�Come inside and sit down,� he whispered grabbing my arm. He had to walk me to a chair and push me down into it. �I said she�s pregnant,� he repeated once we were both seated.
�Nick, that�s not a very funny joke,� I told him.
�Do I look like I�m laughing?�
�When did she tell you this?�
�Right after your fight.�
�What did she say. . . exactly?�
�She said, �Nick, I think I know why my behavior has been a little crazy lately.� Then she took my hand and said, �Nick baby, we�re gonna have a baby.� I just looked at her.�
�What were you saying to her before this �announcement�?�
�I was trying to break up with her once and for all. That whole scene just clinched it for me and she was totally out of line.�
Bingo! I thought. For the moment I was going to hold my suspicions to myself. A part of me was saying, Alexis this is none of your business. Don�t get involved. Another part of me was saying, You have got to help him. You can not let that girl drag him down like this. After letting those two argue it out for a moment I asked,
�Ok, does anyone else know?�
�Just Brian. I figured he�s a father, he could help me out, ya know. Give me some advice. Anyway, she thought we should keep it to ourselves for now and I agreed with her completely.�
Alarm bells were ringing in my head all over the place.
�Yeah but, he�s a father who at least likes the baby�s mother and he�s married to her.�
�I realize that,� Nick said bitterly.
�So what are you going to do?�
�I don�t know.�
�What is she going to do?�
�She�s going to keep the baby. She�s going to name it Nickolas if it�s a boy and Nicole if it�s a girl.�
�Did she actually tell you all this?� I asked in complete shock that that was her brilliant plan.
�Yes.�
�Nick, I�m going to be completely honest with you. I think this sounds like a trap. Did she take a pregnancy test, yet?�
�No�. well yeah she said she took one already. Besides we can�t exactly go to the store and just pick one up.�
�She needs to take one with you present.� Nick gave me a look. �I don�t mean you have to watch her pee on the little stick. I mean, she needs to do it when you�re at least around. You can be in the other room.� Course if I were you I�d watch that bitch pee on the little stick, I thought.
�Ok but how are we going to get the test? The fans and most of the world know what she looks like if any of them spotted her buying a pregnancy test it would be front page news before the results are in. And I think it�s pretty obvious why I can�t go buy one.� I nodded. We both sat there silently trying to think of someone who could get the test for him.
�I�ll buy it for you,� I said surprising even myself. �I�ll get it tonight.� Alexis, you�re getting involved. . . too involved, I thought.
�Thank you Lexie, thank you so much,� Nick said pulling me into a bear hug. It felt� nice.
�Look just don�t have sex with her until she takes that test. I mean it!� I warned him.
�Oh believe me, I won�t touch her with a 10ft pole,� he assured me.
I eventually made it to my dinner. Joshua and Derek were so happy to see me that they were able to overlook the fact that I was a hour and a half late.
�Ok the queen of the night has been crowned,� Joshua said when he saw me. �Sweetheart you look lovely. I don�t think I�ve ever seen this little dress before. And I do mean little. Who are you trying to look good for? Nick�s not here is he?� he said looking around.
�I wanted to look nice. Besides I have to keep up with you,� I replied.
�You look absolutely gorgeous,� Derek replied pulling me in for a hug. I don�t believe I�ve introduced Derek. He doesn�t look like what one might call your �average gay guy�, he doesn�t act like it either. Derek is the level headed one of the pair. He�s taller than Joshua and broader. To put it plainly he looks like your average lumberjack or Marine. As a matter of fact, Derek used to be a Marine. He joined right out of high school, served his time and moved on. Derek has dark brown eyes, loves his holey blue jeans and likes hard rock. His black hair was usually cut almost military short and didn�t have a bit of product in it. In fact, I think the only �product� he used on his hair was shampoo.
�Thank you, sweetie,� I said. �It is so nice to see you two back together�.. again.�
�Ok, ok let�s go eat before she starts to lecture us,� Joshua said.
The entire night though, I could not focus. I felt distracted and thoughtful. Nick�s predicament was weighing heavily on my mind. I kept chiding myself for letting it bother me. Alexis, it�s his life and if she is pregnant and he�s the father than that�s his problem not yours. They�re both adults and they both know how to stop things like that from happening. Why is this bothering you, anyway? I thought. Because you like him, admit it, a small voice said.
�Lexie? Hello? Is anyone in there?�
�Alexis are you ok?� Derek asked. �You�ve been kind of quiet tonight. I was expecting to hear some stories from the road.�
�Oh I�m sorry you guys. I�ve just got a lot on my mind right now,� I told them pushing my food around my plate with my fork.
�Is whatever�s on your mind blonde with blue eyes and a popstar?� Joshua asked. I kept my eyes off of Joshua and on my plate. �Lex sweetheart what�s going on?� Damn you Joshua and your perceptiveness, I thought.
�Can we stop by a drugstore before we head back to my hotel. You guys are still coming over aren�t you? I want you two to meet Cookie. I think you�ll like her,� I said. Joshua and Derek passed a look between each other and nodded simultaneously.
�Yeah we�re still coming,� Derek said.
�What do you need to stop by a drugstore for?� Joshua asked.
�Just something I need to get,� I replied.
Derek was looking at magazines and Joshua was looking at hair products when I slipped down the family planning aisle. Wow so many different choices when it comes to pregnancy test, I thought.
�Oh EPT the �error proof test�. This is definitely the one,� I said aloud.
�Who needs the �error proof test�?� Joshua asked from directly behind me.
�Oh wow Joshua you scared me. You shouldn�t have snuck up on me like that,� I said.
�I wouldn�t have scared you if you weren�t up to something. So who needs the �error proof test�? Are you pregnant, Alexis?�
�Me?! No!! I�m not pregnant,� I said.
�Then who needs the �error proof test�?� he asked again.
�Would you stop calling it that. They abbreviated it for a reason.�
�Then answer my question. If it�s not you, why can�t you tell who it is?�
�Ok� ok calm down. Don�t get your panties in a bunch. This is for Nick�s. . . .well Nick and his girlfriend.�
�What?!� Joshua exclaimed. An elderly lady at the end of the aisle shot both of us an odd look before returning to her search for cough medicine.
�Would you quiet down! We�re trying to keep this on the down low,� I told him grabbing his arm and pulling him a discreet distance away from everyone else.
�His girlfriend is pregnant?� he asked in a shocked whisper.
�According to her she is. I don�t believe her. That�s why I�m buying the test for them. One, they can�t exactly pop in and get one themselves. Someone might see them and it�ll be headline news by morning. Two, I don�t trust that bitch as far as I can throw her and I think I can throw her ass pretty far if given the chance,� I said.
�Oh ok. This is what was bothering you at dinner,� he said.
�Yes, I think that bitch is trying to trap him. I mean even if she is pregnant I wouldn�t be too surprised if it weren�t even Nick�s kid.�
�Sounds like you don�t like this chick.�
�Uuuhh yeah. I told you about her. We got into a huge fight not too long ago. She fucking attacked me.�
�She attacked you? And she�s still breathing?�
�Yes, I was not losing my job for her ass.� Joshua stared at me.
�Wow, I can not believe I just heard you say that. I can remember you not giving a flying fuck who you pissed off when someone was fuckin� wit yo shit,� he said doing an imitation of me that was about six years old.
�That was a different time and a different Alexis.� Joshua continued to stare at me smirking.
�Yeah ok.�
�Besides, I was in high school. Ok, we are not going to get into this discussion, now. I have to get these test and I still want you guys to meet Cookie.� I went back to where the EPT was displayed and grabbed three of them.
�Three? What do you need three for?�
�Well I figure what if one comes out positive. She could have gotten pee from some pregnant woman or something. So then they have the other two. Well if the next one comes out negative they have the third one as the tie breaker,� I said having thought this all out at dinner.
�Ok. . . . got it all figured out haven�t you?�
�That I have,� I said making a beeline for the checkout.
