Besides, what the hell? She wasn’t one to jump to the worst-case scenario. That was specifically her mother’s job.
“Just needed to hear my baby girl’s voice.” Mom was chipper and chirpy as ever and didn’t sound at all like she’d just been maimed in an accident.
Courtney released a breath slowly, so she got good use of all that oxygen.
“Here’s my voice for you.” Courtney tried to ignore the wobble in her words. Seriously? What was up with her?
The light knock on the door of the exam room signaled the end of this call.
“Uh, Mom. Now’s not a great time. Can I call you back?” Courtney asked, then called out, “Come on in.”
“Is everything okay?” The chipper disappeared from Mom’s voice.
Courtney smiled at her doctor as the woman entered the room and washed her hands. “Annual girl checkup. Gotta go.”
Mom said a quick goodbye, as she would, because she’d never been exceptionally great at talking about the girl stuff. When it’d been time for Courtney’s first period, Mom stumbled through the birds and the bees talk. Thankfully, that talk had been quick and to the point. She’d covered the basics. Conversations with her high school friends filled in the gaps.
Dr. Carol did the obligatory check-in. “Hey, how are you today?” Then she dove right in, glancing at the clipboard. “Sorry I’m a little behind. I was taking a second look at your labs,” Dr. Carol said in that way that made a person’s blood pressure spike. Sort of like Dr. Google saying you’re about to die when you have a slight earache. Same feeling, but from an actual doctor.
“That interesting, huh?” Courtney tried for light, but really she had the feeling like she might be about to go boating… without a boat… on ripped paper.
Dr. Carol took a deep breath then steadied her gaze on Courtney. “Is there a reason you asked for a full panel this time?”
Full panel meaning anentireSTD panel. Yes, she’d asked for one because she’d had her encounter with Bax.
“I had a… I had sex with a guy.” Hoo boy, the mind-blowing, holy-crap, earth-moving kind, which was why, “We didn’t use protection.” Courtney held up her hands. “You know that I always insist. This time…” It just happened.
The thing was, as a human being, things happened to her often. Things that didn’t involve finding Bax naked and moaning her name in the shower. Normal things happened that didn’t cause worry of STDs—like the time she found a whole Oreo in her cookies ’n cream milkshake from Shake Shack, or two weeks ago when she discovered an extra twenty in the pocket of a pair of old jeans.
Butthishappened, and then he left, and he didn’t even have Hans send her a damn thanks-for-the-good-time bracelet. His other hookups got bracelets because that was Bax’s calling card on the road.
Bag the lead singer? Grab yourself some bling.
Not that Courtneyneededa bracelet or would wear a Bax bracelet. Still, that wasn’t the point. She would’ve appreciated the opportunity to send the bracelet back, that was all.
“Okay.” Dr. Carol definitely didn’t look like the labs were good. Which meant Courtney might not be STD-free, which was not awesome.
At least there were antibiotics and ointments. Most everything was treatable, right? While this might not be whole-Oreo goodness, thanks to science, it wouldn’t be untreatable.
Only a few things weren’t, and thiscouldn’tbe that. Unless…
Blurgh, her mind would not stop with the worst case. Probably because she’d never played with this brand of fire before and had always exercised extreme caution in the bedroom, shower, or on the kitchen counter.
“Something’s wrong.” Courtney stated what did not need to be stated with the vibe rolling off of Dr. Carol.
“Notwrong.” Dr. Carol leaned against the counter where they kept the cylinder of cotton balls and stick depressor things. “Courtney, you’re pregnant.”
Ha. No.
If she had anything, it was something that would requireantibiotics, not diapers.
Of this, she was sure—totally sure—as sure as any woman could be.
“That’s impossible.” Courtney shook her head.
Pregnant? The word was just wrong. She’d know it if she waspregnant. Would know it if the words were the truth, because if they were? She’d be numb, processing, and panicking.
Also, she wouldn’t have had her period on time.
