Deal Breakers (Dealing with Love 1)

“Maybe...I’ll be pretty busy with my folks. They want to load all my stuff into our trucks before grad so we can leave right after the ceremony. I’m going back to Napa with them for a short visit before heading out to Boston.”

She looks dumbfounded. “And this was all planned during your coffee run?”

The story was. My parents really are on their way but they won’t be in town until tomorrow morning. “Huh? No, I’ve been planning to spend a few days in Napa for weeks now. I’m sure I must’ve told you.”

She gulps. “It must’ve slipped your mind.”

I shrug. “My bad.”

She sits on the end of the bed. “So…I guess I’ll see you when I see you?”

I place my hand on the doorknob. “Yep. I’ll see ya later. Thanks for a fun night, Dev.”

I think she muttered something as I closed the door but I’m not positive.

DEVYN

I’M JUST ABOUT TO step out for lunch when I feel a sudden wave of nausea. I spot the ladies’ room up ahead and increase my pace. As soon as I make it to the stall, I lose the contents of my stomach and heave until there’s nothing left. I hear the restroom door open as I’m hunched over and try to remain as quiet as possible.

There’s a small knock on the stall. “Hey, Devyn. It’s Andrea. Are you okay? I saw you run in here and I heard…well, it sounds like you’re throwing up.”

Andrea is from Human Resources. She welcomed me to the agency on the first day of my internship and helped me fill out all the appropriate new hire paperwork.

I wipe my mouth with some toilet paper. “I think so. I’ll be out in just a sec.”

I step out of the stall after flushing. I wash my hands and dig into my purse for my little travel bottle of mouthwash. As I’m swishing the contents around in my mouth I think about how thankful I am for being so prepared. Some people give me crap about my incessant need to plan for everything but it works for me.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Andrea asks as she’s freshening up her lipstick.

I spit into the sink. “Yeah, I’m sorry; I don’t know where that came from. I felt fine and then all of a sudden, my breakfast was in the toilet. I feel better now.”

She looks at me through the mirror. “You’re not pregnant, are you? When my sister was pregnant with her first, she would get sick one minute and be ready to scarf down an entire buffet the next. It was nuts.”

“What?” I sputter. “Uh, no, definitely not pregnant.” Okay, so my period is late but that’s not uncommon for me. Especially not when I’m super stressed from all the long hours I’ve been working over the past few weeks.

Andrea looks skeptical. “Are you sure? People don’t normally puke without reason. Have you taken a test?”

I start reapplying my lip gloss. “I’m sure. I haven’t had sex in a while…and when I did, we used a condom. Several of them.”

Andrea smiles. “So did my sister, Julia. With her first and third kid. Condoms break. I’m just saying it wouldn’t hurt to stop by the drug store on your way home.”

I try to push back the panic. Could she be right? “Thanks, Andrea. I’ll consider that.”

RILEY

“DUDE, WILL YOU QUIT looking like someone just ran over your dog?” Brody whines. “You’re a shitty wing man.” Brody started his Masters program during the summer semester like I did. We share a lot of the same classes and recently started hanging out.

I take a swig of beer. “Sorry, man. I’m just distracted.”

“About what?”

I take another drink. “It’s nothing.”

“Uh oh,” he says. “I know that look. Tell me about her.”

I look up. “What?”

He laughs. “The chick. You’re hung up on a chick. So tell me about her. Is she hot? How big are her tits?”