“Yeah, but can you check if Faith and Natalie are still here? I feel weird doing this with them hanging around.”

“I think they’re gone, but I’ll double-check,” I assured her. I went into the common area, and there was no sign of either girl. “The coast is clear.”

I waited outside the door as Aubrey used the bathroom. When I heard the toilet flush and running water, I opened the door to check to make sure she was okay. The pregnancy test was sitting on the corner of the counter, like a ticking time bomb.

“We have to wait a few more minutes,” she said before she slid down and sat on the floor.

I crouched in front of her. “Do you need anything?”

“I could really use a shot of vodka right about now, but I guess that’s not an option,” she complained.

“Not tonight, but we can drink ourselves silly tomorrow night if the tests both come back negative,” I promised.

“I’m so glad you came back. I’m sorry to interrupt your time with Drake tonight.”

“Shut up! Where else would I be when my best friend is having a crisis? I’m right where I need to be, and we could have done this sooner if you’d just have told me about it,” I chastised her. “What pushed you over the edge tonight?”

“The guy I was with last, the one who could be my baby daddy? I saw him today. It’s been a few weeks, and I’m the one who said no to a relationship. But I freaked out when I saw him with another girl, and here I am, worried that I might be pregnant with his baby. It just made it seem more real.”

“Aubrey,” I sighed.

“Here goes nothing,” she muttered as she got to her feet and lifted up the test to check the results. “Thank God! It’s a minus sign.”

I jumped up and hugged her. “One down, one to go. Let’s get you some water so you’ll have to pee in the morning. We can wake up early and take the next one, okay?”

She sighed deeply and nodded her head. I sent Drake a quick message, letting him know that I wouldn’t make it back over. Aubrey and I chatted into the night, catching up on everything that had been going on with each other. I felt guilty talking about how well things were going with Drake and me when her life was so messed up right now. Aubrey had always flitted from one boy to the next, falling in and out of love so easily that she never really bruised her heart. I’d always kind of admired her for it, actually. Now, I realized that she hadn’t really been falling in love. Infatuation? Sure. Lust? Probably. Love? No way.

I hadn’t thought of my feelings for Drake in those terms before, but I had to admit that I’d fallen for him. Hard. I couldn’t imagine my life without him in it. My days were better when we were together, and he made my heart race every time I saw him. As I finally drifted off to sleep, I had to admit it, at least to myself. I had fallen hopelessly in love with Drake Bennett.

A few short hours later, I woke to the blaring of my alarm. It was only 5:00 a.m., but we’d figured it was late enough for the second pregnancy test. I shook Aubrey awake and led her to the bathroom. I waited while she peed on it, and we repeated the process from the night before, whispering to each other this time so we didn’t wake up Faith or Natalie. The last thing we needed right now was any questions about what we were doing.

“I think it’s time,” I said after five minutes.

“I can’t look,” Aubrey cried. “You do it this time.”

I got up and checked the test. I turned to her, beaming. “Negative. It’s a minus sign, Aubrey.”

“I’m not pregnant?” she gasped.

“Nope, you’re not. I know you’ve always been super regular, but maybe it was just stress. Or your body is trying to sync up with ours since there are four of us rooming together.”

“I’m not pregnant,” she repeated, tears streaking down her cheeks.

I wrapped her up in a hug. “Vodka for sure,” I whispered into her ear and she giggled.

“Absofuckinglutely!” she agreed. “But first I need some more sleep so I can face classes today.”

“Great idea!” I agreed, and we both headed back to bed.

chapter 14

I woke up to the text message chime on my phone. I glanced at the clock and realized only a couple hours had passed. It was barely after 7:00 in the morning.

Drake: Meet me asap. Need to talk NOW!

Alexa: What’s up? Sounds like an emergency. Not sure I can deal with another one today.

Drake: Meet me at my place asap.

Alexa: You’re scaring me. R u ok?