Page 25 of Pretty Little Disaster

“Sounds fun, where are we going?” He smirks.

“Nic,wearen’t going anywhere, it’s a post-graduation party. For me and my friends, none of them will be bringing plus ones,” I point out.

“You're already taking a plus one.” His hand moves from the steering wheel and seems to lose all its tension when he softlyslides it over my tummy. “Which is why, if you go, I’m going to have to come with you.” Him touching me like this never fails to give me butterflies, and for a second I forget that I’m not supposed to be smiling.

“Nic, we aren’t going to argue about this,” I warn him.

“Good, I much prefer it that way. Ask your friends where they want to go, and I’ll get Madalina to work on Dario so we can take the jet.”

“No, what I meant was–”

“I was also thinking it’s time we told your parents about the baby. We should do that together. I want them to be assured that I’m going to look after you.” He talks over me, making it clear that the conversation about the trip is over. I’m happy to put a pin in it since tonight is a special occasion, but it’s far from over.

“I guess that's a good idea. I’ll call Mom and see if she and Kevin are free this weekend.” I’ve been putting off telling my mom and stepdad for weeks. I already know Mom is going to be disappointed in me, she had me when she was young herself, and although she insists she never regretted it, she’s always been very adamant that I should see the world and live it while I’m young.

“Sounds good, and what about your father? We should tell him too.” He looks across at me when he stops at a red light. Nic has never mentioned my father before, but then, neither have I. In all honesty, I assumed he thought I didn’t have one.

“I’ll just tell him when I next see him…don’t forget to stop off at the little bakery on Culver Street, we said we’d pick up the cake, remember?”

“And when might that be?” Nic stays on the subject of my father, narrowing his eyes.

“I don’t know, we’re not close. I usually only see him a few times a year.” Those butterflies he just put in my stomach have suddenly turned to nerves.

“When was the last time you saw him?” He starts moving forward when the lights change.

“What's with all the questions about my dad?” I laugh, trying to avoid sounding upset. I have to adopt an ‘out of sight out of mind’ strategy when it comes to him.

“I was just wondering. Whoever the man is, he’s going to be a part of my child’s life. I figure I should know a few things about him.”

“Well, there's nothing to tell, he works away… a lot. So I rarely see him.” I smile, hoping that the case is closed.

It appears not.

“What does he do?” Nic takes a left and starts heading toward the bakery.

“He’s a sales rep.” I can feel myself getting hotter like I’m under one of those huge spotlights they point at actors on stage.

“For who?” Nic makes it obvious he’s not going to give up.

“For a pharmaceutical company, at least that's the last I heard. The truth is, I don’t really matter to him, so I try to tell myself that he doesn’t matter to me.” I give a little more than I want to give, and it makes my bottom lip wobble.

“Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Nic pulls over, ignoring the blast of horns that come from behind us, and twisting in his seat. He takes my face in both his hands and uses his thumbs to swipe away the rogue tears that have slipped out over my cheek. “I’m sorry,” he tells me, looking a lot like he means it.

“It’s fine, let's just drop it and have some fun tonight.” I can hear the plea in my voice and he must hear it too, because he nods his head, and smiles, before pulling back out into the traffic.

I wait in the car while he heads inside the bakery to pick up Serena’s cake, and while he’s inside I take out my phone and scroll to my dad’s number. It’s been over six months since I lastsaw him, and although he’s never been a huge part of my life, I miss him. When I was a kid, my mom would make up all kinds of stories about why he wasn’t around. One time she told me he was at the North Pole helping Santa make presents, I told her he was too tall to be an elf. I remember how she laughed and cried at the same time. She spent years making excuses for my father, maybe that's the reason why I constantly find myself doing it too.

I tuck my phone back into my purse when the car door opens and Nic gets back inside.

“Here.” He puts the cake box on my lap and then places a paper bag on top of it.

“What's this?” I glance across at him.

“That’s a double chocolate muffin,” he tells me. “Isn’t that what you’ve been having Seb stop by here for, every morning on your way to college for the past two weeks?

“Seb is such a rat.” I shake my head. “I’m eating this right now, you know that, right?” I don’t care that it’s my second one of the day, or that I’ll have one of Madalina’s three-course meals to devour when we get to the party. I’ve officially reached the eat everything in sight stage of this pregnancy and I’m embracing it

“Why do you think I got it for you?” Nic smiles as he drives on.

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