Chosen at Nightfall (Shadow Falls #5)(40)

Having tasted away all the icing, Kylie took a bite of the chocolate cookie and spoke around the mouthful of Oreo. "To be on the safe side, you can buy the condoms with spermicide on them. That's supposed to help kill any of those little escaping sperms. But using spermicidal condoms all the time cancause vaginal problems. So it's not recommended for long-term use."

Holiday took a deep swallow. "You..."-she swallowed again, licking her teeth clean-"sure do know a lot about condoms."

"I told you, my mom left pamphlets on my bed about twice a week. You wouldn't believe what information I have in my head. I could tell you about all the different kinds of STDs, but it isn't pretty. I don't want to think about those."

Holiday laughed. "I think when I have a kid I might ask your mom about where she gets the pamphlets."

"Oh, don't do that. It messes with a person's mind. I think that's why I'm still a virgin."

Holiday chuckled. "Which is exactly why I'll be getting my kid those pamphlets." Her smile faded.

"Seriously, a teen should not take having sex lightly."

"True," Kylie said, and grabbed the last cookie and broke it half. "But too much information isn't a good thing, either." She offered one half to Holiday, who didn't hesitate to take it.

"Thanks."

"Are you sure you're not pregnant?" Kylie asked, watching Holiday pop half the cookie into her mouth as if she was starving. Or as if eating for two.

"Positive." Holiday talked around the Oreo. "Faes, or at least Brandon faes, always know when they're pregnant."

Kylie grinned. "Don't tell me, one of the signs is they get ravenous and eat their friend's food while they're waiting on them to wake up."

"No." She paused and her brow wrinkled. "Well, being hungry is a symptom, but the most common one is hiccups and burping. I had a cousin who was pregnant and she hiccuped nonstop for eight months. It was sad."

Holiday looked at the lunch sack as if wishing it weren't empty. "Why don't you get your shoes on and we'll go to the cafeteria and snag some more cookies. Then we'll find Burnett and go to the falls.

Something tells me you could use some soothing ambience."

The thought of going to the falls sent a warm feeling through Kylie. "Yeah, that sounds really good."

Maybe when she was there she could remember the rest of the dream. God, she really hoped she hadn't done anything stupid with Derek.

Not that she feared she'd ... gone too far-as in all the way, too far. Face it, like she'd told Holiday, those pamphlets did a number on her. Too much information really could be a bad thing. Or in this particular case, a good thing.

Then she realized that if she hadn't been so cautious where sex was concerned, she might have already slept with Lucas. She was glad she hadn't. That achy pain tugged at her chest again, and she couldn't help but wonder how much truth there was to what she'd told Holiday. When she was over being mad at Lucas, could she forgive him?

Did he deserve a second chance?

Pushing Lucas from her mind, Derek stood in waiting and popped right into the forefront of her thoughts. She recalled the kiss in the dream. Had she stopped the kiss? Or had she let herself be pulled into it? Damn! Damn! Offering Derek hope was a bad thing.

And if she had offered him hope, she needed to nip it in the bud, before it led to some irreparable damage. The kind of damage where people got their feelings hurt. And the fact that she did care so muchabout hurting Derek's feelings might have given her pause, but she wasn't going to let her mind go there.

Nope!

Kylie snagged her shoes, slipped them on, and walked out with Holiday. Remembering Hayden's phone, she stuck it in her pocket. Last night she'd considered calling her grandfather, but not knowing what to say, or how to say it, she hadn't. And if she called him, would Burnett see it as another betrayal?

She glanced up at Holiday. "Can we run by Hayden's cabin? I need to give him his phone back." When Holiday looked confused, Kylie explained. "I left mine at my grandfather's. And I wanted to call my mom."

"Sure," Holiday said.

They weren't out of Kylie's bedroom door when Holiday let out a light jumpy kind of noise. Then another escaped from her lips.

Kylie gazed at her. Holiday slapped her hand over her lips and panic filled her green eyes.

"Is that what I think it is?" Kylie asked. "Was that a hiccup?"

"Oh, shit!" Holiday said, and hiccuped again.

Kylie yelped with excitement. "I wonder if the baby will look like you or Burnett."

Chapter Fourteen

Hayden wasn't at his cabin, but Holiday, still a little panicked by her two hiccups, agreed to walk by his classroom to see if he was there.

"I'm sure this is nothing," Holiday said, tapping her chest. "It's psychosomatic. We mentioned hiccups and it just happened."

Kylie wasn't convinced, and apparently neither was Holiday, who repeated the same thing over and over again as if to persuade herself.

"Don't you want kids?" Kylie asked, remembering what she'd learned about chameleons having a hard time getting pregnant.

"Yes, but ... Burnett's not completely on board with the idea. He says he didn't have a father, so he doesn't know how to be one."