We arrive at the pharmacy where I open the door for her, earning me a big smile from Blake. She’s always so overjoyed when I do basic things like opening her door or pulling out her chair, which makes me wonder what kind of heathen Isaac Grant was. Jackass definitely didn’t deserve her.
We make a beeline for the family planning aisle, only to find the shelf that normally contains the emergency contraceptives is empty.
“Maybe they keep it behind the counter?” Blake says.
“Let’s go ask.”
To my dismay, when we go to the pharmacist’s counter, the white-coated man shakes his head and says, “Sorry. We ran out of stock.”
“Can you call the other pharmacies in the area and check if they have any?” Blake asks with a worried frown.
“They’re all having the same issue, I’m afraid. There was a shortage due to a supply chain problem, so supplies were already low, and then that jackass running for office decided to make the ban of emergency contraception one of the issues he’s running on, and it created a panic in the community. Customers started stockpiling, and now here we are.”
Fuck.
Sympathy fills his eyes when he notes our disappointed faces. “We have an order coming in on Monday,” he says.
“But today is Saturday,” Blake frets. “Will it still be effective on Monday?”
The pharmacist nods. “It’s effective up to seventy-two hours. When did the intercourse take place?”
I choke down a nervous laugh. I’m twenty-four years old, yet the wordintercoursestill makes me uncomfortable. “About eight hours ago?”
“You’re still within that window then. I’m in on Monday morning. If you’d like to leave your number with me, I can set a box aside when the shipment arrives, and you can come pick it up.”
“Thank you,” Blake says gratefully while the pharmacist slides a pen and paper across the counter.
We leave the pharmacy empty-handed, Blake’s teeth worrying herbottom lip the entire walk back to the Jeep.
“Hey, it’s going to be fine,” I assure her. “That is just the backup anyway. We’re not in the ovulation window, remember?”
She nods slowly. “Right.”
“It’ll be fine, freckles.” I take her hand and lace our fingers together. “Come on. Let’s go home and clean up for the circus.”
Description
A graphic displaying a tournament bracket titled "BADMINTON BLOOD MATCH TOURNAMENT BRACKET ROUND 1". It lists the following five matchups in rectangular boxes connected by "VS": Allie + Logan vs Dean + Grace; Garrett + Hannah vs Gray + Stella; AJ + Jamie vs Alex + Wyatt; Blake + Beau vs Gigi + Ryder; Tara + Kate vs Tucker + Sabrina.
Chapter 31
BLAKE
FIRST RULE OF TAHOE FAMILY Summer: Come and go as you please.
Second rule of Tahoe Family Summer: Stay as long as you like.
Third rule? Embrace the chaos.
Because that’s what it is. Every summer, like clockwork, pure chaos descends on the lake house. It’s bound to happen when there are so many people and so many of us in our late teens and early twenties. Which means there will be partying. There will be drinking. There will be trash-talking. And there will be—apparently this year—a fuck ton of badminton.
The brackets are locked in, but my partner isn’t getting in until this evening. He’s been texting all morning saying we need to find a quiet place to discuss strategythe nanosecondhe arrives. And yes, he said nanosecond.
The Tuckers arrive first, Alex strutting inside like the supermodel she is. Dark glossy hair, big brown eyes, and the kind of body most women would kill for. Huge boobs, tiny waist, perky ass, long legs. And it’s all natural, every inch of her from top to bottom. She’s thespitting image of her mother, Sabrina, while her older sister, Jamie, inherited their father’s auburn hair and is equally stunning.
They greet us with hugs and birthday wishes for me, Alex pulling me aside to say, “Come up when I’m unpacking. I brought you something from Milan.”
“And I brought you something from Paris,” I reply with a grin. “Because I missedyourbirthday.” Hers was in the spring.
