Emilio nudges my shoulder and tilts his chin to my phone. “What’s going on, momma?”
I hesitate for only a second before forcing a smile. “Nothing. Just Jae filling me in on what’s going on.”
“Jae?” Emilio scrapes his teeth over his bottom lip. A muscle ticks in his jaw but whatever is bugging him, he decides to keep to himself.
Me: Give me until the end of the day to think about it?
Jae: Can I at least go to your house and grab some of your things? In case he’s there when you get out of school.
Me: Yeah. That would be great. Thank you.
I shove my phone back in my pocket and try to enjoy the rest of lunch, but the mood at the table has drastically shifted. This isn’t just bad news for me. It’s upsetting for all of us, and I’m not sure how any of us are going to handle what happens next.
twenty
The rumor mill is running rampant. I can see it eating at Bibiana. She’s not used to all of the attention. Personally, fuck what people here think. Let them look and whisper. I’m proud to be a dad. I know she is too — of being a mom. The way she is with Luis, there’s just something about it that makes my heart beat faster, my chest squeeze tighter.
I don’t want to mess this up.
Everyone is acting like this is some big thing. It’s not. Luis is mine. End of discussion. I don’t need to explain myself. They all want to know why they never heard of him before. Why we kept him a secret for so long. But that isn’t my problem.
It’s not my job to keep these fuckers informed, and I sure as shit am not going to throw my girl under the bus and tell everyone I didn’t know about him.
My girl. I like the sound of that.
I might be new to this relationship shit, but I know that’s not the way to get off on the right foot.
People here should know by now the Devils don’t explain themselves. A few words in the halls shut most of the guys down, and the team knows better than to question any of us. But the girls — fuck, they’re the worst.
My phone is on silent and I swear it vibrates in my back pocket every other minute. I read the first three this morning before deciding to ignore it the rest of the day. I don’t have time for that shit. I thought if I ignored them, they’d eventually stop, but the ones who are bold like Kaitlyn Crisp have taken it upon themselves to just ask me about it in person.
She thought she was subtle, asking how things are going. If I like being a dad. Telling me how cute my boy is and then hinting that being a single dad must be so hard. Puh-leez. She’s angling to find out if Bibiana and I are a thing. Single dad. I roll my eyes.
I need to take a page out of Dom’s playbook and be the broody, unapproachable asshole so I don’t have to deal with people and their bullshit. The bell rings and we all dump our trays in the trash. Aaron reluctantly passes Luis back to Bibiana and I walk her to her next class.
“See? This all worked out,” I tell her, placing my hand on the small of her back. She offers me a hesitate smile, shifting Luis’s weight to her other side.
“For now. What happens when Luis is sick or has a meltdown?”
I press my lips to her temple. “We deal with it. If he’s sick, I’ll stay home with him. We’ll watch cartoons and chill in my room. And if he has a meltdown,” I shrug. “Kids do that. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
She doesn’t look convinced, but she nods. “Okay.”
“Do you want me to take him for third?”
She shakes her head. “No. I can manage.”
I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and face her once we reach her classroom door. “I know you can manage, but we’re a team, remember? Luis is my responsibility too. Fifty-fifty. If you need a break, tell me.”
She nods. “I will.”
I scrutinize her looking for the lie, but she seems genuine, so I leave it at that. “I’ll see you in fourth.” I run my hand over the top of Luis’s head. “See you soon, little man.”
Twenty-one
“Need a lift?” Emilio asks when the final bell rings and we all head outside, the school day officially over. It was stressful at first, but by the end of the day having Luis with me felt … normal. I can totally do this. Especially with everyone else helping out.
Dominique has volunteered to take Luis every day during second since he has a non-schedule. I found out today that Aaron TA’s third and he’s offered to take him then. We’re all together during fourth so there are plenty of hands on deck should I need them. This is completely do-able, and there is this giddiness inside of me at the knowledge that not only is everyone willing to help, they want to. They want that one-on-one time with Luis. I know people say it takes a village, but I never realized the true meaning of those words until now.
