Page 18 of The Jackpot Screwer
“Excuse me, I need to get through,” I yelled above the music but when they obviously couldn’t hear me, I made a quick diversion past them. I was too late though because Carter was taking the mic from Crazy Mike the DJ.
“What’s going on?” Hunter asked, coming up beside me.
Pointing to Crazy Mike, who had a mass of wild, grey hair and a pink beard which reached his chest, Hunter followed my gaze and cursed. Carter was tapping the mic’ as Crazy Mike turned down the music.
“Please try and stop him, Hunter.”
Hunter nodded and continued forward, but as he put out a hand to grab Carter, he ducked the other side of the DJ console.
“Hey everyone,” he shouted. “Can I have your attention, please.” There was a screeching noise and Crazy Mike leaned across to pull the microphone away from the sexy red head’s stupid big mouth.
“Hey,” I heard Alaska call from behind me. “You doing a congratulatory toast or something?”
Carter paused and grimaced. “Sorry, no man, but erm yeah, congratulations.”
“Well thanks, seeing as this is our engagement party.”
I turned to speak to Alaska to find him grinning and Jennifer hanging off his arm, gazing up at him.
“Alaska,” I called. “Get him down. It’s rude.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” he replied. “As long as he doesn’t take all night, ‘cause I kinda want to say something about my girl.” He then dropped his head and began making out with Jennifer and I knew he had no care in the world about Carter taking over.
Turning back to face my damn baby daddy, I felt my stomach roll as once again he dodged Hunter’s grasp.
“So, I have something to say,” he continued. “Y’all ever heard of a Jackpot Screwer?” He looked around his audience, but apart from a few people muttering, no one answered. “Well okay. It’s someone who sleeps with someone to get pregnant—”
“Carter Maples, don’t you dare.” My heart dropped to my boots, but Carter just grinned back at me.
“What the hell is he doing up there?” I heard Jefferson ask.
“No idea,” Henry replied. “But I wonder if he’s about to make a big mistake. Son, come on down.”
“Anyway,” Carter continued, ignoring his dad. “Like I said, it’s someone who sleeps with someone else purposefully to get pregnant. But in my case, I just want you to know it’s totally different. It’s different in my case, because I’m the Jackpot Screwer.”
I groaned and dropped my head to my hands, hoping to every Lord above that he wasn’t going to say what I thought he was.
“And that’s because every damn time I hit the jackpot. Every damn time I ring my Lollipop’s bells.” He then kissed his knuckles and pointed, liked he’d just scored a Superbowl touchdown and was dedicating it to me. “Isn’t that right, Lollipop?”
“Why’s he calling her Lollipop?” I heard his dad ask as my dad made a strange noise that sounded like he was in pain.
“I’ll tell you when we get home, honey,” Melinda replied around a cough.
Carter, unaware of the conversation, carried on. “But it’s not just about giving it to her good, I hit another jackpot too—”
“No! Don’t you dare.”
My shout had him looking in my direction, but with a slight wobble to his step he then moved out of my eyeline.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I just need you to know that my little swimmers hit that spot and I put a bun in my Lollipop’s oven.”
As I looked down and wished the ground would swallow me up, a few people muttered congratulations amidst a smattering of applause, but I think generally everyone was as shocked as I was. Henry cursed, Melinda groaned, my mom gasped… and as for my dad well I’m pretty sure he growled like a grizzly. Carter though, never one to know when to shut his mouth kept on talking.
“So, Lollipop I want you to know, I’m ready for this. I’m ready to be a father and I vote we call our baby Blake, after the most beautiful woman I know.”
It was then for the second time in a matter of days that I threw my shoe at Carter’s head.
Dad paced up and down while Mom stared at me, just as she had been for the last half hour since we’d arrived home from the party.
