The fact that they didn’t immediately defend her and say that she’d do as I asked told me that I wasn’t off base in my assessment.
“Would you mind…” Mom sniffed, and I hated to be the one to make her sad. “Would it be okay for us to call you sometimes? Just to check in.”
I smiled, even though they couldn’t see it. “I’d like that.”
“You know if you need to come home, you can come back anytime, right?” Dad’s voice was gruff with emotion. “I’m not asking you to, don’t get me wrong. I just want to make sure you know that it’s always an option.”
“I know, Dad. And if I need to, I will, but right now, I’m good.”
We talked for a few more minutes, with me telling them about working with Martina and them telling me about the neighbor’s new dog. When we hung up, I felt better. Sort of, anyway.
I’d been nauseous the last couple days, the stress of the last few weeks finally catching up to me, but I’d hoped talking to my parents today would make it better. Instead, my queasy stomach was still taking its time in settling down despite the toast I’d eaten.
Maybe I needed to go to the doctor, I thought as I pulled up my calendar on my phone to check my schedule. It wasn’t until I saw a reminder that I’d missed. A reminder that I’d promised Freedom I’d make an appointment to see Dr. Rhimes, my gynecologist.
Dammit.
What twenty-two-year-old woman couldn’t remember to schedule an appointment with their gynecologist after having sex for the first time?
I sighed and pulled up the number on my phone. It wasn’t an emergency, but I did need to go. Not to keep a promise to Freedom, but because that’s what a responsible woman should do.
Eight
Eoin
So far, so good.
It’d been a week and a half since Aline and I had gone to The Mar Vista and then made out in my car like a couple horny teenagers. We’d talked every day since then and had seen each other every other day, even if it’d just been fifteen or twenty minutes at lunch. We’d fooled around a bit but hadn’t had sex. In the past ten days, I’d taken more cold showers and jacked off more than I had since I was a teenager.
The crazy thing was, I’d enjoyed all of it, even with pretty much non-stop blue balls. I still wanted her like crazy, but I didn’t feel like everything else was only emotional foreplay to get her into bed. I liked talking to her, spending time with her.
On the surface, we seemed like complete opposites, but the more we talked, the more we saw that our differences complemented each other. Better, the things we had in common were the important ones. We both loved our families but appreciated being independent too. We liked the idea of traveling but wanted to have a stable home to come back to.
We’d had the travel conversation yesterday, which had gotten me thinking about us maybe going away for a weekend. With Christmas being a Wednesday this year, we could make it a long weekend, leaving Friday and coming–
“Head’s up.” Cain knocked on the office door. “Conference room. We’ve got a job.”
My plans for between Christmas and New Year’s would have to wait. Maybe that was for the best since I didn’t know what either of our work schedules would be over the holidays. Besides, a surprise might not be the best idea. With my recent luck, I’d plan a trip to somewhere Aline hated.
I sat down next to Dez and pushed everything else to the back of my mind. I knew I’d been lucky that Cain hadn’t flat-out fired me after he found out that I’d slept with Aline. And he’d been great about reworking things with the bodyguard job I’d missed while I’d been with Israel and Nana Naz. I wasn’t about to give him anything less than a hundred and ten percent.
“All right, we’ve been hired as extra security for Edwin Moss,” Cain began.
“The actor?” Bruce lifted an eyebrow. “Did someone give his latest movie a bad review?”
“Since he came out two months ago, he’s apparently been getting death threats. Someone decided to step it up, though, and broke into his hotel room in Vegas. He’s there doing a charity poker tournament and is then heading to San Diego to spend Christmas with his boyfriend.”
As Cain explained what we would be doing, I made a mental note to text Aline as soon as our meeting was done, letting her know that I’d be gone for a while. With this turn of events, I was glad I hadn’t actually made any plans with Aline since I might not be back by Christmas. Disappointing, but it was the job. At least it wouldn’t be as dangerous as a tour overseas.
Probably.
Nine
Aline
Dr. Rhimes had heard about my kidnapping, so she set up a special virtual appointment for me on Saturday morning, which I appreciated. The problem didn’t begin until after she’d asked a number of questions, and I told her everything that happened and how I’d been feeling. At that point, she’d gotten quiet, and even through the computer screen, I could see the concern on her face. That’s when she suggested I get a pregnancy test.
So now, I was standing in a pharmacy, staring at the wall of options and trying not to freak out.
It was just a precaution, Dr. Rhimes had said, and that was what I tried to keep reminding myself. I had an IUD, and the chances of those failing were slim. But, after all the craziness I’d been through recently, she agreed that she preferred to be overly thorough. She’d do a blood test no matter what, but she thought it’d be better if I had an idea of what to expect.
I’d almost decided on which test to buy when my phone alerted me that I had a text from Eoin. I had the message open before I’d consciously decided to read it.
We just got a job that’s going to take us to Vegas and then probably to San Diego. We’re not sure how long it’ll take, but we’re leaving for Vegas in a bit. I’ll let you know what my schedule will look like as soon as I know so we can plan times to talk. I hate that I won’t be able to see you before I leave. We’ll do something special when I get back.
Dammit.
I couldn’t let him go off and be unreachable when I could be pregnant with his baby. I’d screwed up before, not telling him about being a virgin. I wasn’t going to keep something this big from him for any amount of time, which meant I needed to know before he left so, if the test was positive, I could at least tell him that it was a probability.
I grabbed one of the tests, paid for it, and practically ran the two blocks back to the apartment. Martina was at work, but I was unsure if that was a good or a bad thing. If she was here, she’d be supportive, but that also meant I’d have to tell her, and I felt that telling anyone before I told Eoin would be wrong.
If there was anything to tell him.
I’d paced from one side of the apartment to the other a dozen times before the alarm on my watch went off. My heart was going a hundred miles a minute as I walked into the bathroom. I’d gotten one of the simple ones that actually said ‘pregnant’ or ‘not pregnant.’
It was the first.
Pregnant.
My knees went weak, and I sank down on the toilet lid. I would’ve liked to sit there for hours, trying to process the probability that I was going to have a baby, but the reason I’d rushed to take the test was still valid. I needed to tell Eoin before he became unreachable for who knew how long. This wasn’t the sort of news one could exactly leave on a voicemail.