Page 88 of Pucked and Pregnant

Max yanks open the door for me and helps me quickly duck inside the car. He hurries around to the driver’s side door, practically shoving reporters out of the way so that he can open the door and get inside. He backs up carefully then picks up speed as we leave the rink parking lot in a hurry.

I sink deeper into my seat, my heart thudding in my chest. They knew about my ailments, asking if I was pregnant. Oh. My. God.

“Wow, they’re getting really creative with their questions these days,” Max grumbles as he turns out of the lot and heads toward the freeway entrance. “Pregnant? That’s a low blow, and beyond out of line.”

I don’t respond. I feel something warm on my face and realize that I’m crying. Damn these hormones that come with pregnancy. I can’t hide anything from anyone because my emotions just spill out for the whole world to see at will.

“Liv? What’s wrong?” Max asks, glancing over at me as he merges with the freeway traffic.

I try to speak but my throat is clogged with too much emotion. I sniffle loudly.

“Liv?” he asks me, his tone more urgent now.

“I wish I’d never taken this stupid job,” I say. “Everything is a fucking mess now.”

“Liv, you aren’t actually messing around with my friends, are you?”

The question lances straight through me, and I start sobbing, wrapping my arms around myself. “Max, I just… I can’t do this right now,” I plead.

“Oh my god,” Max says, shock evident in his tone. “Youarefooling around with one of them. Liv, how could you guys do this to me?”

“It’s not just one of them,” I manage to force out.

Apparently, it’s ripping off the Band-Aid time.

“Liv, you aren’t making any sense,” Max says. I glance over at him, his knuckles white as he grips the steering wheel.

“I’ve been sleeping with all of them,” I hear myself say, my voice stronger now. “It’s been going on for a while. Since we were teenagers, actually.”

“Wait. Are you saying you’re sleeping with all of them one at a time, or are you participating in a fucking harem with my best friends and teammates? If so, none of you thought it was a good idea to tell me?” Max’s voice is much louder now.

I cringe into my seat. It’s not like Max to yell at me. It reveals just how upset he is.

“We didn’t think you’d take it well and we didn’t know how to tell you,” I whisper, sniffling again.

“For fuck’s sake!” Max grinds out as he gets off the exit.

I can practically see the smoke pouring out of his ears.

“Please tell me that reporter doesn’t know something I don’t know with her question about you being pregnant.”

I wince, but I make myself look at him. “It’s true,” I say. “I have no idea how they figured it out, but it’s true.”

Max’s jaw flexes as he clenches his teeth. “Whose is it?” he asks.

I sigh heavily. “I don’t know.”

“Liv!” Max sounds so disappointed that my heart sinks like a stone. “How could you do this to yourself, to them?”

I feel a flare of anger rise within as we approach the block that I live on. “Okay, now that is just too much. Do what exactly, Max? Get pregnant by accident despite taking the pill? Have a private life that isn’t anyone else’s business? Have sex with consenting adults?”

Max is silent for a moment. He parks the car outside my building, the quiet between us weighing us down like a heavy blanket.

He drives his hands through his hair then turns to look at me. I hate that I’m crying again, but I’ve decided I’m just going to be a mess today and there’s no stopping it. Besides, he did hurt my feelings. He should see the evidence of his spiteful comment plain on my face.

“Liv, I’m sorry. It’s just… it’s a lot to take in all at once,” he admits. He reaches out and takes my hand and I feel myself softening toward him.

“Tell me about it,” I agree, using my free hand to wipe at my damp cheeks.

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