Waste My Time by Kelsey Clayton
One of thebest parts of my job is that when it's dead, I can study for finals. With pregnancy comes a whole range of different things. One minute I'll feel perfectly fine, and the next, I'm puking my guts out because I let a piece of avocado touch my tongue. So, I need to take any time to study that I can.
“Kennedy Madison!”
Well, there goes studying.
Amelia storms over to the bar and throws herself onto a barstool. I try to keep my attention on the screen, but I can feel her eyes burning into the side of my face. Honestly, I should've expected this the second Easton texted me about it.
“What the fuck is this shit I hear that you're not telling us the gender yet?”
I look over at her and smile sweetly. “We have so many friends. We just want to tell you all at once. Like a gender reveal party.”
She crosses her arms and rests them on the bar. “You are not the type to want a blue or pink colored cake or explosions. You're doing this to torture me.”
“I am not,” I say with a chuckle.
“You are. You want to see me suffer.”
Closing my computer, I sigh. “We just want to make it special and tell you all at the same time. That way no one feels left out.”
That seems to soften her a little. “Fair, but this is my niece or nephew. I think I deserve to know first.”
“Sorry, babe.”
She scoffs. “But Easton gets to know!”
“Easton's the dad,” I snicker. “He helped make this baby. It gives him certain perks.”
“And one of those perks isn't getting you back?” Her brows raise, and a small smirk is displayed on her face.
All the playfulness is sucked out of the room as the smile falls off my face. “Amelia.”
“What? A girl can hope, can't I?”
“It's just not the time to even consider it,” I tell her honestly. “We're in a good place, him and me, but that's all the more reason not to risk it. It's not something I'm taking off the table forever, but it's not just the two of us anymore. There's a baby to think about.”
She tilts her head to the side. “And this baby, will they be wearing a dress or a tux at my wedding?”
“You're a terror,” I deadpan.
“I know.”
The angelic smile she gives me is such a crock of shit. The girl acts like a saint, but she's forgetting that I've seen the devious side of her. The side that gets what she wants no matter what it takes. The part of her that wanted to walk on the wild side so bad, she dated a psychotic drug dealer who literally set our dorm room on fire.
Amelia walks around the bar and gets herself a soda. “I can't believe neither one of you will tell me. He wouldn't even tell our parents last night.”
Shit, I forgot he planned on breaking the news of the pregnancy to them. “You were there?”
“Yeah. I hadn't seen them in a little over a week, so I went with him.” I give her a don't-bullshit-me look. “And because I wanted to eavesdrop.”
“That sounds more accurate,” I say, amused. “So, how'd it go? Is he still alive? Is he on his way to join the monastery and become a monk?”
She purses her lips. “Actually, that's not a bad idea. Mom would like that.”
“Amelia!”
Chuckling, she finally takes mercy on me. “Okay, okay. No, it went fine. I mean, Mom nearly lost her shit when she found out he lied to you and went behind your back, but then she got all lost in baby thoughts and nursery plans.”
My brows raise. “He told them why we broke up?”
“Well, yeah. He didn't want them to think any less of you for leaving him.”
I throw my head back and groan. “God, he makes this so hard!”
“Who's hard?” Tye's voice echoes through the nearly empty bar as she comes in.
Amelia glances back at her. “Easton is being all chivalrous and gentlemanly and it's testing Kennedy's restraints.”
Instead of walking around the bar, Tye hops up onto it and dangles her feet on the inside. “So, go fuck it out of your system.”
“Oh, gross,” Amelia whines and cringes.
“What?” Tye questions. “She deserves a medal for resisting him. Your brother's hot, Meelz.”
Amelia feigns gagging and throws a hand over her mouth. “I think I might vomit.”
“His eyes and those muscles,” Tye continues.
“Keep going,” Amelia encourages. “I'm sure Carter will love to hear all of this.”
Tyeler gasps. “You wouldn't dare.”
A devilish grin stretches across Amelia's face. “Bet me.”
“Okay, while you two are being children, I have to pee,” I tell them. “Sharing a bladder and all that.”
They both wave me off, and Amelia immediately turns back to Tye. “Did you hear they won't tell us the gender until Saturday?”
“I know! It's such bullshit!”
“I heard that!” I call out.
“You were meant to,” they answer in unison.
Bitches.
IS THERE SUCH THING as filling my brain too much? I honestly think that if I study any more, my whole brain is just going to explode. Useless facts and equations will just go flying everywhere, making a mess of my room and leaving this baby without a mother. I can almost read my tombstone now.
Kennedy Lehigh
Death by Boredom
And Easton will need to raise our child on his own. They'll end up thinking cereal is a suitable dinner and beer is the equivalent to water. Oh God, no one can ever let Easton be a single father. Our baby would never stand a chance.
My phone rings and pulls me from my irrational thoughts.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” Alec's voice comes through. “What are you up to?”
I lay down on my bed and stare up at the ceiling. “Contemplating if college degrees are really worth all the stress we put ourselves through for them.”
He chuckles. “Of course they're not. It'll just be a piece of paper you can hang on your wall to make you look smart.”
“Are you calling me stupid, Alec?” I tease.
“That depends. Are your hormones making you extra stabby today?”
“Yes.”
“Then no. I'm absolutely not calling you stupid.”
I roll my eyes and switch the phone from one hand to the other. “So, what's up? You need something?”
The sound of his truck starting fills the background noise. “I just wanted to know if you need a ride to Amelia's later. I have some shit to do right now, but I can swing by on my way there and get you.”
Oh, crap. “I, uh...I don't actually. Easton is going to come get me. We're going to lunch before the party.”
It was Easton's idea, and a cute one if I'm honest. He called me a few days ago and asked if he could take me to lunch. Let everyone show up at his house while we're not there yet so no one tries to get us to spill the beans early. And I can't seem to forget the excitement in his voice when I agreed to it.
Alec exhales. “So, you and Easton, huh?”
“Don't do this.”
“I'm just asking a question,” he reasons.
He's not, and I'm not stupid enough to believe that, but I answer anyway. “It's just lunch, Alec. And even if it wasn't, he's the father of my child.”
Cursing under his breath, he groans. “You're right. I'm sorry. I'll see you tonight.”
The tone of his voice tells me he's anything but happy about my plans, but before I can say anything about it, he hangs up. I drop the phone onto my bed and throw my arm over my eyes.
It's not that I haven't given Alec an answer to his proposition because I'm actually considering it. No part of me wants anything more than a friendship with him. But I'm afraid that if I tell him that, he'll vanish from my life. It's selfish and inconsiderate, I know, but I've really enjoyed having him back and I don’t want to lose him.
Why does everything always have to be so damn complicated?
THE RESTAURANT EASTON BRINGSme to is a cute little place just outside of North Haven. It sits against a lake, with a gorgeous view of the forest behind it. It doesn't exactly look new, but being as Easton needed his GPS to find it, I'm guessing it's new for both of us.
As the hostess shows us to our table, one that is right next to the oversized windows, Easton pulls my chair out for me and helps me sit down. The move catches me off guard, since he's never done anything like this before. Our relationship always felt casual until recently, though that could be because my feelings for him always felt unrequited until now.
“This place is nice,” I tell him as I pick up my menu.
He smiles proudly. “Yeah, I asked around and did some research. This was the top choice by a long shot.”
“You put that much effort into this?”
Looking up at me, I've never seen so much sincerity in him. “I put that much effort into you.”
My cheeks heat as I blush and I'm saved from having to respond by the waitress coming over to take our orders. After she leaves to put everything in, we fall into a comfortable conversation that is far away from the dangerous zone we were just in.
“So, are you excited to put everyone out of their misery?” he questions.
My nose scrunches. “Honestly? I've kind of been enjoying seeing them suffer.”
His brows raise. “We could cancel the party and make them wait until the birth.”
“Your sister would stick us both in a torture chamber until we tell her.”
He throws his head back laughing because he knows I'm right. “And my parents think I'm the unstable one.”
“Yeah, well, let's hope that's not true,” I tell him, bracing for impact as I stare back at him. “Alec will be at the party today.”
Dropping his head, he groans. “We were having a good day.”
“I know,” I say sorrowfully. “But I wanted to give you the heads up before we get there.”
“Why does he even have to be there?”
“Because he's my friend.”
He eyes me intently. “Oh, okay. So, I can invite Tessa then.”
I know there is no venom to his words, he's only trying to prove a point, but they still sting regardless. “That's not the same thing.”
“She was my friend. How is it not?” he argues.
“Because I've never seen Alec naked.”
The two of us stare at each other from across the table, neither one backing down. I hold my head high and refuse to break eye-contact, so he knows that I'm not fucking around. Finally, a hint of a smile graces Easton's face.
“He better thank fuck for that.”
WE PULL UP TOEaston's house an hour after the party started. Amelia’s been firebombing both our phones, demanding to know where we are and when we're getting here. Parked cars line the street on both sides, but thankfully, they were smart enough to leave the driveway open for us.
Easton hops out of the car and runs around to my side, opening the door for me. He puts out his hand and I take it willingly. We feel like a team lately, one that's so much stronger than we were before, and that's exactly what I need.
“Let's go let all our friends in on the secret,” he tells me.
I look up at him, a wide smile on my face. “I hope he has your eyes.”