“Spill,” Kiera said, wriggling her brows at Pandora the moment she sat down.
“What?” she asked, looking between Keira and Sia, her friends from high school and college respectively.
“Don’t act coy. You had sex. It’s written all over your face,” Sia said smugly and Kiera nodded rapidly.
Pandora’s mouth dropped open in shock. Was it really written on her forehead? How tense had she looked before? “No, I didn’t,” she answered stubbornly.
“Yes, you did. I swear we will torture it out of you if you don’t start speaking.”
Pandora frowned at the two and motioned at the server. “I need some coffee before my lips open,” she announced. In no time, the coffee was in front of them and Pandora had taken her first sip.
“You've had your coffee now. What did he look like?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t remember.” When she opened them, she saw the look of worry on her friends’ faces.
“Did someone hurt you?” Sia asked urgently.
“No.” She shook her head before placing her hand over Sia’s. “We were both drunk… so drunk that I don’t remember how he looked.” She stopped and remembered the bits that were still embedded in her mind. “I know he was tall, somewhat muscular, and had beautiful tattoos all over his arm.”
She bit her lip when she remembered his smoldering grey eyes. “And his eyes were grey. Other than that, I don’t remember exchanging names.” She gulped. “It was good. It was so good that I came a number of times. But that is all I remember.”
Sia and Kiera shared a smile. “Were you safe?” Kiera asked and Pandora’s eyes moved between the two of them.
“I don’t even remember what he looked like. You expect me to remember if I used protection?” She dropped her head in her hands when she realized how risky her move had been. “How was I so stupid?”
“Pandora, you are fine. But still, you should get checked out, okay?”
She was twenty-nine, had only been with two men in her life, and was going to get tested.
“We’ll get checked out right with you,” Kiera told her. “The nurse at the local clinic is so hot. I hope he is working.” She smiled with a dreamy look on her face.
“Damnit, Kiera. You’ve got a boyfriend… do you remember Ron or not?” Sia yelled and slapped Kiera’s shoulder.
“So what? That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy looking at a handsome man. I am not cheating on Ron. And he knows I find nurses hot.” She shrugged.
Pandora snorted because if Kiera wasn’t her childhood friend and she didn’t know better, she wouldn’t know if Kiera was in her right mind or not.
Sia extended her hand to Pandora. “Come on. Let’s go to the clinic and get this over with.”
- - - - -
“Miss Leonard,” the nurse called. Pandora waved at her friends and walked into the room. She had decided that since she needed to get her routine check-up the next month, she would get it over with in one go.
“I will be doing your exam today. If you can change into this ad lay on the table, I’ll get my assistant and be back in a few minutes.”
Pandora undressed after the door closed. Moments later, the nurse was back with someone in tow. As she set out to do the exam, she explained each step to Pandora.
“Everything looks clear. We will have your results in a few days. Now, we just need to do your blood work.”
Pandora nodded and the nurse helped her sit up.
“As it has only been a few days, you will need to come back for a pregnancy test.”
She gulped and shook her head. “There is no need for that.” The nurse stopped what she was doing and turned to Pandora. “I can’t have kids.”
“I’m so sorry,” she muttered, taking the needle out of Pandora’s arm. “You will receive your results back in a few days but you do need to come back in three month time for another blood draw and test. It’s just procedure.”
“If anything unusual pops up, just come back. You can get dressed now; we’re finished for the day.”
Pandora sighed as the nurse walked away and slowly got dressed. She was surprised to find Sia and Kiera both waiting for her.
“Come on. It’s girls’ night out!” Sia said, picking up on her horrible mood.
As they munched on an extremely cheesy pizza and sipped on their wine, Kiera went back to the topic of the mysterious man. “Tell me more. How was it?”
“I don’t remember!” Pandora protested.
“You remember some stuff. I can see it in your eyes. They glaze over when you think about him,” Kiera said, reminding her just how well her friends knew her.
She licked her lips and took a moment to form the words. “His body was… firm. And I remember that he made me laugh and smile and feel good.” She shook her head and bit her lip. “I just knew he was more worried about making me feel good than getting off himself.” She shook her head a little. “I felt… wanted.” She didn’t have any other words to explain what she had experienced.
“I think we need to track this guy down.” Kiera's eyes sparkled with determination. Their eyes met and Pandora raised her brow to ask how.
“Any man that makes you smile like that… I need to see him and I want him to be beside you and keep that smile on your face.”
“It was a one-night stand with a stranger, Ki. Nothing more.” She didn’t miss the sadness in her voice as she said that.
Kiera frowned and opened her mouth to argue, but Pandora stopped her.
“All I remember is the joking nickname we shared. I don’t even know what his real name is. Of the millions of people in Vegas that day… how do you think I can find him?” She was unable to hide the pain of how true her words were.
“Dora…” Sia whispered sadly.
“It’s fine. I’ll be just fine.”
“Enough moping around!” Kiera clapped her hands and jumped up. “You don’t need a man. All you need is Sia, me, and your very 'personal' assistant.”
Kiera produced a brand-new vibrator and handed it to Pandora. “This is your birthday gift. Belated happy birthday, bitch,” she laughed.
Even though Pandora rolled her eyes, she felt grateful that the vibrator was in a sealed box. “This is what every girl needs. Besides her two best friends, that is,” she commented, agreeing completely.
Pandora groaned, still feeling tired after ten hours of sleep. As she sat up, she felt a wave of dizziness overcome her. Before she could lay back down, her stomach turned. She jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, hoping and praying she wouldn’t puke on the floor.She hunched over the toilet and heaved. Nothing really came up. She didn’t have time to be sick. And she willed her body to stop without much result. When the retching finally stopped, she dragged herself to the sink to clean up. Still, her stomach felt uncomfortable.As the day passed, she felt worse. Nothing seemed to help with the nausea she was feeling. She tried to force down the lunch before resting her head on the desk, hoping a short nap would make her feel better. Sleep made everything better, right?“They pay you to sleep at work?” she heard Derrik say. She jumped at the sound of his voice, but it was her stomach that made it worse. She covered her mouth and looked at him. “What?” he said irritably, staring
Keira helped her sit on her couch and walked away. Pandora knew she was still in the house because she could hear the other move around the house. She was speaking to someone, but Pandora had no idea who it was.“Here, have some tea,” she said, placing a cup in Pandora’s hand. Her hands lingered. “You got it?” she asked and Pandora looked down before tightening her grip on the cup.“I’m going to have a baby?” she questioned, still thinking that the universe was playing a cruel joke on her.“You are,” Keira confirmed. “This is real, right? It’s not a joke.”“No, it’s not a joke.” Keira rubbed her shoulder.“I’m going to be a mom?”Keira squinted, reevaluating Pandora’s sanity.“Derrik and I tried for years and nothing happened. I didn’t even mistake myself to be pregnant. But I sleep with a random guy and I am immediately pregnant?”A stranger whom she didn’t remember, whose face she had forgotten, let alone what his name was.“What’s wrong, honey?” Keira asked, worried.“I don’t know
“If you are ready, we can begin with the breast exam?” he asked but she got the feeling that he was staring at her. Pandora looked his way but his head was not positioned in a way that he could look at her. “I will be touching you now. My hands are warm.”“That’s fine,” she said nervously. “It will be hard for you to do the exam without touching me.”His soft hands touched her breasts, sending tingles throughout her body. He took his time as he pressed and moved his fingers over her. Once he was finished, he covered her back up with the sheet provided. Of course, by this point, her nipples were hard and tenting the sheet in two spots.“You have a small stature. Is your husband tall?” Dr. Parks asked.Pandora frowned, looking up at him. “He’s—” She cut herself short as Derrik wasn’t her husband any longer. How did she answer that question? The doctor obviously didn’t need her explanation but she was curious as to why he needed to know how tall Derrik was.“Is he over six feet?”Pandora
“Have you lost a baby before?”She shook her head. “After the diagnosis and surgery, I was told that the chances were slim that I would get pregnant.”Dr. Parks sighed before nodding. “I take it that you have been trying for a while, then?”“Yes, we tried for years, starting as soon as we got married. But nothing and now—” she said but stopped herself from blurting out her dirty secret. She felt his hand touch hers and she opened her eyes to see a silver wedding band on his finger. The image of him being so happy in his wedding photo hit her again and only made her cry harder. Again, she asked herself why she had to choose and marry an asshole.“I can’t promise that everything will be okay, but I will watch over you. I would like to see you every week until you give birth. According to the scan, you look about eight weeks along. That means you have another seven months to go.”Pandora agreed, feeling a little better that he was willing to watch over her so carefully.“Do you work?” h
Pandora looked at her dad’s house, taking a few deep breaths, trying to muster up the courage to go inside. ‘I am a grown woman with a job, a car, and a house!’ she told herself, but she also had that small voice in the back of her mind repudiate. ‘Did you forget the ex-husband whom your father asked you not to marry?’ Pandora groaned, knowing she was about to start her engine and just leave with how conflicted her thoughts were.She jumped when she heard a sharp knock on her car’s window.“Sorry,” Nina smiled as she looked through the window. Pandora let out a nervous laugh and opened her car door. “Is everything alright?” Nina asked as she looked her stepdaughter over.“Yeah,” Pandora muttered and shut the door.Nina and she walked to the house the older woman shared with her father. They had known each other since high school. They went from being close friends to raising Pandora together. Nina’s husband cheated on her ten years ago and Pandora’s father, Walter, stuck by her side
She quickly got out of the tub and put on her bathrobe before grabbing her cell phone. Instantly, she jumped as it started to vibrate in her hands. She hissed when she saw Derrik’s name flashing on her screen. She pressed accept to answer the call and forewent all formalities when she spoke.“That better not be you at the door!” she stated as she went to the window.“Get your ass here and let me in!” Derrik sneered.“Fuck you,” she hissed out and disconnected the call. Right away, she dialed the emergency number. “I warned the asshole, this is on him,” she muttered as she waited for someone to respond. “Pandora!” she heard Derrik yell and he started pounding on the door again.“What is the address of your emergency?” The monotone male voice asked over the phone.“Pandora!” Derrik yet again bellowed followed by the pounding on her door.She stated her address, her voice breaking.“Answer the fucking door, you stupid bitch!” Derrik screamed again, continuing to pound on the door.“What
“Where is my bracelet?” she asked herself as she looked through her jewelry box. She groaned, unable to find it. She closed her eyes, trying to remember where she had last worn it. But she wasn’t fully awake and after a night of no sleep because of Derrik, it was hard to function.Just as she was about to give up, she imagined the bracelet on her wrist. She could feel someone touching her softly and with so many emotions that it made her whole body tingle from that one spot on her wrist.“Where did you get this?” a smooth voice with the smell of alcohol asked, and her eyes sprang open.“Vegas,” she declared and she shuddered. She moved to the closet and got her bag. She took out the small jewelry bag she had taken with her. She dumped everything out and grabbed her bracelet. As she put it on, a silver ring caught her eye.“Where did that come from?” She lifted it up to inspect.It was a simple silver band. She frowned at it and turned it around in her fingers. Suddenly, what looked li
“See! You don’t pull over for an unmarked car. Similarly, you shouldn’t be talking and going with a person who doesn’t have a uniform on. Part of why I am in the Special Victim cell.”Pandora looked at him playfully. “Well, I shouldn’t be talking to you right now.”“Here it's fine. This is the police station, after all.”“You have a point. I am taking that you wear a uniform to the first meet and greet. Then once they know you are the real deal, you walk out wearing a suit. It’s a bit like a superhero, isn’t it?”“Batman. I like batman, thank you,” he said. “Of course, the best detective in the comic universe.”They walked into his office and Milton pulled out a seat and gestured for her to sit down. Once she was settled, he pulled out a seat to sit down next to her.“Your ex was let out an hour ago. He was not happy. But I did make it clear that he would be in trouble if he went anywhere near your home or work.”Relief overwhelmed her.“Now, we need to work on the restraining order.