“Anyway,” Amy said. “You need to leave. This is girl talk time.”
Japer turned to me. “I know when I’m not wanted.” Beside him, Amy raised her eyebrows at me, and I tried to not react. “Call if you need anything,” he said, leaning down and kissing the top of my head. “Keep that baby safe. And you two ladies, keep that one safe.” He nodded to me and then walked out.
“Bye, Jasper,” Amy shouted in a singsong voice. I threw a cushion at her.
“Are you joining us for dinner?” I asked Amy.
She sat down and gave Li a hug. “No, unfortunately I have plans, so I thought I’d come over now and catch up. I won’t be around much this weekend.”
“Oh?” Li said.
“Me and Liam have a make-or-break weekend planned.”
“What? Things are really that bad? Why didn’t you tell me when we went out, or the other hundred times we’ve spoken on the phone?” I asked.
She grimaced. “We’ll you’ve got a lot going on and-”
“I don’t care what I have going on, I want to help you too.”
Amy smiled and sat back.
“Right, no baby or Jasper talk. I want to know everything that’s going on with you and Liam.”
“Okay,” she said. “But quickly before we start, I think he likes you too.”
“Definitely,” Li agreed.
“Sure, we’re friends, and I’m carrying his child.” I deliberately left out the part where we’d had sex in my bedroom only three hours ago. They both opened their mouth to say something else. I held my hand up. “No more. We’re moving on. What’s going on, Amy?”
She sighed, shoulders slumping.
“Things have been strained for a while. I’m ambitious and working towards my degree, I know the career I want and what I have to do to get there. He’s the opposite. He’s bored at work, hates being shut inside a warehouse all day but does nothing about it. I hate people that complain about a situation but don’t change it. It’s like he’s waiting for his dream job to miraculously land in his lap.”
“What is his dream job?”
“Spray painting cars. Custom stuff, not accident touch-ups. When I suggested he changed jobs and worked for a mechanics while doing a course, he looked at me like I was crazy. Now surely if you’re advertising for a job and someone has experience working with cars and the other one has been working in a factory you’re going to go with the mechanic.”
“It’s okay, stay calm,” I said as her voice got louder the more frustrated she got.
“Sorry. I just hate seeing him drift like this.”
I could relate to that. I’d hated watching Jasper get drunk almost every night and walk around like he’d checked out long ago.
“He gets frustrated at me getting frustrated. I think he resents that I know what I’m doing and what I want, and I resent that he makes me feel bad for it. I work really hard to get where I am, and I’ll continue doing that. We’re just so different.”
“I think he’ll be the same when he gets a job he likes,” Li said.
Amy threw her hands up.
“Me too! He talks about it with such enthusiasm. I seriously fall in love with him all over again when he gets that passionate; it’s really cute. But then, nothing. I don’t want to push but at the same time I do because his moods are driving a wedge between us.”
“You need to be sneaky about this. If you suggest something, he won’t listen, or it’ll be a bad idea. You need to plan it, so he thinks he thought of it all along,” I said.
“That what you do with Jasper?”
“No, he’s usually a step ahead of me anyway,” I replied and frowned. “He thinks everything through to death.”
Amy sighed dreamily. “Ah that would be nice.”
“You’ll be fine. Hey, why don’t you do a bit of research and see what’s around the area where you’re going? Maybe you’ll find some inspiration,” Li said.
“That’s actually a good idea,” Amy replied. “Right, this weekend we’re getting things sorted out.”
I nodded, wishing I could be that decisive so quickly.
“Now that’s done. Tell us about lover boy!”
Groaning, I threw my arm over my head and laid back in the sofa. “There’s nothing to tell. We’re friends, and we’re having a baby.”
“And you’re in love with him,” Li said.
I dropped my arm. “Not love. I just like him an unhealthy amount.”
Amy laughed. “Li’s right. You love him.”
My heart leapt. “Oh. I do, don’t I?”
The both nodded, laughing.
“Damn.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Your next scan is October 11th at eleven, right?” Jasper asked for the millionth time. He was panicking about being so far away from us now I was back at uni. All the way in the car as he prepared to drop me off he’d been memorising dates, or trying to, he’d get stressed and muddle them up.
“Yes. I’ll be home Thursday evening though. You know this, stop stressing.”
He gave me a tight smile. “What time are you getting back Thursday?”