to make me nervous so I reach out for her hand and grasp it gently.
"Breathe,” I say, using my thumb to rub small circles over her knuckles. “Baby or no baby, you will be—” My words are cut short as the time expires and her phone starts to beep behind me.
We both turn to look at the test. It sits in its place next to a light blue soap dish between the double sinks. I can tell she reads it a second before I do because just as my eyes fall on the tiny double lines, she gasps.
“It’s still positive. Oh fuck,” she says gripping the counter and dropping her head. “This is really happening. It is, isn’t it?” My eyes are still glued to the test as I place an arm around her, tucking her against me.
For a split-second right after she took it, I thought seeing the positive test might actually freak me out. I wouldn’t show her, of course, but I spent the last few minutes telling myself to remain calm no matter what. I’m surprised to feel joy looking at this thing. Actual joy. I’m going to be a father.
“It’s happening,” I say, pulling my eyes away and looking at her. “And it’s amazing,” I smile and she stands to face me.
“Everything’s about to change,” she sniffles. “our dreams, our plans.”
“No. I want all of your dreams to come true, Zee. And this baby…maybe it’s a dream we didn’t know we had.”
I swipe a thumb over her cheeks and she gazes up at me, her eyes wide as she nods. Leaning forward, I kiss her gently, tasting the shadows of her tears.
“We got this,” I say against her lips. “Now, let’s go downstairs and make our new plan.”
Epilogue
KING
If this past year has taught me anything, it’s been to not have any expectations when it comes to life. Not in a morbid, depressed way, but I’m learning to never get my hopes up. I'm getting ready to start the second half of my senior year in college. If you would have asked me six months ago where I thought I'd be, I’d have told you without doubt that I’d be somewhere wrapped around Cherry. Watching her smile, her eyes twinkling in the way they always do when she looks at me. Or the way they used to. But that isn’t my reality. I thought we'd be happy, engaged, searching for a house and planning the next stage of our lives together. The absolute last thing I expected was this…
“I just don’t get it. How is this actually working?” Jordan whispers as his eyes move quickly between the TV and the baby in his arms. I chuckle and set the large duffle bag I was carrying to the floor in front of me. Lalia has been fussy all morning and Jordan has tried everything he can think of to get her to sleep. Well, everything but actually take her mother's advice.
“I told you.” Xia smiles as she walks through the living room sliding her backpack onto her back. “Ariel never fails.” She stick out her tongue at him and he rolls his eyes. I still don’t get their beef with The Little Mermaid, but… I guess she just won.
I’ve been staying with them in their lake house for the last six months. They moved in shortly after they found out she was pregnant and I moved in a few months later. Lalia is three months old now and to say she's cute is an understatement. She has bright green eyes like her father with dark hair like her mother that spreads in soft waves around her tidy head. She's the perfect mix of her parents and it’s incredible how happy they are.
I'm lucky to have friends like them. Shortly after Cherry and I got engaged, I foolishly ended my lease, assuming that we would be moving in together. Well… because that was the plan. But when things ended between us and I tried to get my place back, my landlord had already found another renter. I struggled to find another apartment until Jordan offered me a room. We had joked about it before, me coming to stay with him, but I sure as fuck didn’t expect it to really happen. It was supposed to just be the guys back then, and to be honest, I feel wrong being here now. It's the reason I'm moving out today. They are a family now. It doesn't escape me that they