He didn’t reply. Instead, he sighed heavily and sat down beside her on the bed. Several minutes passed before he finally broke the silence. “Why didn’t you tell me, Lauren?”
Tears were already flooding Lauren’s cheeks, and she shook her head to tell him she didn’t know.
“Dammit, it’s just two simple words! I’m pregnant! That’s all you would have had to say,” he continued. “Did you think I’d be mad? I’m a lot madder to find out that you lied to me, Lauren. You knew I had to find out sooner-“
Lauren interrupted him. “Stop it! Please, just stop,” she sobbed. “I made a mistake, Nick. You’ve made mistakes in the past, too, you know. I admit, I should have told you, but it’s too late now.”
Nick’s tone softened. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I deserved to be told, just like I deserved to be told about Danny.”
“Leave Danny out of this, Nick.”
“Why? It’s basically the same situation.”
“It is NOT the same situation!” Lauren cried, her voice rising. “I didn’t tell you about Danny because you fucked some other girl, Nick. You broke my heart, and I didn’t want you to find out about him. I never intended on telling you after the phone call I made to your house. I was going to tell you about this baby, but I was putting it off, okay?”
“Why were you putting it off?”
“I didn’t-“ Lauren started harshly, but she stopped to soften her voice. “I couldn’t hear you say we couldn’t keep it. I couldn’t give the baby up.”
“Why did you think I’d say that?”
Surprised that his question wasn’t why they couldn’t give it up, she answered. “You already have a kid, and it wouldn’t have been fair for me to just throw another one in. I couldn’t do that to you.” Again, she broke down in sobs.
Nick gathered her in his arms and pulled her close. “I love you, Lauren. It wasn’t your fault. I was the idiot. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you in Orlando in the first place.”
“I was just as willing as you, Nick. You didn’t take advantage of me.” She paused. “There’s one more thing you need to know about that night.”
He looked at her expectantly as she hesitated again. “Whatever you have to say can’t be that bad, Lauren,” he assured her.
“I did care. It wasn’t just our ‘no strings attached’ night,” she blurted out. “I just-the next morning I was so scared. I couldn’t believe I had done that, so I made up some stupid excuse for it.”
“Are you saying you do have feelings for me?”
“My God, of course I do!” Lauren exclaimed. “From that night a few summers ago that you confessed your love for me, I never stopped loving you. I just want things to go back to the way they were that night. I want to be with you.”
“All right.” Cautiously, he tilted her chin to look into her eyes, her soul. Their lips met, and Nick carefully parted her lips with his tongue. When they finally pulled apart, they were both out of breath. “I love you so much, Lauren,” he whispered.
“I love you, too.”