Redlight

by Winter Travers

  “I’ve known for a bit. Even before I got the lab results back, I had a hunch I was pregnant.”

  I suppose since she was going to be a doctor, she would know all about that stuff. Except there was one problem in this whole thing.

  I couldn’t remember ever meeting Delaney before.

  At. All.

  I couldn’t ignore the alarm bells going off in my head.

  Delaney pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. “Here is a number to a clinic that can do the paternity test.”

  My jaw dropped, and I looked at the paper. It was as if the chick was reading my mind. “How the heck do they do that?” The kid wasn’t even here yet.

  “They do a blood draw on me, and they swab your cheek. Not invasive at all for you.”

  All it was going to take was a swipe of my cheek, and then, I would know if I was going to be a dad or not? Holy hell. This was all freaking me out. “What happens if I’m not the dad?”

  “You are, but I know you’re thinking I’m some crazy chick trying to trap you or something. You’re the only person I’ve been with.”

  I blinked slowly. “You mean lately.”

  She shook her head. “No, I mean you’re the only person I’ve been with.”

  Hold the fucking door.

  I had sex with Delaney.

  Was her first.

  Got her pregnant.

  AND I DIDN’T REMEMBER A FUCKING SECOND OF IT.

  My mouth was as dry as sawdust, and my vision blurred. How in the hell did I get into a situation like this? “You’re sure about that?” I croaked.

  She dropped the piece of paper on the counter and sat back into the couch. “Yes, I’m positive.”

  I sputtered but finally was able to spit out a few words. “Why the hell me?”

  She shrugged. “It seemed like the right time.”

  This chick was so chill and matter of fact, she completely threw me off any game I ever had before. If what she was saying was true, I had to wonder if she talked the same way when we had hooked up. I thought she was hot, and I’m sure that was what had drawn me to her in the first place, but I had to wonder if I had even spoken to her.

  Delaney was lightyears out of my league.

  Even when I was spitting the best game of my life, I knew when I didn’t stand a chance.

  “So...I...we...I don’t know what the hell to say or do right now.” I was stumped. Straight-up had no fucking clue what to do. Normally, I had the control of any situation I was in, but Delaney had just flipped the script on me.

  “You have an appointment tomorrow at two. I wrote the address on the piece of paper. Once the results come back, which take one or two days, then we’ll figure out the rest.”

  The rest? “You mean the rest of our lives?” Kids were forever. FOREVER.

  The longest relationship I ever had was with my car. Yes, my car. I had gotten Black Beauty two years ago, and to be honest, I had been thinking of replacing her the last couple of weeks.

  Now, I was going to have a baby and also a woman who would be in my life forever.

  “Yeah.”

  Such an easy answer to a question that completely changed my world.

  I ran my fingers through my hair.

  Everything was possibly going to change in one to two days, and I didn’t have a damn clue what to do.

  *

  Chapter Two

  Delaney

  “You done for the day?”

  I closed my locker and looked over at Mave. “Finally. Things got crazy the last hour.” Med school clinicals were no joke. I was doing everything the doctor did except I wasn’t getting paid to do it.

  “How do you like working with Dr. Dickhead?” Mave sat down on the bench between the rows of lockers.

  I smiled and shook my head. “He’s not bad. I’ve only been with him for a week so far, but I don’t think working with him will be bad at all.”

  “If only marriage to the asshole would have been easy.”

  Mave used to be married to Dr. Clark but they had divorced two years ago. “At least you two seem to be able to work together okay.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Half the time, I hold my tongue and walk the other way. It’s a good thing I’m moving to pediatrics or I’m pretty sure I’d eventually end up punching his lights out.”

  Now that was surprising. Mave always seemed to be laid back and kept her cool. She had been the first doctor I had worked with on my first clinical. But it was also surprising that Mave had been married to Dr. Clark. He didn’t seem at all like her type. I sat down next to her and sighed. My feet were killing me, and my back was screaming.

  “You okay?” she asked, concerned.

  I rubbed my back. “Just a long day.” And I was pregnant and battling morning sickness all times of the day. Right before Mave had walked in, I had emptied the contents of my stomach in the bathroom. Now, I was hungry and craving sour cream.

  Pregnancy cravings were so weird.

  “You wanna grab something to eat? There is that new Mexican place in town.”

  Mave was almost fifteen years older than me and one of the resident doctors at Southern State Hospital. She had taken me under her wing when I had worked under her, and even though I wasn’t working with her anymore, she still kept up with me.

  She also didn’t know I was pregnant.

  Jay was the only one who knew that.

  “Chips and guac sound amazing.” My stomach growled, and I laid my hand on the tiny bump. You couldn’t see it under my clothes, but it was definitely there.

  “Perfect. I didn’t want to go by myself, but I would have.” She looked down at my hand. “You’re not starving, are you?” she laughed.

  I shook my head and laid my hand on the bench next to me. “Just a little. I’ll follow you to the restaurant.” And a little queasy.

  I wasn’t ready to tell anyone about the baby. At least, not until I got the results from the DNA test. I knew what they were going to say, but I could tell last night that Jay wasn’t so sure he was the father.

  “Or we can get a cab there so we can try the ten flavors of margaritas they boast about.” Mave wiggled her eyebrows and laughed.

  “Oh boy, it must have been a rough day for you too. Maybe I can drive us and then you can indulge for the two of us.”

  “That’s no fun,” she insisted. “Come on, Delaney. Let loose with me.” She egged me on.

  Oh, crap. There went not telling anyone I was pregnant. “I can’t drink. At least, not enough margaritas to keep up with you tonight.” Though, even if I weren’t pregnant, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with Mave. I was a definite lightweight.

  “Well, you can keep up as best you can. It’s my treat.”

  “I’m pregnant,” I blurted out. Mave wasn’t going to let me get out of drinking with her unless I told her the truth.

  “What?” she gasped. “How the heck did that happen?”

  I tilted my head to the side. “I’m assuming that was rhetorical.”

  “Delaney,” she whispered shouted. “You’re pregnant?”

  I nodded and laid my hand over my stomach. “Yup. Just over six weeks.”

  Mave’s jaw moved up and down but no words came out.

  “Uh, take a breath, Mave.”

  She closed her eyes. “Did you just tell me you’re pregnant?”

  I didn’t really expect Mave to be so shocked. “Yes.”

  “Girl, how in the hell did that happen?”

  “Well, I went to party, met a guy I thought was cute. He was nice. We got naked, and then we—”

  Mave held up her hand. “Stop there. I know how the rest of it goes. I just meant, I didn’t know you were seeing someone, but obviously, you’re not.”

  At least she didn’t know I had been a virgin before Jay. That was a conversation I really didn’t want to have. “It just kind of happened.”

  “And you’re now having a baby with a guy you don’t know?”

  “That’s the main points, ye
s.”

  “Delaney,” she sighed. “I don’t know how you aren’t freaking out about this. You’re having a baby with a guy you don’t know.”

  Mave did not need to tell me that. I was very much aware of the situation I was in. “I’ll get to know him. It’s not like I’m popping this baby out tomorrow.”

  “Girl, I need to learn how you stay so chill. I would be freaking out right now, and I’m a divorced forty-one-year-old. Freaking out should be a thing of the past for me.”

  I patted her knee. “Then it’s a good thing I’m the one who’s pregnant.”

  “Amen to that,” she laughed. “Now, let’s go get some tacos, and I can get drunk.”

  “Does this mean I’m your DD for the next seven months?” I grabbed my purse and hitched it over my shoulder.

  “That is exactly what that means.” Mave put her arm over my shoulders. “Because after that, you are going to be elbow-deep in diapers and poop.”

  “You make being a mom sound like so much fun.” We headed out of the locker room toward the parking lot.

  “I’m sure it is fun, but I can’t tell you exactly if it is or isn’t.”

  I knew Mave didn’t have kids, but I wasn’t sure if that was by choice or not. “Well, you can find out first-hand from me.”

  I pushed out of the front doors of the hospital, and we walked to my car.

  Mave stood next to it and cringed. “Well, I think the first thing you are going to have to do before the baby gets here is get a better car. I’m not sure this thing is even safe for me to be riding in.” She kicked the bottom of the door, and a dusting of rust rained down on the ground.

  “Rust doesn’t mean it’s unsafe,” I insisted.

  “Delaney, you need to do something about this car.” She slipped into the passenger side, and I moved around the front to the driver’s side.

  So, maybe it wasn’t the most reliable car, but it would do for now. It definitely had been on my list of things to do, but now, it looked like it had been bumped to the top.

  “I just don’t want a huge car payment,” I muttered as I slipped into the car. When I wasn’t dealing with clinicals, I was working at a ritzy restaurant two towns over that, thankfully, was good pay, and I got amazing tips. I was able to squeak by without having three jobs, so adding a car payment into everything wasn’t something I wanted. Although, I was about to add a baby in seven months. I was screwed either way.

  “You and I will go car shopping. I’m sure we can find you a nice car that is a few years old that will be a million times better than this.”

  I started the car and pulled out of my parking spot. “Car shopping sounds like a horrible way to spend one’s day.”

  Mave laughed. “Maybe there will be a cute car salesman there for me.” She winked. “Silver Lining.”

  I did appreciate Mave being so nice, but I knew my mom would help me. Maybe not give me a car, but I knew she would do anything to make things easier for me. After all, she had been letting me live with her through med school. If she hadn’t offered me that, I would more than likely be living out of a cardboard box while I tried to become a doctor. “Only you would think car shopping would be a good place to meet a cute guy.”

  “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.