That Girl (That Boy: The Next Generation #5)

June 20th

Twelve days.

Ainsley

I wake up and look at the clock. It’s nearly nine. I can’t believe I slept in so late.

I touch my abdomen and think about my call with Damon last night. The decision I made not to tell him that I’m pregnant.

My questions this morning are: Was it the right thing to do? And what are the consequences of my decision?

It does mean I’m going to have to go through pregnancy alone.

But I believe it will be worth it. I care for him.

Love him. Want his first season of college football to be everything he’s ever dreamed of.

For him to be able to focus on those goals and experiences.

To have nothing to distract him. For the press to talk only of his accomplishments and not on the fact that a less-than-two-week summer fling resulted in an unplanned pregnancy.

Which is the other big issue.

We have been together for all of twelve days.

Day one was just harmless flirting.

Day three, the night of Chase and Dani’s wedding, I found out about my dad’s gambling addiction, drank too much, and tried to seduce Damon.

Day four, I woke up mostly naked with him in my bed. And later that day, we shared our first kiss.

Day six was our first date, when we spent a fun night in a tent he had set up for us.

On day seven, after making sand angels, we were naked together in the shower, and the physical side of our relationship progressed past kissing.

Day eight was our butterfly picnic, where we first said I love you. Where we spoke of how fast things were moving between us and how we believed we were soulmates.

On day nine, we watched fireworks together, and later, I fell asleep on his shoulder.

On day ten—the night of his birthday party—he wished for birthday sex, took me to his suite, and asked me to be his girlfriend. And when he blew out the candles just after midnight on his actual birthday, he said, I wish Ainsley would love me forever.

On the eleventh day, we shared a long night filled with passion and love, ending my sexual drought.

And on the twelfth day, our last day together, we agreed I would visit him whenever I could. We discussed how we would label our relationship and ultimately decided he would call me what he’d called me since the first day he saw me—his future wife.

I look down at the charm-filled bracelet on my wrist. The charms he gave me to remind me of each of those days. Days spent falling in love with him.

I told him I truly believed he was my first real love. And that I wanted to support him in football, life, and beyond.

And that’s what I’m doing—supporting him in football so that he can enjoy it in his life and beyond.

I smile when I think about what else we said that day.

How he asked me to move to Lincoln with him.

Since I have to work this summer and then finish my degree at a different school this fall and get a job, we decided to do the long-distance thing until after I graduated and then reevaluate things at Christmastime.

Christmastime.

That’s when I’ll tell him.

I grab my phone and look up his season schedule. Their last game is Thanksgiving weekend. If they have a good enough record, they will go to the conference championship game the following weekend.

There’s another reason why this makes sense.

Damon is the ultimate in big gestures. If I told him now, he’d want to get married. I know he would.

And although we’re in love and we’re going to have a baby, there’s no need to rush that kind of commitment.

It would be too much, too soon. I mean, take my parents, for example.

They got pregnant and married after only knowing each other for a few months.

And even though they are now just getting a divorce, honestly, as soon as my mother found out Dad had lied to her about all the money he’d lost, she should have left him then.

And I don’t want to go through that.

I think Damon’s wonderful. But by not telling him, I can keep the focus on our relationship. We’ll have time to figure out if there’s more than just love there. If we could have not only a loving and healthy relationship, but one filled with mutual respect.

And I know Damon is nothing like my ex, Brad.

I don’t believe he will cheat on me. But I don’t know that for sure.

I don’t know how he will react if he doesn’t end up starting.

Or how he will behave when he becomes the star I know he will be.

And how he will handle the attention he’s bound to get from everyone—from journalists to girls.

The only thing I don’t like about this plan is that I’m going to have to—well, not lie to him exactly, but I won’t really be telling him the truth.

And somehow, I’m going to have to hide this pregnancy from him.

From Sammy.

From everyone.

To be honest, it might not be that hard. Other than being a little tired, I really don’t feel pregnant.

I pop out of bed and go into the bathroom.

Look at the tests on the counter, double-checking that they’re still showing positive.

I close my eyes.

“Remember in Haley’s wedding toast, how she talked about our first summer here? How we call it that summer? The summer we will never forget?” he said.

“Yeah.”

“Being here with you today is like that. I’ll never forget the way you look, what you say, how you kiss me, and how you make me feel. I know we’ve been flirting and kissing, but today feels like one of those moments. The start of something we’ll never forget.”

Tears filled my eyes as I clinked my glass against his. “To us.”

We sealed the toast with a kiss, and then he held my gaze and said, “I love you, Ainsley.”

I was shocked he had said it so soon and asked if he was serious.

“I’ve always been serious about you.”

“I mean, I thought the whole future wifey was, like, just a flirty thing.”

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t joke about that.”

And I could barely believe it.

“You really are in love with me? Like, it’s not just some crush?”

“Most definitely not,” he said, sliding his finger across my cheek. “I am in love with you.”

I press my eyes shut tighter as I’m overcome with emotion. I so clearly remember locking eyes with him the first time I saw him, feeling like I was starring in a romance movie and had just met my true love.

“I want you to know how I feel. How I’ve felt since I first saw you. Tell me what you’re thinking.” He pulled me onto his lap. “Actually, don’t tell me what you’re thinking. Tell me how you’re feeling.”

“That day, we, um … like, our eyes met …” I stuttered out.

“I knew then,” he said.

Tears filled my eyes as I cradled his handsome face in my hands. And then I said what was truly in my heart.

“I love you too, Damon.”

And I knew I meant it.

Which is why I’m doing this.