Page 32 of Loved

"We both didn't have anything important going on today,” Penny said. “I thought it might be fun to show James where I grew up."

I heard the front door open again. And it was like some of Penny’s nervous energy transferred to me. It was her dad that I was really worried about talking to.

"Hey, Pen." Mr. Taylor opened his arms the second he entered the kitchen.

Penny quickly gave him a hug.

I stared at them hugging. He probably still saw Penny as his little girl. And I had no idea how he was going to feel when we disclosed our relationship. I didn’t want Penny’s parents to view her any differently. Or think she made a mistake. Penny was a good girl. Well, until she met me. No, she was still good. She was just bad around me. And I had a feeling her father would really hate that.

Mrs. Taylor set the table, poured us each a glass of lemonade from a pitcher, and gestured for us all to sit.

I sat down next to Penny and put my hand on her knee. I wanted her to go at her own pace with this. But Iwas kind of hoping she’d just rip the Band-Aid off and tell them.

"So, what's up with you two?" Penny asked. "Do you have anything new and exciting going on?" She took a huge bite of her sandwich.

Okay, so delaying it was the game plan then…

I kept my hand on her knee.

"Just the usual,” her mom said. “What about you two? How's Comm going?" She started to eat her sandwich too.

The food looked great. But it would be easier for me to run away from her father on an empty stomach.

"Comm has been...interesting," Penny said. "Actually, the real reason that I'm here is that I have something I need to tell you." Penny took a huge sip of lemonade to stall.

That was good thinking. Running was easier when you were properly hydrated. I took a sip too.

"Actually, thatweneed to tell you." She looked over at me.

Was she waiting for me to cut in here? I couldn’t read her face.

"Oh my God." Her mom slowly placed her sandwich down on her plate. "Oh my God, you're pregnant?!"

I choked on my lemonade. What the fuck kind of conclusion was that?

"What?!" her dad practically shouted.

I winced.

"No,” Penny said. “No! I'm not pregnant." She laughed awkwardly. "I couldn't possibly be..." her voice trailed off.

Well, I wasn’t sure that was entirely true. Yes, she was on birth control, but it was stillpossible. Especially since I really liked not using a condom.

I pressed my lips together. I was pretty sure she was just trying to say she wasn’t sexual active, though, which was hilarious. Did she seriously think her parents didn’t know we were fucking? And why the hell were we even talking about this right now? Penny wasn’t pregnant. But just the idea had made me start sweating. I’d be a shit father. Just like mine had been.Fuck. What if she is pregnant/?

Her parents were just staring at us in silence.

Penny stole a sideways glance at me.

I had no idea what to say. This conversation had taken a very weird turn. Could she tell how uncomfortable I was talking about her being pregnant?Breathe.

"Definitely not pregnant," she added, staring at me. And I knew she was saying it more for me than her parents at this point.

I knew I was probably pale. We’d barely talked about kids. My heart was beating funny in my chest and I had no idea why. Maybe because now I was picturing having a daughter one day. And her sitting across from me telling me she was fucking her professor. Penny’s dad was going to kill me.I’dkill me.

"Actually, what I needed to tell you is that James isn't a student at the University of New Castle."

Her mom started laughing and put her hand on her husband’s shoulder. "That's it? You scared me half to death."

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