“I—“ A trickle of worry worms its way into me before I push it aside. This is great. Emilio wanting more time with Luis is a good thing. I need to get over the irrational fear that him spending more time with Luis somehow means I’ll have less. This isn’t a competition, and right now, more time is not only good for Emilio, but it’s good for Luis and that’s what is more important. “That would be great.”
“Really?” His arm drops down from the back of the sofa and he squeezes me to him in a side embrace.
“Yeah. Really.”
He kisses my temple, taking me by surprise. “Thank you.”
I laugh off his words and his touch with a roll of my eyes. “Don’t thank me yet. One of these days Luis is going to clock you in the face with a car and we’ll see then how you really feel.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
I ignore the fact that his arm is still around me, that I’m still pressed against his side, and decide to just be. I rest my head on his shoulder and place the other on our son, content to share this moment with the man I created this tiny human being with.
fifteen
“How goes fatherhood?” Dominique asks when I take my seat beside him in fourth.
“Amazing,” I tell him and pull out my phone to show him the pictures I snapped of Luis earlier in the week.It’s Thursday and I’ve been at Bibiana’s every day as soon as football practice let out. Antonio is keeping to his word. He’s been watching Sofia, getting her to and from school and making sure she isn’t alone while I focus on Luis.
Raul hasn’t been back since last week, and I’m hoping our luck holds out a little bit longer.
“There’s a lot of Bibiana in this reel,” he tells me, quirking a brow.
“She’s his mom and she’s there. Don’t read too much into it.” I haven’t told any of them that I asked her to marry me. And I sure as shit am not going to mention that she turned me down.
“Don’t read too much into what?” Allie asks as she takes her seat, Roman following suit beside her.
“The fact that most of the pictures Emilio has of Luis on his phone are also shots of Bibiana.”
“Oooo, let me see,” Allie says and without bothering to wait for me to hand it to her, she snatches my phone and begins scrolling. “Oh, my god, he is so freaking cute.” She shows Roman a few of the pictures and he gives me his nod of approval. Asshole. Though despite myself I have to try and not puff up at his response. Roman is the head of our little trio, err, foursome. Is that what we are now that Allie is around?
Hold up. Do Kasey and Aaron count? And if they count, what about Bibiana? She’s the mother of my child so she better fucking be included, right?
I rub the back of my neck. I’m not even going to try and figure all of that out right now, but whatever we are size-wise, Roman is our fearless, asshole-ish leader, so yeah, him being happy for me gives me those warm and fuzzy feelings I won't admit to out loud. I’m a dad. A teenage dad, which I’m sure comes with the same stigma as being a teen mom, but none of my friends have batted an eye at that. No one is giving me shit. I’m grateful. Roman and Dominique, they’re my family. Just as much as Roberto, Antonio, and Sofia are. I want them to be a part of Luis’s life, and that they’re so clearly interested in my boy is a relief.
“My mom wants you to bring him by. She said she’s only going to wait so long to meet her first grandchild before she comes and hunts you down,” Roman adds gruffly.
I grin at that. “Aww, you bitter I gave Mama Valdez a baby first?”
He snorts. “No. I’m hoping since you gave her a baby she’ll back off with her questions about when Allie and I are getting married and when will we pop out some grand-babies for her.”
“Good luck with that.”
Allie laughs. “We have time. Right now it’s just, when are you going to get married and stop living in sin?”
Roman snorts. “Don't delude yourself. That woman wants babies. I vote we pimp out Emilio’s.”
I roll my eyes but I’m cut off from responding when our teacher starts his lesson. I don't pay attention for most of it. All of this feels like refresher coming off winter break and my grades are better than most, so I let my mind wander to my future now that Luis is in it.
I have a full ride to Suncrest U after graduation just like Roman and Dom do, but unlike them, football isn't all I’ve been considering.
For Roman, it’s always been football. His pops wants him going to the academy. Having a police chief for a dad puts on some added pressure, but Roman has never once even considered it. He wants to go pro.
Dominique wants to go pro too, and with an arm like his, the fucker is good enough if you ask me, but he also comes from money. He could go to any college in the country and his parents would pave the way for him. Hell, they'd probably prefer he go somewhere else. Suncrest U is a state college, but it's a division one school with the top-ranking football team in the nation which is why we’re all going there.
But Dom's parents are loaded and they've got plans for him to take over the family empire at some point. Only time will tell if he makes it playing ball before they drag his ass off the field.
I play cornerback for the Sun Valley Devils. And I’m good. Really good. But, I got offers for educational scholarships too. It helps when you get a 1340 on the SATs and carry a 3.9 GPA, not that I advertise that shit. I could rock the 4.0 if I wanted to, but I cut one too many classes and let's be honest, no one likes an overachiever.
