“I’m calling in,” I breathed, my heart warming with his words.

Before I could say anything more or try to get out of my car, he shut the door and gave me a wicked smile as he backed up toward the warehouse and walked inside.

THE NEXT DAY I walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table opposite my dad.

“Can I talk to you guys?”

Mom and Dad both looked up at me—Dad’s eyes immediately narrowed, and Mom looked like she was ready to talk about the weather.

“Are you pregnant?” Dad asked suddenly, and I jerked back in my chair.

“What? No!”

“Now, I’ve been telling you to use protection,” Mom chimed in as she walked closer to us from the stove, and Dad’s mouth snapped shut as he turned to look at her.

“What? You’ve been what?” Dad looked back at me, and I watched as his face quickly turned red. “You’ve been—you and—that’s it! I don’t want you going over there anymore; if Jagger wants to see you, he can come here under my supervision.”

“Dad,” I groaned, and Mom clucked her tongue.

“Honey, don’t be absurd. This isn’t the 1800s.” After rolling her eyes at my dad, Mom turned back to me. “Now, Grey, I’ve told you countless times, and I’ve asked if you had protection. You could’ve talked to me and we could have prevented this.”

“Mom, I’m not—”

“Young lady, you are grounded.”

“Dad, I’m not—”

“How could you go and get pregnant?” he demanded.

“You’re pregnant!” Graham roared seconds before the front door slammed shut and he stormed into the kitchen. “Hell no. Where is he?”

“I’m not pregnant!” I yelled over everyone as Mom started trying to calm down Graham, and Dad started lecturing me. “And why are you even here?” I asked, looking up at Graham.

“I’m hungry and have no food in the house,” he said with a shrug as he walked toward the pantry.

“Graham, I was thinking about Melissa Davis. She’s such a lovely—”

“Mom, I’m not here to talk to you about which girls you think I should settle down with. Besides, we have bigger shit to talk about if Grey’s knocked up.”

“Oh my God, for the last time—” I started, but Dad turned his anger on Graham.

“We do not use that language in this house!”

“Since when?” Graham countered.

“Since right now! Too much sin happening here.”

“Please.” Graham snorted and sidestepped Mom when she walked up to him from the opposite side of the kitchen with a piece of paper in her hands. “Mom, I don’t want to know which girls you want me to date.”

“But they’re all so—”

“I’m moving in with Jagger!”

Everyone stopped and looked at me with wide eyes before they erupted again.

“Like hell you are!” Graham shouted, and waved off my mom as she tried to hand him the paper again.

“You are grounded! You are grounded twice over. You aren’t leaving your room until you’re forty.”

“Dad! I almost got married two years ago, you can’t act like this now!”

“But we weren’t going to let you move in with Ben before you got married,” Mom said calmly as she stuffed the piece of paper in Graham’s hand and moved away from him.

“You are not moving in with him, because you’re not married,” Dad continued, and I watched as Graham tore up the paper and threw it in the trash.

“Fine. Then we’ll elope.”

As if having two of them yelling their displeasure with the conversation wasn’t bad enough, having my mom join in on it had a headache from hell forming.

“I’m not going to elope with Jagger!” I said above their voices and waited for them to stop screaming at me and each other. “I was just trying to show you that I don’t really care what kinds of demands you make. I’m going to move in with Jagger one way or another. Dad, if you try to ground me, I’ll just leave anyway. Mom, stop bringing up the subject of using protection, and don’t worry, I wouldn’t get married without you there. And, Graham, just calm down. I love you all but I’m going to do this; this is what I want to do. I’m not wasting time anymore waiting for the right time for things. The right time isn’t set by any rules society makes; the right time is when you’re ready for it—whatever it may be. And right now is the right time for me to make up for all the lost time with Jag, and start my life with him. Okay?”

Everyone was silent for a minute as they continued to stare at me. Graham looked annoyed, Mom looked ridiculously happy, and Dad’s expression was unreadable until he opened his mouth again.

“Are you sure you’re not pregnant?”

“Mark,” Mom chastised.

“Oh my God,” I groaned, and got up from the table. “I’m not pregnant. End of that discussion. I really wanted this all to go differently—smoother. I wanted to just talk to you about my decision, but you all started freaking out and I had to stop you. Like I said, I love you. I just have to do this, okay?”

When no one answered, I walked out of the kitchen and took off for my room, where I’d already packed most of my things. Minutes after I got in there, Graham was walking in and plopping down on my bed.