The Bookstore on the Beach - Brenda Novak Page 0,61

controller aside—something he typically didn’t do if he could avoid it. “Everyone’s starting to talk about the two of you,” he said.

A chill ran down her spine. “What are they saying?”

“They’re wondering what you could be doing—spending so much time alone together.”

“We go to the beach sometimes,” she said. “We’ve seen you there. We even played volleyball with you two days ago.”

“That was an hour out of the day. You played a couple of games and then you left. I texted you later to see if you wanted to get some pizza with us. You said no. I texted you the next night to see if you wanted to join us for a movie. We put up a sheet as a screen in Shawn and Adrienne’s backyard, and his father used a projector to make it like a drive-in. It was cool. But you weren’t interested. Heck, today we decided to build ice cream sundaes, and when I texted you, you said no to that, too. What could you be doing all the time with Sierra that’s so great you don’t care about missing everything else?”

She’d just learned she was pregnant when she received his text about the sundaes and hadn’t wanted anyone to see her red, blotchy face. She still hadn’t come to terms with the fact that her body was no longer entirely her own, felt queasy whenever she thought of all the ramifications—like how she was going to tell Caden and Oliver and her mother and Mimi. “We’ve just been hanging out,” she said, feeling too guilty to put up her usual fight.

He peered closer at her. “You don’t like Sierra as more than a friend, do you?”

She caught her breath. “What do you mean? What made you ask me that?”

“Penn says he’s pretty sure Sierra’s into girls.”

This was hitting Taylor at the worst possible time, especially because she didn’t know how she would answer him—if she was even willing to. She’d never been attracted to another girl before, but Sierra was different.

What would she do if Sierra tried to kiss her?

She didn’t think she’d mind. Did that make her a lesbian? She wasn’t sure. She only knew that she loved who Sierra was, how Sierra handled life and how Sierra treated her. Not only was Sierra tough and smart and nice, she was also so much fun—a free spirit.

But Taylor couldn’t explain all of that to Caden. That left it too open-ended, revealed how conflicted she was. In the split second she had to decide, she felt she had no choice except to deny it. Otherwise, she’d be labeled a lesbian whether she really was one or not. “I’m not gay,” she said.

He seemed even more skeptical. “That didn’t sound very convincing.”

She hadn’t been able to sell it, because she wasn’t convinced. So the only thing she could do was deflect his questions until she could figure it out herself. In any case, whoever she loved was nobody else’s business but her own. She didn’t want him and his friends speculating on it. “If you must know what’s going on...”

Her face or manner must’ve signaled that she was about to reveal something important, because he got up and came toward her. “What?”

“I’m pregnant,” she whispered.

His jaw fell open. “No...”

Tears sprang to her eyes, and a fresh lump formed in her throat, making it impossible for her to squeeze out even a one-word response. She had to nod instead.

“Oh, my God,” he whispered. “But...you haven’t even been with anyone. Who’s the father?”

She tried to speak and, again, couldn’t.

“You haven’t had a boyfriend since you broke up with Trevor last Christmas.” He leaned down to catch her eye. “Is it Trevor’s baby? Were you two still hooking up?”

Swallowing hard, she dashed a hand across both cheeks. “No,” she managed to say.

“Who, then?”

She didn’t want to tell him. She knew he’d be upset with her, which would only make the world feel more hostile. “I can’t say.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’ll hate me.”

“You’re my sister. I hate you already,” he joked.

When she didn’t laugh, he sobered, too. “Come on. You can tell me. Of course I won’t hate you.”

“It was just a one-time thing, Caden. I—I don’t even know why I did it.”

“So...”

“You have to swear you won’t tell anyone. I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. Sierra’s the only other person I’ve told.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” he promised.

She wrung her hands. “Do I have to say who the father is? Or can you give me a few days