Page 113 of When We Were Reckless
Pregnant? He didn’t just say that. He couldn’t have. “Carly’s pregnant?” I croaked.
Mason nodded and scrubbed his hands over his face.
Holden muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like,You dumb fuck.
“Is it yours?” I blurted.
Mason glared at me. Holden burst out laughing.
“I’m sorry. It’s just….” I cleared my throat. “I didn’t know if you were exclusive or….” His eyes narrowed on me, a warning to stop talking. I clamped my mouth shut. This obviously wasn’t the time to question his relationship status. And what did that have to do with anything? Accidents happen all the time.
Holden was laughing again. I elbowed him in the ribs and shot him a look.
“Shit. Sorry. No idea why I’m laughing.”
“Probably because it’s not happening to you,” Mason muttered.
“I always keep it wrapped.”
“So do I,” Mason said between clenched teeth.
“Yeah, okay. Because pulling out is risky. You might think you got out in time—”
“I used a fucking condom,” Mason gritted out. “I don’t know how the hell this happened.”
“Guess you have some strong swimmers that were just busting to get out.”
I snort-laughed at Holden’s observation. This whole conversation was so ridiculous. Mason glared at me again, and the laughter died on my lips.
This wasn’t funny. Not even a little bit. Mason was going to be a dad. Adad. Holy crap. And Carly… I couldn’t even imagine her with a baby. I didn’t know her that well, but I’d been around her all summer, and I knew she liked to party. From the sounds of it, she and Tasha were always going out to bars and throwing parties. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but now she was going to be a mother.
“What are you going to do?” Holden asked.
“She said she’s going to take care of it.”
It took a moment for Mason’s words to sink in, but Holden’s response was immediate.
“Take care of it? Fuck, man. And you just let her leave? You need to go talk to her.”
“Holden’s right. If she thinks you don’t want the baby, she might...” I didn’t even want to think what she might do, but Mason had to stop her. He couldn’t expect her to deal with this on her own.
“Idon’twant the baby.”
My jaw dropped in shock. Ilovedbabies. Who didn’t? Only yesterday, I’d been holding Gracie. So innocent and adorable and trusting. I’d just wanted to inhale her scent and kiss her sweet cheeks all day long. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s the truth. I don’t want a kid right now.”
Holden grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a shake. “Get your shit together. Man the fuck up.”
“God, that’s so low, Mason. No wonder she’s upset. She’s pregnant with your baby, and she’s hormonal, and you sent her away crying? If you don’t do the right thing, I’ll….” I crossed my arms. “I’ll lose all respect for you.”
“Bean. Don’t say that.” Mason sounded so weary that I instantly regretted my words. “You don’t even know the story, okay?”
It was true. I didn’t know the story. And I didn’t know Carly that well, so I didn’t owe her my loyalty, but I was fighting for the sisterhood. A guy should never feel like he’s free to just walk away. It takes two to play, and now he has to take responsibility. “I know, but all I’m saying is that you’re a good guy, so I know you’ll do the right thing. You just need to get used to the idea.”
To soften the blow, I patted his arm a few times. Which was obviously the wrong thing to do. He scowled, and I dropped my hand to my side. I wasn’t sure how he would get used to the idea of having a baby with a girl he clearly didn’t love. If he loved her, he would have had a different reaction. He would have still been shocked, but he would have been happy about it.
“Quinn’s right. No matter how it happened, it’s your kid, and you have to step up to the plate and deal with this.”
