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say. I had let lust get in the way of a wonderful relationship as well. Complete sexual attraction to another person was difficult to ignore. Did we all have to choose between steady, dependable love, and hot, frantic sexual desire?

 

Annie’s affair with J.D. had ruined her relationship with Adam, and she had ended up losing them both. It made me curious about why she had encouraged me to choose Sam, and I questioned her about it.

 

“Sweetie, I was never going to be happy with Adam after feeling that intense attraction to J.D. Even if I hadn’t slept with J.D., I would have always wondered about him. You can’t deny that kind of pure, animal lust. If you have the chance to enjoy it, you should grab it, even if it doesn’t last. Let the consequences be damned.”

 

I contemplated her words. It was true, I would never forget my amazingly hot time with Sam, and I couldn’t bring myself to regret it. I was sorry for the pain it had caused Seth, but if I could take it all back, I didn’t think I would have the strength to do it.

 

Annie continued, saying, “What I felt with J.D. was a once-in-a-lifetime, sensational experience, and I wouldn’t give up those wonderful memories for anything, even though it didn’t last. It sounds like you feel that sense of complete exhilaration with Sam, and it is a rare and beautiful thing that you should enjoy while it lasts. Besides, just because J.D. was a cheater doesn’t mean that Sam is.”

 

I understood now why Annie wanted me to choose Sam. I had tasted the forbidden fruit, just like she had. There was no turning back now. The difference was that I was the cheater in our scenario because I hadn’t ensured that things were finalized with Seth. I had ruined my own chance of enjoying that feeling of pure, sexual bliss for a longer duration. At least I would always be able to relive my memories of being with Sam.

 

Annie had a good, fulfilling life without either of the boys from her story. I could and would do the same.

 

Annie ended the story with another of her classic, jumbled quotes, “I have found that the sky is sometimes bluer on the other side of the rainbow, but once we experience it, it’s hard to go back.” Then she patted my shoulder and went to the storage room in the back of the store. I was pretty sure I had seen a tear glistening in her eye. I had never before seen Annie cry.

Chapter 42

 

I went through the next several days in a bit of a haze. I made it to work on time, and I responded appropriately to concerned questions, but I wasn’t fully engaged. I just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep for a week.

 

When I saw Courtney walk into the shop and Annie step forward, I knew they were staging some sort of intervention. I didn’t want either of them to worry, and I was touched that they both cared so much, but I wasn’t ready to be my usual, perky self. I tried to come up with some words to let them know that I would be okay, but that I needed some time to heal.

 

“You know we love you.” It was Courtney who spoke. “But you have to snap out of this funk.” She moved to put her arms around both of us and we stood in a three-way hug. The store was empty of customers, so we were able to speak freely.

 

“Maybe the three of us should have a fun night together. We could rent a movie, order pizza, and drink martinis at my place.” It was Annie’s idea. She turned to Court and asked, “Do you think Joe would give you the evening off?”

 

“I’m sure I can work it out. I’ll see if one of the other girls can cover my shift. It sounds fun.”

 

I started to nod in agreement, but all I could think about was that I was suddenly overly warm. Sweat broke out on my lip and my stomach started roiling. I tried to swallow away the nausea, but still knew without a doubt that I was going to vomit. I couldn’t make it to the restroom in the back, so I ran to the trash receptacle behind the counter and retched into that.

 

Once I was finished, I said, “Sorry you had to witness that. I must be coming down with some kind of flu bug.”

 

I saw the concerned look that Courtney and Annie shared. Court said gently, “Ab, there aren’t many flu bugs going around right now.”

 

I wondered what she was getting at as I put a hand to my forehead and said, “Maybe it was something I ate.”

 

Both of them moved to face me on the other side of the counter. Annie looked at Court before asking delicately, “Is there any chance you could be pregnant?”

 

I shook my head automatically. “I can’t get pregnant.” It hurt my feelings that they would ask me this, when they both knew how much I had longed for a baby during my marriage.

 

Courtney talked slowly when she responded, as if speaking to a young child. “You think you can’t get pregnant because it didn’t happen during your marriage to that pinkie-dicked, cheating scumbag.”

 

“Right.” I drew my words out slowly like she had. “His new woman is pregnant, so I was clearly the one with the fertility problem during our marriage.”

 

“Unless that skanky ho-bag cheated on him.” Court’s words made my mind reel. I hadn’t considered that possibility.

 

I shook my head, trying to process. Could I be pregnant? I had been tired and emotional, but I thought it was just due to my love life being in the toilet and possibly a severe case of PMS. Was my period late? I tried to focus on the date and calculate how long it had been since my last menstruation.

 

“Whoa, whoa, here. Let’s not go jumping to crazy conclusions just because I threw up once.”

 

They looked at each other, and I could tell they were both thinking the same thing. “Did you use any protection?” It was Annie who voiced the question out loud.

 

“No, I didn’t think I could get pregnant.” I almost screeched the answer. That was the true answer for why I hadn’t used protection with Seth, but embarrassingly, I had been so hot for Sam that the thought of needing protection hadn’t even crossed my mind before jumping his bones. How could I have been so ridiculously irresponsible?

 

Suddenly, my stomach sank. If I am indeed pregnant, how will I know who the father is? I voiced the fear aloud. “I slept with identical twins within a week of each other.” The idea made me cringe with shame. I winced, but continued. “If I’m pregnant, one of them is the father and one is the uncle, but how will we determine which is which?”

 

By the looks on Courtney and Annie’s faces, I could see that I was the last one to come to this realization. For once, Annie was the voice of reason. “Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. You might not even be pregnant, and if you are, they might have some new-fangled paternity testing that will tell you who the father is.”

 

“They are identical twins. They have identical DNA.” My eyes were open wide as I said the words. I was stunned by my own stupidity. How could I have let this happen?

 

“They can probably pinpoint the exact time of conception,” Courtney reassured me. “Let’s find out for sure if you’re even pregnant before we go worrying about any kind of paternity testing.”

 

Her words made sense, but I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I numbly went through the process of buying the test kit at the pharmacy and peeing on the stick, but the little plus sign only verified what I already knew. I was pregnant, and one of the Davis twins was the father, but which one?


 

 

Keep reading to take a Sneak Peek at the first chapter of the second part of Abby’s story, Making Choices.

Available NOW.

 


 

 

Making Choices Chapter 1 – Sneak Peek

 

He tipped his head back to look deeply into my eyes as he entered me. His beautiful green eyes were slightly obscured by his thick, black eyelashes. I watched his pupils dilate, almost hiding the sea foam green rims, as he pressed his impressive length into me. I relished the thought that my body excited him. His body’s physical reactions proved that he wanted me, desired me.

 

We were on my bed, completely naked, our bodies melded together. He was heavy on top of me, and it felt glorious. My body was on fire, my skin burning in each spot where we touched. It wasn’t enough. I wanted more. I entwined my body completely around his, wrapping my arms and legs tightly around him, pulling him closer, deeper.

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