met, five weeks since she stood in front of my door. We’ve been talking one way or another for weeks now. Daily. Most days I wake up to a text from her and fall asleep to a text from her or with her voice in my ear.
“Want to talk about it?” Noah lifts his shoulder. “Might be safer than getting hurt while trying to work out whatever’s going on with the equipment.”
He’s got a point. The last thing I need is getting hurt.
“You know how I spent New Year’s in New York?”
“Yeah. You had that sponsor’s party, right?”
I nod. “And then I went to a bar afterwards with Beckett.”
This time, Noah nods. We’ve all hung out with Beckett over the years. He quickly made a name for himself in the business world with a few of his friends, and it’s impossible not to know them or the empire they’ve built. Beckett is very career-driven, but definitely knows how to have fun every once in a while.
“Well, let’s just say neither one of us left that bar alone.”
His head bobs up and down.
Still nothing truly jarring so far.
I scratch the back of my neck. “I’m going to be a dad.”
Noah’s eyes widen and he stands completely still.
I suddenly feel lightheaded and lower myself on the rubber mat, putting my head between my legs.
Why is saying it out loud different? Because it’s one of my friends and I’ve kept it a secret?
“Shit, man.” Noah plops down next to me. “I knew something was going on, but I didn’t expect that.”
“Me neither.” I turn my head to look at him. “No one knows.”
He understands the implication. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“Thanks.”
“How are you holding up?”
“Good, I guess? She’s really nice.” Calling Harper nice is an understatement, but I’m not going to gush about her to Noah.
His back straightens. “Wait. You were in New York. Does that mean she lives there?”
“Yup.”
“Crap.”
“Yeah.”
I’m not sure there’s much of a point to this conversation, but somehow I feel better that someone knows.
“You going to go after her?” His words surprise me.
Go after her?
“You think I should?” My breathing has evened out, and my head’s mostly back to normal.
Noah picks at the mat, his eyes cast down. “That’s up to you. You need to know if you want to try it with her or not. If you want her that way. And not just for now, but for good. I mean, fuck, you’re going to have a baby with her. That’s huge.”
“I know.”
“You better be sure about whatever you decide to do. You don’t want to screw things up with the mother of your baby.”
He’s right. This is not as simple as if it was only about Harper. Only about a relationship between a man and a woman. There’s a baby in the mix. We’d be a family. If things don’t work out, how would that affect our child—our future adult-child—and my relationship with him or her?
Harper said she’s stayed strong with her dad, even though they’ve lived away from each other, but if I’m honest, I couldn’t bear to be three thousand miles away from my flesh and blood.
But isn’t that always a risk when you enter a relationship? No matter if the baby comes first or the relationship? The outcome is still the same. Unless you never have kids of course.
So much to think about.
“Thanks, Noah.”
“Of course.” He gets up and holds out a hand to me. “Now go take a shower. You stink.”
I spring to my feet and shove him away. “Asshole.”
He chuckles. “I still have some cardio to do. See you later.”
When I get to the locker room, I check my phone first, smiling when I see there’s a text message from Harper.
I open it. It’s a photo of her posing with a stroller. You think it’s too early to buy one of these bad boys?
Fuck. She’s so damn beautiful.
My dick stirs in my pants. She’s fully dressed, in a winter coat and with a stroller, and my dick thinks it’s time to party. He’s certainly smitten.
It’s that damn smile of hers. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.
I hit the reply button. It suits you. You look like a badass mom already. I pause before adding, A beautiful badass mom.
I stare at the phone, waiting to see if she’s going to reply right away or if I have to wait until after my shower.
Harper: You’re such a charmer. Thank you. Heart emoji.
A heart emoji? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Does it even