Nitro Crew Complete Series, page 37
“Not all of us can hope to get knocked up at a party by a cute stranger.”
I looked over at her and glared. “I never said he was cute.”
Mave scoffed. “Please, girl. You’re a cute little thing. A little brash and straight forward at times, but I like to think that’s part of your charm.”
“I think that was a compliment though, it sorta wasn’t.”
Mave laughed. “It was. Trust me. Now, tell me about this guy.”
I pulled onto the main highway and set my cruise. “I don’t know much about him, Mave. It truly was meant to be a one and done thing.”
“How about a one and for the rest of your life thing?” she giggled.
“That is more accurate.”
“How about his name? You surely have to know that.”
“His name is Jay Perez. He works on the pit crew for a race car or something like that.”
“Oh,” Mave squealed. “A hot mechanic.”
“I don’t know why you keep saying he’s hot.”
“‘Cause he is. Tell me I’m wrong.”
I glanced over at her then focused back on the road. “I really don’t think you need to have any alcohol. You seem feisty enough without it.”
“I knew it,” she whispered. “Jay Perez is totally hot.”
So what if he was. That didn’t mean anything when it came down to it.
All I needed from him was to be a good father to my baby and hopefully not be a huge douchebag to me when he got the test results back.
Jay Perez maybe the hottest guy I had ever seen, but at the end of the day, that didn’t matter.
I wanted a daddy for my baby, not a jet-setting playboy.
The jury was still out if that was going to go in my favor or not.
*
Chapter Three
Jay
“Dude, where the hell were you today?”
I looked up from the TV. “Uh, I had some things to do. I let Roc know.”
Remy plopped down on the couch next to me and grabbed the remote. Frankie walked into the kitchen with Brooks trailing behind her. “Could have used you at the test track today.” Brooks sat at the kitchen island and whirled his chair around to look at the TV. “Though I’m sure watching Dr. Phil was way more important.”
Remy chuckled, pointed the remote at the TV, and started flipping channels. “How in the hell do you watch this trash?”
I hadn’t really been watching it. My thoughts had been on what the test results were going to be when I got them back in twenty-four to seventy-two hours. Delaney had said I would know in a day or two, but the chick at the private clinic had said that sometimes it takes a bit longer than that. “It’s what was on.”
“What do you jerks want for dinner?” Frankie called.
“Food,” Remy and Brooks said in unison.
I wasn’t hungry at all.
“That’s real helpful,” she mumbled.
“You find out if you’re going to be a daddy or not?” Remy asked.
“Won’t know for a couple of days.” Of course, Frankie had opened her mouth and told everyone about Delaney coming to see me at the party last night.
“You figure out who this chick is yet?” Frankie called.
“No.” I had sat here for the past four hours trying to recall any memory of her, but I didn’t have one. Last night was the first time I had ever laid my eyes on her, according to my memory.
Frankie tsked. “I knew your hound dog days would catch up with you eventually. Though I didn’t really see the whole baby thing.”
“I just figured he would get an itchy dick or something.” Remy roared with laughter.
Brooks cringed. “Gross, dude.”
“I thought the same thing,” Frankie muttered.
Have an itchy dick for the rest of my life or a kid? I wasn’t sure which one was more life-changing. “Think we could stop talking about my dick?”
Remy sobered. “But seriously, man. What are you going to do if the test comes back saying the baby is yours?”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Then I guess I’ll be a dad.” Not like I knew how to do that, but I figured I would be better than the asshole who tried to be mine. Hell, I didn’t even have a memory of the guy.
“Am I the only one who’s laughing on the inside a little bit?” Frankie walked over to Brooks and put an arm across his shoulders.
‘“Babe, I hate to break it to you, but you’re not laughing on the inside,” he chuckled.
“You’re right,” she agreed. “I’m really enjoying Jay’s misery right now.”
“You’re all assholes,” I muttered. I swung up out of the recliner and flipped them all off. “This could have happened to any of you guys.”
“Uh, no it couldn’t have,” Frankie laughed. “Before Brooks, I hadn’t been with a guy for a year.”
“Dang, babe. Dry spell,” Brooks chuckled.
She slugged him on the shoulder. “It’s called being selective.”
“Right,” Remy drawled.
“You’re one to talk,” Frankie snapped. “I believe before Harlyn, you were riding the dry spell wagon, too.”
“You know who was the same as Jay?” Remy asked. He pointed his finger at Brooks. “Your man right there, Frank.”
She clenched her teeth and growled. “You’re a dick.”
Brooks wrapped his arms around Frankie’s waist and pulled her close. “Down, girl,” he whispered. He whispered more in her ear, but I couldn’t make out what it was.
“I don’t know how he does it, but he completely tamed the untamable Frankie. She went from chucking wrenches at people’s heads to just a few words from Brooks and she’s as cool as a cucumber.” Remy shook his head. “If only Brooks would have come along sooner, she wouldn't have pissed off most of the instructors in school.”
“I thought we were talking about Jay knocking up a chick?” Frankie called. “No need to bring me into this.”
“Very true, very true,” Remy agreed. “Did you at least get the chick’s name?”
“Delaney,” I replied.
“Fancy,” Remy touted.
“Dude, your chick’s name is Harlyn. That’s like a southern princess or something,” Frankie scoffed.
Normally, I was all for giving each other shit, but right now, all I wanted was to be alone. I grabbed my phone off the side table.
“Where are you going?” Frankie asked.
“Bed.”
Frankie’s jaw dropped. “Uh, you do know it’s like five, right? Even Brook’s ninety-year-old grandma doesn’t go to bed this early.”
“He’s getting used to bedtime for the baby when it comes,” Remy suggested.
“Just tired. I’ll see you guys in the morning.”
Remy and Frankie cracked jokes about going to bed so early, and I closed my bedroom door to drown them out.
Frankie and Remy didn’t just have their world rocked on its head.
Everything was still the same for them.
Nothing was going to be the same for me anymore.
I hadn’t gotten the test results yet, but I had believed Delaney when she told me I was the only guy she had been with before.
I was going to be a dad, and I was terrified.
*
Chapter Four
Delaney
99.9%
Jay was the father.
I never doubted it, but seeing it in black and white in front of me made everything more real.
Two hundred dollars, a mouth swab, and a blood draw. That was all it took to change everything.
It had been two days since I had spoken to Jay, and I was sitting in the parking lot of the private lab that had done the test with my phone in one hand and the test in the other. I needed to call Jay and set up a time to meet, but I just couldn’t dial the number. We had agreed that the lab would contact me when they got the results just in case Jay was out of town.
I know he didn’t want the baby.
He sure as hell didn’t want me, either, but I honestly wasn’t worried about that. I knew the score when Jay and I had hooked up. He was a player in every sense of the word.
A player who didn’t have his sights set on being a dad.
I had gotten his phone number when I had dropped the bombshell on him two nights ago, and now, I was trying to muster up the guts to call him.
My phone buzzed in my hand, and I about jumped out of my skin.
“Dear, Jesus,” I whispered. I swiped to connect the call and pressed my hand to my chest. “You just scared the living crap out of me, Mom.”
“Well, hello to you, too,” she laughed.
“Hi, Mom. I didn’t expect you to be calling.”
“Do I need to schedule a time to call you?” she huffed.
“What? No. I was just holding my phone, and I was surprised you called.” And I was lost in my own head trying to get the courage up to call Jay.
“Are you going to be home for dinner tonight?”
“Uh, I should be. Why?”
“I’m going out of town with Christy the next three weeks.”
“Uh, following the race team?” I may live with my mom, but between school, clinicals, and work, I was barely at the house except to sleep.
She tsked. “No. Christy is hellbent on going to Florida to visit her sister, and wouldn’t you know it, my ass needs to go with her. You know how I am in the heat.”
I did know exactly how my mom was in the heat. She claimed she was melting the whole time and was absolutely miserable in weather hotter than seventy. She really was going to melt if she went to Florida in June. “Make sure you drink water and stay away from the booze if it’s really hot out.” Three weeks was a hell of a long time. Maybe Mom would actually get used to the heat.
“Gonna buy stock in baby power for my damn chafing.”
Or not. “Mom,” I laughed. “I think that qualifies as too much information.”
“Bull,” she scoffed. “You and I both know you are straight to the point just as much as I am. My thighs chafe in the heat, and the only thing that makes it bearable is baby powder.”
“I’ll make sure to have a care package for you before you leave.”
“I leave day after tomorrow. Better get on it.”
Leave it to my mother to help take my mind off my life that was a complete wreck right now. “I will,” I promised.
“You can also get your butt home for dinner tonight so I can see you before I leave. Seems to be all I see of you is ten minutes in the morning before I head out the door.”
“I know you gotta work, Mom.”
“And I know you’ve got clinicals, too. Just saying, I wish I could see my baby girl a little bit more.”
She was going to see quite a bit of me when I had the baby. I figured I would take six weeks off school which would set me back, but I knew I needed to do it. Tonight was going to be as good of a night as it got to let her know she was going to be a grandma.
Mom had always said she couldn’t wait to be a grandmother, but I don’t think she ever thought I would be the one to make her one.
“You cooking, or do you want me to grab something?”
“I’ve got the rest of the day off since Christy is going to need me all day tomorrow. Just get your butt home by six.”
“All right, Mama.”
I hung up and went back to staring at my phone.
Now, I not only had to worry about calling Jay, I also had to worry about telling my mom I was pregnant. I was ninety percent positive she was going to shit a brick.
My phone rang again, and this time, it was Jay calling.
Dammit. I wasn’t going to be able to gather my thoughts before I talked to him. Not that I was doing a good job of it before.
“Uh, hi?”
“Delaney?”
I cleared my throat. “Yup, you have her.”
“I had a message on my phone the test results came in.”
Of course the lab had called Jay. I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought of that. “Uh, yeah. I’ve got them.”
“And?” he drawled.
“Um, did you want to meet for coffee or something?” Why was I delaying the inevitable? I never beat around the bush, and yet, here I was, trying to put off telling Jay he was the father.
“I’m at work right now. I won’t be off until after seven.”
Crap. By that time, I would have told my mom everything. “Oh. I didn’t realize you worked that late.”
“We’re heading out tomorrow. We need to get the car and trailers loaded up. It’s always a late night before.”
Oh. I didn’t know that. I didn’t know anything about Jay and what he did. “When will you be back?” Maybe I could put this off until he got back.
“Monday,” he sighed. “Just tell me what the test said, Delaney.”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. “The baby is yours.” Spoken out loud, those words solidified everything. They terrified me, but they also empowered me.
I was pregnant.
Jay was the father.
But everything was going to be okay.
It had to be.
*
Jay
All air rushed from my lungs, and I struggled to breathe. I thought I had come to terms with the idea of having a baby, but it was like Delaney had told me all over again.
“And this is for sure?” I croaked.
“Ninety-nine percent positive according to the test. One hundred percent positive according to me.”
Hell. I didn’t want her to think I was doubting what she had told me before. She had to get that this was just a huge shock to me. “Ok. All right. Got it. Good.” Shut up, Jay.
“I can drop the results off at your house, if you want. I know you’re not home, but I can stick them in the mailbox.”
“You can do that, though you don’t need to.” I believed what she had told me. Though seeing it in writing might be cool. “So, when is your next doctor appointment?” I think that was the right thing to ask.
“I had one two weeks ago. Right now, I go monthly, so in two weeks, I have another one.”
“Good, great.” I was like the freaking rain man right now. I didn’t know what was going to come out of my mouth, but I was sure whatever it was, I was going to sound like a moron.
“Yup.”
“Uh, let me know when it is, and I’ll come with.” That was the right thing to do. I think.
“You don’t need to do that. It’s just a checkup to make sure my baby is growing and developing.”
“Our baby,” I corrected.
“Yes, sorry. Our baby. Still adjusting to the fact, you know.”
“Let me know when the appointment is, and I’ll be there. You’ve got my number so make sure to call me whenever you need.”
“Oh,” she gasped. “Right. I’m sure I’ll be fine, though.”
Delaney wasn’t going to call me. Not at all. I wasn’t sure if she liked the fact I was the father or not. That didn’t matter, though, because while I may be adjusting to the fact I was going to be a father, that didn’t mean I was going anywhere. “I’ll call you in a few days, Delaney.”
“Jay, you don’t need to do that,” she insisted. “I’m just working and going to school.”
“Just keep your phone by you. I’m pretty busy on weekends the car is running, but I’ll be there if you need me.” I may be a few states away, but if she needed someone to talk to or anything, I would answer my phone.
“Will do,” she muttered.
Delaney wasn’t going to call me, but you can bet your ass I was going to be calling her.
*
Chapter Five
Delaney
“You’re not going to believe the gossip Christy told me.”
I looked up from my half-eaten piece of pie. “You and Christy thrive on the gossip of the pit crew,” I laughed. I may not know the pit crew personally, but it felt like I did. Mom mostly talked about Frankie and Brooks since Brooks was Christy’s son, but every now and then, she would talk about Jay and Remy.
When I slept with Jay, I hadn’t known at the time he was the Jay my mom knew, and when I figured it out, it wasn’t a big deal since I never planned on seeing him again. But now, all that had changed. I would be seeing Jay for the rest of my life.
I may know who Jay was, but Jay and the rest of the pit crew didn’t know I was Susan’s daughter.
“Because those kids lead some interesting lives. Brooks falling for Frankie was primetime news, but this completely trumps that. It’s about Jay, and if you know anything from what I’ve told you about him, then you know it’s juicy.”
My stomach dropped, and my fork froze mid-air.
Oh, shit.
I had been gathering my courage to tell Mom about the baby through dinner and now dessert, but she might already know my big news.
“He got a girl pregnant.” She dropped the news like a bomb and kept talking. “But he has no idea who the girl is. Doesn’t even remember being with her.” Mom babbled like a toddler on a sugar rush. “Christy also told me Frankie likes her and hopes Jay pulled his head out of his ass long enough to realize he’s got a girl.”
I blinked slowly. “Okay.”
“Okay?” she squealed. “That’s all you’ve got to say?”
“Uh, I’m glad Frankie likes her and hope Jay snaps out of it?” I had a ton to say about what she just revealed, but I would probably shock the hell out of her. “I don’t know these people, Mom. I can’t exactly act like I know them.”
She huffed and grabbed her empty bowl. “Gossip, girl. It’s just fun to know what’s going on in these young kids’ lives.”
“I’m a young kid, and you don’t get this excited when I ace a class or land the clinicals I want.”
She leveled her gaze on me. “I’m proud of you for those things and brag to everyone I know about them. This is entertainment.”
