Page 42 of My Girlfriend is Not the Father

Jade

A rush of electricity coursed through Jade from touching Lucy’s knee, and it took a moment for Jade to withdraw. She was drunk off Italian food, flawless conversation, and Lucy’s cupid bow mouth, and couldn’t control her actions. The car turned warm, even with the air conditioning on, and Jade rolled up her sleeves to cool down.

Lucy’s chest lifted. She bit her lip and jolted forward with a metal crunching sound. ‘Grinding gears like an amateur. There goes the transmission.’ She grinned. ‘Too much spaghetti.’

Dinner had been as close to perfect as Jade could have imagined. She had expected it would be smooth – after sticking Lucy with a needle yesterday, Jade knew her on a totally different level – but it was hard to know exactly how people would act on a first date-ish.

Not a date. Not a date. But it felt like a date. Jade had dressed up like it was a date – as had Lucy. And now Jade really, really wanted to do what people sometimes do after a date.

They pulled into Lucy’s house, the last sliver of fuchsia evening sun warming her skin.

Lucy held the front door open for Jade and the sound of a trotting animal on hardwood floors grew louder. ‘Hi, baby. Were you a good boy?’ She bent down for snuggles. ‘I need to fill his food and water.’

Jade’s eyes skipped through the gazillion framed photos lining the wall. Most were candid shots of Lucy at various ages on a boat, fishing off a dock, some with a school in the background. One particular photo caught her attention: Lucy with rain boots, a hoodie snugged over her head, and a massive smile, standing next to a man with crossed arms and a deep frown.

‘Who’s this?’ said Jade, nudging the frame with a finger.

Lucy approached and looked over Jade’s shoulder.

Sweet vanilla and jasmine scent wafted to her nose, and Jade’s heart pounded a little harder. Play it cool, she told herself.

‘The stupidly handsome ginger is Drew,’ said Lucy.

‘He’s cute. Total Prince Harry vibes.’ Jade peered closer. ‘He looks pissed.’

‘He was.’ Lucy grinned and ran a finger across the framed photo. ‘A few years ago, we tried camping for a weekend. He dropped like a thousand bucks for tents, cooking equipment, sleeping bags, everything. It rained almost the entire time, and he kept whining that he should’ve spent the money on a luxury resort. Mason and I were cracking up so hard, and Mason snapped a photo. Poor Drew. He’s too pretty to camp.’

Jade’s gaze flashed to the photos of multiple women, and a tiny tinge of jealousy bolted through her. ‘You have so many—’

‘Friends,’ Lucy said. ‘These are all friends, or co-workers.’

Jade laughed. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to, you know, insinuate—’

‘That I’m a hussy?’

‘No one says that word anymore.’ Jade grinned and stepped back from the wall. ‘Besides, I’m all about free love. Women’s empowerment. Sleep with whomever you want.’

‘Oh, my.’ Lucy fanned her face like a joke, but her eyes shifted to Jade’s mouth and lingered. She cleared her throat.

‘Although sometimes I feel like I should take my own advice.’ A heat flushed Jade’s chest, but maybe now was the time to get all these sorts of things out into the open. ‘It’s, um, been awhile.’

Lucy’s eyebrow arched. ‘Oh yeah?’

‘Yeah. Not since my ex-wife. And before that, I was scattered at best. Would you think less of me that I’ve slept with exactly three people in my life?’ The air seemed tight, at least to Jade, but Lucy’s face showed nothing but a soft grin. Jade wasn’t some college kid bragging – or not bragging, she supposed – about conquests. And yet, there was something maybe a little depressing that she never put herself out there more both before she got married, and after her divorce.

‘Less of you? There is probably nothing you can say that would make me think less of you unless you tell me you’re a cat person. ’Cause, what?’ Lucy chuckled, but she still had that look, the one that seemed to be staring directly into Jade’s soul, the one that was hungry and waiting, and Jade’s body churned in response. ‘Want something to drink? Lemonade?’

Whew. Something needed to break this moment. Jade’s toes were tingling, and even though it wasn’t unpleasant, it freaked her out. She needed to take herself into the bathroom, give her body a stern scolding, and splash some icy water on her face.

Lucy was going to have a baby. Jade wanted nothing to do with babies. She had left her damn wife over a baby. Moments like this needed to stop. She stepped away from Lucy. ‘No thanks. I’ve reached my sugar limit for the night.’

‘No such thing.’ A timer shrieked and Lucy’s head snapped to the sound. Her shoulders lifted with a deep inhale. ‘Shot time.’

‘What do you need me to do?’

‘I think just moral support.’ Lucy pulled the bottle from the cabinet and rolled it between her palms. ‘And if I can’t do it, then you can take a stab at it. Get it? A stab.’

Jade groaned. ‘Yep, got it.’ She followed Lucy to the bathroom, as Chucky pulled himself away from watching the yard and followed the women down the hall. ‘Why are you rolling the bottle?’