“Watch yourself while I close the door,” I say, and she glares at me as I close the door and walk around to my side of the BMW. I get in and look over at her. “Ready?”
“Nope,” she says, buckling her seat belt, and I can see her little bump even more. When she came out of her room before wearing black pants and a white top, I couldn’t help but smile because she looked perfect. The white shirt is loose but shows her little baby bump, a bump that I have yet to see or touch. It still blows my mind that she is carrying my baby, that my baby is growing in her. She is giving me something that I will never ever be able to repay her for. It’s a gift worth more than all the money in the world, than all the sponsorships, than all the Stanley Cups in the world. It’s worth everything.
“It’s going to be fine.” I pull away from her condo, and she puts her hands in her lap. “Are you hungry?”
“Even if I was.” She looks over at me. “The nerves in my stomach would just reject it, and then I’d be barfing on someone’s shoes.” She shakes her head. “But I do need water.”
I pull over at a gas station, and I’m getting out of the BMW when she looks over at me. “And can you get me an apple juice?” she asks, and I nod. I walk into the gas station and get her two bottles of water, an apple juice, and then also an apple grape juice. Walking back to the car, I see she’s on the phone, and when she sees me, she hangs up quickly. Something in my stomach burns. What if she is with someone? The thought is just more than I care to bear.
I get into the BMW and hand her the water bottle first and then put the juice in the middle cupholder. She opens the water bottle and drinks it halfway. “Thank you,” she says, as I put my seat belt on and start driving toward my house.
Neither of us says anything, but my head is going around and around, thinking about the big elephant in the room. “What’s got your panties in a twist?” I hear her say and look over at her. “You’ve been tapping that finger on your steering wheel since we left the gas station.”
“I know this question is going to sound out of the blue,” I hedge. “And I know that I really don’t have any say in how you live your life.” She just stares at me. “Are you with anyone?”
“You are joking, right?” She turns in the seat and puts her back to the passenger door. “Like for real, are you joking?”
“I am not joking,” I say, huffing out. “It’s an honest question.”
“It’s a stupid fucking question,” she says and shakes her head. “Who in their right mind would date a woman who is pregnant with another man’s child?” she asks and doesn’t even give me time to answer. “Between working, sleeping, and growing a human in me, I’ve been a bit busy to date.” She shakes her head. “Are you with anyone?”
“What?” I ask, shocked. “Why would you think I was with anyone?”
“For the same dumb reason you thought I was with someone,” she counters with her sass.
“I came out of the gas station and saw you on the phone, and then when you saw me, you hung up the phone,” I say. “And for the record, I haven’t been with anyone since you.”
She blinks as she looks at me. “Okay, one, I was on the phone with Julia, who went by my house and saw I wasn’t there. She heard the nerves in my voice, then she threatened to show up at your house, so I had to turn off my location. Because I think we should ease Julia in with your family, and two.” She holds up her second finger. “Regardless of how easy it was for you to get me into bed, you were only the second person I ever slept with.” My heart beats so fast in my chest when she says that, and I can’t help but smile.
“Well, it’s good to know,” I respond, trying not to sound so happy about the fact that she hasn’t been with anyone since me. Not that it would matter, but it’s good to know.
“You live downtown?” she asks when I turn down the street as she looks at the high-rises.
“For now,” I say honestly and turn into the underground parking garage. “I haven’t had time to do the whole house-hunting thing.” I park the BMW and look over at her.
“You’ve been here five months,” she says, putting her hand on the door handle and looking around. “How do you have no time?”