Chapter 31
Zane
“So when are you going to tie the knot?” Cal asks as we head out of the office for the day.
“What are you talking about?”
“You know, settled down looks pretty good on you.”
“Again…what are you talking about?” I ask.
“You and Ashlyn. Bentley. You’re so busy now that half the news I hear about your life literally comes from the news.
From you being in a relationship, which by the way I don’t think is as fake as you told me it was, to her moving in, to finding a baby on your doorstep, to finding out the baby is yours. ”
“Listen, it’s been nuts,” I tell him. “But I’ve been meaning to talk to you about all of it. And you’re right, Ashlyn and I aren’t faking it.”
If I’m being honest, I have been a shitty friend recently. Ever since Ashlyn moved in, it’s been one crazy event after another. I have had very little time to process any of it, let alone vent to Caleb about it.
“Well, no shit, Sherlock. You two are obviously the real deal. But how’s the dad thing going? I can’t even imagine just waking up in the middle of the night and finding a baby on the porch.”
“You know it’s kind of wild, obviously,” I answer. “I never saw it coming. It’s one thing to have a baby tossed at you. It’s another to find out it’s yours.”
“I feel like this is a stupid question, but how did that happen?” he asks with a grimace. “I mean, I don’t think I need to give you a lesson on the importance of being careful.”
“I was careful. I’m always careful,” I tell him.
“Man, I remember Nikki,” he says. “She was a bit…extreme.”
“How so?” I ask, even though I know what he means.
“She was quiet but also…kind of obsessive. She was in love with you the way teenagers fall in love. And I don’t think she ever got the memo that you were just looking for casual,” he says.
“I think she thought she could butter me up into feeling the same thing she did,” I say.
“Like I said. Teenager. Even if she was thirty or whatever.”
I think about that for a minute. Honestly, until Bentley showed up, I hadn’t thought much about Nikki at all, as bad as that sounds.
It’s not that I use people and dismiss them; I don’t.
I had fun with Nikki. I wouldn’t have had her in my life for months on end if I didn’t.
She was the closest I’ve had to an actual relationship in a very long time.
That said, I still never saw it as serious.
And I definitely never assumed it would go anywhere.
“So she’s really not fighting you on custody?” he says. “She’s just done?”
“That’s what they’re trying to figure out. I lawyered-up just in case it gets ugly, but so far, it’s been quiet. Legally speaking, I mean,” I answer.
“So what do you mean by that exactly?” Cal asks as we stop next to our cars. “In case it gets ugly?”
I jingle my key fob in my hand, aware that I haven’t said any of this out loud yet. Probably because I only recently realized it myself. But when I answer the question, I say it with full confidence.
“Bentley is mine. If Nikki does circle back and thinks she can just take him from me, she’s very mistaken.”
After work, I head straight for the gym.
Not my home gym, but one in the city that I go to when I want a more extensive workout.
My home gym is great, but this one is set up for CrossFit.
Being around other guys when I work out is sometimes better.
You push yourself harder when there is a guy in his twenties silently challenging you to a pull-up competition.
It’s also nice to have a second away from the house.
I don’t feel guilty about it because we recently put Bentley in a day care on the days we both work.
It’s an upscale place located halfway between our jobs, so if anything is ever wrong, either of us can be there at the drop of a hat.
From what Genevieve, the girl at the daycare, said, Bentley is doing great there, so I can work out in full confidence that everything is okay.
It’s wild feeling so much paternal love towards a little person I didn’t even know a month ago. A lot of guys in my position probably would have just thrown money at the problem, assuming it is a problem. I don’t see it that way. And you couldn’t pay me to stay away from him.
It’s also wild how Ashlyn has fallen into place with it all as well. Her ability to love him immediately and love him as her own is profound. And it only makes me adore her more.
But speaking of Ashlyn.
As amazing as some of the last couple of days have been, something was off when we left the zoo.
Her mood did a one-eighty when I was in the bathroom changing Bentley.
For the rest of the night she insisted that she was fine, just tired from touring the zoo; I didn’t buy it.
I didn’t want to push her, but I am starting to worry.
“Well, look who took a break from babysitting,” the voice breaks into my thoughts. I turn down the speed on the treadmill I am sprinting on.
“Jett,” I address him. Then I regret saying anything at all. Maybe if I’d just ignored him, he would have walked away. Unfortunately, I don’t think Jett is smart enough to understand social cues.
“I’m surprised you have time to work out, considering your new domestic life.”
“I still make time for what’s important to me,” I answer, refusing to look at him even though I can feel his eyes locked on me. It’s one thing to have to talk to him. I don’t have to see his face too.
“Apparently. You know, I think I speak for everyone when I say we were all a little shocked that your MIA status was because you were actually in a serious relationship with a paparazzi photographer who is also your baby mama,” he says.
That’s enough to make me punch the stop button on the treadmill and jerk my attention over to him.
“Who said she was a paparazzi photographer?” I grit out.
“Oh, come on. This shit’s not hard to find on the internet, Calloway. One quick image search and everyone knows who she is,” he grins. I’m ready to knock his pretty teeth out, but I keep my cool and clench my fist at my side instead.
“I’m not really sure why you’re so focused on my life, but maybe if you focused more on your own, you wouldn’t have to spend the rest of your career walking in my footsteps,” I tell him. I hope it’s enough of a jab to end the conversation. But, like I said, Jett isn’t the most intelligent guy.
“Nice attempt at rerouting the conversation. But I am still curious about something else. It’s not impossible to hide a woman or even an entire relationship, but it’s a little more difficult to hide a baby, not to mention a pregnancy,” he says, and I narrow my eyes on him.
“What are you implying, Navarro?” I ask.
“You know there are no photos of your girlfriend in the last year where she has so much as even a hint of a baby bump?” he asks.
“Believe it or not, not everyone takes photos of themselves twenty times a day,” I say.
“I’m just curious what you’re hiding, Calloway. I think it’s more than a relationship and a secret baby. I think there’s more to it.”
I take a step closer, looking him dead in his eyes. “I think you should keep your eyes on what belongs to you and stay away from what’s mine,” I say before walking away.
“Kind of hard not to stare at your train wreck when your girl is literally the tabloid queen,” he calls out, and I just keep walking.