Page 54 of Friends with Benefits

Sex without complications.

It was now a whole lot more complicated than either of us could have imagined.

While I freaked out internally, Tripp led me to my apartment, unlocked it, and shuffled me to the couch. It only made my cry harder. He was too nice to me. Too understanding. He was going to take this so well, and it would only make me feel worse.

I wanted him to scream and rage at me. Treat me like crap. Because that’s what I felt I deserved. A baby would take away his choices and his future because he wouldn’t see it any other way. He was a good guy, as evidenced by how amazing he’d been throughout everything.

He brought me a glass of tea, and I gulped it down to soothe my raw throat. When I was done, he passed me a handful of crumpled tissues. Not caring how I looked—or maybe I was just comfortable with him after everything—I blew my nose and dried my face.

“Feel better?” he asked.

Not at all. I made a noncommittal noise, wiped my nose again, and pulled up my big girl panties. I wasn’t going to cry anymore, and I wasn’t going to continue with the woe-is-me bullshit. I had made the choice to have sex, and this was one of the potential eventualities. I was an adult. I would have to deal with it like one.

“Tripp,” my voice petered out, and I took another sip of tea to steady myself and come up with the words to say. How did one go about potentially changing someone’s life forever? “Tripp, I don’t know how to tell you this, and I just want you to know before I go on how much you mean to me. I couldn’t have been through this without you. I hope you understand that.”

He nodded and relaxed into the couch, making sure to tuck me into his side. It was a casual movement. One I wasn’t really sure he even realized he did. “You don’t owe me anything, babe. I’ve been happy to help.”

“I don’t only mean with the twins and everything. I mean, after Chris left me, I don’t think I’d ever been so low, and I’m not the type who gives a damn what a man thinks about me.”

“Especially not a chump like him.”

“We never talked about us, like where we were going to go after the benefits ended.”

At my words, he straightened, his concerned gaze sharpening. “You want to end things?” he asked. Was I imagining things, or was there hurt in his words?

My tongue tied itself into knots. “No, I mean, if you want to, but—”

“What would make you think I want to?” His brows pushed together, and his full, kissable lips folded into a frown. I was going to miss those lips.

Things were so much easier when the focus was on sex. I should have never agreed to this. I knew when I met him, when the twins were little, that taking this too far would be a bad idea. Maybe I was more like my mom than I thought.

Selfish. Reckless. Careless.

Doomed to repeat her mistakes.

My hand pressed against my stomach. I didn’t know if it was all the crying or the hormones, but I felt sick.

“Ember?” he prompted.

“I’m pregnant,” I blurted. Or I think I did. The ringing was so loud in my ears that I couldn’t be sure.

The hand he had resting on the back of the couch dropped to his lap. His face went lax in surprise.

“You’re pregnant?” I heard over the ringing in my ears. I nodded, but it made me dizzy, so I clutched the back of the couch to ground me.

“I’m so sorry. I know this isn’t what you had planned. I thought maybe it was from stress, but I took a test, well, I took several, and they were all positive. I can’t believe I’m doing this to you when you’re about to start your senior year of ball and you’ve got so much going on. I thought about not telling you, but that didn’t seem—”

His big arms wrapped around me, squeezing so tight he cut off the rest of my apology. Maybe I was selfish because I soaked up the comfort he provided without hesitation. My tears dried, my thundering heart slowed, and by the time he pulled away, I was somehow in his lap and much more steady.

“You don’t have anything to apologize for, angel. Nothing at all. You hear me?”

“I thought you’d be upset.” His measured reaction had my brows pulling together.

“I don’t know what I am, but it’s as much my responsibility as it is yours, Em.” Which is exactly what I had expected him to say.

My voice was tiny when I responded. “I’m scared. This is going to change everything. Your career…the twins.”

He pulled me close and kissed the top of my hair. “I know you are, baby. This wasn’t exactly part of the plan, but you know I’ll be here for you. Whatever you decide. And whatever it is, we’ll face it. Together.”