Knox shook his head. “Naw. Eric’s out right now.”
“Oh, I’m early. Uh, I wasn’t sure if it was okay for me to show up like this. I’m not supposed to be here for another week.”
The man’s eyes wandered across us, taking in the pertinent information. “Sorry if I interrupted something.”
Knox cleared his throat. “Nope. Not interrupting a thing. Come in and get settled. Eric should be back in a few minutes.”
The two men sized each other up, then shook hands. The newcomer said, “I’m Cade.”
“Knox.”
Then Knox gave me a quick hand squeeze and added, “We were just finishing up some laundry. Gwen, hon, why don’t you finish getting changed?”
That’s when I looked down and realized I’d missed half the buttons on my shirt. My breasts were playing peek-a-boo. Iclutched the top of my flannel tightly and nodded. “Good idea. Nice meeting you, Cade. I’ll see you in a bit.”
We ended up sneaking out in themiddleof the movie, taking his truck out to an empty field where we made love until we were both so tired we couldn’t move. Our hearts stammered out a tremulous rhythm as we collapsed in each other’s arms.
After that day, we snuck off together every chance we could. With Cade in the mix, there was even less privacy around the property.
But we managed to meet at Hidden Lake after work one day. Then, he slipped into my shower one morning when everyone was still asleep. And I even texted him once, begging him to crawl in my bedroom window late at night. That was aquietfuck, the only sounds came from the creaking of the mattress and our labored breathing.
And there was tenderness, too.
He brought me a blanket during a movie night. Then he sat next to me and snuck his hand underneath it. His fingers intertwined with mine like they belonged there, and he held my hand through the whole movie. Emerald didn’t seem to notice.
Knox also started writing me sweet letters that I hid in my nightstand. He was better at communicating through the written word than in person. And I learned even more about him that way. Then I wrote letters back, sharing everything from my saddest moments to my biggest dreams.
The one thing we didn’t do was talk about what itmeant. Other than Knox telling me he didn’t want any other man’s hands on me. I accepted his rule as long as that meant he wouldn’t chase his way up any other women’s skirts.
We were firmly in agreement on both of those points. We only wanted each other.
Were we dating?
Maybe. It was too soon to tell.
But we still hadn’t told anyone.
And I felt okay with that. Whatever we were doing, we were exploring it slowly.
It felt nice to keep it private for now, without any outside influences. I still feared that Emerald wouldn’t approve of him. She was my best friend, and I wanted her toadoremy man.
But then… a few days later. Well, I missed my period.
That’s when our little game turned serious.
An at-home pregnancy test told me that I was about to be a momma.
I sat there with shaking hands while I looked at the little pink plus sign on the test. And I was suddenly terrified that Knox would vanish without a trace, disappearing from my life and the permanent responsibility growing in my belly.
Now I’d definitely find out how serious Knox was. With his support or without it, I’d be raising this child.
I needed to talk to Emerald about this, but I couldn’t find the words.
Maybe I should call Eliza.
But it felt wrong to confide in my new friend when mybestfriend didn’t even know yet.
In fact, I wasn’t even sure how to tell Knox. He should really be the first to know.
