“Oh. He’s a dickhead. He lost interest the moment I told him you were practically married to some old dude who would end his life if he so much as looked at you.”
“I’m sorry. You want me to drop you back at the dorms?”
“Pfft. What.” She waves her hand and chugs down the cup of beer. “No. I saw Ashley and Jillian here. I’m gonna hang with them. Don’t worry about me.”
“You sure? I don’t want to leave you here alone.”
“I’m not alone. I told you I’ll hang with Ashley. Now go.”
I glance around and see that Ashley is slow dancing with her boyfriend in the living room.
Outside, I walk to my jeep and lean against the front while I wait.
“There you are.” Clay jogs over to me. The fight has broken up and everyone is moving back inside.
“You found me. Just waiting on my boyfriend to get here.”
“So, your girl wasn’t lying?”
“Andi doesn’t lie. She’s great. And too good for you. So, stay away from her.”
“You’re a stuck-up little bitch, aren’t you? Probably think your shit doesn’t stink. Thinks your pussy is made of gold.”
East roars down the street on his motorcycle, rolling to a stop in front of us.
“That’s my boyfriend, so I’m going to give you a chance to say you’re sorry before I tell him what you just said to me because I don’t want to fuck you.”
Clay takes one look at East and holds his hands up. “Bet you’d be a lousy fuck anyway.” He backs up as East throws a leg off his bike.
In two long strides he’s on me. Hand on my ass, tongue in my mouth. I know what he’s doing and it’s incredibly adorable and sexy. My man is marking his territory, but he doesn’t need to. I belong to Easton Reed. I always have.
“Missed you, baby.”
“I missed you too.”
“Follow me home.”
“Always.”
**
I’m in denial. My period is over about two months’ late and I’m feeling sick all the time. I keep lying to myself and saying its college. I’m gaining the freshman fifteen. School has been going okay. I’ve been keeping up with my classes and doing great. I’m not stupid. East told me to go back on birth control and I went to the appointment and got the pills…I forgot to take them a few times. I should have gotten the shot but thought I could handle the responsibility of taking the pills. Clearly, I had been mistaken.
Mom is driving me crazy. Steve broke up with her a few weeks ago. She’s seeing some other guy that I didn’t bother to remember the name of because I’m sure he won’t be around for long. They never are. Though I am glad she has someone else to depend on besides me. Steve said she’s too needy. Which she is. My mother requires a lot of attenti
on. I was worried she wouldn’t be able to take care of herself when I left for school. I don’t know who was sadder to see me go her or East. Her because all the cooking and cleaning I normally take care of would need to be maintained by her or him because I’m no longer warming his bed every night.
We’ve rarely seen each other the past month. He’s been busy with the MC and I always have homework. Which I can’t even focus on right now. I’m at the drug store a few blocks from campus starting at pregnancy tests on the shelf. I don’t know which brand is the best to buy. Though I suppose they all relatively work the same way.
East wants to take me to the Smokey Mountains. I plan to tell my mom that I am going with my roommate and bestie for life, Andi, and her family on their trip to Pigeon Forge. She’ll buy my lie easily enough as usual. Mom is fine as long as she has a man in her life. I suck in a breath and grab three tests. I’m planning to take them when we go on our trip. East will probably be happy. I’d be a liar if I said I was. I don’t want to be like my mother. Not that I don’t think East will be there, it’s just I’m eighteen. I’m not exactly ready for the responsibility. I can’t even remember to take my birth control pills let alone be responsible for a little person.
I’m supposed to drive over to East’s later tonight. He wants to leave early in the morning so we can get checked into our cabin. There’s been this distance between us lately that I can’t explain. It’s like he wants me to be here at school and yet I feel like he gets jealous whenever I go out with my friends. I make my way to the cash register and avoid the judgmental stare of the old woman behind it as she rings up my items.
I hurry to pay and rush out to my jeep. Tossing my bag in the passenger side I lay my head back on the seat rest and close my eyes. My stomach lurches and I count to ten before putting my keys in the ignition.
My cell phone rings with a call from my mother. I don’t want to answer it, but I might as well get this conversation over with and let her down gently with the news I’m not coming home for the holiday.
“Hey. What’s up?”