Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

P enny went through her notebook, checking to make sure she had every request her client made for the website she was designing for him. Just as she hit save, her cell went off. She grabbed it, putting the phone to her ear and answering without even glancing at the caller.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Brainiac. I need your help."

"Hi Gwen." Her older sister, probably calling because she messed up her computer again.

"I messed up my computer again."

Called it.

"What's going on?"

Her sister launched into the problem, which Penny solved in under two minutes by telling her sister to reboot the system.

"Thank you. I was about two minutes from chucking this damn thing into the wall. I swear when it freezes up like that, my heart stops. I was afraid I lost all the photos of the kids. I really need to print those things off and scrapbook them already."

Gwen had been saying that for five years now. Her sister never printed off photos, just let them sit there in an ever-growing file on her hard drive taking up server space. Penny had offered to download an app onto her sister's phone that would automatically print photo books for her, but Gwen said she enjoyed doing things the old-fashioned way.

Saying and doing were two very different things.

"Good, I see them all again. I am so glad I have a nerd for a sister. You're like my very own personal geek patrol."

The words struck a chord deep inside her. She knew she was a nerd, proud of it too. Nerds were in now. Well, maybe not actual nerds, but fun, sexy nerds like those computer hackers in all those crime shows BJ liked to watch. Fake nerds were in.

Too bad she was a real, hard-core, socially awkward, freckle-faced dork nerd.

But she wanted to be more .

So much more.

"Alison has a soccer game next Saturday. Are you coming?"

"Wouldn't miss it."

Her niece and nephew were the two cutest kids on the planet. Perhaps she was a little biased, but as an aunt, she felt that was her prerogative.

Gwen launched into the latest news on Alison and Collin. How they were doing in school, what sports they were participating in this year. She gushed over how cute Collin was when he asked a girl in his class to the eighth-grade dance.

She was proud of her niece and nephew, but the pang in her gut grew. The one that screamed for her own kid to gush about. To finally be the one to call her sister and talk about her child winning the science fair or getting the lead in the school play. Whatever her kid was into Penny would support it. Even if it was sports. Though, she couldn't guarantee she'd be as loud as her sister at her kid's games.

But to get what she craved, she had to pluck up the courage and ask for something from someone.

BJ…

His name whispered in her mind. She'd chickened out the last two times she saw him. Not anymore. She wanted a baby, and she wanted BJ to donate his sperm. To get what she wanted, she had to be brave and ask. No more shying away from it. Time to put on her big girl panties and do it.

Pulling the phone away from her ear, she put it on speaker and half listened to her sister while she typed out a text to BJ. Satisfied with her wording, she hit send.

"Ugh, now I have to make six fairy costumes for Alison's school play in three weeks. I think I might cheat and grab some off the Internet. Do you think they'll care?"

She chuckled, grateful her brain managed to pay attention to Gwen's long-winded rant. "I'm sure all they care about is having the costumes for free. Homemade or store bought

probably won't matter."

Then again, what did she know about the social politics of middle schools? It wasn't like she had any experience with them as a parent. Hopefully, soon, she would.

Her sister laughed. They spoke for a few more minutes before hanging up. Her phone pinged with a text message from BJ saying he'd be right over. She smiled. See? Everything would be okay. She'd simply tell him she planned on having a baby and needed top quality sperm to do so. All she had to do was ask him for a donation. He'd say yes, she'd become a mother, and everything would be fine.

Nothing would be weird.

Nope.

Not weird at all.

Her smile fell. Instant panic froze the air in her lungs. Who the hell was she kidding? Of course things would be weird. She was about to ask her best friend for his sperm. His baby making stuff. His little swimmers. Friends didn't ask each other for bodily fluids! Oh crap, what had she been thinking? This was a disaster, a nightmare.

Bouncing with nerves, she got up to make a calming cup of tea. The bubbling sound of the water did nothing to calm her frantic thoughts. When the kettle whistled, she poured the steaming water over the bag of chamomile she'd placed in her large mug emblazoned with the phrase Keep Calm and Code On. Even her nerdiest comfort mug couldn't ease the pounding of her heart. She couldn't ask this of BJ. Maybe there was still time to back out. She could come up with something else important she needed to talk to him about. Maybe she could—

A knock on the door interrupted her frantic thoughts.

"Penny? Penny, open up. It's me. I got here as quick as I could."

"Oh crap." He was here, and she had no time to think of an excuse for her text. This was it. She had to suck it up and ask him the most embarrassing thing she'd ever asked of anyone. She hurried to the door, cursing herself as she went. "I think my brain just made an ID 10 T error."