“Ohhhh, right.”

“Why are they asking you that?”

“Because I was.” I wince even though she can’t see me.

“The fuck? You didn’t think to tell me?”

“I didn’t want to tell anyone,” I confess. “I wouldn’t have even told my dad if Sam didn’t think I should let him know what was going on.”

“Sam knew?”

“Uh, yeah,” I chuckle. “He’s the one who insisted I was so sick I needed medical attention. Which I didn’t.”

“Obviously you did if you were admitted to the hospital!”

“Well, maybe. Technically, I was admitted due to a bad reaction to medication that made my blood pressure go so low I could have been mistaken for a corpse. But I’m better now. Almost. I’m still a little tired, but Sam is forcing me to take it easy.”

“Chloe!” Farisha exclaims. “Oh my god! You had an allergic reaction that bad? Fuck you again for not telling me!”

“You know I don’t like making people worry.”

“I do. So…what the hell happened?”

“I had the flu, which caused a high fever and then a migraine. But I promise I’m fine now. I’m back at Sam’s apartment in Chicago and I’ve hardly done shit all day so I’m fine, trust me.”

“Is Sam with you?” Farisha asks, and I roll my eyes.

“He’s at work, and my dad already called and demanded answers from him. He’ll tell you the same thing: I’m doing really well.”

“My goodness, Chloe. That’s good to hear. Still, I don’t like having to find out my BFF is super sick from a social media post.”

“I’m sorry. It’s…it’s weird to me to send out a massive text or whatever. And the only reason I posed on Instagram at all is because I had to cancel a live interview last minute and I had my assistant tell everyone I canceled because I was sick.”

“Fair enough. You’re in Chicago?”

“Yes. I’m sitting on Sam’s couch as I speak.”

“And he’s at work?”

“Until seven PM, yes,” I reply.

“You’re really okay? I don’t just mean physically.”

“I’m fine,” I rush out. “And if you were wondering about Sam, he’s been very attentive. And yes, I do mean sexually.”

“You’re so good at deflecting legitimate issues, it’s concerning.”

I let my eyes fall shut. “I know. Really, though, I’m okay. The medicine they gave me for my headache made me sick. If I hadn’t had the bad reaction to that, I’d have been discharged that night. I’m still really tired, so I’ve been taking it easy today for real,” I press. “Sam has already called, texted, and left me a note this morning telling me to relax and rest.”

“Good. I hope you are, and holy shit, I’m behind on Sam details.”

I beam at the thought of him. “You really are.”

“Things are good between you?”

“Yes,” I answer right away and then feel a nagging on my heart. “But…he’s been acting kinda weird lately.”

“Weird how?”

“Like he’s nervous yet really affectionate. A few times he said he wanted to be alone, like so he could talk to me, and things didn’t go as planned.” I inhale as I blink. “And today I was using his computer and a text came through from his friend that said what did Chloe say?” I sink my teeth into my bottom lip. “And no, I wasn’t being nosy. I asked him if he minded me using his computer so I could look back and forth between my document and the notes my editor sent me. I immediately disabled iMessages from popping up on the screen while I worked,” I rush out.

“That is weird,” Farisha agrees. “Do you think he’s going to propose?”

Her question throws me a bit. “Already? We’ve only been officially dating for a few weeks now.”

“Yeah, but you’ve been in love with each other for years. I totally think it’s too early, but if you’re the one for each other, why wait?”

“I, uh, I guess.” I try to keep hope from bubbling up in my chest. “I might have thought that already,” I confess, thinking back to him sitting across from me at the hospital. The emotion in his eyes…the way he was so nervous at the mention of us becoming a family. Was it because he wanted to ask me to marry him?

To officially start a family of our own?

“Hang on,” I say. “You think he’s going to propose?”

“Honestly, I have no idea, but that’s the first thing I thought. What would you say? I’m sensing shock on your end.”

“Oh, yeah, I would be shocked, but I’d say yes,” I answer with no hesitation. “You’re right. I have loved him for a very long time.”

My own phone chimes in my ear and I pull it away to see a text from Sam. “Holy shit, Farisha. That’s Sam. He said he wants to go for a walk along Lake Michigan before I have to leave tomorrow for LA.”

“Are your nails done?” she asks with a laugh.

“I don’t want to jinx it. It’s soon. Sam probably isn’t sure about spending forever with me yet.”

“He’d be crazy not to. You’re a catch, Chloe. I’ve told you a thousand times, if I didn’t like dick so much, I would have a crush on you.”

“Hah,” I say, smile breaking out over my face. “Oh my god. Oh. My. God.” I stand up and stride to the window, fighting hard against the excitement that’s building inside of me. “I…I love him so much,” I blurt.

“I know you do. Do you know how annoying it was to stand back and watch you two play the Ross-and-Rachel game for years?”

“Probably just as annoying as it felt to be so close to Sam telling me how he felt only to have him push me away.”

“Hah, true. Ahhh, Chloe!”

“Don’t get too excited,” I tell her. “We have no idea what’s going to happen tonight.”

“Right. Okay, breathe. And yes, that’s a reminder to myself.” A baby starts crying in the background. “Oh, and for the sake of transparency in our relationship, since I’m clearly the only one who knows how to be honest, I stopped taking birth control this month. Fingers crossed I don’t get pregnant any time soon.”

“They why’d you stop taking your pills?”

“Because at the time it sounded like a good idea. Now everything annoys me.”

“Are you sure you’re not already pregnant?”

“I’m literally bleeding out of my vagina as we speak.”

I laugh. “I will be soon too, so we can be almost cycle sisters again,” I say.

“How did we get messed up on that? We’re always together.”

“We are,” I say as it dawns on me. I’ve never had a super reliable period, but it’s been pretty constant in coming once a month. I mentally count back to the last period I had and realize that—fuck—I’m officially late.

22

Chloe