Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 116031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
“That sounds worse.”
“It’s fine. Really.” I don’t sound convincing even to myself. “We’ll just talk outside.”
“Are you okay, Cat?” I hate that he’s worrying over me. He has enough to worry about from his own life. This is supposed to be a break for him. Not a dose of reality that I would typically handle on my own. But I can’t. We’re here together, so I reply, “It’s okay. For real.” I dump all the stuff on the grocery belt. “I’m okay.”
He sets his stuff down and pulls his wallet out. “I’m buying.” He eyes the stuff I want, and says, “Why do we need condoms?” Alarm bells fire in all directions when I see him pick up the box. Shooting me a glare, he opens his mouth and closes it, then opens it again. “Small?” Offense sews his brows together in irritation. “What the fuck?”
I whip my gaze to the box just as the cashier starts ringing our order. Flustered, I scan the words on the front. “I wasn’t looking at the size. I just grabbed it.”
“What is going on, Cat?” Shortness clips his tone, and then he tells the cashier, “We won’t need these. Thanks.”
“We do need those.” I try to calm the distress in my voice, but it’s not working. “Just get a bigger size.”
“You’re on the pill.”
“I need birth control, Shane,” I shout in a panic. Oh God. The ringing stops as I close my eyes, hoping the earth opens us and swallows me whole. When I open my eyes to find I’m still stuck here at the Deer Lake Grocer with a gob-smacked cashier and a manager who seems to have nothing better to do than stare at me, I turn to bury my head in his chest. “I don’t have any with me.”
His arm comes around me as he pulls his wallet out to pay with the other. The cashier asks, “Do you want the condoms or put them back?”
“Put them back, please.” The purchase is quick, and he’s guiding me out the door by my lower back. We’ve been trapped in tension since I lost it at the register. I dread what’s next. I tried so hard not to worry him, and now I’ve done it for the entire staff of Grocer to witness. As soon as our feet hit the pavement, he releases me and runs a hand over his head. “You definitely gave them something to gossip about in there.”
I cringe. “Sorry about that.”
He shakes his head, but looks at me while we hurry to the car. “You told me you’re on the pill. That’s why we could have sex last night and this morning. Did you lie to me?” I can hear the betrayal in his voice and see the hurt clouding his eyes.
“I’m on the pill. I wouldn’t lie to you about that. I picked up my prescription right before I got to the apartment yesterday. But there was a mix-up, and I didn’t discover it until I went to open the new pack to take one this morning, and my prescription wasn’t in the bag they gave me.”
He opens the car and tucks the bag behind my seat before holding the door for me. “You’re on the pill, but you’re out?”
“Yes. I had the prescription transferred here to pick up. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, except they don’t have any in stock and don’t get their shipment in until Tuesday.”
“Tuesday?” I slip into the car, and he closes the door. As soon as he sinks into his seat, he asks, “What do we need to do?”
I reach over to hold his hand, hoping he doesn’t hate me for ruining the trip. “We need to go back to LA. Today. It’s the only way to keep me on track.”
“Okay.” He leans over and kisses me once and then twice more. “We’ll pack up and head back.” He steps in without hesitation to support me and to make sure we get what we need, no matter the inconvenience to him.
Something I was stressing about became a non-issue in a matter of seconds. Another brick cemented to strengthen our foundation.
And just like that, it became us against the world.
33
Shane
Cat slips back into the car and tosses a box on my lap. “Happy?”
“Massive Cock Covers?” I pick up the black-and-gold box, turning it over in my hand. “Double extra-large. At least you got the sizing right. Of course, that doesn’t save my pride when visiting Deer Lake.” I reverse from the spot where I waited for her in the pharmacy parking lot.
“We could do a press release?” She opens the small bag in her lap, the crinkling competing with her voice. “We can stage a setup. You can get caught on camera by the paparazzi with your box of massive cock covers. That will put any rumors to rest.” She holds up the bag. “Got my pills.”