Chapter 18 #2
“You name it,” Ant said with a shrug. “Wedding arches, benches, dining room sets—”
“Cribs?” Xavier interjected. He’d sort of dared himself to say it, and now there it was. He drank his beer while his buddies remained silent and watched him carefully.
Griffin was the first to speak. “No fucking way.”
“I wondered when you were going to tell us,” Ant said.
“I figured he’d mention it tonight,” Brady told Ant.
“You both knew and neither of you gave me hell about it the second I arrived?” Xavier asked.
“Lou told me to be cool.” Ant shrugged.
“Elliott told me I shouldn’t even know.”
“Nobody told me shit.” Griffin was clearly butt-hurt about being the last to know.
“You knew it was a possibility,” Ant said. “That was more than Brady and I knew.”
Griffin’s shoulders straightened with pride. “Oh. Carry on.”
“When did you find out?” Ant asked Xavier.
“Girls’ night last week. May came over. I was planning on having a fire on the dock, and then she showed up and we…” He trailed off, deciding not to go there, but Griffin was apparently clairvoyant.
“You found out she was pregnant and then had sex?”
“But before that, you talked, right?” Ant asked, his gaze boring into Xavier’s head. “Established boundaries so she didn’t assume you were caught up in the joy of fatherhood?”
Xavier frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re sealing a tender moment with intimacy, dumbass,” Griffin answered.
“We have plenty of time to talk about the particulars. I don’t want her to worry about it.”
“You tell her that?” Ant asked flatly.
“Yeah.” Uncomfortable, Xavier rolled one shoulder.
“And she’s okay with it?” Brady was wearing a smile of doubt. “She seems like the type to have a spreadsheet timeline for each trimester that links to a pie chart of her work schedule…and yours.”
“We didn’t talk much after that, which I take to mean she’s cool with it.” They hadn’t talked much at all, unless Xavier counted May shouting his name on repeat.
Brady’s expression grew more incredulous.
“Have you seen her since?” Ant asked.
“We’ve texted,” Xavier answered, more nervous now. “Why? Did she say something to Lou?”
Ant shook his head. “Not that I know of.”
Xavier turned to Brady. “To Elliott?”
“None of my business.” Brady held up a hand.
“I’m happy for you, man,” Ant said. “It wasn’t expected, but it’s good news.”
“I’m not sure the news is that good,” Griffin muttered. When Xavier slid him a look, he was quick to add, “But it’s cool. If you’re cool with it. I’m just saying for me it wouldn’t be ideal.”
“I’m happy for you too,” Brady chimed in. “It’ll work out. It’s a little unfair that you beat Ant and me to the punch, though.”
“That can wait,” Ant was fast to point out. “Wedding first.”
“Traditional, but I’ll allow it,” Griffin said.
“I’m supposed to be asking you guys to be in my wedding,” Ant continued. “I already asked Donny, and he said yes.”
“Like groomsmen?” Griffin asked, looking skeptical.
“Yes, exactly like groomsmen. What else?” Ant chuckled. “Lou has already asked the ladies, but Griff, if you say yes, I’ll need you to bury the hatchet with Lisa. You two will be paired up at the wedding.”
“Lisa and I are cool. We are going to be around each other more now that Aunt Wanda has initiated this art revival project for the Cove. I can be cordial.”
Xavier was glad to have the spotlight off him. “What went down between you two anyway?”
“Summer fling a million years ago.” Griffin shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. But it was a big deal, right? Or else why would Lisa and Griff bicker like a divorced couple?
“Cordial? You guys act like you hate each other,” Brady said.
“There’s a thin line, brother.” Griffin raised his beer bottle and said no more on the topic.
For the next hour, they shot the shit about work, the art initiative that Griffin had mentioned, wedding preparations for Ant and Lou, and finally, the topic circled back to Xavier. But they didn’t bring up the baby again, thank God. They asked about Salty Dog instead.
“Cheyenne came back from vacation and put in her notice to leave,” Xavier informed them. “I guess her husband’s divorcing her. I feel bad for her, but it’s terrible timing for me. Especially since I started working on this app for May’s boss.”
“You’re working on another app?” Ant asked.
“Yeah… I guess I forgot to mention it with everything else going on.”
“Understandable,” Brady said.
Xavier briefly explained what the app would do, and that May was involved as well. “She’s not building it, but she was the one who suggested I build it.”
“And here we assumed you’d chosen to be a bartender the rest of your life.” Brady grinned.
“I thought I would be okay with being a bartender for the rest of my life,” Xavier said. “It gave me something to do besides knock around the house. As it turns out, I really missed coding.”
“Nerd.” That was Griffin, who offered a toothy smile. “I can relate.”
“Yeah, number-cruncher, you can,” Ant put in. Then to Xavier, he said, “You and May are sounding official. Working for her boss. Having a baby together.”
“Asking about cribs,” Brady muttered against the mouth of his beer bottle.
“Labeling is dangerous,” Xavier said.
“Dangerous because…it’s permanent?” Brady gave him a side-eye. “There’s already permanence between you two, in case you haven’t noticed.”
Hell, Xavier knew that. The fact that his buddies kept spelling it out for him was insulting his intelligence. “That’s why I told her not to worry. I have everything under control. There’s no reason for her to plan when I’m capable of making sure she has everything she needs.”
“Like a crib?” Griffin asked. Brady snorted.
Xavier looked them both dead in the eye and said, “Yes.”
“Sounds like it’s settled,” Ant said. “I have three additional groomsmen, and”—he looked at Xavier—“a custom order for a crib.”