action with you for your birthday and I ended up making you sick."

"I'm sorry, babe," she said as she patted her lips dry with a towel. She watched him step away from the shower stall, his wet shirt now clinging on his broad chest. "It's the pregnancy hormones. It's making my body crazy."

"How are you feeling now?" he asked as he lifted his shirt off and threw it inside the hamper.

"Better," she said distractedly, her eyes roaming his upper body. "As long as I don't get a smell of your aftershave again."

"Noted," he said with a smile. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her gently towards him. "Happy birthday, babe," he murmured.

Dei moved her hands to his stomach and started kneading his abs. "Thank you, babe. Now you mentioned something about an early morning action... I think I still have about 10 minutes before I need to get ready for work. Wanna start now?"

"Wait. You're working?" he asked with a frown.

"It's a Thursday, babe. I usually have work on Thursdays," she replied.

"I know that," he said, displeased. "But it's your birthday, Dei. Shouldn't you be taking a leave from work to enjoy your day?"

"Ummm, I don't think the HR would consider celebrating my birthday an emergency," she answered, running her fingers up and down his abs. "I told you I can't file vacation leaves yet."

RJ heaved a huge sigh.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I took a leave from work. And I planned some things for you today," he grumbled. "If you were still in TrendBuzz you could've easily requested to get this day off without a problem."