Page 10 of Somebody To Love

She chuckled, grateful her brain managed to pay attention to Gwen’s long-winded rant. “I’m sure all they care about is having the costumes for free. Homemade or store bought

probably won’t matter.”

Then again, what did she know about the social politics of middle schools? It wasn’t like she had any experience with them as a parent. Hopefully, soon, she would.

Her sister laughed. They spoke for a few more minutes before hanging up. Her phone pinged with a text message from BJ saying he’d be right over. She smiled. See? Everything would be okay. She’d simply tell him she planned on having a baby and needed top quality sperm to do so. All she had to do was ask him for a donation. He’d say yes, she’d become a mother, and everything would be fine.

Nothing would be weird.

Nope.

Not weird at all.

Her smile fell. Instant panic froze the air in her lungs. Who the hell was she kidding? Of course things would be weird. She was about to ask her best friend for his sperm. His baby making stuff. His little swimmers. Friends didn’t ask each other for bodily fluids! Oh crap, what had she been thinking? This was a disaster, a nightmare.

Bouncing with nerves, she got up to make a calming cup of tea. The bubbling sound of the water did nothing to calm her frantic thoughts. When the kettle whistled, she poured the steaming water over the bag of chamomile she’d placed in her large mug emblazoned with the phrase Keep Calm and Code On. Even her nerdiest comfort mug couldn’t ease the pounding of her heart. She couldn’t ask this of BJ. Maybe there was still time to back out. She could come up with something else important she needed to talk to him about. Maybe she could—

A knock on the door interrupted her frantic thoughts.

“Penny? Penny, open up. It’s me. I got here as quick as I could.”

“Oh crap.” He was here, and she had no time to think of an excuse for her text. This was it. She had to suck it up and ask him the most embarrassing thing she’d ever asked of anyone. She hurried to the door, cursing herself as she went. “I think my brain just made an ID 10 T error.”

CHAPTER 6

BJ pounded on the door, heart in his throat. “Penny? Open up. It’s me.”

After receiving her text, he dropped the clipboard he’d been using to keep track of the proofing levels and rushed over to her place. Del gave him a weird look and Ace demanded to know what was going on. All he remembered shouting to his brothers was that he had an emergency, and he’d call them later.

The last time Penny texted him saying she needed him right away had been years ago. He’d just gotten home from his last tour. He’d been tired and on edge being back in the civilian world. It always took a few weeks to acclimate to a life where you didn’t have to worry about enemy fire coming at all hours of the day and night. His plan had been to head up to Estes Park, rent a cabin, and spend a week in solitude. But then Penny had texted.

BJ, I need to talk to you right away. Please come.

The same words she’d used tonight. The last time it had been a trauma times three. Her grandfather had passed after a long battle with cancer. The dog she loved with all her heart had run away and hadn’t been seen for a week. And the final blow had been her dick of a fiancé breaking off the engagement two weeks before the big day. Not to say he mourned that loss. He’d always hated the prick and never thought Lance was good enough for his best friend. But he’d seen the devastation in Penny’s eyes. It damn near tore his heart out. She’d cried harder than he’d even thought a person could. Never in his life had he felt so helpless. All he could do was sit there and hold her.

He hadn’t seen Penny cry since that night, and she’d never sent him another frantically worded text like the one she’d sent that night.

Until now.

So here he stood. Fist pounding on her door. Heart pounding in his chest. Terrified of what lay on the other side because he didn’t think he could stand to see Penny so broken again. He’d vowed that long-ago night to protect her from pain of that magnitude ever happening again. An impossible promise, sure, but one he’d made and damn sure tried to keep.

“Penny?”

The door slowly creaked open. A pale face covered in a smattering of freckles peeked out through the opening. Fiery red hair gathered in a sloppy bun on top of her head. A few strands had fallen out. Large hazel eyes stared at him with…embarrassment?

“Hey, BJ.”

“Hey, BJ. You send me a 911 text, took forever to answer your door and all I get is a Hey BJ?”

Her brow furrowed. Nose wrinkling. The small, upturned tip rising even higher. “I didn’t take forever.”

Felt like it to him. Every damn second had stretched into an eternity as he hauled ass over here. The worst of the worst running through his mind. Placing a hand on the door, he pushed slightly. Penny automatically stepped back, allowing him entrance. Once inside her house, he headed straight for the living room. The sound of the door closing, and her soft footsteps followed him.

Normally he’d sit on her couch, make himself at home, maybe turn on the TV. Tonight, he didn’t do any of those things. He stood in the middle of her living room and turned to face her. “Penny, what is going on?”

Long, thin fingers tapped against her thigh. “Um…well, you see, the thing is…do you want to sit?”

No, he didn’t want to fucking sit. He wanted to know what the hell was wrong with his best friend. Crossing his arms over his chest, he remained where he was.

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