Page 2 of So Special: Fanatic Love

They both laughed. “I might take you up on that offer. Now that I’m actively working with babies, I find it’s better to have my hair braided,” Katniss said. Tiara reached in her crossbody and gave her a card.

It was time to end this conversation because Asher had not said another word, but his eyes also had not left Ashtan. “Well, you two have a good day. Tiara, I guess I’ll see you around. Asher, it was good seeing you again.”

Katniss turned on her heels to leave, but not before Ashtan said hi again. He got his hi and bye confused. He knew when you left you needed to say something. Bye was not something that he’d learn to say yet. She walked out to her SUV with a prayer that Asher and his sister were not behind her. When she turned to put her son in his car seat, she cursed to herself that she was parked right next to a G Wagon which was undoubtedly his.

A lot had changed for Katniss in the year and a lot of change since she last saw Asher. She didn’t find out that she was pregnant until she was almost fifteen weeks. It was on her normal check-up. Surprise riddled her because she and Asher used protection. She hadn’t been with anyone before him orafter. Daisy encouraged her to tell him, but in Katniss’s mind that was not an option. She’d already fucked this man on some groupie shit, no matter how comfortable he made her feel.

There was no way that she would go to him with a pregnancy that she couldn’t explain. Katniss’s mind had explored the thought that perhaps the condom burst. Her worst fear was that Asher would think that she poked holes in the condoms when he was in the bathroom. She’d rather be a single mother than be embarrassed by Asher’s potential denial of her son. Furthermore, if the blogs picked it up, it would be hell.

It was a struggle for her to finish school pregnant while still living in her studio apartment. Her parents were a tremendous help. They babysat whenever she needed it for school and work. Daisy did as well. After Katniss secured a job with the hospital, her father co-signed for her to get a two-bedroom apartment. She could afford the apartment, but because of her short work history, the complex was hesitant to rent to her. Katniss had taken the initiative to aggressively save and was able to pay six months of rent upfront.

Asher watched as Katniss put her son in her SUV. He didn’t know what to say or if he should. He was stuck in a moment of shock and wasn’t sure how to navigate the situation that was building before him. Asher couldn’t call her a gold digger or a groupie who wanted to trap him. The boy was ten months old, and she hadn’t said a peep. Plus, Katniss hadn’t done the messy shit and gone to the blog or anything.

Since her SUV was parked next to his and Ashan’s car seat was on the side closest to her vehicle, he waited until she pulled off to put his nephew in his Wagon. Asher saw the nervousness in her face when she glanced at him before she pulled off. He quickly put Ashan into his car seat, made sure he was alright, then climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Okay, talk,” Tiara demanded before he could even start the car. Her arms were crossed over her breasts. She glared at her brother as he pulled off. “I ga box you in ya shit if you don’t talk, boy.”

Tiara was not ignorant to the similarities of the child’s features and her brother. Ashtan took on a lot of his mother’s features, but when Tiara remembered Asher’s baby pictures it was like they could be twins. While they were in there, she was going to follow her brother’s lead. If he acted a donkey, then she would match his energy. He didn’t, so she digressed.

Asher huffed then looked at his sister. “Look, don’t say a muthafuckin word ta Mama or Daddy about dis shit. You gotta big mout. Ion need dem knowin shit until I know shit.” After she swore silence, he continued. “A while back I met Katniss at a meet and greet, then saw her at the club. We ended up ridin.”

“Oh, so she been on some groupie shit?” Tiara shook her head. “How you let that happen? Asher, I know Daddy been tell you bout strappin up wit these hos.”

“Nah, Sis, it ain’t even been like that,” he said as he shook his head. “She been on some cool ass shit, I swear. I been the one who asked her to fuck. At first, she was real life offended.” Asher paused. “Man, I went as far as to let her stay in da room an extra day and gave her five stacks to go shopping wit. Earlier when we was at the club, she had told me bout being in nursing school and shit. I had my people find out what school she went to and paid her tuition off.”

Tiara’s eyes widened. She couldn’t recall a time that her brother had ever been that generous with a female. The only conclusion was that he must have liked this girl. “Damn, her pussy was like that? I need ta talk to her for real. She need ta have a Ted Talk or some shit,” his sister joked.

“Man, shut da fuck up.” Asher couldn’t help the laughter that escaped his lips. The fact was her pussy, mouth, and asswere that damn good. He’d thought about her since their first encounter but thought it better to not reach out. He’d low-key stalked her social media for a month or so after they fucked. “Dis shit crazy. I strapped up, so Ion know what da fuck going on.”

His sister sat there with her eyes straight forward. Her mind thought about the whole situation and the possibility of Ashtan being her nephew. Regardless of how he got here, he was here. Katniss didn’t seem like a messy female from what Tiara’s spirit told her. She couldn’t pinpoint why she would not tell Asher, however. Tiara thought about how she got pregnant with her son which caused her to peek back at the mirror over his car seat that showed him chewing on his hand. “Asher, you strapped up every time y’all fucked that night?”

Asher and Katniss had a lot of sex that night. He had to pull up his memory of that night. He recounted all the times they had sex and how many condoms they had. The row Zane sent up had six condoms. At once it hit him. “Fuck!”

“Ah, hell! Dat your baby, enit?” Tiara chuckled. “Dat probably why ya ass paid fa all dat girl stuff. You felt dat puss raw and lost your damn mind.”

The Wagon came to a red light. Asher dropped his head. “The fuckin quickie in the middle of the morning. We ran out of condoms, so we went to sleep. I woke up and had want more pussy.” He slapped his forehead. “I been half sleep and forgot I ain’t strap up.”

Tiara tilted her head toward the ear closest to her brother. “Yeah, dat yo baby, bubba.” She paused when the light turned green. “You betta reach out to dat girl and get that shit on official paypa. You know when you tell Mama and Daddy, they ga want a blood tes anyway.” She snickered, then added, “Oh, please make sure I der when you tell dem.”

This shit could not be life right now. It wasn’t like Asher didn’t want kids. He just never thought that he would get them from a one-night stand. Yeah, Katniss seemed cool, but you never knew how a female might act once they had a baby. Katniss didn’t just have a baby. She had a baby by a millionaire nigga. In the past, Asher had females try to pin babies on him, but he couldn’t claim dat shit with Kat.

He was the one who initiated the unprotected sex. Technically, this was his doing. Katniss was sleep when he slid up in fat-fat. He saw what he saw, and it couldn’t be unseen. That more than likely was his son. At that point, it was his responsibility to reach out.

Asher pulled back up to his parents’ home. Tiara turned in her seat toward her brother. She didn’t necessarily feel bad for him. His ass made the bed he laid in. One thing was for certain and two things were for sure... If Ashtan was his son, then Asher was going to take care of him and Katniss. Yes, Katniss had volunteered to be a single mother, but she damn sure didn’t have to. “I’ll get Ashtan, and you need to reach out to dat girl, now.”

What the hell was he supposed to say to this girl? He pulled up her social media account since that was the only way he had to communicate with her. Before he went to her inbox, he looked on her page. There was nothing that even suggested that she was a mother. No baby shower or gender reveal pics. He did notice in some of the pictures that her face was chunkier, and she only did selfies for a period of time.

Asher: What’s up, Katniss? I think we need to have a conversation.

ForThe_LoveOf_Katniss: Um, ok. I’m off the day after tomorrow. I could meet you somewhere.

Asher: Yeah, that’s cool. I’ll send you an address.

Asher went back and forth about what he was going to ask her next. He couldn’t help not to. If she said no, then she said no.

Asher: Do you mind bringing your son?

There was a pause. He knew she read the message from her picture bubble under his question. He didn’t know he was holding his breath until the bubbles indicated that she was typing.

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