The Bookstore on the Beach - Brenda Novak Page 0,51

thought to bring swimsuits when they took off on the motorcycle, and were now lying in a hidden alcove where a lot of teenagers came on weekends to build a bonfire and party. They were drying off and enjoying the sun, surrounded only by their discarded clothes, random pieces of driftwood, seaweed and the occasional bird that hopped over to take a closer look. But just because they were alone right now didn’t mean others wouldn’t or couldn’t come upon them, which was why Taylor kept checking the path that led to where they were.

Fortunately, they’d had no surprises so far.

“Oliver’s that boy from back home?” Sierra asked. “The one you said wasn’t your boyfriend?”

Taylor put her phone back inside the pocket of the cutoffs she’d kicked off earlier. She needed to figure out some way to buy a pregnancy test. She would’ve tried to get one by now, so she could at least know, but she was afraid the attempt alone would somehow lead to her mother or grandmother catching on. Where would she go to get one? And would she borrow her mother’s car to get there? What if she was seen at the store when she’d said she was going to a friend’s house? “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Must want to be,” Sierra said. “He keeps contacting you.”

Could the jealousy in her voice mean Sierra didn’t want her to be with anyone else? “He might. But it doesn’t matter. I’m not into him.”

Sierra leaned up on one elbow, completely unconcerned about being out in the open in nothing but her bra and thong. She was absolutely fearless—and that was one of the things Taylor found so intoxicating about her. Sierra was willing to take risks. She’d insisted they bring the motorcycle here, saying they could take the back roads and not be seen by more than a handful of people. And even though Taylor had tried to talk her out of it, she had to admit it had been exhilarating.

“Then what is it?” Sierra asked.

Taylor was afraid to say. There was no way to predict how Sierra would react. She was as passionate and intense as she was unique, and they’d been getting along so well, were having so much fun. Taylor didn’t want to do anything that might bring it all to an end, not when she was finally starting to care about life again. “Nothing.”

“It’s obviously something,” Sierra argued. “You look like you’re about to throw up. What did he say?”

Taylor needed a few seconds to grapple with the lump rising in her throat.

“Tay?” Sierra pressed. “If he said something to upset you, I’ll tell him to fuck off. Give me your phone.”

Still trying to fight back tears, Taylor shook her head. She couldn’t have Sierra yelling at Oliver. The pregnancy wasn’t his fault—at least not entirely.

“Hey.” Sierra softened her voice and shaded her eyes as Taylor got up and started putting on her clothes. “What is it? I’ve never seen you like this.”

“I don’t want to tell you,” she said.

“Why not?”

“Because you won’t like it.”

For the first time, Sierra looked worried. “What’s going on?”

Taylor pulled her tank top on over her head. “I can’t say.”

“Of course you can. You can tell me anything.”

“Is that true?” she challenged. “Really true? You won’t turn your back on me no matter what?”

Sierra got to her feet and started dusting the sand from her legs. Her movements were routine, casual, but the look in her eyes was not. “Isn’t that what love is all about?”

Love. Taylor wasn’t yet fully dressed, but she was too upset to be self-conscious anymore. As she sank back down onto the sand, part of her wanted to ask Sierra what kind of love she was talking about. The love of a good friend? Or the love of...

She didn’t dare put a name to the other kind. “I think I’m pregnant,” she blurted out.

With a gasp, Sierra dropped down beside her. “What’d you say?”

Nibbling nervously at her bottom lip, she stared out to sea. “You heard me.”

Sierra didn’t speak—just pulled one knee into her chest and locked her arms around it as she followed Taylor’s gaze.

“Well?” Tay said at length, finally braving a glance over at her. “Aren’t you going to tell me how stupid I am to have gotten myself into this mess?”

“Sounds like you’re already being pretty hard on yourself. I don’t need to pile on.”

“I can’t believe I did this,” she said with a groan, letting her head fall back and talking