“You got somewhere to be, man? You’ve been checking your watch like you got a hot date.”

Ignoring Kevin’s comment, I calculated. Her exam finished at three and it was now one-fifty, which meant she had an hour and fifteen minutes left. Seventy-five minutes before she was through with her exams. Seventy-five minutes before we could resume our relationship and get past this break we were on.

Technically, I’d promised her we’d talk after our exams were over, but I couldn’t wait another day until my final exam. What was important was that she was finished with hers, and whatever intense discussion we would have wouldn’t distract her from anything serious going on with her now.

She’d promised to go to Aspen with me after my summer course ended in June. I was impatient for us to be at my condo and explore other aspects of our relationship together. Would we be compatible living together? Maybe I’d propose to her then. I’d gone ahead and gotten the ring from Tiffany’s. The jeweler had advised me it was sizeable so we could always resize it if I’d gotten it too big, but I thought it was the perfect fit. I had an eye for small details and the way we usually grasped each other’s hands and intertwined our fingers while we made love made me very familiar with the texture, the size, and the delicate shape of her fingers.

“Today’s Debra’s final exam,” I told Kevin.

“And what exactly does that mean?”

“The end of the break in our relationship,” I responded with a grin. “And about damn time too. Man, this is the hardest thing I ever had to deal with, but you know what? It’s actually done some good. It makes me appreciate her more and how happy she makes me when I’m around her.”

“All I know is that girl’s turned you into a damn monk! Weren’t you ever tempted?”

“To be honest, I’ve been too preoccupied about us to think about anybody else.”

He scoffed at me. “It’s me, man. You don’t have to pretend. Your girl has you on a starving sex diet and everywhere you turn on this campus, you see a sexy, slutty babe and you’re telling me you’ve never been tempted! I simply don’t believe that.”

I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what you believe. I’m telling you how it is. She’s not just another broad, bro.”

“Next, you’re going to tell me you’re gonna wife her.” When I didn’t deny it, his eyes widened in disbelief. “No way! You can’t be serious. You’re twenty-two, man.”

“What’s age got to do with it? You can find the right person any time, and she’s my right person.”

“Whatever, man.”

I saw him look over my shoulder and stiffen and I turned slightly to see what had changed his mood so suddenly. I mirrored his reaction when I saw Rozanne observing us. She caught my eye and blew me a kiss. I was still trying to figure out what game she was playing. She seemed to be everywhere of late, always looking at me with a smirk as if she knew my dirty little secret. I didn’t have any dirty little secret, so this was absurd, of course.

I turned back to Kevin whose reaction made me think he had been way too involved with Rozanne.

“Whatever the hell happened between you two anyway?” I asked him. “Why is she back to following me around and trying to get back into my bed?”

“Ask her that, don’t ask me,” he mumbled and got to his feet, grabbing his books from the table. “I’ve got to go. Catch you later.”

He was gone before I could ask him to elaborate. Whatever was the matter between them, Rozanne was his problem and I didn’t want her back in my life to wreak more havoc.

I returned to my studies, wishing I had enough time to talk with Debra when she finished her exam, but I had mine from four to six. The last thing I wanted to do was to have another failed course to re-sit. I intended for this summer course to be the very last that I would do to graduate.

At three, I took a break from going over the material and texted Debra. I hadn’t seen her since the day I’d given her the letter from the bank but we maintained a texting relationship which was better than nothing. Previously, she would have ignored my messages, but she texted back, making me more confident and relaxed about us.

Hey, how was your exam?

I didn’t get an immediate response from her and left the library to get prepared for my exam. In my dorm room, I gathered the items I needed, ensuring I slipped my ID in my pocket as without it, I wouldn’t be permitted into the exam room. I was about to leave to walk over to the exam room when she replied.

It was good. Pretty sure I aced it.

I grinned at her cockiness. She was always positive she aced her exams, which I didn’t doubt for one minute. She was sharp, studious, and interested in what she was doing. Those three factors were a winning combination for her. I was impressed at her aptitude for academics and very proud of her achievements. I knew I’d done the right thing for her, getting her out of that bond.

Smarty pants, I’m sure you did too. Can I come over and see you after my exam? I sent to her.

Her response this time was quick. How about tomorrow? Been studying real hard and want to have an early night.

Although I was disappointed, I supposed waiting one more day couldn’t hurt. Okay. I’ll take you out for breakfast tomorrow at eight.

“Sounds fine. Good luck on your exam.”

I glanced at the time and realized if I didn’t make a mad dash, I would be late. Getting in a queue and filing into the exam room in of itself took several minutes.

Quickly, I sent her a thank you with a heart emoticon and hurried over to the exam room. Now wasn’t the time to think about her not repeating what I’d heard the other day, that she loved me too. Almost as if I had heard wrong but I hadn’t. The words I love you too, Lucas had come out her mouth and I wanted her to say it again and again but she never did.

We would talk about it tomorrow but right now, I had an exam to do on Ecology and Sustainability and I couldn’t be distracted.

Two hours later, I walked out the exam room with mixed feelings. I preferred not discussing exams with other students afterwards, so headed back to my dorm room to get away from the chattering of the others over what answer they came up with for a particular question. Nothing was worse about an exam but having anxiety after doing it, as if worrying about it would change what was already written on the paper.

“Hey, Lucas, how was the exam?”

I groaned at the sound of Rozanne’s voice and lengthened my strides. Maybe if I ignored her, she would go away. She didn’t. She ran after me until she was in front me, blocking my path and walking backway.

“I just want to—ah!”

I wished I could have let her fall but I didn’t have the heart. Walking backway as she was doing, she stumbled over the uneven ground and would have fallen if I hadn’t reacted quickly and grabbed her about the waist. Her hands wrapped around my biceps as I steadied her on her feet. She smiled flirtatiously at me and squeezed my bulging biceps.

I let her go as if I was burnt. “What must I do for you to leave me be, Rozanne?” I demanded in frustration. “Why have you been following me around?”

“Well, you’re being rude.” She stuck out her bottom lip. “If you’re not kind to me, I won’t share my little secret with you.”

“I don’t have time for your foolishness.” I brushed by her and continued on my way.

“It’s about your girlfriend. Debra, her name is, isn’t it?”

That stopped me in my tracks and I spun towards her, not able to read her features to figure out if this was another tactic of hers to gain my attention.

“You leave Debra alone, Rozanne, or I swear to God—”

“What the hell is special about her anyway?” she cried. “It’s not that she’s prettier than I, and she sure as hell doesn’t have the money.”

“For one, she has class,” I answered. “Something you know nothing about. Not to mention she is honest and smart.”

Rozanne threw her head back and laughed. “My, my, are you in for the surprise of your life. Take a good look at your girlfriend, Lucas. She has nothing. She’s using you to get what she can out of you. She’s no better than the rest of us. But you’re right about one thing. She is far smarter than any of us other girls you’ve dated. So far, she’s going to get the most out of you.”

“I don’t have time for this.”

“Something tells me you’re going to need a whole lot of time in the future,” she said to my departing back. “After all, being a father is very time consuming.”

Once more, her words stopped me from walking away like I wanted to do. When I turned to demand an explanation, she had started to saunter off. I changed course and tackled her, taking hold of her by the shoulders, spinning her around to face me. I was fuming.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re trying to say,” I ground out through clenched teeth. “But if you’re pregnant, you and I both know there’s no way that kid is mine.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “I wish I was the one pregnant for you. I would be raking in money from you for years to come. Unfortunately, Debra is the one carrying your child. At least, I assume it’s yours.”

“Don’t be foolish. Debra’s not pregnant.”

“Hmm, how would you know? I’ve been trailing her since I saw her in the bathroom over a week ago talking to you. The oversized shirt, the unbuttoned pants. That girl looks like she’s several months pregnant, Lucas.”

Alarm gripped me as Debra’s appearance the last time I encountered her flashed through my mind. Of late, she always wore oversized Ts. Hadn’t I thought she had put on weight? Plus, she’d suddenly drawn back and declared us on a break for no apparent reason.

“You don’t have to believe me,” Rozanne announced slyly. “Go to her and ask her. Better yet, ask her to remove her shirt.”

“That can’t be,” I said in alarm. “She can’t be pregnant. She would have told me.”

“Don’t be stupid, Lucas.” She looked at me with disgust. “It’s almost comical how you’ve suspected every girl you’ve been with of wanting a relationship with you for your money. You never had sex with me without a condom, even when I told you I was on the pill. You’re smart enough to put two and two together. She’s not going to tell you and have you convince her to abort the child. She’s going to wait until she’s too far gone and an abortion is out of the question. Then you’ll be saddled paying child support through your teeth.”

She pulled away from me and flounced away, leaving her accusations in my ears. I felt cold inside, dead, my heart tripping over itself, the way it was beating hard. Debra was good and honest. She’d been innocent.

Then why was she pregnant? She’d assured me both times we had unprotected sex she would take the emergency contraceptive pills and although it wasn’t foolproof, it was too much of a coincidence that she ended up pregnant. Had I been right all along?

Like the hounds of hell were at my feet, I ran toward her dorm. I didn’t care if she was exhausted and sleeping. I wanted answers and I wanted them now. Not tomorrow. If the conniving little witch had tricked me and was pregnant, I’d… I didn’t know what I would do, but no way I would allow her to carry that child. I didn’t want a child born out of deception and greed.

I almost knocked over a few girls along the corridor of her hall and with a mumbled apology, I continued, not stopping until I was at her door—the door I’d come to so many times and had been turned away. Her roommate had to know. They both had to be in on it.

I pounded on the door. “Debra! Debra!”

Her roommate opened the door as I expected. She cracked the door and observed me nervously.

“Hello, umm… Debra isn’t it at the moment.”

She wasn’t in? She’d told me she was having an early night.

“I’m done with the pitiful excuses!” I snapped and pushed the door open, forcing myself into the room.

“You can’t come in here!” the roommate argued.

“Watch me.” Ignoring her, I looked to Debra’s bed but she wasn’t on it. “Where is she? Hiding in the bathroom?”

“No, I told she’s out.”

“Then you’ll have no problem with me checking that out for myself.”

“No, you’ve got to leave! Now! Or I’ll report you.”

“Go right ahead, sweetheart,” I told her, stalking to the bathroom. “I’m not leaving without talking to Debra, even if I have to stick around here all night!”

The bathroom was empty. I had hoped she was hiding there so I could get this over with quickly. I almost shut the door before something struck me as odd. I’d been in this bathroom before and there was a difference. Debra’s toiletries were all gone.

I returned to the bedroom and checked her bed. It was stripped except for a fitted sheet, as the students did before they left for summer. Her work station was empty, and her computer gone.

“Lucas, please!”

I shook off the hand the roommate placed on my shoulder and went to Debra’s closet. Empty. Not a sign she had ever been here. Rozanne was right. Debra had lied to me. She’d deliberately refrained from taking the pills and now she was pregnant with my baby. A baby she would use to get as much out of me as she could.

I did the calculations. She had to have conceived back in December. It couldn’t be the second time we’d had sex or she wouldn’t have started showing so early. That meant she was five months pregnant.

My heart sank further. She was too far gone to have an abortion now. I would be saddled with a kid I didn’t want and live with the regret of ever falling for her.