Page 11 of The Little Black Rose

“Okay,” I say slowly.

“I’m pregnant.”

“You’re…what?” I ask, confusion wrapping my mind in a thick fog.

“The girls know, and I know they’re going to be talking about it tonight, so I wanted to warn you, first. Don’t worry, they don’t know you’re the father. I told them it was some random dude with whom I had a one-night stand.”

“Wait. What?” I ask, my body somehow burning hot and ice cold at the same time. “Did you say I’m the father?”

She gives me a look that clearly says, “duh.”

“What the…? How?”

“Uhm, you do know how this works, right? You stuck your penis in me, and now I’m three-months pregnant.”

“But you said––”

“I know,” she says, her tone softening as her eyes plead with me. “I fucked up and missed my last appointment for the shot. This is on me, Zeke. I’m not asking you for anything. I just wanted you to know so you’re not blindsided at dinner tonight.”

With that, she gives me a nod, tells me she’ll see me at dinner, and leaves like she didn’t just blow my life wide open. She doesn’t want anything? What about what I want? WhatdoI want?

I’m too shocked and overwhelmed to decide right now, so I do the only thing I can do. I grab my keys, phone, and wallet and head out. Besides the fact that everyone is expecting me, I have to follow Ava over there and talk to her about this. I can get her alone at some point tonight to talk, and in the meantime, no one will notice if I’m reserved or broody. It is my M.O., after all.

By the time I make it to Sophie and Jared’s, I’ve managed to mask my agitation enough that I’m hopeful no one will notice. Zoey might just because she knows me so well, so I’m going to have to try extra hard to fly under her radar.

Everyone’s sitting down at the table when I arrive, and as usual, the only empty chair is next to Ava. She doesn’t even glance my way as I take my seat. The others chatter as we fill our plates with roasted chicken and vegetables, then the room grows quiet as we start to eat.

Finally, Zoey clears her throat. “Shall we address the elephant in the room?”

“Are you calling me an elephant? Jesus, Zo, I’m not even really showing, yet,” Ava says, making the others laugh.

“Oh, shit,” Zoey says, looking at me. “You don’t know, do you? Ava’s pregnant! Isn’t that amazing?”

I swallow thickly and nod before dropping my gaze back to my plate. No one seems to notice my discomfort as they lob questions at Ava about when she’s due, what symptoms she’s suffering from, and if she has any names picked out. My body grows more and more rigid, and my breath stutters as the questions turn even more personal.

“You still haven’t told us about the sperm donor,” Sophie says.

Sperm donor?

“I told you,” Ava replies, “he’s just some guy I met at a bar. I don’t even know how to get in touch with him, not that I want to.”

“That’s what I don’t get,” Zoey says slowly. “I don’t remember you ever going out without us, much less sexing it up with some stranger. Why wouldn’t you tell us that?”

“I don’t want––”

“It was me,” I say, cutting off whatever lie she was about to tell next.

Every eye at the table lands on me, and every mouth unhinges, falling open as I shift uncomfortably in my chair. Zoey looks over at Ava, then back at me, her face screwed up like she’s sure she heard me wrong.

“What?” she asks, so quietly, I barely hear the word.

“It was me,” I repeat. “I’m the father.”

Ava leaps to her feet, her chest heaving as she looks down at me.

“What the fuck, Zeke?”

Chapter6

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