Page 49 of Classroom Confessions

The tall man grunted and stalked out without another word.

Lily returned wearing a smile and a blush. She even skipped over to me. “You were right.”

“Course I was.” I tempered my anger and stuffed it way down deep. Lily had every right to be happy and have fun. I could be lonely and angry on my own time. Still, every time I thought about David and what he might be doing, my stomach twisted.

The last customer left, jingling the bell behind her.

“What’s wrong?” Lily washed the dirty cups and stacked them within reach.

“Nothing.” My shoulders were too tense to shrug. I sat on one of the stools behind the counter, my feet already aching.

“Bullshit.” She pointed right in my face. “You’d better tell me the truth right now.”

So I did. I spilled everything that had happened, even telling her about David and Carrie. She listened through the whole thing, never once showing anything other than surprise. I finished by throwing my arms up. “It’s hopeless.”

“Not hopeless.” Lily took my hands and held them. “Complicated. But the best relationships usually are. It will work out.”

“You don’t know that.” I hung my head, letting the silence in the shop wrap around me. “They could have any woman they want. Why bother with me?”

“Because you’re smart, beautiful, and funny.” Lily nudged me to my feet when the door opened and three people walked in.

I so did not want to work another minute, much less the rest of the night. How had this day gone from blissful hot air balloon ride, to sex, to drama, to this? Surely, there were limits to how much annoyance a body could take.

“I’d like a quad shot espresso with matcha green tea, two sugars, a pump of hazelnut, poured over ice and stirred.” The woman’s high-pitched voice matched her beaked nose and narrow eyes.

“That sounds disgusting.” I curled my lip. “Are you sure you want all that?”

“I ordered it, didn’t I?” She crossed her arms and stared down her hooked nose at me.

“Fine.” I grabbed the matcha green tea and started throwing everything into a cup.

“Poured over ice,” she reminded me with a hiss.

Fucking bitch. I bit my lip to keep from saying it out loud and started over on the order.

Lily took care of the other two customers while I slogged away on the woman’s crazy concoction. There was no way it tasted good, but she swiped it from my hand and took a long drink before handing me her card to pay for the order.

Lily whistled when the door closed behind the trio. “Damn, girl. What the hell has gotten into you?”

“Nothing.” I huffed and tied my hair back in a ponytail. “I’m irrational and angry for no reason. I’m tired and sick of dealing with people who think they’re the only person in the whole world and we should cater to their every desire.” After the day I’d had, I’d earned the right to be pissy. “I’m tired, okay?”

“Tired. Right.” Lily put her back to the counter. Her slim arms crossed and she tipped her head to the side. Her striped shirt stood out against her burnished copper curls and freckles. Unlike me, she pulled off the careless look with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows and the oversized shirt tied at her waist to reveal a black tank top underneath. “You’ve had a crazy day. I get that. But you’re never this short-tempered.” Her eyes narrowed, then widened, and both hands came up to cover her mouth. “You’re acting just like my mom when she was pregnant.”

“Don’t even.” I waved her off. “That’s not funny.”

“It wasn’t meant to be.” She whispered through her fingers, looked around the empty shop, then asked, “Are you sure you’re not pregnant?”

24

REBECCA

Lily’s words rang in my head on a constant loop. She was wrong. She had to be wrong. This was some great, big joke and any minute now, she’d come over and say she didn’t mean it. I was on birth control. I couldn’t be pregnant.

Except… I could.

Hot bile rose. I swallowed it down with one hand over my mouth and finished my shift with Lily. There was a walk-in clinic on the way home. I’d stop by and put this whole thing to rest. The thought gave me comfort all the way up until I pulled into the parking lot and a woman with a baby on her hip slid out of the car beside me. She smiled and kissed the baby’s cheek. The baby was adorable, but having one of my own petrified me.

I took a fortifying breath and followed the woman into the clinic. The receptionist handed us both matching tablets. “Please fill these out and bring them back to me.” I bolted to the far side of the room, far away from everyone else, and bent my head over the screen like someone was trying to spy over my shoulder. The whole system was automated, and once I clicked the pregnancy button, a list of questions popped up. When was my last period? Fuck if I knew. I’d never been regular, so missing one here and there never bothered me. I answered as best I could and almost threw the tablet at the poor woman behind the desk. It wasn’t her fault, but panic made me unreasonable.

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