Free Take a Gamble by Rachael Brownell Page A

Okay?”
    “Fine. Wait. Why are you ‘visiting’ me if you brought Roe with you? What’s really going on, Mac?”
    Shit. As much as I love her I didn’t want to have to tell her the real reason I was coming back for a visit. I hoped she wouldn’t ask. I should have known better.
    “I got a call from the doctor.” It was a whisper but she heard me. Her sharp intake of breath and her keys hitting the floor are the only form of confirmation I needed. I have officially stunned my best friend into silence.

 
    ROE
     
    Convincing my parents that I wanted to visit my grandma while Mac was visiting her friends at home was easy. Convincing my grandma to cover for me was even easier. I didn’t even have to tell her anything. She already knew.
    “So, tell me about this girl.” That’s how she answered the phone when I called. She didn’t even say hello. It’s like she knew that I was calling to talk about Mac.
    I told her everything I knew about Mac, except that she could be sick. I wanted to tell her but I couldn’t bring myself to accept it and saying it out loud meant it might actually be real. I didn’t want it to be real. I wanted it to be a mistake. I wanted her doctor to rerun the tests. I wanted to wake up from the nightmare that I knew Mac must be living in right now.
    She doesn ’t look sick. She looks healthy. Her body is in great shape. I now know that first hand. Thinking about her body makes me want to explore it all over again, and again, and again.
    Great. Now I’m standing in the middle of the Chicago airport with a hard-on. I need to think of something else. Anything else. Grandma. Yes. That’s perfect.
    Grandma, and her crazy- ass ways, knew I was holding something back. I told her about our plan, the trip we wanted to take together and she told me she would cover for me before I asked her to. Gotta love grandma.
    So, here I am, waiting for Mac to get off her plane. It should have landed a few minutes ago. I told her I would meet her by the baggage claim. I’ve been watching the board to see which carousel her stuff was going to be at. Instead of trying to find her in the mass of people who were surrounding me, I figured I would meet her at her bag.
    The carousel starts up and her bag is the first one coming towards me. She warned me I wouldn’t want to be seen with it. It’s hot pink and has a pink hair tie attached to it. It’s a lot of pink and she’s right. I don’t really want to be seen with her bag, at least not without her close by so no one gets the wrong idea.
    I snag it off the conveyor and start looking for her. I spot her only a few second later. I hear someone scream her name in a high pitched voice as I’m approaching her. Then, I see a stick thin girl running towards Mac at full speed. She’s going to knock her over if I don’t get over there quick.
    I reach her just in time. I let her bag fall to the ground and grab on to her hips as she’s about to fall backwards. I make eye contact with the girl who’s attached herself to Mac. Her eyes travel the length of my body before Mac is able to detach her. This has to be Alexa.
    Mac introduces us and as much as I would like to stay and chat in the middle of the airport, I would rather head to Mac’s house and spend some time alone with her. Her appointment is first thing tomorrow morning. Tonight might be our last chance to be together before things start to change.
    I’m in this for the long haul. There is not a single doubt in my mind. I have a bad feeling, though, when it comes to Mac’s commitment to us. I have a bad feeling she might want to run from this, from us, if the doctor doesn’t have good news for her tomorrow. I have a feeling her way of coping is going to be to shut me out. I only have tonight to show her how much I love her and how much I’m willing to work for this. No matter how hard it’s about to get.
    It takes us almost an hour to get out of the airport and arrive at Mac’s house. After Alexa got