“I’ll take the first cab and head up to the room. Follow me with your own.” She nodded, watching him step away and into a car before she did the same. Holly hoped that nobody was watching as she pulled away from the curb and her own hotel, ending up at his as she walked to his room ready for more.
CHAPTER FIVE
Their affair continued the same way for a couple of months. Aaron always managed to make time for them, be it after a game at home on somewhere on the road. He romanced her as much as anybody could without their relationship being known. They both hated it, but the season was busy and they made do with being satisfied by the time that they did have. Nobody seemed to be catching on and Holly felt both relieved and disappointed in that.
Some of the players asked her out along the way, after a little time had passed since she started. Holly always told them that she was flattered and that she didn’t feel right about that, given her position with the team. It was the stock answer but not the one that she could give Aaron, choosing to run back to his bed every chance she got so they could enjoy the way they knew and loved each other’s bodies.
They were on a week-long trip when she started feeling sick, assuming that she’d picked up a virus from one of the games. Though she kept herself really healthy, there were thousands of people at any given arena and it was bound to happen. She was resting in Aaron’s bed in Minnesota, smiling at the way that he was fussing over her and insisting that she eat. “I’m okay. I’ll kick this, Aaron. It’s just been busy with the couple of injuries and the traveling.” She’d tried to insist on sleeping in her own room but he loved having her in his, making her relent and find a cab after she’d passed on the team dinner. “I just need sleep.”
They both went to sleep snuggled against each other, making love slowly before she got up to go to the hotel to head home on a plane. Everything was going well apart from the secret that they were keeping and it worried her, making her restless in her seat beside Tanner. “You look a little rough.” He told her, causing her to scowl in his direction.
“I’m just tired and kind of sick, I think. Too much traveling.” Holly rested her head back on the seat and closed her eyes lazily, feeling thirsty.
“Rest up this week while we’re home. This isn’t your style, Holly.” Tanner teased her as she smiled wanly.
“Don’t I know it?”
They got home and she went home to sleep, still feeling unsettled a week later. Holly was doing everything in her power to get better but it seemed to drag on just enough to wear her down even as she felt hungry all of the time. She ate healthier food than usual and ended up falling asleep on Aaron faster than he was used to, finally suggesting she see a doctor.
Just as she was picking up the phone to make an appointment as she eyed the calendar for a good day, her heart dropped into her stomach, settling like a heavy lump. Holly wasn’t the most regular girl in the world, but it had been about six weeks since her last period. She’d been so busy that she hadn’t thought about it. Holly stared at the dates, thinking that there was no way she could be pregnant. She was great about taking her pills and had not been on any kind of medication to alter their effect.
Shit. She grabbed her purse and walked out of the apartment in her worn jeans and a sweater to the corner store, glancing around for any familiar faces. Holly wasn’t a celebrity by any means, but she’d gotten to know a few people working with the team. She didn’t want to explain this or have it get back to Aaron, since it had to be her mind running on overtime. Holly let out a small sigh of relief and grabbed a few choices from the aisle, exiting it as she dropped the test kits into a basket and ducking her head. She chose self-checkout to stay discreet, paying and bagging everything as fast as possible before heading to the quiet apartment to suffer through this alone.
Holly locked the door behind her and drank a whole glass of water before she looked over her choices in pregnancy tests. She felt sick thinking about this but she picked the one that seemed easiest and headed into the bathroom to do her thing. The worst part was going to be waiting and she walked back out into the living room to grab the other tests and drop them onto her bed as she paced back and forth.
Holly was young and she was sleeping with her boss, which was the worst situation to have this happen to her…to them. This kind of news could tank Aaron’s reputation and bring scandal to the team all over again while she could apply elsewhere and disappear quietly from his life. It was the only answer if that test did come up positive. He couldn’t even make this a real relationship with her yet. How would he handle becoming a father from some fling that he was having?