Page 28 of Savage

I stroked harder, faster, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t come.

I was becoming more and more frustrated by the second, so I grabbed my phone from the side of the bed and pulled up an old picture of Londyn. Looking at those gorgeous eyes did something to me, and I finally felt like I was getting somewhere when my phone started ringing and Candace’s name flashed across my screen.

She never called me, especially at this hour, so I quickly removed my hand from my boxer and answered, “Yeah?”

“Hey... um... Is this a bad time?”

“Not the greatest.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll call back later.”

I could tell by the sound of her voice that something was wrong, so I told her, “No, no. it’s fine. What’s going on?”

“I need some advice.”

I took a deep breath, hoping to clear my mind of any lingering thoughts. "Okay, what’s on your mind?”

"Well, I’m kind of in a tight spot," she said, her voice shaking slightly. “I think I might be pregnant.”

Her news took me by surprise. Candace might’ve been a hang around and made a habit of being with various men, but she was a smart girl. She’d always been careful and knew what was what. It just wasn’t something I’d expect from her, so I asked, "Are you sure?"

"I took a test, and it came back positive," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Well, damn.”

“I know.” I could tell she was on the brink of tears when she said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Alright, now. Enough of that. We’ll figure this thing out.” I’d always considered Candace a friend, but we weren’t exactly close, which led me to wonder why she thought I was the one to turn to about this. “Have you told any of the girls about this?”

"No way,” she scoffed. “I mean, I love ‘em. I really do, but they don’t know how to keep their mouths shut. Everyone would know, and I really don’t want that. Not until I know what’s really going on.”

“Understood. I’ll keep it quiet.”

“Thank you, Malcomb.” I could tell she was on the verge of crying when she asked, “What am I going to do? I can’t have a baby right now.”

"Look, you don't have to make any decisions right now. I’ll come by Monday morning, and we'll go see a doctor and figure out everything from there.”

“Okay. Thanks, Malcomb.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” I assured her. “Now, get some sleep, and I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

After a quick goodbye, she ended the call. It wasn’t exactly the distraction I was hoping for, but it was enough to get my mind off of Londyn—at least for the time being. I tossed my phone down on the bed beside me, and it wasn’t long until I finally put my long night behind me and I dozed off.

I spent the rest of the weekend trying to keep myself busy with various projects around the house. I mowed, caught up on some laundry, and washed my bike and truck—anything to keep my mind off of things I didn’t want to think about.

And for the most part, it worked.

I made it through the entire weekend without getting stuck in my head about Londyn. When Monday finally rolled around, I got up an hour earlier than usual and drove over to Candace’s place. When I pulled up, I found her sitting on her front porch swing, and I could tell from the driveway that she’d been crying.

As soon as she spotted me, she gathered her things and started down the steps. Once she was in the truck, she feigned a smile and said, “Thanks for doing this, Savage. I owe you one.”

“You’ve come in clutch for me a time or two. It’s only fair for me to return the favor.”

She nodded, then settled back in her seat.

I could tell by the tension radiating off of her that she didn’t want to talk, and I was good with that. It wasn’t like I had any great words of wisdom for her. In fact, I had no idea what to say and feared I might make matters worse by saying something she didn’t want to hear.

When we got to the doctor’s office, I parked and was about to get out when I noticed that Candace hadn’t moved. Realizing she needed a moment, I settled back in my seat and waited. After several moments, she finally whispered, “I barely knew the guy... We met at Puckett’s a few weeks back. We’d only gone out a couple of times, but I really liked him.”

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