Chapter 3
2315 Words
CHAPTER 3
DAMON
The bell rings, and kids file out of the school from three different sets of doors. Buses line the one driveway while teachers direct the kids where to go, but none of them are listening. Some are laughing with their friends, and others have their heads buried in their phones.
I scour the masses for Adeline, but nothing. For the thousandth time, I glance at the picture the private investigator gave me. Her hair might be a little longer than I remember, but other than that, she looks the same—beautiful in a way that can swing from one end of the spectrum to the other. She can either appear like a Sunday morning girl next door with a “let’s go grab a coffee and a Danish” vibe or a stunningly beautiful woman going out for Sunday brunch at the hottest new place.
A few teachers wearing safety vests are sprinkled through the crowd, directing the children and parent pick-up. None of them are Adeline, which is probably good because at least this way there will be fewer witnesses when I do approach her. I don’t need this situation gossiped about until I figure out a few things—the first one being whether the baby is actually mine. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think she’s the type to try to trap me or lie about her baby’s parentage, but she did wait six months to message me about the pregnancy and then immediately went MIA.
I thought word would get around about my car being outside and maybe she’d come out, but I suspected she might play a game of chicken to see who would bail first. So I made sure to park by her car so I wouldn’t miss her.
It’s four thirty, and the after-school rush is long gone when three women come out of the building, followed by two men. One of the guy’s eyes swings to my car first. He can’t see in because of my tinted windows. I remember the guy from the rooftop on the day I met Adeline. I don’t recall his name, but I do remember his protective gaze on Adeline the whole time I chatted with her. His zeroed-in attention now confirms I’ve been the talk of the school, and the brunette sandwiched between her friends walking this way already knows I’m here.
She’s five feet from her car when I step out of mine. “Adeline?”
She freezes as if I’m taking her by surprise when we both know I’m not.
The redhead I also remember from the rooftop whispers something in Adeline’s ear while the shorter woman smiles at me. The two of them have a conversation, the redhead eventually storming off while the shorter one stays by Adeline’s side.
“Go ahead, Sami. I’m fine.” Her eyes meet mine.
I forgot how magnetic her eyes are. Their light blue is similar to mine, but hers contrast with her dark hair.
“I’m not far if you need me,” Sami says and rubs Adeline’s arm.
I round Adeline’s car to her side after Sami rushes off, looking over her shoulder with every step. “Ade—”
She’s quick to cut me off. “First off, I’m sorry.” Her attention moves to her stomach, and my eyes follow.
There’s the baby bump. If she was telling the truth, then a part of me is growing in there. My heartbeat increases with the fact that this is likely my new reality.
“Can we go somewhere and talk?” I ask, not wanting to push her. She looks like a frightened animal, ready to bolt.
She nods, appearing almost relieved that this moment has finally come. “How about Ira’s Deli on Forest? You can follow me if you’d like.”
“Nah, I’ll drive,” I say, turning and heading to my car.
“You can follow,” she says to my retreating back.
I stop and turn to face her. “I’d rather go together.” Standing at the back of my car, I notice some people peering our way.
“Why?” She frowns.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I’ve been trying to talk to you for days and now that I actually have you in front of me, I’m not going to let you out of my sight.” I swing my keys around my finger.
She glances around the parking lot.
“I’m pretty sure everyone still sitting in their car watching us right now already knows that little bundle of joy in your stomach is mine, so I wouldn’t worry what they’ll think if you get in my car.”
“They don’t.” She shakes her head, but it’s clear she’s annoyed that I can read her thoughts.
“Who do they think is the father?” My jaw clenches, though I’m not sure why.
She grabs her keys from her purse, then her car beeps, indicating it’s locked. “Let’s go.”
“Perfect.” I round the back of my car to the passenger side and open the door for her.
She slides in without a look my way but mumbles, “Thanks.”
I scour the mostly empty parking lot to see a few cars with drivers watching us, one being the guy who looks as if he wants to rip off my head. It occurs to me then that she might not be single. I came here assuming she was, but I can’t imagine a woman as beautiful as she is being single for long, even if she’s pregnant. I don’t think most men would be cool being with a woman who’s pregnant with another man’s baby, but maybe she found out late that she’s pregnant, and that’s why I’m just finding out. s**t, what if they’re trying to hustle me for money? Damn, my dad is gonna murder me when he finds out I’m in this position.
I drive us to Ira’s Deli, and the only conversation is her instructing me where to go. Ira’s is small, but I can never be too safe. Being seen at the school was already enough of a risk. If someone sees me walking into the deli with a pregnant woman I can’t explain, things could escalate.
“What do you want? I’ll go buy the sandwiches, and we can go back to your place to eat.”
“Um…” She worries her bottom lip.
“If not your place, a park, somewhere I have less of a chance of being recognized.”
I see hurt in her eyes, but she masks it quickly, her hand going to the door handle. “I’ll get the sandwiches. What do you like?”
I fish a fifty from my wallet and hand it to her. “Just get me a roast beef with mayo, please.”
She stares at the fifty and huffs, taking it from my hand. “Sure.”
After exiting the SUV, she walks inside. I watch her order, pay, and wait alongside the counter, pulling out her cell phone. My phone rings over Bluetooth, and I groan, seeing my teammate Miles’s name on my screen. I probably shouldn’t answer right now, but I’m already full of anxiety and could use a friendly voice.
“Hey,” I answer.
“Did you find her?” his girlfriend, Bryce, asks, and I roll my eyes.
“Where’s Cavanaugh?” I squeeze the steering wheel.
“Here. So are Coop and Elle. You’re on speakerphone.”
“Is this an intervention or something?” I lean back in my seat. They’re the only four people who know about this situation—mostly because when that text came through on one of the best nights of my life, I had to tell someone.
“Of course not,” Miles says. “We’re your friends and are going to see you through this.”
“One of you is a reporter,” I mention, and I hear Bryce scoff.
“I told you I won’t report about this, but if you do decide to talk about it with the press, I better get an exclusive.”
“Yeah, you’ll get the whole spread. Bachelor of the Year knocked up his one-night stand and ruined his life.”
“Your life isn’t ruined because of a baby,” Ellery says. “You have more than enough money to support him or her. Hell, you can give them a nanny twenty-four, seven. Do you know how many babies I see born into families who love them so much but don’t have the financial means to take care of them? If you put the time and effort into fatherhood, this could end up being the best part of your life.”
I roll my eyes, though she has a point. Ellery’s a doctor at an inner-city hospital, but I don’t want to be lectured while I’m trying to figure out if the baby is mine. I definitely slept with Adeline, and although she didn’t seem like the type to sleep around, she could’ve fooled me.
She and Bryce begin talking to each other when I don’t respond, complaining about me.
“I would have come with you,” Miles says.
What can I say? I have great friends. Miles, who I’ve known since college, would lie down in front of a truck for me, but this isn’t their problem. It’s mine.
Adeline accepts a bag from the worker and walks out of the deli.
“Gotta go.” The line clicks right as she opens the door.
“There’s a park about two blocks over. Should offer you the privacy you want,” she says as she gets in.
Once again, she directs me where to go. Once we’re parked, she hands me my sandwich. I don’t even open mine to eat, while she practically inhales hers. She could give our O-line a run for their money.
She glances at me, covering her mouth as she chews. “You’re not eating?”
I shrug. My appetite hasn’t been what it usually is since the news. She puts down her sandwich.
“Don’t stop on my account. Please, you’re eating for two.”
She wipes her mouth with a napkin. “My salad at lunch didn’t really cut it.”
“You had a salad? Hate to break it to you, but if you’re really growing half of me in that belly, a leafy bowl of vegetables isn’t gonna cut it.”
“You’re telling me. I’ve never eaten this much in my life.” With a small smile, she picks up the sandwich, not embarrassed that she can’t stop eating it. I like it.
I chuckle. It’s cute as f**k that she doesn’t care what she looks like in front of me. I wait for her to finish eating before broaching the pink elephant wearing a glittery dress and high heels in the room.
Once she’s done eating, she takes a water bottle out of her bag and sips it. “Man, I had no idea that all this time I was missing out by never eating a Reuben. Have you had one before?”
Are we seriously going to talk about Reubens?
“I think I had one once. Not a huge fan of rye bread.”
She nods, and my G-Wagen fills with silence once more. She fiddles with her hands in her lap. We both turn to one another and start speaking at the same time, only to stop. I gesture for her to go.
“How did you find out?” she asks.
I tilt my head and frown, staring at her and trying to see something in her eyes that says she’s joking, but she only looks concerned. “Did you not want me to know?”
She shakes her head. “I went to Chicago to tell you once.” There’s a note of… something in her voice. Displeasure? Disappointment?
“What? When? I’m pretty sure I would’ve remembered being told I’m going to be a father.”
She looks out the window for a second. “You were with someone. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
I shake my head. “I’m so confused. Adeline, you sent me a text message right after the Grizzlies won the championship, telling me you were pregnant.”
Her head whips in my direction, her eyes wide. “No, I didn’t.”
I fish out my phone from the center console and pull up the text message I’ve read a hundred times since I received it. I turn my screen to show her, and she shakes her head, confusion coating her features.
“Are you sure it’s not another Adeline? I never sent that message.”
I cough a laugh. “Are you insinuating that I knocked up two women named Adeline?”
She lifts her shoulders, then bends to retrieve her bag, digging for her cell phone. “I’m not sure, because I’ll show you I never sent you that message. And I know for a fact because every day I pull up your contact to send you a message and lose the nerve. I didn’t want to ruin your season, and after you won, I figured it was worse for me to tell you while you were probably celebrating and so happy. I was waiting for things to calm down a little.”
She pulls out her phone and shows me the message exchanges under my name on her phone. And it only contains the messages I’ve sent to her in the past few days.
It doesn’t matter to me whether she sent the message or didn’t. There’s only one question to ask at this point. “Adeline, is the baby mine?”
- Writer
