Brat (10 page)

“I want it, too,” I confessed, putting my hands in my pockets to keep from touching him again. It had been hard enough the first time to tear myself away. “But there’s so much going on. I think we should concentrate on the baby for now and maybe try to get to know each other better. I don’t want to be wishy washy or lead you on or anything.”

“Thus the cousinly kiss you just gave me,” he said with a dry laugh. “I get it, okay? I don’t like it, but I get it.”

“I’m right and you know it.”

He shrugged. “Why do you think I don’t like it? I hate it when other people are right. But if friendship and taking it slow are what you want, then you got it. You know, after I knock a woman up that’s generally when I like to start taking things slow anyway.”

I nudged him with my shoulder. “Now who’s being a smartass?”

“Blob will have the best sense of humor in his Kindergarten class.”

“Speaking of Blob … I was going to ask if you have plans for Labor Day weekend.”

He shook his head. “Just hanging out at home. I’m working Friday, but then I’m off Saturday through Monday. I was going to spend some time with my mom and brother.”

I fiddled with the hem of my shirt. “Yeah, about that …”

Chapter 6

My eleventh week of pregnancy passed in the same way the tenth week did—with frequent trips to the bathroom to puke and pee, weird cravings, mood swings, and the all too scary realization that this was really happening. Concentrating on class was damn hard, but my classes this semester were difficult, leaving me no room for screwing up. I hadn’t told anyone about the trip to Dallas for the weekend, or the fact that Chase was coming with me. Knowing my friends, they were going to be filled with questions about what was going on between us. An explanation was going to have to happen, especially since I knew they’d noticed some of the changes already.

Christian thought I had food poisoning after seeing three consecutive trips to the bathroom and hearing me gag from the other side of the door. Of course, one of those times I’d had to bellow at Kinsley to vacate the damn bathroom so I could get in there. No one knew what that girl was doing, spending so much time in there. Hell, maybe she was pregnant, too. It would explain a lot of her weird behavior. If she was, I hoped she came out with her secret; it was clearly making her miserable.

The time came for me to lead by example on Friday when I dragged my rolling suitcase to the top of the stairs. Christian was on his way down, football helmet under his arm, when he saw me with the bag. Taking it from me and lifting it like it weighed no more than a pencil, he started down the stairs behind me.

“I didn’t know you were going home this weekend,” he remarked.

“Yeah, well, I haven’t been in a while.”

Christian probably knew me better than anyone in the house, mainly because we were two sides of the same coin. “You hate going home,” he said as we reached the bottom floor. “Besides, we just went on vacation with your parents like two months ago.”

I cringed, realizing that he was right. There wasn’t much I could do to avoid telling the truth now.

“Chloe’s going home?”

I sighed when I turned and found Jenn, Luke, and Kinsley in the living room, sitting on the floor around a coffee table covered in Jack-in-the-Box tacos and empty wrappers. Great. An audience, with all eyes on me.

Lucy, you got some ’splaining to do.

“Yeah, I’m going home,” I muttered. “Big deal.”

“But you hate going home,” Luke said, his mouth full of half a taco.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” I snapped. “So do you.”

Luke swallowed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, which is why I never go there. What gives, Chloe?”

Just then, Chase—who had gone to gas up my car for me—poked his head through the front door. “Ready?”

Christian’s frown deepened. “Wait a minute. Chase is going with you?”

“Told you they had something going on,” Kinsley whispered to Jenn.

“There is nothing going on!” I cried, exasperated.

“Actually, there kind of is,” Chase piped up. Shrugging in the face of my murderous glare, he closed the front door behind him. “Well, you want me to lie to them?”

Running a hand over of my face, I groaned. “Is it too much to ask for people to mind their own damn business around here?”

“Of course it is,” said Christian. “What gives?”

“Okay, fine,” I said, coming further into the living room. “You guys are going to find out eventually, so I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you.”

Noting the seriousness of my tone, they fell silent, their faces fixed in various degrees of concern and curiosity.

“Is everything okay?” Jenn asked, dropping her half-empty soda cup onto the table.

I shrugged. “Well … it’s kind of a big deal.”

Chase came up behind me and rested his hands on my shoulders. “It’s okay,” he whispered.

Pulling on him for strength again, I took a deep breath and plunged in. “I’m pregnant,” I said quickly, the words coming out on a swift breath.

You could have heard a pin drop in the room after that. Kinsley’s jaw dropped, Jenn’s eyes widened, and Luke almost choked on a taco. Christian merely watched me closely, his brow furrowed as if he didn’t know how to take the news.

“It’s Chase’s baby, by the way,” I added when no one spoke.

“Yeah, we gathered that,” Kinsley replied.

“Well, no one was talking,” I mumbled, staring down at my shoes.

“We’re too busy picking our brains off the floor,” Luke said. “Minds, blown.”

“Go ahead and ask questions, loser,” I said, glaring up at him. “I know you have some.”

“Only one,” Luke said, standing and eyeing Chase over my shoulder. “Do you have a plan?”

I shook my head. “We did, but the plan changed. We’re figuring it out, though. Don’t worry.”

“Does this mean you’re moving out?” Christian asked. “I mean, with a baby and all—”

“How do you know she’s even having the baby?” Kinsley asked. “You’re not, right? You can’t have a baby. How will you finish school?”

I bit my lower lip. I wasn’t as prepared for this as I’d thought. “The termination route isn’t as easy as it seems. Look, guys, I know I said you could ask questions, but there aren’t a lot of answers right now. Just know that Chase is here for me every step of the way, and we’re going to do whatever is best for little Blob.”

Jenn rose a dark eyebrow. “Blob?”

Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out the little ultrasound picture I’d taken from the clinic. “Well, look at it. What else am I supposed to call him?”

Jenn practically swooned over the tiny little peanut-shaped blip on the paper. “Oh my God!” she exclaimed, snatching it from my hand. “Look how cute! Luke, look, isn’t this cute?”

“Don’t go getting any ideas,” he grumbled, standing as well to glance over Jenn’s shoulder at the picture. “That’s a good lookin’ kid,” he said.

“Don’t lie, that thing looks like an alien,” Christian joked.

“Wow,” Kinsley whispered, joining the others in staring at the photo. “You’re going to be a mom.”

I shrugged. “Looks like it.”

“Well, my room is still empty,” Jenn said tentatively. “You don’t have to move out. That room is tiny, but we could paint it a pretty color and put up some pictures and curtains. It’s just big enough for a crib and maybe a little changing table.”

Tears filled my eyes as I turned to Jenn, who is pretty much the glue holding our little group of friends together. She was the first person in the house to attempt to be my friend and I have always loved her for it. “You’d do that for me?”

Christian’s hand came up to my shoulder. “Of course we would. Look, we don’t really need the fifth portion of the rent. We barely pay anything as it is; the fifth portion can be split between the four of us. That can be Blob’s room.”

The tears were here now, flowing so rapidly I couldn’t stop them. “You guys, I can’t ask you to put up with that. Babies disrupt everything. They’re loud, they cry, poop, and put things in their mouth.”

“So we’ll buy some air fresheners and ear plugs,” Kinsley insisted. “And Luke will stop leaving his guitar picks lying around. Once you have Blob, there won’t be much left of the school year anyway. You can still finish.”

“We’ll help,” Jenn volunteered. “I’ll arrange my classes and clinicals around yours so I can babysit.”

“And I’ll baby-proof the apartment,” Christian added.

“We’ll decorate the room together,” Kinsley said. “Everything will be fine.”

Chase wrapped an arm around my shoulders as a sob escaped, causing me to tremble. Never could I have imagined I’d be surrounded by so much support while going through this. “You guys are the best,” I said with a hiccup, swiping at mascara-stained tears. “I can’t believe you’d do all of this for me.”

“Hey, you might be a spoiled, stuck-up snob,” Jenn said with a laugh, “but you’re
our
snob. We’re going to take care of you. With Chase’s help of course,” she added.

“Thanks,” Chase said. “I know I’m a newbie here, but you guys have been awesome. We’re happy to have you helping us through this.”

“No problem, man,” Christian said, clapping him on the shoulder.

Accepting a tissue from the box that materialized in Kinsley’s hand, I dabbed at my running make-up with several sniffles. “Okay, enough. My face is a mess.”

“You look fine,” Chase said. “We better go, though, if we want to avoid traffic.”

“Good luck,” Christian said. He turned to Chase. “If her dad starts talking about boats, just nod and smile. Her mom gets handsy after too many drinks, so don’t turn your back to her.”

Chase’s jaw dropped. “Really?”

Luke nodded solemnly. “Oh yeah. She likes to pinch. My ass felt like a pin cushion when we went to their Christmas party last year.”

I glared at him, but he ignored me, raising his eyebrows at Chase and making a pinching motion with his fingers. Chase laughed. “Boats, and watch my ass. I think I got it,” he said good-naturedly. “Come on, Chloe.”

He led the way to the door and I followed, taking a second to smack Luke on the back of the head before leaving the apartment. I left him rubbing his dome and glaring daggers at Kinsley, who laughed, and Jenn, who was trying really hard not to.

Chase had pulled my car up to the curb and quickly trotted ahead of me, opening the passenger door. “I’ll drive,” he said.

Normally, I was too anal to let anyone drive my red mustang—a graduation gift from my parents—but as exhausted as pregnancy had made me, I didn’t have it in me to care this time. Besides, my mind was so occupied with how to break the news to my parents that I was glad I could spend the four hours to Dallas playing out every scenario in my head. Hopefully by the time I got there, I’d have some kind of plan.

By the time Chase and I stood in the foyer of the massive, three-story house I’d grown up in, I still didn’t have a strategy. The long drive had taken a toll on me and all I wanted was to sleep.

“Wow,” Chase whispered as Sandra, the maid, answered the door, a striped apron over her T-shirt and jeans and her blonde hair in a messy bun. His eyes were wide as he surveyed the stark, clean, modern lines of the décor and the austere cleanliness. “I’m impressed.”

“Don’t be,” I muttered. “It’s just a house.”

“I was being sarcastic,” he responded with a smirk. “It’s all very ostentatious.”

“Miss Chloe!” Sandra exclaimed in her thick Southern accent. The housekeeper/cook had been working for my family since I was in high school. I assumed her salary was outrageous—why else would she put up with my mother? Even a nun would have charged extra to put up with that kind of torture. “Your mama told me to expect you today. I was just finishing up lunch for you guys. And you must be Chloe’s guy friend. My goodness, aren’t you adorable? I’m Sandra, the housekeeper. I hope you like gumbo!”

Thinking of Sandra’s shrimp and sausage-filled gumbo, I cringed. “Um, Sandra, Chase doesn’t eat meat.”

His cheeks flushed crimson when Sandra gasped. “It’s okay, really,” he insisted at the same time Sandra exclaimed, “Oh, well I’ll just whip something else up for him then!”

“Thanks Sandra,” I said, my stomach already turning at the smell of gumbo wafting from the kitchen. Usually, I loved her signature dish, but apparently Blob had different ideas.

“You really don’t have to,” Chase protested, shifting uncomfortably.

Sandra smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners and smile lines appearing around her mouth. “It’s no trouble at all, honey! Chloe, your mama’s out on the deck waiting for you. Why don’t you kids head on out there and I’ll serve lunch in a bit?”

“Sounds good,” I said, grabbing Chase’s arm and leaving our bags in the foyer.

Chase frowned, gazing at Sandra over his shoulder as she bustled back into the kitchen, singing ‘Mustang Sally’ in that warbled way of hers. “You shouldn’t have told her to cook something else for me,” he said. “It was unnecessary.”

I rolled my eyes and tugged him harder. “Oh, unwind your panties! Sandra loves to cook, and taking care of us is her job—one that she gets a huge salary and great benefits to do—so lighten up. She would have insisted if I’d told her not to. Trust me, she’s been with us long enough that I know how she is.”

He shook his head. “You’re even more spoiled than I thought.”

I laughed as we crossed through the large, open living room, heading toward the sliding glass doors leading out to the massive deck. “And here you thought you could handle me. You’re so cute.”

His hand found my hip and gave it a squeeze before playfully slapping one of my butt cheeks. Not going to lie, I kind of liked it. “I think I’m more than up to the task of handling you, princess,” he growled.

Nudging him with my shoulder, I put a bit of distance between us. “Just so you know, my mom is a nutcase and a drunk,” I said, pausing with my hand on the glass door. “My dad can barely stand her and they’ve been married for twenty-five years.”

“Sounds charming.”

I slid the door open, stepping out onto the shaded deck facing the pool and hot tub, surrounded by our sprawling, perfectly landscaped back yard. The deck itself was set out like an outdoor living room, with designer furniture in shades of teal, chocolate brown, and white. Large flower pots were bursting with colorful blossoms that my mom pretended she watered herself when the ladies from the country club came over for lunch. There was an outdoor kitchen complete with wet bar, gas range, outdoor burners, and umbrella-covered table large enough to seat six. Thick rugs covered the wooden surface of the deck, and several lounge chairs faced the pool area, which was surrounded with more lounge chairs. Another wet bar was located on the other end of the pool, close to the hot tub.