Page 49 of It's Complicated

He froze, then slowly blinked at me like a confused owl. “You mean you got snipped?”

I laughed at how utterly taken aback he was. “Yup. I wasn’t an oops baby, but I was an accident. I figured it was best to not repeat history on that one.”

“How does that even work?” Jesse asked. “How can you be an accident but not be one?”

“Let’s just say that my mother wasn’t completely truthful about her birth control status, and my father probably should have taken some precautions of his own but didn’t. So one of my parents was surprised, the other, not so much.”

Jesse gaped at me. “Are you serious?”

“It’s amazing what you can learn when you read court documents.” I shrugged. I’d known about this since I was a teenager. I’d gotten over it years ago.

Jamie was the only person I’d ever talked to about this at length, and while I didn’t go around advertising it, I didn’t feel the need to keep it a secret from my friends if it came up.

And it was fun to melt people’s brains and watch them short-circuit like Jesse just did.

“Tell me about it,” he said, shaking off his shock. “I read some crazy shit in my parents’ family court docs.”

My phone buzzed with a notification. I checked my screen, and my good mood faded when I saw another email from my father.

“I need to check this,” I said to Jesse.

He nodded and pulled his own phone out of his pocket.

I didn’t want to read the damn thing, but I wouldn’t be able to think about anything else until I did. My brain was annoying that way. It latched on to things and held on, driving me crazier and crazier until I gave in to whatever impulsive thing my brain was telling me to do.

Right now it was telling me to email my dad back and tell him to fuck off and stop projecting his issues onto me. I settled for opening the second email. It wasn’t like this crap was anything new.

The email was a carbon copy of the first one. He’d resent it because I hadn’t answered the first, even though he’d only sent it an hour ago.

I typed out a quick reply, agreeing to meet at the designated time and place.

When I was done placating my dad and his whims, I put my phone away and glanced at Jesse.

He had his nose buried in his phone, a pink flush staining his neck.

“Whatcha looking at?” I asked loudly, knowing damn well he was either sexting with his boyfriend or looking at a dirty pic he’d sent.

“Nothing.” He hit the home button to turn off his screen and put his phone face down on the shelf in his locker.

“That was a peen, wasn’t it?”

“I am neither confirming nor denying that statement.” He shot me a little smirk.

“It was totally a peen.”

He shrugged innocently. “Again, I can neither confirm nor deny that statement.”

Chuckling, I leaned against my locker. “Want me to wait and walk out with you?”

“Sure, if you’re not in a hurry.”

“Not tonight. Jamie’s stuck in a staff meeting, and it’s his turn to cook. I’m in no rush.”

“Are things okay now?” He sat on the bench in front of the lockers and bent to unlace his boots. “With you and Jamie?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, trying not to let my shock show on my face.

He glanced up. “Things seemed different last time we hung out. Like you guys had a falling out or something. Are you good now?”

---