Mollie

That was, quite possibly, the most embarrassing moment of my life. I cried after someone complimented my ass. It wasn’t just that Cam was being sweet about wanting to cheer me up. It was a combination of things. The view. Seeing him interact with Emersyn. And knowing that I have to share my secret soon, when part of me likes having this little pinecone all to myself. Worrying about his reaction. All of it.

If I’m not crying, I’m horny, hence letting him kiss me. What was I thinking? That’s all pregnancy is for me at this point—crying over nothing and fantasizing about everything. I feel like I have exactly zero control over my emotions or hormones, and that’s the most frustrating part.

This morning, Tuck planned to keep me company, but my brothers wanted him to go boarding. He was reluctant, but I told him he should go. I’m not his girlfriend. It’s time for us to act like it. After I took the lift back down, I didn’t wait for anyone. I decided to go back to my room and get ready for tonight. Besides, I needed a minute to clear my head after running into Cam for the second time in as many days. Small towns suck.

Sutton and I have plans, so I showered and then grabbed a quick bite to eat with Tuck. Now, I’m staring at my suitcase, debating what to wear. I’m not sure what we’re doing, but I think she said something about going to her friend’s house. Since I don’t think we’re going to be out in public, I decide to wear a cute gray formfitting wrap dress that does nothing to hide my growing stomach and my taupe-y suede over-the-knee boots. I throw on a gray scarf and an oversized cardigan, grab my purse, and head down to the lobby, hoping I’m not unlucky enough to run into Camden Hess for a third time. Sutton’s waiting for me in her SUV outside the revolving doors, and I rush toward the passenger door, already feeling the bitter cold seeping into my bones. Sutton squeals when I open the door, hugging me over the middle console.

“I fucking missed you!” she yells into my ear. “And look at you!” She pulls back, pushing my cardigan out of the way to get a better look. “I knew. I just fucking knew it,” she says, shaking her head.

“What?” I ask defensively.

“I knew you’d be the cutest pregnant bitch alive. You’re all tummy, and even that is tiny.”

“I’m only like twenty weeks. You’ll have to roll me around soon.”

“Doubtful,” she says, pulling out of the parking lot.

“So, where are we going again?”

“I asked my friend Briar to hang out earlier. She’s sort of new in town, but she’s good people. You’ll like her. She invited us to hang out at her friend’s house.”

“Like, a party?” I ask. “Because I don’t want to be the pregnant chick at the party.”

“No.” Sutton laughs, “They’re just hanging out. Probably playing some pool and some snowskate.”

“What the hell is snowskate?”

“Like skateboarding…in the snow.”

“So, snowboarding?”

“Huh,” Sutton says, looking contemplative. “I never thought of that. They’re different somehow.” She shrugs. “Anyway, Briar is gorgeous and the most genuine chick I know—besides you,” she adds belatedly. “And her fiancé? Jesus Christ, that guy is probably the hottest guy I’ve ever seen in real life. I mean, I’m a little afraid of him, but he’s fun to look at.”

“You’re a mess.” I laugh.

“Says the pregnant girl in denial,” she slings back, rolling her eyes.

“Shut up! I am not in denial. I’m very aware that I’m going to be in charge of a human life in just a couple of months.”

“And you’re going to rock it, so get that panicked look off your face. This is a good thing, Mollie. The best thing, even if you can’t see it now.”

My stupid pregnancy hormones strike again, and it’s all I can do to nod without bursting into tears. I’ve been working temp jobs since being laid off, while looking for other career opportunities. I still live with my best friend-slash-fake boyfriend. The baby’s father doesn’t even know. I feel like a failure of a mom and my kid hasn’t even been born.

I turn up the radio to avoid talking about this particular subject, and “Closer” by The Chainsmokers blares from the speakers. We’re driving for longer than I expected, past the city limits. There aren’t any streetlights out here, and the roads are long and windy.

“Are you sure you’re not actually taking me somewhere to kill me?” I ask, only half-joking.

“I’m just following the directions she gave me. I’ve never been out this far.”

We drive for a more miles on the edge of the lake, the road becoming increasingly narrow, and the sky darker. The snow is really starting to come down now, and the streets are covered in white. Finally, we pull up to a dark brown cabin. It’s covered in snow, and there are three guys with what appears to be skateboards without the wheels and one tiny blonde girl bundled up, standing in the front yard.

The blonde, whom I assume is Briar, waves as we walk up the icy driveway.

“Be careful,” she says, gesturing to the ground. “It’s super slippery.”

Sutton and Briar hug, and when they pull apart, Briar beams at me. “I’m Briar,” she says, holding out a hand. I take it and introduce myself.

“This is Asher,” she says, tugging him over by his arm. Damn. Sutton is right. He’s nice to look at, but intimidating as hell. He gives me a nod, squeezes Briar’s ass, and kisses the top of her head before he jumps onto his skateboard without wheels and slides down the little hill in the yard.

“This is Adrian, who’s basically my brother,” she says, pointing to a guy who smiles suggestively at me, his deep dimples on display. “My actual brother is…away,” she says cryptically. “And this is Dare. He’s grumpy, but he’s harmless.”

Tall and tattooed grunts at me in response. He looks vaguely familiar. They’re all gorgeous, but Dare is like the leader of the beautiful, and even more threatening than Asher. I think it’s a rule that you must be ridiculously attractive to hang out with this crowd.

“We should go inside before the ladies get cold,” Adrian says.

“We’re fine,” Sutton insists.

“Not you. I mean these assholes,” he says, flicking his chin toward Dare and Asher.

“Where did Tweedledee and Tweedledum go?” Asher asks, as if suddenly noticing someone is missing, as we walk inside.

“They’ll be right back,” Dare says, holding the door open for us.

Inside, it’s sort of bare—which is to be expected for a guy’s house. What I don’t expect is how beautiful it is. Tall, wooden beams and vaulted ceilings. Floor-to-ceiling windows. A pool table sits in the middle of an open room off to the side of the kitchen, and there are two rustic brown couches that sit in front of a somewhat formidable fireplace made from stone.

Sutton takes off her coat, revealing a cream color off-the-shoulder sweater and skinny black jeans, and Briar tells her to hang it on the hook by the door. I follow suit, hanging my cardigan and scarf next to hers.

Sutton’s hands are immediately on my belly. “I can’t even handle it, Molls. This is amazing.”

“You’re pregnant?” Briar asks, extending her hand, but she snatches it back before she makes contact. “Can I feel? I mean, is that weird?” I laugh and assure her that I don’t mind.

I know a lot of pregnant women hate their stomachs being touched—I’ve been on enough online baby forums to know that’s generally a no-no—but I’m not one of those women. I think it’s sweet. Ask me again when a stranger tries it, though, and I might answer differently.

I don’t even see how it happens, but Adrian’s on his knees in front of me in a flash, adding his hand to the mix. I’ve got three sets of hands on my body—two of them belonging to strangers. This is the most action I’ve had in months.

“How far along are you?” Briar asks. “If Sutton didn’t start rubbing you like a Magic 8 Ball, I wouldn’t have even known. You’re tiny.”

“Like twenty weeks. Now is when I’ll really start packing on the pounds, or so I hear.” It feels good to talk to people about this who don’t know me or my situation. They’re just genuinely curious and excited. Babies have a way of doing that to people.

Briar is the first to step back, and Sutton is next. Adrian lingers, gripping my bump like a basketball.

“I’m weirdly aroused right now, I’m not gonna lie.”

The room goes dead silent, everyone looking to each other, each expression a variation of did he really just say that?

“What?” Adrian asks, looking around, genuinely confused.

I’m the first one to break, unable to keep the full-on belly laugh inside. Dare snorts out a laugh, and like a domino effect, everyone else follows.

Just then, I hear the front door open. It happens in slow-motion, the way I turn my head toward the sound, only to see a tattooed hand dropping a set of keys and said keys clanging to the hardwood floor. The way the smile melts off my face, and the way that happy, carefree feeling morphs into horror.

Because it’s Cam at the door, staring right at my pregnant stomach, and Adrian’s hands that are all over it.

“Who’s the pregnant chick?” a guy who looks a lot like Cam says from behind his shoulder as he chews on what appears to be a breadstick. I realize now that he’s his brother, and he was at the bar that night. That must be why Dare looked familiar to me.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Cam barks, his eyes hard in a way that I’ve never seen from him before.

“I’m sorry,” I say softly. “I was going to tell you.”

Once again, the room is quiet, everyone seemingly confused—not excluding myself—but knowing something significant is going down.

“Okay,” Briar drawls, yanking a baffled Adrian up by the back of his hoodie. “This is our cue to leave.”

The guy behind Cam moves around him, with a pizza box in one arm, and everyone makes their way up the stairs, except Sutton, who hangs back for a minute.

“I didn’t know,” she says, sincerity dripping from every word, her eyes begging me to believe her. “I swear.”

“It’s okay,” I tell her, because this moment has been a long time coming. It might be a bit more dramatic than I’d have liked it to be, but it needs to happen nonetheless.

Once we’re left alone, Cam kicks the door closed behind him and walks to the fridge, helping himself to a beer. Weirdly, I wonder how close of friends he is with these people. Obviously comfortable enough to walk in without knocking and raid Dare’s fridge. What are the odds? And why me?

“I wanted to tell you,” I say again, not having any idea where to start.

“I don’t think there’s anything to say, really,” he says with a shrug.

My eyebrows cinch together in confusion. “Can you let me explain?”

“What is there to explain? You let me kiss you when you’re pregnant. Now, I’m not the fucking moral police, but that seems a little fucked up to kiss another man when you’re pregnant, even for me. I’m sure your boyfriend super appreciates it.”

What? Is that what he thinks? That it’s Tucker’s?

“Cam—” I try again, but he interrupts me.

“And not only did you hide it from me, but then I walk in to find my friend’s hands all over you. Just how many guys have you let have a piece of that pie, Mollie Mabey?”

I can’t begin to explain the anger that ripples through me in waves. In the short time I’ve spent with him, I’ve seen fun, cocky Cam, I’ve seen moody, guarded Cam, but I’ve never seen this mean side before.

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” I seethe, walking past him to grab my sweater and stuff off the hook. “Sutton!” I yell. “I’ll be in the car.”