Page 19 of Whiskey Reveals

“And I’m going to be blunt and say that I want to know exactly what you were doing that night with our dear Fox.” Ainsley looked like she was a cat in cream, and Melody just stood there blinking.

“What?”

“What Ainsley is trying to say, is that we remember you doing shots of whiskey with Fox one night a little over three months ago. However, we are not going to talk about that right now because it is totally none of our business. Right, Ainsley? Did we not just have this discussion and say we weren’t going to mention the fact that we know the two of them left one night completely wasted? The guys didn’t notice, but we did. But don’t worry, Melody. We’re not going to talk about this ever again. Right, Ainsley?”

“Oh dear God. I didn’t think anyone had noticed. Oh my God. This whole move just got really complicated, really fast.” Melody had no idea what she was going to do with this information. She had been doing her best not to think about the fact that she had slept with Fox and had the best sex of her life with him. And then she tried not to think about the fact that she really wanted to have sex with him again, and that they had both decided they wouldn’t because they were trying to be friends. She’d moved to this small town to find friends and a new life, and now…things had gotten really complicated, and she was just so freaking embarrassed.

“Since you’re talking about it, can we?” Ainsley asked, a curious look on her face. Melody had a feeling she was trying to look innocent but there was nothing innocent about this woman in front of her. At least, not yet.

“Ainsley,” Kenzie laughed.

“What?”

“Okay, I will say this just once. So that it’s out in the open and we can forget that I ever said it at all. Yes, Fox and I had sex. I didn’t realize he actually lived here until I was too drunk to care. Yes, we had sex. Yes, we’ve talked about it. No, we aren’t going to do it again. Yes, we are going to be friends. Yes, it is awkward, and I have no idea what I’m doing. And I have no idea why I’m saying all this out loud to you. But, apparently, it has been bursting inside of me, and I couldn’t wait to tell somebody, so I had to tell the two people who I just met about thirty seconds ago. Now excuse me while I go find a hole to bury myself in. I will talk to you later.”

The other two laughed, and Melody seriously needed to find that hole. Why was it never handy when she needed it?

“Fox is sexy, just not as sexy as my Dare.”

“So not having this conversation,” Melody said, laughing. “I really cannot believe I just put all of that out there like that.”

Ainsley studied her face. “So you two had sex. And it was probably amazing because you’re blushing and you aren’t looking like you’re grossed out. And considering he’s a Collins brother, I can assume that’s a pretty good guess.” She paused. “Not that I know what sex is like with one of them, but I hear things.”

“I don’t think I’m going to answer that,” Melody said with a laugh. “Not that it was a question, but I’m so not going to answer that.”

Kenzie just shook her head, her smile widening. “Okay, enough of that. We’ll just get you tipsy one day so you spill everything. But, really, if you need friends, we’re here. I really do know what it’s like to move to a new place and not know your way around. In fact, if you want to join us for lunch, we’re heading to Dare’s since I’m addicted to his new tomato grilled cheese.”

Melody’s stomach normally would have rumbled just then, but she blinked, her head going a bit fuzzy as her stomach rolled instead.

“Melody?” Ainsley asked, her voice sharp.

Instead of answering, Melody tried to take a step forward, but her body felt suddenly heavy. The others said her name, but she felt as if she were walking through fog. Hands wrapped around her arms, and she suddenly felt herself being lowered to the ground, though she couldn’t really focus. Instead, black dots danced around her eyes just as she had been dancing around the floor, and then there was nothing. Only silence.

Melody wokeup only a few moments later, but by then, she was lying on the floor, her head resting on Kenzie’s lap as Ainsley talked on the phone to whom she assumed was the paramedics. She had tried to wave off her new friends, saying that it must just be a stomachache and spinning around too much. But even she didn’t quite believe that.

And that was how she found herself sitting alone in a hospital room after somehow making the other women not call an ambulance to pick her up. They had demanded to take her to the doctor themselves, however. Melody had kept putting off getting a new primary care physician, and she knew why she was afraid of going to the doctor, but she couldn’t keep running anymore. She had seen enough of the inside of hospital rooms in her lifetime, and now it seemed she was right back in one.

The doctor had been nice enough, and the nurse had taken a blood sample because Melody had been so lightheaded. Ainsley and Kenzie were in the waiting room, and Melody had a feeling if she hadn’t put her foot down, they would be right in her hospital room beside her.

She was fine, everything was fine. It was just nerves.

The door opened, and a nice, elderly doctor walked in, a calm smile on his face.

“I skipped breakfast, and I think my blood sugar is just low. That’s it, right? I’ll do better about eating. I know that I need to eat breakfast. I just forgot today.”

He set down her file, and she noticed a prescription written out on top, but she couldn’t read what it was for. She hated pills, and she really hoped that everything was okay.

“You really do need to eat breakfast, Ms. Waters. And that is something we can talk about in the future, as well. But your blood tests came back quickly since we put a rush on them. The results mean that you’re really going to need to keep eating. Because you’re not just eating for yourself anymore. Melody, you’re pregnant.”

She blinked. She had to have heard him wrong. Because there was no way she could be pregnant. She hadn’t had sex in over three months, and even then, they had used a condom. Three condoms, one for each time they had sex. And birth control. There was no way there could be a little baby growing inside her stomach right then. Because she was about to open a dance studio. And she couldn’t do that if she were pregnant. And it wasn’t as if she were seeing anyone. The test had to be wrong. When she tried to explain all of that to the doctor in one rushed sentence, she swore she saw a pitying look in his eyes.

“We can and will run the test again, but you’re pregnant, Melody. And if you say you haven’t had sex in over three months, then you’re a little over three months along. I’m going to refer you to the best OB/GYN in our town, and they’ll be able to set up an appointment to discuss exactly what you want to do.”

She swallowed hard, her hands shaking. “I can’t be pregnant. I mean, my periods have always been horrendously irregular because of genetics and the fact that I was a dancer for so long. And that’s just what happens to us. So I didn’t even think about the fact that I haven’t had them. But, it doesn’t make any sense. This can’t be happening.”

And as the doctor kept speaking, telling her about prenatal vitamins and the appointment she could make with the OB/GYN and the options she had, she kept all of that in the back of her mind as all she could focus on was the fact that, somehow, she and Fox had created a baby.

She would have to tell him.

And she really had no idea what she was going to do.

She had known that whiskey-induced night would change things; she just hadn’t realized how much. Until now.

She was screwed.

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