I nod. “He’s right. We have to go out of town for that.”
“I’m on it.” Tank is Googling as fast as his giant fingers will let him. “Walgreen’s has a test that’s affordable and will give us results in two days. We’ll just take a quick drive down to Austin. No problemo.”
Thank fucking God. That’s two days longer than I want this to drag out, but at least there’s a finish line in sight. “Great. Tank, can you handle that for us?”
“You got it, chief.”
“Wait. I didn’t pork anyone that summer!” Johnson jumps up and humps the air like he’s doing a victory dance in the end zone. “I’ve never been so grateful for a dry spell in my entire life. She’s not mine.”
“It took you all that time to figure that out?” Ben snarks. “Speaking of which, maybe we should make a list of chicks we hooked up with, like on the whiteboard or something.”
We all cringe, and Bree snaps her fingers. “That’s gross, bro, and you don’t want someone taking a pic of that board and slut-shaming the women on it. Do it in your head or phone or somewhere private.”
His eyebrows pinch together. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I wasn’t thinking.”
The baby lifts an arm and drops her hand right over Gabby’s perky tit. My neighbor turns an adorable shade of pink and moves it. “Fine. By tonight, can you all think back to that summer so we can consider who the mother might be? We’ll need everyone to check in and swab or whatever the test calls for.”
The guys agree.
“And who’s going to take me to get supplies for Poppy? I’m thinking Target.”
Bree claps. “I wanna come. I love Target.”
Both girls look at me.
“What?” I ask.
Bree smirks. “You’re the captain.”
“Of the football team.” I motion to her. “I don’t see your uniform.”
“You’re so cute when you try to be funny.” She laughs. “But really. Why don’t you collect money from the guys, and then you can drive us to the store?”
“Why do you need me to go? I have a test to study for and a paper to write.”
“Like we don’t have shit to do? Besides, who’s going to carry all the boxes?”
I don’t even know what she’s talking about. “How much does one six-month-old kid need for a few days?”
The guys mumble in agreement.
Bree smirks at her cohort. “They’re so adorably clueless, aren’t they?”
Gabby laughs and then starts counting on her hand even while she somehow keeps her arms around the kid. “Diapers, formula, clothes, blankets, a car seat, some pacis, a pack-and-play, a few toys. Minimum.”
What the fuck is a paci?
“Minimum.” Bree nods and crosses her arms.
“And how are we supposed to go to Target without a car seat?”
“Easy. One of your roommates has to watch her.”
Well, hell. I’d rather go to Target than babysit.
But her comment sends all of the guys scrambling out of their seats like their jock straps catch on fire.
I hold up my hand. “Get back here, assholes. Number one, I need some cash. Let’s assume if one of us is the sperm donor, that person will pay everyone back for these expenses.” I say another prayer it’s not me, because how the hell am I supposed to support my drunk-ass father, myself, and a baby? “Number two, you can watch Poppy in pairs. And when I say watch her, I mean one set of eyes need to be on her at all times. We don’t know if the kid will do somersaults off the beds when she wakes up or chew on cords or whatever.”
“She’s not a puppy.” Gabby snorts. “But I agree redundancy is needed in this case.”
Ignoring her, I continue. “And three, if there’s an emergency, call one of the girls.”
Gabby and Bree give out their numbers, and the guys dutifully program them into their phones.
I look up from my screen and smirk at Gabby. “Does this mean you’ll unblock me?”
She taps her chin with her index finger like she’s deep in thought. “I’m not sure. Has hell frozen over yet?”
I’m laughing when I realize the room has gone quiet. “What?”
Ben’s holding his fists at his side. “Why would my sister need to unblock you?”
I want to tell him to mind his own fucking business when Gabby stands and holds the baby up to her brother until he reluctantly takes her.
“Here’s the thing, Ben. If you had been in my life in any way at all since college started, you’d probably know the answer to that question. But since you weren’t, not even when I tried, you don’t deserve to ask.”
And with that, the beautiful Marie Antoinette stalks away.
10
GABBY
Rider is tight-lipped as he follows Bree and me through the aisles of Target.
Thankfully, I changed out of my Halloween costume before we came, and I can breathe again now that I’m wearing yoga pants and a hoodie.
“Oooh, this is pretty,” Bree coos at a pink bodysuit.
I don’t know Bree that well, but she and her boyfriend seem pretty devoted to each other. “Are you and Tank planning a big family?”
“Huge. Like five kids.”
“That’s sweet. Terrifying, but sweet.”
She laughs and tosses the outfit in the cart. “What about you? Do you want a big family someday?”
I can’t bring myself to care that Rider is within hearing range. He’s the one who thought we wanted different things in life. I guess he was right. “Assuming I can find someone to date who isn’t an idiot? I guess I’d like a big family.”
“I heard about the paramedic. That he was hooking up at the party behind your back. You want me to spike his drink with a strong laxative?”
A smile almost makes its way to my face. “No, but thank you for the offer.” I sigh. “It wasn’t working out between us anyway. It’s okay. He wasn’t the one. I’m not all broken up about it, honestly. I just thought I should go out with him since it’s been a while since…”
“Since you got any bow-chicka-bow-wow?”
We both laugh. “Yeah. That. Plus, the last boyfriend I had was sophomore year. I thought it was time to venture out there again.”
“Are you telling me you haven’t dated anyone since sophomore year?” Her eyes bug out.
“What can I say? I’m picky.” The back of my neck heats, letting me know that Rider is right behind me now. And it makes me want to clarify something. “I dated this great guy Sean sophomore year. He was my first. Some guys are afraid to date a virgin. Afraid they’ll get too clingy or make too many demands. But we had fun together.”
It was a relief to break the seal. Guys get weird about the virgin thing, and I was starting to get a complex. I used to think I wanted to have sex with someone I loved the first time, but now I’m grateful I wasn’t too gone for Sean. He was leaving anyway. This way, no one got hurt.
“Where is he now?”
“New York. He got offered a job after graduation, so we parted as friends.” I pick up a baby blanket and run my finger over the ladybug stitched in the corner. “But back to your kid question, if I did find the guy, I’d want more than one kid if I had any at all. Because bad things happen to people all the time, and at least this way I could be assured the kids would have each other.”