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)
Tess: You know…spicier.
Drew: **sweating laughing emoji** Do your worst.
Tess: Okay. Here I go. I’ll start with a tame one…
Tess: Do you prefer making out or cuddling?
Drew: I prefer cuddling while I make out. Does that count? LOL
Tess: Yes?
Drew: What about you?
Tess: I don’t mind a cuddle, especially when it’s on the couch, watching one of my shows while elbow-deep in popcorn. Literally the perfect evening. Ready for the next question?
Tess: When is the first time you pictured me naked?
Drew: Probably when we were playing miniature golf.
Tess: WHAT? **sputters** You seemed so…like, were you even checking me out? I didn’t notice.
Drew: As if I was going to let you notice me checking you out? We already established that at the time, I still had you in the “Grady’s sister” box, and I’d set it on the shelf.
Tess: Fair enough. But damn, I’m shocked.
Drew: What about you? When did you first picture me naked?
Tess: Uh, like—tenth grade? LOL. You already know I had a massive crush on you, so this should be no surprise. Ready for the next ???
Drew: Yup.
Tess: What’s your least favorite position?
Drew: Shit, you weren’t fucking around when you said you could come up with spicier questions. Mine were so freaking lame compared to these.
Tess: Uh, YEAH, they were… So. What’s your answer? Stop stalling.
Drew: Er. I don’t know. Is there such a thing as a least favorite position? I’d have to go with…. anal.
Tess: ANAL??! When have you had anal????
Drew: Never. That’s why it’s my least favorite, because all of them are pretty okay
Tess: OMG lol Fair enough, I guess. Mine is… probably missionary LOL
Drew: Oh boy…
Tess: Here’s one. Where do you like to be touched?
Drew: Besides my junk?
Tess: No, I think “junk” counts as an answer.
Drew: My junk. My leg. My…butt? You?
Tess: Boobs. Butt. And my business…
Drew: We get along so well.
Tess: Yeah, and I have the growing bump to prove it.
CHAPTER 47
TESS
MY HEART WAS FULL AND THEN IT BROKE.
Oh no…
Is this what I think it is?
I inhale a sharp breath not sure what I’m looking at, googling on my phone to be sure, staring down between my legs.
And here I thought this was going to be a regular visit to the bathroom.
No signs that this was going to happen, if you don’t count…
This.
I sit here, debating and debating and debating, not sure what to do first.
What do I do?
How do I react?
I wasn’t ready to be pregnant but I’m not ready for this, either.
Do I call my mom?
My roommates?
Do I call Drew?
Wipe.
Flush.
Text?
Cry?
Yes, I’m definitely going to cry….
CHAPTER 48
DREW
I GUESS MISSING HER THIS MUCH IS THE UNIVERSE REMINDING ME THAT I’M FALLING FOR HER.
It’s late.
Like—too late for a friendly call.
So when the phone rings, I scramble to answer it, heart racing with a mix of excitement and apprehension when I see Tess’s name flashing on the small screen. I smile though I’m tired as I accept the call and press my phone to my ear, yawning.
"Hey," I greet her, trying to keep my voice steady despite the fluttering in my chest. “Is everything okay?”
The question everyone asks when they get a random call past a certain hour in the day, yeah?
"Hey," her voice responds, but there's an edge to it, a hint of something I can't quite place. “No, I don’t think…everything is okay.”
I lean over, flip my bedside light on, and lean back against the pillows propped against the headboard.
“What’s goin’ on?”
There's a pause on the other end, a weighty silence that stretches out for a moment too long. My mind races, my imagination conjuring up a thousand possibilities—some mundane, some heart-stoppingly serious. Or maybe I’m just too fucking tired.
We had our first practice today.
A meeting, too, and I crashed when I went to bed after texting with Tess—everything seemed okay at the time. What could have gone wrong in the few hours I’ve been in bed?
“Did your brother do something?” I ask, immediately suspecting Grady of another verbal lashing.
"I... I don't know how to even say this," Tess begins, voice trembling. "I was on the toilet, you know, and something wasn't right."
I was on the toilet…
Something wasn’t right…
“Okay?”
I’m not exactly sure what her words mean.
But my heart skips a beat anyway, a cold chill running down my spine.
I was on the toilet…
Something wasn’t right…
Her words hang in the air, charged with meaning. A thousand thoughts rush through my mind, and I try to make sense of what she's telling me.
"Something wasn't right?" I repeat, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Yeah," she replies, her voice a mix of vulnerability and uncertainty. "I'm sorry, Drew..."
“Sorry for what?”
“Maybe I just wasn’t far enough along…”
Wasn’t far enough along?
The unfinished sentence hangs there. It’s a heavy, heavy silence, filled with words she can’t get out of her throat, and I close my eyes as if that will help my mind race to piece together the puzzle.