Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
I laughed. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but why on Earth does that story remind you of me?”
“Oh. Remember when we first met and you were still living with your mother in that third-floor walk-up? She didn’t pay the rent, so they kicked her out. But she managed to find a sucker to let her move into the building right next door. It was a third-floor walk-up, too.”
I groaned. “Let me guess, you’re remembering the cereal incident?”
Mia snorted. “You took your jeans off and sat in your damn underwear on someone else’s couch, eating a giant bowl of their cereal. The couch wasn’t even the same color as your mom’s.”
I sighed. “That poor eighty-year-old man definitely changed the locks after he came home to that. But in my defense, we moved a lot, so it was hard to keep track of where we lived, and I hadn’t taken the old key off my keyring yet.”
“Anyway…what are you up to today?” she asked.
I’d called her for support, yet suddenly I wasn’t so sure I was ready to share what was going on. I was too freaked out to say the words.
“Not much. I should be working. But I don’t feel like it.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend, Devyn? You never feel like not working. You’re the only person I know who loves their job.”
I was so busy staring at the stupid pregnancy test on the counter that I only half heard what Mia said. My focus had been nonexistent the last few days. I needed to know, one way or the other. So I forced myself to blurt out the reason for my mid-day call and lackluster work motivation. “My period is late.”
“Oh shit,” Mia said. “How late?”
I groaned. “Three weeks.”
“You’re not usually irregular, right?”
“Nooooo…” I sighed. “I’m pretty much like clockwork.”
“But you have an IUD, like me, right?”
“I do. But I’ve had it for almost seven years now—that’s the end of its effectiveness. I was scheduled to have it removed and get a new one, but then I had to cancel my gyno appointment to come to New York.”
“Almost seven years? It’s effective for a full seven, right?”
“The new ones say they’re good for eight, but mine was only seven, and I’ve read that at the end it can be less effective. I’ve done nothing but google for three days. But Owen and I used a condom, too.”
“A lot of people don’t even get their period with an IUD. Maybe you just skipped a month. Or maybe you’re stressed. That can throw your period off.”
I’d thought of both those things, of course. But I had this really unsettled feeling in my gut. “Maybe…”
“Go get a test. Let’s rip the Band-Aid off. There’s no easy way around it.”
I frowned. “I already have one.”
“But you didn’t take it yet?”
“No. I’ve been trying to work up the courage. That’s why I called you. I need you to hold my hand through this.”
“You got it, girl. Let’s go pee-pee on the stick. You want to switch to Zoom so I can watch you do it?”
“I don’t think that’s necessary. But thanks.” I bit my fingernail. “What if it’s positive, Mia?”
“Then we’ll talk about the choices you have. Until then, there’s no use wasting energy. I made myself sick that time I thought I was pregnant in college. Then I wasn’t, but I’d stressed so much, I ran myself down and caught the flu. Then I had to cancel my date with Troy Everett, and he wound up going out with Ainsley Quinn that night instead of me. A few years later, Troy created some dumb diet app that he sold for like a bazillion dollars, and now Ainsley has twins with mini Birkin bags, and you know what I have?”
“What?”
“Two vibrators. No freakin’ Birkin. So take the damn test. Be Ainsley Quinn, not Mia Archer.”
I chuckled, now glad I’d called. Mia’s insanity was just what I needed to get through this. “Okay. I’m going to put the phone down so I can pee on the stick. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“And I’m going to go get a bottle of the wine we had at the showing last night and crack it open. Just in case.”
“Isn’t it eight thirty in the morning there?”
“I’m that good of a friend. Now go pee.”
I went into the bathroom and opened the box. The test itself was wrapped in foil, so after I tore into that, I took a deep breath, sat down, and stuck the stick between my legs.
Tinkle. Tinkle. Tinkle.
My heart pounded as I set the test on the counter and peeked at the white control panel. Color was beginning to seep across already. I started the stopwatch on my cell and pressed the button for speakerphone while I washed my hands.