Page 135 of Deuce

“The fuck is so damn funny?”

“You, nigga. I’ve never seen you like this. Do you even want a baby?”

“If she’s carrying my seed, damn right I want it.”

“You down bad, my dude.”

“Fuck you, Mace. I know you ain’t called to shoot the shit. What do you want? You’re wasting my?—”

I paused as I caught sight of a pregnancy test box in the trash can. The top stuck out like she’d tried to cover it up, but it was still visible. When I pulled it out, I could hear the test rattling around inside. I emptied the contents into my hand and sure enough, there was a positive test.

“Muthafucka,” I mumbled.

“What?”

“She’s pregnant.”

“You swear?”

“I’m looking at the fucking test.”

Just then, I heard the front door open.

“I’ma call you back.”

I didn’t give him a chance to protest before I hung up. Shoving the phone and the test in my pocket, I made my way back out front. Salima was on the phone when I stepped into the living room, so she didn’t see me at first, but when she did, she jumped.

“Jesus, Deuce! You scared the shit outta me!”

“Call whoever that is back.”

She frowned. “Excuse you?”

“Call them back, Salima. We need to talk.”

“Shar, I’ma call you back. This man has lost his damn mind. Bye girl.”

She hung up the phone and placed her things on the kitchen island. Turning to me, she folded her arms.

“Well?”

“You got something you wanna tell me?” I asked.

She shifted a bit but kept her composure. “What are you implying?”

I pulled the positive test from my pocket. “You pregnant?”

“You went through my trash?”

“That ain’t the point. Are you pregnant?”

She sighed. “Yes.”

“So, you wasn’t gonna say nothing? Were you even gonna keep it?”

She scoffed hard as hell. She brushed past me, almost taking my damn arm off in the process as she stormed off to her room.Her skirt bounced angrily, almost distracting me as I followed behind her, fully prepared to argue… some shit I never did.

When I walked into her room, she was in the closet looking for something. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, she walked out and shoved a box into my chest.

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