Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating - Christina Lauren Page 0,76
say anything, but I know it wouldn’t be her choice to have me still a bachelor when that happens.
I park outside and lean forward, pressing my forehead to the steering wheel. I’d wanted to meet Dave for a beer to unwind and hang. Now it’s loaded with this—and we can’t even talk about it.
He’s already inside and at the bar with a beer in front of him, looking up at the television mounted on the wall. SportsCenter is recapping the biggest Oregon football rivalry from Saturday—the U of O Ducks versus the OSU Beavers, and I know without having to look that the Ducks won handily.
“Hey.” Dave puts his beer down and claps me on the shoulder when I sit.
“You got here fast.”
“The traffic gods were on my side,” he says, “and I was intensely motivated by the prospect of beer.”
“Bad day?”
“Teachers are out today so I was meeting with a parent.” He takes a drink. “It’s the job, and I seriously love hanging with the kids all day. It’s the rest I could do without. I think your sister went shopping or something.”
I nod, and try not to do that thing Em accuses me of where I smile when I’m hiding something. It doesn’t help that I feel oddly jittery. Not only am I stressing over the whole being-in-love-with-Hazel situation, I’m still shocked by the sight of all those pregnancy tests. Isn’t one sufficient? There had to be at least five in there.
I still can’t believe it. I take a second to imagine it all: Emily pregnant, the baby, and who it might resemble. Umma and Appa happily losing their minds as grandparents.
“You seem pensive,” Dave says.
I nod, and take a few wasabi peanuts from a bowl between us. “Just digesting the food I ate at your place.”
He laughs. “Is work okay?”
I thank the bartender when she deposits my beer in front of me. “Yeah, actually, work is great.” And it is. We’re talking about hiring another physical therapist to handle the workload. It would bring in more revenue and allow me to take a bit more time off from the practice. I love my job, but I frequently work ten- or eleven-hour days just to make sure I see everyone, and if Hazel and I . . .
I stop the thought before I can take it too far.
“I’m actually wondering whether I need to get a bigger place soon. I was home earlier, and Umma just looks so tiny.”
“She does seem to be shrinking.” Dave grins when he says this. “But,” he says, and then frowns a little, “and I know this bucks tradition, so please ignore me if this comes off as insulting, but you know Em and I would be happy to have them come live with us.”
The idea of it makes my heart drop. “Oh, that’s okay.”
“I mean,” he continues, “we probably aren’t even going to have kids, and we have all that space. It seems sort of a waste.”
I lift my beer, drinking about half of it in a few long swallows.
So Dave doesn’t know that Em is pregnant. And he’s not expecting a baby, maybe ever. A protective fire rises in my chest. Is that where Emily is? He thinks she’s shopping, but is she really off somewhere freaking out?
I realize I’ve been silent for an impolite amount of time. “I know what you mean, and I honestly do appreciate that offer, but it’s something I’ve been looking forward to.” I try to explain this to Dave without sounding ungrateful or dropping the baby bomb. “It’s an honor for me to take them.”
He nods and opens his mouth to speak, but I need to change the subject quickly. “I think I need to do something about Hazel.”
Beside me, Dave goes still. “Like what?”
I take a deep breath. “I’m in love with her. I don’t think she’s going to see Tyler anymore, so I wonder whether I should tell her.”
Dave slowly lifts his beer to his lips, drinks, and swallows. “I mean, yeah, maybe you should talk to her.”
This response isn’t immediately encouraging. How much does Dave know about this? Why isn’t he more shocked? Does he know more about Hazel’s feelings than I do? Does Hazel talk to Emily, who then talks to Dave about it?
“Unless you think she’s just undecided,” I say, probing for a reaction I can then dissect until I am insane. “I mean, we’ve had the opportunity to be together, and the last time I tried to approach it,