Page 65 of One Timer With A Wingman

She laughs at my bluntness and shakes her head. “Good.”

“So you’re cool with having me stay on the floor?” I ask because I realize I kind of barged in here without permission.

She chews on the bottom of her lip. “I’ll move into the hockey house. I want to pay the $300 a month I can afford, and I will try to get a loan from the bank or something for the rest. Maybe I can get a second job.”

“Briar, you’re a student. You working a second job is not an option. Please let me take care of the rest of the rent, though I have to be honest with you. Charlie and Ruby were staying in that room together rent-free and none of us cared. I don’t see why you have to push to pay rent when we have things covered. All of us are headed to the NHL and will be getting handsome salaries. Those few dollars won’t matter.”

Briar frowns.

“Did I say the wrong thing?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “No, but I’m poor, Aaron. I can’t afford to give Nugget a lavish lifestyle, and I don’t want him or her to be really spoiled only by you. I know I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m a planner.” She shakes her head like she’s chiding herself.

“Right, the bucket list,” I give her a crooked grin.

“I won’t be able to go to law school without going to the Olympics. My entire future has changed,” she states.

My stomach sinks. “How can I help? This baby is my responsibility too.”

“You’ve been great. I just need to figure out a new life plan.”

“You can go to the Olympics for the next round,” I suggest.

“I’ll be waiting four years. That isn’t going to work,” she states.

Now it’s me who is frowning. This baby is going to change my life, but I can still go pro. It makes me feel bad that Briar is sacrificing so much.

“We can figure things out, one step at a time,” I encourage. “When big issues come up, sometimes it’s hard to figure out how to tackle it in one shot.”

“Is that something your parents taught you?” she asks.

“Yeah, when Mom got sick, Dad and I only saw doom and gloom. It was Mom who said we need to deal with things in stages. Now that she is still mostly okay, they took their trip to Australia, South America, and Europe. We are taking things in stages because that is all we can do. Be happy today and not worry about what tomorrow will bring because that’s how Mom wants it.”

“That must be so hard, Aaron. Thank you for sharing that with me. One day at a time is all I can handle right now,” she confesses.

“Yeah.” I kiss the top of her head. “Why don’t we pack you up and get moving into the hockey house?”

“Okay, but I’ll still need to give the landlord here thirty days’ notice,” she says.

“The money doesn’t matter, so do what you need to do,” I say.

She smiles and we get her suitcases out of the front closet and take them to her room.

We pack everything up and head out to the Bronco. Relief washes over me but so does fear. I’ve never lived with a girl before. Definitely not one who is pregnant with my baby. I hope we can get along because that is what is best for the baby. I also hope we can keep our hands to ourselves because I am still very much attracted to Briar, and something tells me the heat we felt in Punta Cana is far from over.

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

Briar

I’ve been living in the hockey house for two weeks, and it’s been a great two weeks. The guys have been so nice and welcoming, and I have my girls around too. There is no tension like my old house. It’s also way cleaner and newer. There are no mice running around, which is huge. Now I am headed out for my Thursday night shift at Black Jack’s. Thankfully, I can wear leggings to work because the button on my jeans started pressing into my belly. The weather is unusually warm for this time of year as I head into Black Jack’s. Aaron and I had a serious talk about not hiding the pregnancy. I don’t like having attention on me, and when people on campus find out I am carrying Aaron Murray’s baby, I fear the spotlight will be shining on me. Problem is, Aaron wants to be seen with me. He wants us to meet for lunch at school, and he wants to stop sneaking around like we’ve done something wrong. Our friends all know about the pregnancy, and they’ve done a good job of keeping things quiet, but Aaron is right. This baby is happening, and we need to be in it together, which is why I agreed we can share the news with people who aren’t living in the hockey house.

I head into Black Jack’s and see Jace, my boss. “Hi, Jace.”

“Briar.” He nods.

“Um, I want to let you know that I am, uh. . .having a baby. I won’t be due until September so if it’s okay with you, I’d like to continue working. If you have any extra shifts, I’d like to pick those up too.”

“Oh, wow. Congratulations,” he says, seeming shocked. We don’t exactly get a lot of pregnant servers around here since we are all students.

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