Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
SIX WEEKS LATER
Devyn
I’m just about to step out for lunch when I feel a sudden wave of nausea. I spot the ladies’ room up ahead and increase my pace. As soon as I make it to the stall, I lose the contents of my stomach and heave until there’s nothing left. I hear the restroom door open as I’m hunched over and try to remain as quiet as possible.
There’s a small knock on the stall. “Hey, Devyn. It’s Andrea. Are you okay? I saw you run in here, and I heard…well, it sounds like you’re throwing up.”
Andrea is from Human Resources. She welcomed me to the agency on the first day of my internship and helped me fill out all the new hire paperwork.
I wipe my mouth with some toilet paper. “I think so. I’ll be out in just a sec.”
I step out of the stall after flushing. I wash my hands and dig into my purse for my little travel bottle of mouthwash. As I’m swishing the contents around in my mouth, I think about how thankful I am for being so prepared. People give me crap about my incessant need to plan for everything, but it works for me.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Andrea asks as she’s freshening up her lipstick.
I spit into the sink. “Yeah, I’m sorry; I don’t know where that came from. I felt fine and then all of a sudden, my breakfast was in the toilet. I feel better now.”
She looks at me through the mirror. “You’re not pregnant, are you? When my sister was pregnant with her first, she would get sick one minute and be ready to scarf down an entire buffet the next. It was nuts.”
“What?” I sputter. “Uh, no, definitely not pregnant.” Okay, so my period is late, but that’s not uncommon for me. Especially when I’m super stressed from all the long hours I’ve been working over the past few weeks.
Andrea looks skeptical. “Are you sure? People don’t normally puke without reason. Have you taken a test?”
I start reapplying my lip gloss. “I’m sure. I haven’t had sex in a while…and when I did, we used a condom. Several of them.”
Andrea smiles. “So did my sister, Julia. With her first and third kid. Condoms break. I’m just saying it wouldn’t hurt to stop by the drugstore on your way home.”
I try to push back the panic. Could she be right? “Thanks, Andrea. I’ll consider that.”
Rile y
“Dude, will you quit looking like someone just ran over your dog?” Brody whines. “You’re a shitty wingman.”
Brody started his master’s program during the summer semester like I did. We share a lot of the same classes and recently started hanging out.
I take a swig of beer. “Sorry, man. I’m just distracted.”
“About what?”
I take another drink. “It’s nothing.”
“Uh oh,” he says. “I know that look. Tell me about her.”
I look up. “What?”
He laughs. “The chick. You’re hung up on someone. So, tell me about her. Is she hot? How big are her tits?”
I sigh. “Is it that obvious?”
He claps me on the back. “Totally obvious. Who is she? Have I seen her around campus?”
I shake my head. “No. She’s from back home. Well, from U of O, where I did my undergrad. We were really good friends for years but never hooked up until right before I left town. I haven’t talked to her since, and I feel like a dick.”
“Why not? Did she get all clingy or something?”
I think back to that night. Sure, she dropped the L word, but she was just being honest, not clingy.
“No, man. She didn’t. It was just best to make a clean break.”
“Why? Was the sex awful?”
“Best sex of my life. ”
He smiles. “Ah, I get it, brother. You’ve been touched by the Magic Pussy.”
“The magic what ?”
“The Magic Pussy,” he repeats. “Pussy so good you can never get enough, and it’s impossible to forget. An urban legend in my opinion, but you sure do have all the pathetic signs.”
“Thanks,” I grumble.
Sounds about right, though, doesn’t it?
“Seriously, though. Are we talking apples, oranges, or is she packing a pair of melons?” Brody uses his hands to demonstrate fruit sizes.
“Quit talking about her tits, man.” I glare.
His jaw drops. “Oh man, you’re worse off than I thought. You don’t even want another guy talking about her tits. I can’t imagine what you’d do to the poor sap who touches them.”
I think about another man touching Devyn’s anything and grind my teeth together. “Shut the fuck up, man.”
Brody holds his hands up in defense. “Hey, buddy. I’m just speaking the truth here. If you’re still thinking about her almost two months after the fact, why don’t you just call her?”
“It’s not that simple.”
He shrugs. “Your call, dude, but quit killing my prospects here. At least try to look like you want to be here.”