Page 24 of Sticking Out

I glance over my shoulder to make sure she’s not at the door listening. “Now she thinks…we’re…”

“We are, Dani.” He shrugs. “I’ve given this some thought, and soon enough, you’re going to have to explain why you’re pregnant, so maybe we should pretend to be dating. It might make the whole explanation thing simpler and we have that whole no waving your cat all over the place deal, and I don’t always enjoy being hit on, you know. Especially when I’m out with you.”

“What does that mean?” Why do women just assume we’re not an item? I sigh, my stomach turning. What am I even thinking? Of course, they do. I stick out like a sore thumb in his crowd.

“She was rude, Dani. Which is why I went for the shock value. Friends with benefits. Did you see her face?” He laughs and it wraps around me and squeezes so tightly—in a nice way.

“Yeah, but I told her we weren’t together. That’s why she asked you out and I sounded like a liar.”

“I covered it well.” He bends and starts patting Buster, and jumps back up when Buster shakes his head, getting drool all over his clothes.

“I don’t know about that.”

“Look,” he begins, and faces me, putting his hands on my shoulders. “We’re going to have to explain it when you get pregnant. This way, we can pretend to be in a relationship and stage a breakup.”

“What, like we’re a romantic comedy or something?”

“Or something.”

Did Kat think a girl like me with a guy like him could be nothing more than a comedy? I guess her response as to why we were together was rude. “There was a moment when I admired her.” He arches a brow. “She’s a woman who goes for what she wants and I admire boldness.”

“Why admire her for that? You’re a woman who goes for what she wants too. You’re bold as fuck, Dani,” he says matter-of-factly.

“Hardly.”

He snorts out a laugh, puts an arm around me and drags me to him. He dips his head and his mouth is right there. All I have to do is go up on my toes and kiss him if I want to. But I don’t have to do that, because he bends down farther and presses his mouth to mine and whispers, “Did you not ask me to put a baby in you? That’s pretty fucking bold, babe.”

Babe…God, when he calls me that. But seriously, I feel like he’s asking me a question here, wanting clarification on what we’re going to tell people.

“You’re saying you want to go cash in on some benefits,” I ask, needing a moment to think about things. We have his family, my family, and our friends to consider here. I don’t want to lie to them but it sure would be easier to explain down the road.

“Yeah.”

“Let’s drop Buster off and head home.” He holds his arms out, and shakes off the drool.

“I thought you wanted ice cream.”

He makes a disgusted face. “I’m kind of wet.”

Oh, he’s not the only one. I decide to keep that to myself.

“I need to get out of these clothes,” he informs me and I kind of like the idea of that, but poor Buster needs a treat. Conner leans in, and lightly swipes his tongue over my bottom lip. “We’ll grab Buster a treat first, but no worries, babe.” He wags his eyebrows. “There’s something I’m definitely wanting to lick.”

9

Dani

A bang inside the house wakes me and as I stretch out my tired limbs, I turn to find the other side of my bed empty. I reach across and the sheets are cold. How long has Conner been up? I glance at the clock and note that it’s nearing noon. I jackknife up and take in the bright sunshine seeping in through the cracks in the curtains.

How did I sleep in so long? I guess it’s been a busy week at work, with Marley, my nighttime animal care attendant, off sick. I had to pull off a few night shifts, and while I have a whole very nice bedroom set up at the Airbnb, I don’t usually sleep all that well—especially with a two-hundred-pound man in a twin-size bed beside me. Yes, he insisted on staying with me. I make a mental note to switch it to a double bed. Then again, it’s been two weeks since our sex fest, and if I am pregnant, this whole thing between us will be over.

Or maybe it won’t be. We’ve been having so much fun, spending all our time together, and we get along so well. Don’t even get me started on how amazing the sex is, or how attentive he is to my needs inside the bedroom and out. A girl could get used to that. I briefly close my eyes and imagine what it would be like if one of us sold our house, and we lived together, like a real family. My heart misses a beat, as I envision it. The thing is, it’s something I thought about back in high school, before he ignored the letter I gave him.

But now, things are different. Maybe we do have a chance at a future. We agreed on a pretend relationship. Not that we had to play that card. We’ve been holed up in my place baby-making. Soon enough we’ll have to go outside and people will start asking questions. Maybe the relationship doesn’t have to be fake, though. Is that something he might want? I know I’m sure as hell not going to leave a note asking, and truth be told, I’m afraid to bring anything of the kind up. I don’t want to ruin what we have, what is budding between us. Or maybe it’s all my imagination.

I hear a bang again, and I kick the covers off as my stomach cramps. That could either be a good thing or a bad thing. Last time I got pregnant, I had a lot of cramps early on. I do have that pregnancy test in the bathroom, and was planning on using it today. I push to my feet and pull on my pink fluffy robe. Here goes nothing.

In the bathroom, I find Conner sitting on the floor, a list in his hands. His eyes are narrowed, like he’s having a hell of a time figuring something out.

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