Back when I used to need information. I hadn’t seen her since the day I’d stopped by back in January, when I’d ended things.
Both professionally and personally.
Shelly had taken it well—it was a casual, no-strings, not very frequent hookup. She knew the score and seemed cool with me cutting things off. Even thanked me for being honest with her.
As honest as I could be.
Because it would have been way too weird to say, “Shelly, you’re great, and I really like having sex with you. But there’s this girl that I don’t even like very much. And she can’t stand me. And, well, I don’t think I can have good sex with you anymore because I can’t stop thinking about this girl…that I don’t even like.”
So, yeah, I just said I was interested in somebody and I thought it might lead somewhere and Shelly was cool.
“Is this about Shelly?” I asked Lucas now. I couldn’t figure out why else he would have asked me to drive to Pierpoint.
He’d texted me earlier, saying he had something important he needed to talk to me about. Caro was meeting with Joe and Grayson, so it was good timing for me to be gone. When I picked Lucas up at his mom’s place he just told me to drive to Pierpoint, not saying why.
We made small talk on the way, but I could tell something was bothering him.
“You don’t need Shelly, do you?” I asked him now. “Like, you aren’t…uh…taking over my action, are you?”
He gave me a “fuck you” look. “No. I’m with Lily. Completely. I don’t need your old action.”
I chuckled. “I didn’t meanthatkind of action. I meant the…car information action.”
“Oh, right.” He shook his head. “No, not that.”
“But something to do with Shelly?” I looked up and down the street, seeing if there was any other possibility based on the businesses.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “Listen, why don’t you go in there and say hi to her. I’ll wait here.”
“Why would I want to do that? I haven’t seen her in months. I don’twantto say hi. Not that I have any issues with her or anything. It’s just…over. It was never much to begin with. Nothing like what I’ve got with Jane.”
Lucas took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Dude,” I said, starting to get pissed off as well as worried. “What the hell is it?”
“I just think you—” He stopped abruptly, and I followed his vision. Shelly was coming out of the salon. She turned and walked away from us down the sidewalk. “Shit,” Lucas said. “You need to go talk to her.”
“Why?” I asked. But I had my answer as Shelly turned around, apparently forgetting something from the salon. As she turned our way, and then toward the salon, I could see that she was pregnant. Very pregnant.
“Oh, shit,” I said, a feeling of dread easing over my entire body.
“Yeah,” Lucas said. “I think you should—”
I didn’t hear the rest of what he said because I was already getting out of my car and rushing to the sidewalk.
* * *
“So why didn’tyou say anything the last time we saw each other?” I asked Shelly.
She had agreed to meet after she was done with her shift, having just been on a break when Lucas and I saw her.
She seemed not at all excited to see me, but didn’t hesitate much when I asked to talk with her.
I drove Lucas back to Schoolport, called in to make sure Caro was okay without me, then drove back to Pierpoint.
Now, Shelly and I sat at a diner a few doors down from the salon. She was eating a ham sandwich and fries, but all I had the stomach for was coffee.
“I wasn’t sure I was keeping it when I last saw you,” she said.
I started to say something, but kept my mouth shut, not really sure what I should say about that.
