“Why would you want me, Kaynaan? We barely know each other. We’ve been on one date . . . Granted, it lasted an entire weekend, but still. I ghosted you for two weeks. And when you finally track me down, I’m pregnant by your teammate. I’m not a catch.”
“Sometimes we can be harder on ourselves than other people ever could be.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“It has to do with everything.” I gave her a strong squeeze. “You don’t see you like I see you, Wyndsor Fairy.”
“I hate I told you that,” she muttered.
“I see a physically gorgeous woman. A woman, who if I was Wilcox’s lucky ass, I would hope my baby came out looking just like. I see an ambitious woman who took an idea and ran with it. A woman who took a risk on herself and ended up creating a whole artistic, creative lane for herself. A self-employed black woman who’s a licensed vendor with every professional team in the city. I see a smart woman. A woman who likes to have fun and whose smile lights up the room. I see a woman with a giving heart. And some good ass pussy.”
She chuckled and shook her head.
“Why would I not want to make somebody like that mine? Why would I want to let another dude have the opportunity to claim you for himself? That’s dumb as fuck.”
“Kaynaan, I?—”
“Pregnancy isn’t a deal-breaker for me, Wyndi. I don’t give a damn about who the father is. If you’re still willing to see where this thing goes, I’m wit’ it.”
“Okay.”
We were both silent for a little while. “You tell Wilcox?” I asked, finally breaking the silence.
“Yeah.”
“What’d he say? Something stupid?”
“Yeah. He told me that I was a trick, accused me of trying to get money out of him, and suggested that if I am actually pregnant, I should terminate ASAP.”
Anger boiled up inside me, and I had to mentally talk myself down from fucking his young ass up. I couldn’t really be mad at him, though. His response was pure emotion and probably some fear. He didn’t sign up for parenthood. He signed up to have fun with Wyndi for a minute and then move around. “What’re you thinking?” I asked.
“I’m having a baby by myself.” She sighed. “It’s not the baby’s fault that he or she was conceived during a hot girl summer, as you called it. I just won’t have any expectations of him.”
I nodded. It wasn’t my place to comment or offer any advice. She didn’t need that. She needed support and a listening ear. “Yo, it’s been a long day. You wanna lay it down for the night? You still want me to have Axel grab your truck, or you want me to take you back to it and follow you home?”
“If you want me to go, I can go.”
I cupped her chin, making sure she gave me eye contact. “I don’t want you to go.”
Her eyes blinked about three times in rapid succession. “Okay. Let’s go to bed.”
