She couldn’t stand him.
That was a lie.
But she couldn’t stand how much she liked it.
Because the moment she reached out, the moment she saw him again, everything would become real. The pregnancy. The silence. The three months she’d spent convincing herself that distance could fix what she’d already complicated.
She placed the phone in her bag, got out of the car, and decided the spiral could wait.
“One thing at a time,” she muttered.
By the time she slid into the booth at Luther’s, she already knew they could see something was up. Carmen’s eyes narrowed immediately. Isha’s smile was too careful. Shadow leaned back with her wine glass, studying Kennedi like she was a case that needed solving. Paige was squinting hard as hell.
Carmen didn’t even let her breathe before she started. One brow arched over her glasses, mouth already smirking. “Mmhm. Something is definitely off.”
Kennedi rolled her eyes at the self-proclaimed psychic of the friend group.
“Can a bitch sit down first?”
Isha was already buttering her bread, lips curving like she’d been waiting on this moment. “You can sit. But you can’t hide, boo.”
Kennedi flagged the server for water with extra lemon, and the table went quiet.
“Hhm, we ordered you a sidecar.”
“Oh, thanks y’all,” Kennedi said as the server dropped off her water.
Shadow’s eyes dropped to the water glass, then back to Kennedi’s face. She leaned forward, eyes sharp. “Is it Southside’s finest?”
“What?” Paige asked, still not catching on.
“Water. Extra lemon. No sidecar.” Shadow set her wine down slowly. “Ken, you let that man get you pregnant?”
The word hung between them.
Kennedi scratched her neck and looked at them before she nodded once.
The booth lost its mind.
Isha’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my god, Ken.”
Kennedi pressed her palms to her face, her laugh coming out thin and broken. “And yes. It’s Rolani’s.”
The whole booth went silent for a beat, then exploded again.
Paige still hadn’t said anything. Rolani had been beating down her door trying to get details on Kennedi, and now Paige knew why she’d gone radio silent.
Carmen leaned back slowly. “You’re pregnant. And didn’t tell us.”
Kennedi kissed her teeth, “I know. I should’ve told y’all sooner, but I didn’t know what to say. I barely knew what to do with the information myself.”
“Does he know?” Isha asked quietly, her mama-bear stare cutting clean through Kennedi’s defenses.
Kennedi shook her head. “No. And before y’all start, I know I need to tell him. I just… I don’t know how.”
The silence that followed was heavier than anything she’d expected.
“Paige, say something. I know he’s like family to you, but I hope you trust me to tell him.”
