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I was trying to put my key into my mailbox in our building when the elevator door opened, and a woman’s voice rang out. “There you are! Where have you been?”
I spun around, staring at Diane. “Um, me? Where the fuck have you been, Diane? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for over a week.”
Her gaze jumped away, and she chewed on her bottom lip, “Sorry, I was busy.”
“Yeah, well, that’s a shitty excuse,” I growled and turned back to the mailbox, yanking the door open after a moment of fiddling with my key and pulling out three envelopes.
“Zeke, we need to talk.” Her voice was small and wavered slightly as if she was nervous.
“That’s for sure,” I muttered.
The door to the right of the foyer opened, and I turned to see Shelby standing there, one foot in the lobby, the other in the vestibule. Her eyes went wide, and she seemed hesitant to move forward.
“Hello, Shelby,” I said.
Diane spun around, “Shelby! Where the hell have you been?”
Oh, so Diane hadn’t known where Shelby was either. Good to know! Now I knew that the two of them weren’t comparing notes about me. Maybe Diane had no idea that I had not only had sex with her best friend but gotten a hell of a lot more emotionally attached to Shelby than I ever was to her.
Shelby swallowed as she turned to Diane, “I was out of town.”
“Where? I didn’t know you were traveling.”
“I was at the shore,” Shelby said in a low voice, and Diane jerked back.
“But you only go down there in the winter when you are stressed and trying to get away from things. What’s going on?”
“Not now, Diane.” She said in a low voice.
Shelby began to walk past her friend, completely ignoring me. “You’re not even going to say hello?”
“Hello, Zeke.” She said without looking my way and headed straight to the elevator, where she pushed the button. The door opened immediately, and she rushed in. I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity, so I strode forward and put my hand out as the door began to close. Her eyes slammed into mine with a look of frustration before she jerked her gaze away.
Diane jumped in the elevator too, and the three of us started up to the second floor. Luckily it was a short ride because the tension inside the small metal box was crushing.
I stared at Shelby’s profile. She stared at the display. When the door began to open, I glanced at Diane to see her shifting her eyes back and forth from me to her friend. A brow raised in question.
Shelby rushed out of the opening the minute it was big enough to fit her and her small roller bag, and then Diane stepped out and stood at the T in the hallway, watching Shelby walk away. I turned in the other direction and started toward my door.
“What the hell!” Diane said as I reached my door. I glanced back, and over Diane’s head, I could see Shelby at hers. The two of us locked gazes, and if I hadn’t been looking at her with the next set of words that came out of Diane’s mouth, I would have missed her reaction. “I’m pregnant!”
Diane’s words registered in my mind, but it was the shock and then the pain that crossed Shelby’s face that held me mute. Shelby’s eyes shifted from mine to Diane’s, and I saw the apology on her face. Shelby opened her mouth to speak, but I beat her to it.
“Diane, I think you and I need to talk.” Diane nodded at me slowly and then glanced toward Shelby.
“I’ll come down to see you when we’re finished.”
Shelby didn’t hesitate a second to shove open her door and disappear inside. Diane waited until the sound of the heavy metal door closing echoed down the hall before she turned to me. Her bottom lip tucked under her teeth.
Well, this was going to be interesting. My earlier buzz had taken a quick exit when Shelby appeared downstairs. It was a good thing because I needed a clear head to deal with Diane and her news.
Diane stepped into my apartment and went straight into the living room, removing her coat and seating herself on the edge of the couch. The same couch where I had watched Shelby fuck herself. God damn it! Not something to think about now.
“How far along are you?” I asked Diane as I tossed my keys on the table and studied her.
“About six weeks.” She wrung her hands in front of her. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me, Diane? It would have made all of this much easier.”
