Jennifer looked at the calendar at the bar and frowned. It was already the fifteenth? She usually had her period by then. Maybe something was wrong. She had heard that stress can change a woman’s cycle. It was possible she had just been worrying too much about what had gone wrong with Dax and her body was suffering for it. Too much stress could take a toll. She would just have to learn how to relax.
“Another drink!”
That would be easier said than done. There was always someone at the bar who wanted to give her a hard time. Maybe she should just quit careers if that was the case. That, or…
No, that couldn’t be possible. There was no way she was pregnant. She only had sex once in the past year, and with one person. If she was pregnant, that would mean…
“I said another drink!”
“I heard you!” Jennifer snapped, turning to the tap and filling the man’s mug. She hoped to God there wasn’t any possible way she might be pregnant. She felt too freaked out at the moment to even just get a test. If she was pregnant, then she was clearly destined to a life of being a single mother. Dax hadn’t gotten in touch with her in two weeks and she was pretty sure whatever had gone wrong in the woods with him had been a deal breaker.
The idea of raising a baby on her own was terrifying. Why hadn’t she just put out? At least that way he would have probably stopped by the bar by now. It wasn’t like she hadn’t liked him enough to do it again. She never had one-night stand with anybody and she wanted to start fresh with him. A first date should be meaningful and natural, and it had been. At least she thought it had been.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bell over the door of the bar and a deep, burly voice that electrified her senses carried to her.
“Jennifer.”
“Dax!”
She tried not to sound too eager but couldn’t seem to help herself. She had been wondering what had happened to him, and now that she saw him, she couldn’t help but feel bad. He was disheveled and looked tired, as if he had just gone through hell and somehow managed to survive it.
“Hey. You know what? I don’t have your phone number, and shit has been so busy with work lately, then Marnie got sick. Anyway, I just thought I would drop by after work. I can’t stay long, though.”
“Thank you,” Jennifer said. Her relief to see him soon turned to horror. What if she really was pregnant with this man’s child? Should she tell him now before she knew for sure? What a bizarre coincidence she should just be thinking about him and then he just show up like this.
But was it really a coincidence? If she was being honest with herself, she’d been thinking of little else. She had been longing for some kind of resolution after the bizarre date they’d had and now he was here, offering some kind of explanation for his absence, which was a start, but…
“Listen. I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me again, this time on a Friday. The babysitter can stay later the weekends.”
Jennifer blinked hard. “This Friday?”
“Yes, this Friday,” Dax said, grinning. “If it works for you, I mean. We can use my car this time.”
Jennifer laughed despite herself. “All right.”
“Great! I’ll see you then. Pick you up here again, right?”
“Sure,” Jennifer said. She wasn’t sure she was ready for him to know where she lived. and to be honest, she was scared. What if this next date didn’t work out and she was left feeling like shit again? Worse, what if she did end up being pregnant? If he showed up unannounced one day, who knows what could happen, especially if he was a deadbeat.
“Okay,” Dax said, his handsome face sending a wave of panic through Jennifer’s body. “I’ll see you Friday.”
Dax turned around and left and Jen cursed at herself. Why had she accepted his offer at the bar? She had set a precedence for the regulars who in their drunken stupors, often begged her to go out with them. If anybody had heard their conversation, it was likely she would have some issues at some point down the line, she just had to hope that wouldn’t happen, but that was the least of her worries. If she really had skipped her period, who knew what could happen? Dax already had a child. Would he really want another one? She was going to have to talk to him about it, maybe on Friday, but before she brought it up, she would have to find out for sure whether she was actually with child. There was no point in worrying him over nothing. She would have to let him know she was willing to take care of a child on her own.
Wow. She had always imagined being a parent but didn’t think it would happen so suddenly. Raising a child was something she’d always wanted to do, she just always pictured having the right person to do it with.
Well, that was up to Dax. If they hit it off on Friday, maybe they would end up being more than just friends, especially with a baby in the equation. However, she didn’t want to use that as a way to get him closer to her.
Jennifer groaned. Things had just gotten way more complicated. What she would do was go to a doctor and find out for sure before Friday. She had all week to get it sorted out and if she did find out she was pregnant… well, then it would just be a big surprise that would lead to another disappointing date.
Not that the romantic atmosphere of the most beautiful thing she had ever seen was a disappointment; she had been so shocked and captivated by the sight. It was just that she had been hoping for something a bit more from Dax. Something more intimate, maybe.
Jen shook the thought away. Focus on the now. Serve drinks. Get a pregnancy test. Do her best to survive the week, and make it to their date on Friday without any major emotional breakdowns over the possibility of having a child with a man who didn’t love her. Then, and only then, let herself think about Dax. She was going to need to save her strength if it turned out what her intuition was telling her was true.
Everything was going to be all right. It had to be. And even if it wasn’t, well… she was a strong woman. She would figure it out on her own, just like she always had before. Dax or no Dax.