“Oh,” Tia whispered. “That’s dangerous.”
“I know.”
“What about Brent?”
Meadow groaned into her comforter. “Don’t bring him up.”
“No, we need to talk about that too. You know he likes you.”
“He don’t like me,” Meadow argued. “He likes being liked by me.”
Tia raised a brow. “Meadow…”
“Okay, he’s cute and checks all the boxes,” Meadow admitted. “But he don’t…do nothing for me.”
“So, your pussy don’t dance for him?” Tia asked casually, already knowing her friend had a thing for Brent.
Meadow gasped. “Tia!”
“What?” Tia shrugged. “Hoe, I’ve seen you naked.”
Meadow laughed, covering her face. “Stop.”
“I’m right though.”
“Okay, yes, but still-”
Tia leaned forward. “So, what’s the real issue? You scared of something real? Or scared Zaire too real?”
Meadow hesitated. “Both.”
Tia nodded slowly. “Makes sense… with everything going on.”
Meadow’s expression softened. “Ti…”
“What?”
“You okay?” Meadow hadn’t meant to ask it out loud. It slipped out before she could stop it.
Tia’s smile had been wide, loud, teasing…the same one she always used when they talked about men and mess. But Meadow knew her, she knew the difference between Tia’s real smile andthe one she put on when she didn’t want to ruin the mood. Her friend was good at hiding it from everyone else, but Meadow saw it immediately. The brightness was there, but the joy wasn’t sitting behind her eyes. Something sagged around the edges, something tired and forced.
It was the kind of look Meadow recognized because she’d worn that same expression too many times this year. The kind where you laugh so nobody asks why you’re hurting or the one you used to fake flirt with a man like Brent or when you became annoyed with a man like Zaire.
That’s why she asked.
Not because the conversation shifted…not because they were talking about men…but because Tia’s face changed, just a little and Meadow didn’t like when her friend tried to hold something heavy alone.
Tia tried to wave her off, but her smile cracked. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
Tia’s eyes watered instantly, the way they always did when someone actually asked about her. She sniffed and wiped her tears away quickly. “I’m just…too tired to talk, Meadow.”
Meadow sat up, holding the phone closer. “Talk to me.”
Tia put one hand on her chest. “It’s been…almost two years. Two years of trying, two years of negative tests, two years of smiling at baby showers, two years of pretending I’m not breaking a little, every time someone asks when it’s my turn.”
Although Tia and Blain had just recently tied the knot, Tia had been trying to carry his baby long before that, always knowing he was going to be her husband.
