“Did you . . .” God, how do I ask this? “Did you . . . you know, finish?”
“Finish?”
“Finish . . . do the deed. Shoot your load.”
There is a wicked grin on his face, and rubbing his barely-existent beard in an annoying yet smoldering manner, he has me stumbling on my thoughts.
“Let me get this straight, Malone. You’re asking me if I came?”
Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, I feel so juvenile, nodding to suppress the sheer embarrassment.
“I’m curious as to why you’re only asking me this now?”
“Because I just need to know.”
With his arm draped along the back of the sofa, he inches closer, intimidating me with a persistent stare. He doesn’t realize I’m in the prime of the pregnancy, loaded with hormones, ready to pounce and beg him to fuck me because I am so damn horny I can’t even think straight.
“It’s a personal question, and you’re demanding an answer without explaining why you need to know.”
“Cut the bullshit, Jerk. I think we passed personal when you decided to screw me in the alley.”
“You cut the bullshit, Malone. Why you wanna know?”
“I’m pregnant,” I blurt out without thinking, without any emotion.
There. Done.
Phew. I release a breath, finally able to breathe a little.
It’s not just one ball of tumbleweed, but a whole colony that rolls past as the silence falls over the room. I don’t dare look at him, his heavy breathing enough of an indication that he is about to have a stroke.
“Why weren’t you on the fucking Pill, Malone?!” he demands, raising his voice and catching me off guard while jumping off the sofa.
“I was on the fucking Pill! Why would you come inside me and assume that?!”
He is pacing the floor, hat thrown onto the table as he runs his fingers through his hair in utter despair. His eyes are wild with panic, and he looks ready to smash the first thing in sight. I’m right; he does it moments later and the porcelain lucky elephant that Gemma gave me is splattered on the floor.
Okay, don’t go ape shit on him. The elephant is replaceable. Have some compassion for the Jerk.
“I put a fucking rubber on! You pulled it off. Then we used another one!”
“What do you want me to say? Scientifically we beat the odds and I don’t know what the fuck happened or how!” I yell back in frustration.
“How could this happen then? And how can you assume it’s mine? Who knows who you were doing? Marcus . . . it’s got to belong to Marcus.”
He didn’t just go there.
Yep, he did.
Unleash the hounds.
Quick to my feet, I’m eye-to-eye with him, matching his stance. Even though he towers over me while I’m barefoot, he doesn’t intimidate me one bit.
“I am NOT that person. Blood tests and ultrasounds confirmed how far along I am. I can’t even . . . you know what?” I say, barely able to control my anger. “You can just walk away now. Forget I told you this. You’re young, got your whole life ahead of you. I can raise this baby. I don’t need someone in my life thinking I’m a fucking whore!”
“I didn’t . . . look, I’m sorry. It’s just—”
“Too late for apologies, Jerk.”