Page 112 of Call You Mine
CHAPTER 39
ANDERSON
Ava wavesher hands in front of my face, but I barely register it with the way my vision has gone blurry.
I lean back against the counter, but I incorrectly judge how far away I am from it. I barely catch myself before my ass hits the ground, ending up in an awkward lean against the granite.
“What are you doing?” Ava exclaims, and this time it comes out clearer; my heart no longer beating loud enough to affect my hearing.
“Leaning,” I answer, barely thinking about the words that come out of my mouth. “This is where I lean.”
Ava groans, grabbing me by the arm and helping me stand. But before I can reach back out to her, she pulls away, crossing her arms over her chest, shutting me out.
“Sorry, I’m just processing.” I shake my head before taking my hat off and running a hand through my hair as I throw it onto the counter behind me.
“I know. It’s a lot,” Ava says, her voice small.
I hate the sound of it.
“How long have you known?” I ask carefully.
“A week,” she answers, her gaze going to the socks on her feet.
“A week?” I echo, my voice rising, but it’s out of frustration, not anger.
“What was I supposed to do, Anderson? You and I both know this fucks everything up.”
“What?” I shake my head, needing to start over. I’m not frustrated with her or the situation, more so that she didn’t want to tell me until now, that I did something to make her feel like she couldn’t. Without even thinking about it, my hand finds her chin, lifting her gaze to mine. “I’m not upset, love. I just hate that you’ve been dealing with this by yourself for a whole week.”
Her eyes look watery, but she blinks a few times before I can fully register the emotion.
“I hate to bethatguy,” I start, internally cringing at what I’m about to say. “But we used protection.” I’m not about to doubt her, or ask if she’s sure. Knowing Ava, I can only imagine the lengths she went through to convince herself that something like this was true.
We haven’t had sex since that night back in February, and I haven’t been with anyone since.
I actually haven’t been with anyone since meeting Ava.
We never discussed that our friends-with-benefits relationship was exclusive, but I took it seriously—especially knowing it was the only relationship I was going to have with Ava for the time being.
“Gold star for Anderson,” Ava deadpans, and I realize I never finished my thought, still trying to wrap my head around all of this. “I’m glad you paid attention in Sex Ed.”
I slide my palm down my face. “Aren’t birth control pills and condoms like 99% effective?”
“Thank you for stating the obvious. It’s really helpful in this situation.”
I resist the urge to let my head fall back and let out a groan. “I’m sorry, love. I really don’t know what to say.”
Ava’s arms fall to her sides. She exhales, blowing the breath out of her mouth. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t know the right thing to say either.”
The silence stretches between us.
I nod toward the living room, not only because I need to sit down, but also because I want to make sure Ava is comfortable. I know she must be early, and the only things I know about pregnancy are what I learned when I got my Emergency Medical Technician certificate before I went through the fire academy, but I want her off her feet.
Now.
“Let’s start over,” I offer once we’re both sitting down on the couch. “You said you found out last week?”
Ava nods. “I took some tests, and they were all positive.”
