Page 60 of The Fake Play

Holy shit. I’m about to become a father. Of another human being. Me. Of all people.

The weight of it feels like something that will take days to process, so I push it out of my mind for now. I need to find Keke and talk to her first. We need to figure out what this means for us.

I finally make it backstage but Keke isn’t there. Seb spots me right away. “Hey, Luke! What just happened? I was on the phone with Nelly, and none of these guys were paying attention.”

I don’t see Lucas anywhere, but I’m certain he’d seen what just went down—he had been watching me with eagle eyes on the catwalk.

“Long story. Have you seen Keke?”

“No. Is she okay?”

“She will be.” I keep moving, thinking maybe she went to the venue’s employee area, she had a mock office set up back there. I make my way through the halls but find Whitney instead.

“Luke, we need to talk.”

“Do you know where Keke is?” I ask, ignoring what she just said, my heart racing.

“No, but?—”

I lunge past her.

“Lucian Smith, you stop moving this instant, or so help me God, I will end you.”

Her words freeze me on the spot. “What the hell, Whitney?”

“Before the show started, Keke told me about the pregnancy. I know you heard her.”

“I did.”

“You need to be clearheaded about this. It’s already hitting the gossip sites.”

My stomach churns at her words. I know I need to be sensitive about the situation, but this isn’t just gossip to me. This is my life now. My world. I’m not about to let some gossip website change a damn thing. “My kid isn’t gossip.”

Whitney swallows hard, the reality of the situation evident in her eyes. “I know that, but for the team’s sake, we need to come up with a plan to manage this.”

“Manage this?” I cut her off, frustration surging within me. “No, Whitney. This isn’t something to be managed. I need to go home and celebrate. I need to tell Keke it’ll all be okay, and put her mind at ease. Managing problems is your job. Not mine.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Are you really ready to be a dad, Luke? Have you thought this through?”

“I just found out three minutes ago. Do you think I’ve thought any of this through?”

Her lips form a straight line. “No, I don’t. That’s the problem. You never think anything through. You just do whatever you want, consequences be damned. That’s why I had to call her in the first place, but you shot that all to hell, didn’t you?”

“I don’t need a lecture right now, Whitney?—”

“Maybe not, but you’re getting one. Luke, you’re the lovable goofball of the team, the guy who nails all the hot girls. You’venever settled down with anyone. Are you sure this is the life you want?”

I take a deep breath, her words sinking in. “Without a doubt, yes. This is the life I want.”

“You’ve seen the showFriends, right?”

“Of course,” I reply, crossing my arms, wondering where she could possibly be going with this.

“Well, you’re Joey.”

“What’s your point?”

“Do you know why they never did a Joey-becomes-a-dad storyline? It might’ve been a ratings grabber, but they didn’t do it because it wouldn’t have worked for his character. Do you follow me?”

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