Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 104766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
“A team,” she repeats.
“Are you smilin’?”
She scoffs. “If I was, how would you be able to tell?”
“I just can.”
There’s a soft sigh on the other end, and I can imagine her nodding in understanding.
“Can I just say…I’m really glad that if anyone was going to knock me up, I’m glad it was you.”
“I’m really flattered.” I laugh.
“No, for real. If I was going to go through this shit with anyone, thank god it was you because I can’t imagine some asshole ghosting me. or blaming me, or telling me that it wasn’t his. You could have done all those things.” She sniffs again. “Even though you were probably planning on makin’ me get that paternity test.”
I let out a laugh. “I mean—not me, my mama.” And a few dozen other people.
Ha!
“Where do we go from here?” Tess’s words hang softly in the air, carrying a weight of uncertainty. I can hear the vulnerability in her voice, the unspoken question that lingers between us as she switches gears.
I pause for a moment, my thoughts racing as I search for the right words. “Tess,” I reply gently. “Just because we’re physically far apart doesn’t mean there’s no reason for us not to talk every day. If anything, our connection is more…” I search for the right word. “Important now than ever. We’re friends.”
“Friends.”
“That’s not what I meant. Not in that way, it wasn’t a slight. I meant—we’re freakin’ bonded now. You’re not getting rid of me just cause you’re no longer stuck with me for the next eighteen years.”
“I hope I’m not getting rid of ya.”
I worry my bottom lip as my brain goes off in ten different directions. “So what are you gonna tell your brother?”
“I’m not. I’m gonna have my mom tell him. Grady and I haven’t spoken, and I don’t think I’ll be ready to speak to him until he comes to apologize.”
I rub the spot on my face where my best friend hit me. “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind an apology either, though I doubt he’s gonna give me one.”
“He will. You wait and see. He’s going to feel like total shit when he hears the news, you know? Deep down inside, they were all excited about having…a grandkid. A niece or nephew.”
She sounds so sad.
I pause, not sure if what I’m about to say is going to make things conversation worse or not, but it has to be said.
“Now you know you can get preggo. Who’s to say you can’t get pregnant again someday when the timing is right?”
“Or maybe you had super sperm.”
Super sperm. “I love the sound of that. Can I put that on a tee shirt?”
Tess can’t help but laughs. “Please don’t.”
Or maybe I will. “It’ll be one of those shirts with two thumbs on it, pointing inward, and it’ll say ‘Know who has super sperm? This guy.’”
“I would kill you.” She’s laughing when she says it.
“Come say that to my face.” I make a pffft sound. “Don’t make promises you ain’t gonna keep.”
“Just don’t ever say super sperm again.”
“I’m sayin’ it over and over, starting tomorrow.”
We keep laughing, the mood lightening.
I take a deep breath.
“We should make a pact, eh?”
“What kind of pact? Like the pinky promise kind?”
“Sort of.” I laugh. “No matter where life takes us, we’ll continue to be a part of each other’s journey. We’ll share successes, our challenges—everything in between. Distance doesn’t have to define our connection.”
I mean, she’s basically part of me now.
There’s a brief silence, and then I hear Tess’s voice, soft yet determined. “You’re right. I don’t want to lose what we have just because circumstances have changed.”
“We won’t lose it,” I reassure her. “So let’s keep talking, keep sharing, and keep supporting each other, no matter the miles between us.” I hesitate. “You know, if Drake were here, he’d be making barfing sounds in the background.”
“Whatever, he’s an idiot. This is nice, and now I won’t feel alone.”
I know she’s not actually alone, but I get what she’s saying. Miranda and her parents and her other friends won’t ever know what we went through.
Only I do.
“You know what you need to do?” I say, feeling daring. “You need to come and see me. Are you up for it?”
There’s a moment of anticipation as I wait for her response, the excitement in my chest threatening to burst free. The seconds stretch as she considers it.
“It might be exactly what we both need.”
My breath exhales.
I’m glad she agrees because I’d feel like an ass having suggested it.
“I’ll take you on a date,” I announce. “Like a real one.”
“A real one? We haven’t been on a date, period.” She sniffs, affronted. “The least you can do is take me somewhere with desserts.” A pause. “I’ll probably get two.”
“You can have as many desserts as you want.”
“Okay. Yes. I’ll come and see you.”