Chapter Four

When we arrived in the city, Jones turned to me as I was slipping my shirt back on over my head.

“You want to grab some dinner?” He asked, and I shrugged.

“Why not?”

“I know this great place across town,” he flashed me a smile, and eyed my body as I dressed myself. “Though I’m tempted to take you straight back to my place.”

“Hey, you’ve got to at least buy me dinner first,” I joked, and he shrugged.

“Whatever the lady wants!”

Before I knew it, we were in a taxi to a Thai place that Jones insisted I would love. We sat in silence on the ride over, both of us enjoying our secret little smiles as we thought about what had gone down on the plane. I knew I should have told him by now, but first -- dinner. That would be perfect. Somewhere neutral, safe, somewhere he couldn’t freak out too badly. It would be perfect.

When we arrived, I was stunned to see a cluster of photographers waiting outside the place.

“Who’s in there do you think?” I craned my neck excitedly, hoping I might catch a glimpse of a supermodel or a movie star.

“Uh, they’re probably here for me,” Jones shrugged sheepishly. I raised my eyebrows.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, come on,” he offered me his arm. “Let’s just be quick about this and not give them anything to talk about.”

I wrapped my arms around myself and kept my head down as Jones hustled me past the photographers and into the restaurant. Their cameras were flashing, making me blink uncomfortably, and I wondered who had tipped them off to us arriving.

“Fuck, that was awful,” I shook my head, and turned to see the crowd of paparazzi still waiting for us. Would my child have to put up with this?

“You want to just go back to mine?” Jones suggested. “We can get some takeout, and no-one will be trying to take our picture.”

“That sounds perfect,” I agreed, and let out a sigh of relief. Jones quickly ordered us some food which was rustled up in a matter of minutes, and then we headed back out the door and hailed a taxi before heading back to his place.

I gaped as we arrived outside the building he lived in.

“You live here?” I exclaimed, and he looked up at the building and shrugged.

“Yeah,” he nodded at a doorman, who quickly opened up the giant glass door to let us both in. “On the top floor.”

“The penthouse?”

“Damn right,” he flashed me a cocky smile and I couldn’t help but grin back. “Come on, let’s get up there- I’m freaking starving my ass off over here.”

As soon as we got upstairs, Jones pulled a couple of plates from the cupboard and we went to town on our food. I had worked up a fair appetite with all that fucking, and now I was eating for two. The thought reminded me that I still hadn’t told him, that I was running short on excuses for not having done so. I took a deep breath and turned to Jones as I hovered a chunk of satay chicken a few inches from my lips, but before I could speak, he cut in.

“So, you made it to this part of the city before?”

And with that, I was all too happy for the conversation to head down an entirely different route. Yeah, I was being cowardly, but who could blame me? I was terrified, terrified that I was going to ruin his life, that he was going to reject me and hate me forever. That I would be forced into single motherhood rather than choosing it for myself.

I ate hungrily and let him tell me about everywhere he loved in the city, why he had moved away from our hometown and how little he missed it. He told me how hard he had worked in college to get where he was.

And then, when I could listen no longer without it being weird, he turned his questions on me- asking about how I got into my job, what I had done and where I had been in the years since I had last seen him. Compared to him, my life seemed so shockingly dull, but he made me feel as though I was the most fascinating woman he’d ever met. But then, he’d always had that skill.

By the end of the evening, we were curled up on the couch with tea, reminiscing on old times together, all the shit we’d got up to in high school, and how deviant and ground-breaking it seemed at the time.

How silly and generic it came across in retrospect. But it felt surprisingly good to just talk to him, and I found myself comparing him to how he’d been back in high school, and how I found him now.

Before I knew it, a few days had passed and neither of us had made any noise about me going home. I knew I was pushing my luck, but he seemed happy to have me around and I still needed to pluck up the courage to tell him what was going on with the baby.

I knew it wasn’t fair of me to hold back on him, that I should have been open and honest as soon as I saw him, but…I was falling for him. I was developing a crush on him as fierce as the one I’d had when I first met him back in high school, but this time, I could actually do something about it.

And yeah, I knew hooking up with him and keeping things casual probably wasn’t the best way to lead up to announcing that I was pregnant, but it gave me a chance to get to know him as he was now, as opposed to the thoughtless jock I’d been acquainted with way back in high school. He had some time off from the season, and we hadn’t made a point of leaving the apartment in a week. I was glad for the privacy, and even more glad for the distraction of his company.

“You don’t mind me staying a little, do you?” I asked tentatively one morning, after the two of us woke up together, his arm draped over my waist. “It won’t be forever.”

“Not at all,” he shrugged. “I know what they can be like back in Gravesville, don’t worry. You need some time away.”

“Thanks,” I smiled at him nervously. Tell him. Tell him now.

“Besides, you do pay your rent in the most pleasing manner.” He came around the counter and put his arms around my waist, planting a kiss on my neck. I nuzzled against him without thinking, not letting myself linger on how much of a couple we were starting to become. He took a deep breath and leaned away from me, and I turned to look at him.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Can I ask you something?” He cocked his head at me.

“Sure.”

“We’re not…we’re not serious, are we?” He confirmed, his eyes widening with nervousness.

I shook my head.

“No, we’re just having fun,” I shrugged, feeling my scalp prickle a little with worry. “Why do you ask?”

“I…” He trailed off, and I stared at him, eyebrows raised, until he continued. “I’m seeing someone else.”

“What?” I jumped away from him.

“It’s nothing serious!” He protested. “I just thought you should know!”

“Who is she?”

“She’s just someone I know through work. He held his hands up. “Why does it bother you so much? I thought we weren’t serious!”

“We’re not!” I yelled, not intending to be as loud as I was. “But…fuck, you could have told me, you know?”

“I know, I know,” he conceded. “But I wasn’t sure what you saw this as, I didn’t want to disappoint you.” “Come on, Jones, I’m not a child,” I spat at him. “You need to give me some fucking credit!”

I went to the bedroom, and started gathering my things. Jones followed, his brow furrowed.

“What are you doing? Are you leaving?”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to get in the way of you dating half the city,” I shot back. I knew it was harsh, but I just…I expected him to be more open about this kind of stuff. I deserved that much, didn’t I?

“Kyra, come on!” He protested. “I’m being honest with you, I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

“It is a big deal, alright?” I spat in his direction, my voice so full of vitriol that he quietened down. “Because I didn’t come here to just…fuck you.”

“Then what? What did you come here for?” He demanded, throwing his arms in the air.

Was I really going to tell him? Like this? While my emotions were whooshing about the place so hard I could barely keep them in check?

“I’m pregnant,” I felt tears pricking my eyes as I turned to him. “And the baby’s yours.”