Kian was gone for an hour when my phone started ringing. I moved to the couch earlier and grabbed a blanket. My phone was next to me on the nightstand, and I grabbed it, bringing it to my ear.
I hit the Answer key. “Hello?”
“Dude, where are you?”
It was Erica.
I yawned into the phone. “What time is it?”
“It’s one in the freaking morning.”
“It is?” I sat up on the couch and checked my phone.
She was right. Kian had been gone longer than an hour.
“I must’ve fallen asleep.”
“Yeah, about wherever you fell asleep, you need to give me an answer to give to Jake—in, like, two seconds.”
“Why?” Alarm filtered in. “Is he there?”
“Uh, yeah. He’s been going crazy since you left.”
“He called me earlier, but I told him I was fine.” I frowned, trying to remember what I had said to him. I’d been too distracted by Kian. My thoughts had been jumbled when I was on the phone with Jake. “Didn’t I?”
Her voice lowered. “You told him you went back to work, but, Jo, I called your job. You weren’t there, and they told me what happened. I covered for you, but I don’t know what to say to Jake anymore. Are you in a hotel or something? I mean, you didn’t go and do something crazy, did you?”
“What?”
“The baby,” she hissed into the phone.
I jerked to my feet, pressing the phone even tighter against my ear. “What?”
“Jo, don’t lie to me. I know about the pregnancy. That host guy told me all about it. He sounded worried about you, but between you and me, I wouldn’t trust that kid as far as you could shot-put him. He had a wicked look in his eyes the one time I met him.”
I wanted to smack myself on the forehead. My head fell back, and I groaned, “Oh my God, that stupid rumor.”
“Come on.”
“No, no, no. That’s all a rumor, Erica. I swear.”
She grew quiet on the other end.
“I called in sick twice this last month, and my boss jumped to the worst conclusion ever. I think he partly did it to joke with me. Worst joke ever.” I laughed. “I haven’t even had sex since Jake.”
She remained quiet.
Oh, no! “Since the first time with Jake, last Christmas time.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Well, you and Jake—I don’t know what you’re doing, but you’re doing something.”
“No, no, no.” I couldn’t say it enough. “We’re accountability partners, but we’ve just been hanging out. That’s all it is. He,” I hesitated to what I revealed here, “He needed help staying away from Tara.”
“For real?” Her voice was suddenly louder and clearer. “Are you sure there’s nothing going on?”
I gripped the phone tighter. “Nothing’s going on. I mean,”—there was, and it was Kian—“Jake’s still not over Tara. And, I don’t know, I haven’t been feeling the same attraction as I did before.”
“Oh. I gotcha.”
“You do?”
“Once bitten, twice shy. That sort of thing.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Okay. Well, whatever. Back to the problem at hand. Your boy toy, who’s not really a boy toy, is here and looking for you. What should I tell him? And where are you, for my own nosiness?”
“I…” I glanced around. I needed a lie and quick.
Kian spoke up from behind me. His voice was soft enough so Erica wouldn’t hear. “You had an upset stomach, so you stopped to grab some food.”
I whirled around, taking in the sight of him, as his lie stumbled from my lips.
His hair was wet. His clothes were soaked, but he had never looked so good. His eyes were stormy and heated, holding my gaze. His jaw clenched, making the air snap with tension between us. I licked my lips and averted my eyes. Erica would hear the lust in my voice. I didn’t need a new interrogation from her.
Erica believed it and questioned once more if I was pregnant. She wanted to make sure.
“No,” I said into the phone, staring right back at Kian. “I’m not. I just had an upset stomach. I’m fine now.”
“Are you coming home soon? If you aren’t, I’m coming to eat with you. Where are you at?”
“Uh…” I had no idea.
My eyes got big, and Kian moved closer.
He murmured into my other ear, his hand touching my hand at the same time, “You’ve not been discovered yet. You should return home and be there for as long as you can.”
“I-I’m coming home,” I stammered into the phone.
“Well, good then.” Her relief was obvious. “I have to warn you about the other part. If your stomach really is okay, Jake wants us all to go to a house party with him. Apparently, we’re his new best friends, even Wanker, too. I’m guessing Susan and Tara have officially cut the strings. Doesn’t he have other friends? He’s adamant that we come with him. What’s that about? Wait, I know. No matter what he says, it’s you. He still wants in your pants.”