Page 14 of The Golden Goalie

“Hey, Guys,” I manage.

“You coming to Cal’s party tonight?” DJ, I think, asks.

“Nope.” I don’t bother giving them an explanation. They probably don’t want to hear that I’ve sworn off parties forever after what happened at the last one I was at.Don’t think about it, Amber.

“Aw, come on. It’s my big one,” Cal says, still grinning.

“Eighteen?” I ask with a saccharine sweet smile.

“Oooo.” The guys rib him and elbow him.

“Twenty-one,” Cal says in response. “I’m of legal age to drink now.”

“As if that stopped you before!” The guys around him make a ruckus, and I bite my lip because I know what’s coming.

“Boys, this is a library, not a dormitory,” Mrs. Randolph says sternly.

There it is. Of course, a warning from an ancient librarian doesn’t make them cower, though. Cal leans forward, getting into my personal space once again. “I heard a rumor.”

I look up and meet his gaze head-on. It's the only way to deal with guys like him. “What?”

“That you’re no longer dating.” He leans even closer. “So, Ambs. I’m going to ask you again. Are you available to come to my party?” His voice is a low whisper, but I don’t think it has anything to do with his fear of Mrs. Randolph. I think thathethinks this is somehow sexy.

It’s not. “Nope.”

“Oh, come on. You’re single now.”

His words are like acid in my stomach, but I somehow manage to keep my blank expression, I think.If he knew I was pregnant, he wouldn’t even be talking to me.That thought hits me hard, and I almost lose my chill expression. I wonder if any guy will give me a chance ever again, or if I lost my chance. I mean who wants to date a woman carrying another man’s baby? And who wants to date a mom...because that’s what I’ll be in like nine months. I suddenly feel like I’m going to throw up. I push my chair back. “I’ve got to go do something. I’ll catch you guys later.” Without looking back, I flee to the bathrooms at the back of the library. I barely get to the toilet before I unload what little I had in my stomach. After I wipe my face with a cold cloth, I lean forward and look into the mirror. “You just have to play the role of a carefree college student for four more months.” I push my shoulders back. “I’ve got this.” My alarm goes off for my reminder to call the doctor’s office to make an appointment.“I’ve got this,” I tell myself one more time before I make the call from the inside of a toilet stall.

Chapter 7

Amber

I absolutely do not have this.I hang up the phone and drop my phone into my pocket and resist the urge to bury my head in my hands. Feeling a little dazed, I walk back out of the bathroom. I'm surprised Mrs. Randolph hasn’t come looking for me by now. A sick feeling fills me as I make my way back to the desk.Seven.That’s the number of doctor’s offices I called; it’s also the number of offices that turned me down for an appointment because of my insurance. I bite my thumbnail and try to focus on the computer screen in front of me.

“Can you help me find a book?” Somebody asks, jolting me out of my revelry. “Amber?”

“Hey, Reagan.” She and I worked on a project together in one of our classes last year.

“I didn’t know you worked in here,” she says, looking around the library like she’s seeing it for the first time. She probably is; she’s not exactly a library-using kind of student.

“What book is it?” I ask.

“Oh, yeah.” She flips her long blond hair over her shoulder and shows me her phone. “It’s this book I need for one of my classes. I can’t find it online anywhere. I don’t know why they have us get books that you can’t buy at regular retailers.”

“I know we have several copies of that book, but they’re usually checked out. Let me see, though,” I tell her, already looking through the library’s database.

“How can you stand to work here?” she asks, but I focus on the work in front of me. “It’s so...drab.”

I ignore her comment. “It looks like they’re all checked out. Do you want me to put a hold on one?”

“Well, that doesn’t help me if they’re all checked out.”

“No,” I say slowly. “But it will get it into your hands once it’s returned.”

“Never mind,” she huffs. “I knew this would be a waste of time.”

“I can give you the names of a few online bookstores that might carry it,” I offer.

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