I was surprised that he knew my full name. The tone of his voice was grave and scary that I actually did stop, and I just stared at his angry face.
His grip on my left wrist felt like iron, trapping me, keeping me close without any chance of escape. He took a deep breath as he stared at me.
“I didn’t,” he said in a gentler tone this time. He shook his head slightly. “I would never do that to you.”
“Liar,” I said under my breath.
To my surprise, he actually smiled. “Oh, kitten, I can be many things you accuse me of. But liar and rapist are most definitely not two of them.”
“I woke up without my pants on!” I argued.
“You woke up with your panties still on, didn’t you?” he argued back.
“You took off my pants!” I insisted.
He shook his head. “You did that yourself. As soon as I laid you down on the bed, you stripped off your jacket and pants.
Believe me. I thanked God that you stopped there.” He stared at my face gently. He was calm, but he also looked genuinely concerned. “How could you accuse me of raping you?”
“I’m…” I took a deep breath. “I’m late. And I am never late. Not even once. That night was the only night I couldn’t remember everything. And I woke up in your bed, without my clothes.”
“Without your pants,” he corrected me. “But everything else was still intact.”
I pushed him with as much force as I could manage. He loosened his grip on me, and then finally, he let me go.
“Did you take a test?” he asked.
“I told you I was never late!” I snapped at him. “There’s a good chance that I am. And there’s a good chance that you’re still lying!”
He threw his hands in the air in frustration. “Trust me, sweetheart! If I was going to make love to you, you would be awake every second of it. And I will make sure it’s a night you will never forget!”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re so full of yourself, aren’t you?”
“Yes. But that does not make me a rapist, does it?” he said matter-of-factly.
True that. But again, I was never going to admit to him that maybe… just maybe… I overreacted and that there’s a good chance that I’m wrong.
When I didn’t speak for a full minute, he took a deep breath and said, “Can you at least take a test?”
I raised a brow at him. “Seriously? I’m Ken Clarke! Do you know what will happen if I walk into a pharmacy buying a pregnancy kit? Even if I had a girlfriend, I obviously couldn’t get her pregnant. So it’s a no-brainer! The lady at the counter would know it’s for me!”
“Fine! Let’s go,” he said. “I’ll get it for you. After all, I’m Nicholas Atkins. And according to you, I happily give my sperm away!”
“Yes, I really think you do,” I said acidly.
He shook his head in disbelief. “Not every guy in the world is like your dad, Ken,” he said, disappointment all over his face.
“I’ve yet to meet a guy who would prove otherwise,” I murmured. I walked to my car.
Nicholas walked to his car. “I’ll follow you.”
Alone in my car, as we drove to the pharmacy, I thought about what had happened.
What if I was wrong? What if I was just late?
A woman’s period can be late due to many reasons. I learned that in class. I just didn’t think it would happen to me. That night I slept in Nicholas’ bed would be the perfect time for me to conceive if I had unprotected sex with him.
However, a part of me felt guilty because I remembered his argument. I did wake up with my panties still on. I didn’t feel sore. The sheets I slept in were pristine white. There was a good chance I would bleed if I had sex with him. I’ve fooled around before… just not all the way.
We stopped at the nearest pharmacy. Nicholas didn’t ask for cash. Well, if he did rape me, it was only right that he paid for the tests.
He knocked on my car window. I rolled the windows down. He handed me a bag.
“Five tests. According to the lady at the counter, the best time would be mornings. You can take more than one, to be sure. You can repeat after a couple of days.”
I nodded as I listened to his instructions.
He took a deep breath. “Look, Ken,” he started. “Regardless of the test results, I want you to know that I’m positive I didn’t take advantage of you. I would never do that to you or any woman. I could be many things, could be many monsters, but I’m sorry to disappoint you. I’m not that kind of monster.”
I took a deep breath and said, “We’ll see about that.” I stared at him and gave him a cold, haughty expression. “Not a word about this, okay?”
Then I stepped hard on the gas, eager to speed away to take my pregnancy tests… eager to get away from Nicholas Atkins because…
Well… if I was pregnant, that means he raped me.
If I wasn’t pregnant… then he was telling the truth. He was a complete gentleman… he could be trusted. He’s probably one of the good guys left. And…
I don’t like the sound of that either.