Page 123 of Addicted

Stone looked up at me and smirked.

“I got a feeling you gon’ be saying that a lot over the next nine months,” he said.

I let out a watery laugh and smacked him playfully on the chest. “Shut up.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me into his arms, holding me tight.

“I love you,” he said, his voice low and serious. “I love you and our baby more than anything in this world. You hear me?”

I nodded against his chest, fresh tears spilling down my cheeks.

“I love you too,” I whispered.

Stone pulled back and cupped my face in his hands, his thumbs brushing away my tears.

“When you wanna tell people?” he asked.

I took a breath. “I wanna tell Ish tonight. And I’ll tell Aurora soon. You can tell Kenzo and whoever else you want.”

Stone nodded. “Aight.”

He kissed me again, slow and deep, and I melted into him.

This was real.

We were having a baby.

And despite the chaos, the danger, the complicated way we’d started—I couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else.

***

That night, Brady prepared dinner. He’d made grilled salmon, roasted vegetables, and garlic mashed potatoes.

Ish was already at the table when Stone and I walked into the dining room, his phone in his hand.

“Yo, I got a ninety-two on my history test,” he said, grinning. “Mr. Peterson said it was one of the highest scores in the class.”

I smiled, sitting down across from him. “That’s amazing, Ish. I’m so proud of you.”

Stone sat down next to me, his hand resting on my thigh under the table.

“I’m proud of you too, lil’ nigga,” Stone said. “Keep that shit up.”

Ish’s grin widened. “I will.”

We started eating, the conversation was light and easy. Ish talked about school, about Destiny, about some new video game he wanted to buy. I listened, smiling, my hand resting on my still-flat stomach. Finally, I took a breath.

“Ish,” I said. “I got some news I wanna share with you.”

He looked up from his plate, his eyebrows raised. “What’s up?”

I reached into my purse and pulled out the ultrasound photos, sliding them across the table.

Ish picked them up, staring at them with a confused expression. Then his eyes went wide.

“Wait,” he said, looking up at me. “Are you—are you pregnant?”

I nodded, a smile spreading across my face. “Yeah. I’m pregnant.”