Knocked Up(19)

"You're not still worried about that?” Rex asked with a snort. “You won the next three. And the next race in September is the biggie. You'll make twice as much."

Luke shook his head. "No, no nothing like that. It's just...you remember Suzette's hot friend?"

“Tawny?” Rex’s brow furrowed as he stared off into space like he was trying to recall her, exactly. “She did look good that night, but I'm not sure I would call her hot. Cute, maybe, or—”

Luke sliced a frustrated hand through the air. ”Just shut up, okay? I slept with her,” he blurted.

Rex blinked and then shrugged. “Yeah. And?”

"And, well, I think she was a virgin. I mean, I'm pretty sure she was."

"Okay. Well, that...sucks?" Rex raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry, I'm still not seeing the problem,” he added with a shrug.

"Well, I called her but she didn’t call me back, and I can't get her the fuck out of my head. It's like she's haunting me or something. I just want to talk to her. Make sure she’s okay. See how she’s doing.”

And if she wants to have an encore, a mocking voice in his head piped in.

"So, you've been pissy for months because...you're interested in a girl?" Rex chuckled. "I had no idea you were such a pussy."

"I will not hesitate to punch you directly in the scrotum." Luke showed his brother his fist and he seemed to get the message.

Crossing his legs at the ankle in a clear effort to protect himself, Rex said, "Right, okay. So you like Tawny. Maybe she changed her number or something. All I have to do is ask Suzette for it and then--"

"No, don't get Suzette involved. She's the biggest loud mouth in town. Besides, I'm leaving soon. It's a bad idea to get involved with Tawny. I'm not, like, looking to date her, I'm just trying to figure out what’s up, you know?"

"Maybe you're not the stallion of a lover you thought you were," Rex offered helpfully, but when Luke cracked his knuckles, he rushed to offer an alternative. "Or, more likely, it has nothing to do with you. She’s probably got her own life to live and things she’s doing, is all. And making room for a grease monkey who isn’t exactly known for long relationships might not be high on her list of priorities. From what I’ve heard from Suzette and seen the few times I met Tawny before, she seems really low key and kind of shy. Maybe she’s embarrassed and wants to forget it happened?”

The thought irked him, because he sure as shit wished the same and so far? It wasn’t happening.

“Fine. Either way, though, I just want to know. It's like...I don't know. I want it out of my head once and for all.”

Rex shrugged. "So go find her, then. What’s the worst that could happen if you hunt her down and ask? You find her and she says your dick was just too huge for her."

Luke took a sip of his beer and chuckled. "That's probably what it was."

"But seriously, man. Life's only so long. Just go for it, you know?"

Luke considered his brother, then took another slug of his drink.

It wasn't the most convincing argument in the world, but at this rate he could hardly think of something else to solve his problem. He'd find this girl and figure things out--even if it meant asking her flat out what had happened that night, but he wasn't going to get Rex or Suzette involved. He had to find her on his own and then ask the question that had been haunting him for the past few months.

Why didn’t you want more of me, Tawny?

Once she answered that, it would all be over and he could move on with his life.

Like it never even happened.





Chapter 7





Tawny scraped her plate, making sure to get all the last bits of whipped cream and strawberry juice before shoving the fork in her mouth and staring down at her empty plate with longing.

For weeks, she'd had nothing but waffles, strawberries, and whipped cream and she still couldn't seem to get enough of that sweet, tart combination to satisfy her cravings. Briefly, she considered raising the plate to her mouth and licking it clean, but then Suzette laughed at her from across the table and she looked up to find her friend still picking at her half-eaten eggs.

"What?" Tawny asked, glaring at her.

“You’re so frigging transparent. You know they do have more,” Suzette informed her haughtily. "You don't have to look at your plate like someone just died there."

She sighed and shrugged, letting Suzette off the hook for her teasing. Her friend had been nothing but a rock since she’d worked up the nerve to tell her about the pregnancy. Tawny had managed to keep it to herself for all of two days before she’d crumbled and fessed up everything. To her credit, Suzette hadn’t been angry at her series of white lies. Instead, she’d encouraged her to take her time and think about her options. Counseled her to talk to Luke. And, when she’d refused, instead of judging, she hugged her hard, and promised to be there every step of the way.