Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
T oday had been a complete and utter failure. Penny sighed as she finished her third—okay, fourth—bowl of ice cream. The deliciously cold and creamy dessert had done nothing to help her courage. She still shook in her zombie bunny slippers at the slightest thought of going back to Jacks and talking to BJ. This was ridiculous. She’d never had a problem asking her best friend for anything.
Then again…she’d never had to ask him for his sperm before.
Her conscience was right. She’d never asked anything this big of BJ. Her mind boggled even to this day, knowing the good-looking, strong, funny, popular guy was best friends with her. The super geek with the social skills of swamp moss. That wasn’t fair. People liked swamp moss. It was soft and pretty. She, on the other hand, was cursed with carrot orange hair and more freckles than there were stars in the Milky Way. Once in middle school some kids held her down and played connect the dots on her face and arms with magic markers.
She’d feigned sickness for a week after that. It took the possibility of missing the science fair to bring her back to school.
A knock on the door shook her out of old, hurtful memories. She opened the door, eyes going wide with shock.
“BJ. What are you doing here?”
He glanced at her like she was two cans short of a six-pack—lately she felt like she was missing the entire half dozen—and held up a bag of chips and a glass bowl filled with orange and red gooey heaven in the form of queso dip.
“It’s Things That Go Bump in the Night night.”
Right, their weekly TV night where they watched the world’s most ridiculous and hilarious reality ghost hunting show. How could she have forgotten?
Because her brain was currently filled with babies and coming up with the courage to ask the man standing in front of her for his help in that area.
Oh, that.
“Did you forget?”
The corner of his lips curled up. BJ knew she sometimes forgot things when she got immersed in work. Too bad she wasn’t working on anything particularly engaging right now. At least then she’d have something to blame her scattered brain on.
“No, I…yeah, I guess I did.” No use lying. He could always see through her. “Sorry. Come on in.”
He stepped into her apartment, handing over the queso and chips like he always did. Penny had a serious addiction to cheese. Anything dairy, really. Thank goodness she wasn’t lactose intolerant like her sister. She didn’t think she could survive without the smooth velvety tastes of a nice brie, or the cold, creamy heaven that was ice cream. And cookies would be out because without milk to dunk them in, what was the point?
“Beer?”
“In the fridge,” she said, opening the bag and digging into the warm melted nirvana that was BJ’s famous queso.
He returned a moment later with two longnecks. Popping the caps off, he took a swig of his while handing her the other.
She chuckled. “Isn’t it sacrilege to drink beer when you own and operate a distillery?”
Plopping down on the couch next to her, he grabbed the TV remote and turned it on. “It’s a local craft brew. I’m supporting my neighbors.”
“Your competition, you mean.”
“Gotta know the competition. Plus, we’re thinking of serving a few local brews in the restaurant along with our drinks.”
Sound business idea. Not surprising. The entire Jackson family seemed to make savvy business decisions. When she’d graduated from DU and opened her freelance website design business, Ace and BJ had given her plenty of tips and advice. She worked hard over the years, and it had paid off. She was far from a millionaire, but she had a nice retirement fund, a padded savings account, and even a few investments doing well for her.
Now all she needed was a child to share her home and love with.
And just like that, nerves bubbled up again. Clueless to her unease, BJ dipped a chip into the queso and popped it into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed before speaking.
“By the way, if Charlie calls you asking for a favor, tell her to buzz off.”
Yeah right, like she’d ever told anyone in her life to buzz off. That would take confidence and sass. Two things Penny very much lacked. Now, if someone was looking for useless facts and a groan worthy sense of humor, she had that in spades.
“She already texted me half an hour ago.”
“Dammit, Charlie!” He shook his head, turning to glance at her with apology. “I told her not to.”
“She said she was having computer problems.”
“I know, and I told her to turn her damn laptop off and on again.”
Ah, yes, the fix to seventy-five percent of all computer problems. Only five percent were genuine problems and the other twenty were PEBKAC; problem exists between keyboard and chair.
“I told her the same thing.”
“Did it work?”
Of course it worked. It almost always worked. She nodded. “Yeah, she asked me what had gone wrong with it and if she needed to buy a new one, but I told her it was a simple ID 10 T issue.”
A wide grin spread across his face. “You called my sister an idiot?”
She lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “Not to her face, it was over text. Besides, she doesn’t know ID 10 T means idiot. She just wanted an answer for why her system froze and this was the kindest way to put it.”
She’d never purposely be mean to anyone, especially not BJ’s siblings. They were closer to her than her own family, but she couldn’t resist a good computer geek joke.
A deep laugh rumbled from him. “Oh man, that’s so funny. She’d be pissed if she knew what that meant.”
“Don’t you dare tell her.”
“I won’t, but she has access to the internet, you know. She can look it up.”
“Yea, but will she?”
She doubted it. Charlie had number smarts, being an accountant and all, but she didn’t have the thirst for knowledge. Penny researched everything she didn’t know with enthusiastic vigor. Charlie liked what she liked and screw off to what she didn’t. Penny envied the woman in a lot of ways. She really wished she could have the F-off attitude Charlie gave the world. The courage to do and say what she wanted.
Like now. She really needed some of the bravery graced upon the only female Jackson child.
The show started, diverting their attention. They sat, eating their snacks, and finishing their beers while commenting on the hilarity of the show hosts. BJ laughed when one of the men tripped running away from a “strange noise” that sounded suspiciously like the cameraman farting.
“Do you think they really believe this stuff, or are they playing it up for the cameras?”
She shrugged. In all her pursuits of knowledge, she’d never come across any proof of ghosts or an afterlife. Like any good student of life, she knew just because something hadn’t been proven didn’t mean it couldn’t exist. People thought the world was flat for centuries until proven otherwise. While this show might be a tad on the corny side—the main reason they loved to watch—it didn’t mean ghost and spirits were fake.
“I think it’s a little of both, perhaps.”
A jewelry commercial came on showing men getting down on one knee while women cried and jumped up and down in the air, big happy smiles on their faces. Something inside her twinged with hurt and envy. How badly she wanted to be one of those women. All radiant smiles, having a man profess his undying love for her. But it wasn’t in her future. Her ex had proven that when he broke up with her.
“I can’t believe Del is getting married in a few weeks.” BJ shook his head, a smile lighting up his face. “I never thought we’d see the day he settled down. And sure as hell not before the rest of us.”
It had to be weird having your youngest sibling get married first. Del had been a well-known commitment phobe too. Add that to the shock pile.
“He seems happy,” BJ continued, twirling his beer bottle between his fingers. “Cassie is good for him. He sure as hell doesn’t deserve her, but she seems to find something to love about the knucklehead. Better him than me.”
A ping of sadness for her best friend filled her at that last bit.
She knew BJ didn’t want to get married. His father’s death hit him hard. They’d only just started their friendship when his father had died in action overseas and the devastating loss took a toll on his whole family. BJ told her one night, after too many samples of his family’s gin, that he never wanted to get married. He wasn’t a fun-time guy like Del had been before Cassie, but BJ didn’t do deep romantic relationships. He kept things very surface level. Which is why most of his girlfriend’s broke up with him after a few months despite him having the body of a Greek God.
And that right there was another point in favor of picking BJ to be her sperm donor. He would never get married, so there would never be a future Mrs. Jackson angry that her husband had a child with another woman. It wouldn’t be his child, technically, but they would share DNA and some people were uncomfortable with donation, surrogacy, and the like.
The list of pros just kept growing in her mind, but it still didn’t balance out the one con. The insurmountable mountain she couldn’t seem to climb over. She’d have to pluck up the courage and ask her best friend in the entire world to help complete her world. And she would…later…tomorrow definitely.
Yes, it could wait until tomorrow. Tonight, she’d just enjoy a night of silly TV with her best friend and then tomorrow she’d have the courage to ask him. She was sure of it.