Her Bundles Of Joy

Chapter 8

The ride to Evan’s apartment took an eternity, or at least that was what it felt like for Nicole. She didn’t exchange a single word with Brandi. The dancer was fuming inside, she couldn’t believe that Brandi had dragged her to his apartment without her permission, without respecting her wishes of not letting him know. Nicole knew he deserved to know the truth, but this knowledge didn’t mean that she was going to keep the baby for his sake only. Raising a child was a responsibility that she didn’t know if she would be ready to take on, not now, not ever. Being a mother had never even crossed her mind. Nicole always only thought of her career as a professional dancer, and this was not the type of profession a woman who wanted to become a mother would pursue. Dancing professionally involved traveling around on tour, working late hours, keeping a perfect body shape. Sure, Nicole still hadn’t had the opportunity to go on tour or anything like that, but she knew she’d get to as soon as Brandi went on her next tour. The singer had already told her she was included in the list of dancers she’d take with her. A pregnant belly was so not appropriate for tour. A baby would only hold her back from her true passion.

“We’re here.” Brandi’s gentle voice interrupted her thoughts. The two women stepped out of the car and headed inside his building. Walking through those large glass doors, getting into the elevator and greeting the man inside, ringing Evan’s doorbell…it all felt so nostalgic to Nicole. As if it had been years since the last time she was there. It triggered both good and bad feelings inside her. Good, as she remembered the blond man’s words, his touch, his lips, his everything. Lord, it had been too long since they last saw each other. Bad, as she remembered how that night had ruined their friendship.

It didn’t take long for him to open the door. His wet hair indicated that he’d just gotten out of the shower. Nicole’s heart dropped as she thought of the possibility of Evan being in the shower with another woman. She discreetly checked her watch and saw that it was around the time he arrived home from work. Nicole felt relieved. He was showering after a hard day’s work, not because he’d been screwing someone.

“Oh, hey, Brandi.” Nicole noticed how he couldn’t hide his surprise at seeing her. A blush ran up his cheeks. “Nicole…hi.”

“Hey,” she responded in a soft whisper.

“I, uh, didn’t realize we’d scheduled something for tonight.”

“We didn’t. We’re here because Nicole has something to tell you.” Brandi brushed past him, bumping her shoulder against Evan’s in a harsh way.

“Ouch, what’s gotten into her?” he half-whispered to Nicole. As the trio got settled in the living room, Evan looked at the two ladies facing him. “So, what’s up?”

“What’s up is that you’re a bas*ard, did you know that?” Brandi said angrily.

“Wow, I didn’t do anything to deserve that. Or did I?”

“How could you have s*x with Nicole?!”

“You told her?” he asked the dancer. “You’re not speaking to me about it, but you think it’s okay to go ahead and tell Brandi about that night?”

Now it was Nicole’s turn to get angry. “Excuse me? You’re not speaking to me about it, either, remember? And I didn’t tell her, she came to this conclusion by herself.”

“Okay, but you—” He turned to Brandi “—have no right coming to my house to insult me. I didn’t force her into sleeping with me. We’re two adults, both of whom consented to it.”

“Alright, I’m sorry. I’m just really mad that you guys didn’t tell me anything. What about our friendship? Do you think it’s okay to just cancel on our lunch dates, or to subtly make me choose who I’m going to have to hang out with? I hurt too, you know. Your mistakes affect me, too, when it comes to this friendship. Friendship that we built together, the three of us, but the two of you alone decided to ruin it. If you’re both consenting adults, as you said, then why couldn’t you guys talk about it after?”

“Ask Nicole, she’s the one who ran away.”

“Don’t interrupt me when I’m giving my ‘angry-and-hurt friend’ speech. If you guys can’t deal with the consequences, don’t get into bed with each other. Fu*k, that’s the oldest rule ever! If you can’t do no-strings, then don’t have meaningless s*x, especially not with your friends.”

“I’m sorry, Evan,” Nicole said after the silence that followed Brandi’s words became too uncomfortable. “I shouldn’t have left your apartment without as much as a goodbye. I panicked and I didn’t know what to do. I’d never done anything like that before.”

“And you think I have? I don’t sleep around, Nicole. I was confused, too. I panicked, too. It really hurt me when I didn’t see you the morning after. I thought, ‘hey, maybe she had to go to work. She’ll text me later’. But you never did. You didn’t call and you didn’t text, and you didn’t reply to my texts or answer my calls. How do you think that made me feel?”

Nicole sighed. She didn’t know what to say. Amid her emotional breakdowns, she’d never once stopped to consider how Evan might have felt.

“I’m pregnant.”

“What?”

“You heard her—”

“Don’t get into this, Brandi. Did you just say you’re pregnant?” Nicole nodded in response. “And what do I have to do with it?”

Nicole frowned. “What do you mean? I’m pregnant with your child, Evan.”

“There’s no way. I used a condom.” The older man shook his head.

“No, you didn’t. You didn’t use a condom and you didn’t pull out.”

“And you’re not on birth control?”

“If I were, I wouldn’t be pregnant, would I?” The dancer rolled her eyes. “I’ve never been on birth control. I don’t sleep around, you know.”

“You sure do, if you got yourself knocked up. This kid can’t be mine.”