I need to start telling people. I can’t just suddenly pop up with a pregnant fiancée out of nowhere. It looks suspicious as hell. If we're going to do this, then we need to make it look real.
I also really need to tell my parents.
“Definitely not my department. You should talk to Casey, Parker, and Freya. They’ll know what to do.”
“Yeah,” I mumble.
“So, what’s the deal then? You got someone pregnant or something?”
My heart jumps into my throat, stopping any words from escaping.
Linc goes suspiciously quiet as well.
“Uh…Rett?” Killer asks, sounding a little terrified on my behalf.
I clear my throat, trying to come up with something to say.
“You remember the last game of the regular season? There were some girls at the game that we found on the dance floor of Club 52 later that night?”
“Uh…did one have a crown on?”
“Yeah. I hooked up with her friend. Bea.”
“Oh shit, yeah. I remember her. We’ve seen them since as well. After one of our playoff games, I found them talking to security at the VIP entrance. I invited them up.”
I shake my head, hoping it’ll knock a memory into place. But there isn’t one.
I don’t remember seeing Bea again until I walked into Hailee’s office all those weeks later.
"I-I don’t remember.”
“It was definitely them. I don’t think they stayed long, though.”
“Shit,” I hiss as realization hits.
They came out that night to find me. To tell me I was going to be a dad.
Bea told me she’d tried other ways, including her unread messages on social media. She confessed to coming to games, but she never said she followed us out after.
“So, is she pregnant or what?”
I rub my jaw, my controller long forgotten on my lap.
“Yeah,” I confess. “She is.”
Nothing but silence follows my confession.
“And they’ve done a DNA test. It’s Donnelly’s,” Linc supplies helpfully. “And I have it from a reliable source that she’s fucking awesome, and Rett would be a lucky motherfucker if she could bring down his sky-high walls and force him to see the light.”
“Hey now, just because you’ve handed your balls over to a woman, it doesn’t mean the rest of us need to do the same. I’m quite happy to retain ownership of mine and let them swing free.”
“Linc’s right. She is pretty awesome. I like hanging out with her; she’s fun, and she makes me smile.”
“Fuck me. I didn’t even know you could smile,” Killer laughs. “If she can achieve that, then she’s definitely a keeper.”
“Rett totally likes her,” Linc adds, making me wonder if we’re grown-ass men or preteens discussing our crushes.
“Aw, Rett and Bea, sitting in a tree—” Killer starts, strengthening my previous thought.
