Fifty-Seven
Reece
Four Months Later
“But why is tomorrow too early for Halloween decorations?” Tashia whines from her pool lounger.
“It’s Labor Day ,” Evan squeals from the grill he’s manning with Dad. “It’s eighty-nine degrees out, baby.”
Tashia pouts as Stace and I chuckle from our respective loungers. “I don’t know,” Stacy pipes up. “If people can put up their Christmas trees on the first day of November, I think Tashia can put up her Halloween decorations on the first Tuesday of September.”
Tashia reaches over to Stacy’s pool lounger, taking her hand and glancing at my girlfriend over her sunglasses. “Thank you for your support and I love you.”
“I love you back.” Stacy squeezes Tashia’s fingers and I marvel at the two women to my right.
Who knew that after everything, they’d become best buds? It was a shock to us all but, since the wedding, the girls have become two peas in a pod.
I look away before I can stare too hard at Stacy in her bright orange bikini.
The summer sun this year was too kind to Stacy’s skin, giving her a bronzed glow all over her tight body.
The tiny triangles of her bikini top barely cover exactly what I know is under the material and I start rattling off sports facts in my head before I can get a boner at my family Labor Day celebration.
Even though Stacy and I essentially live together, our apartments in Cincinnati only a five minute walk apart, it doesn’t mean I’ve gotten enough of Stacy Dunn.
I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of her, physically or emotionally, but I’m so damn happy she’s by my side every day now.
With me starting PT school and her starting an entry-level marketing job that Gemma hooked her up with, I know our schedules and lives are about to get crazy.
But she’s here, she’s in my wing, and in my heart I just know she always will be.
I’m going to marry that girl one day. I’ve known it for a while now but I guess I’ll give us at least a year to get our lives together before I drop to one knee in front of her.
If I can wait that long.
“I’m also team Halloween tomorrow but only because I’m team Christmas in November,” Mom speaks up, pulling me from my thoughts as she arranges the pasta salad and veggie tray on the outdoor dining set.
“Dad, Reece, back me up,” Evan begs as Dad flips a couple of burgers.
I grin against the neck of my beer. “Happy wife, happy life, dude. I thought that was the first thing they taught you?”
Dad points his spatula at me. “Now that is a wise man.”
Stacy glances at me and rolls her eyes, smiling before she falls back into chatter with Tashia.
My family continues to argue about the correct time of year to put up holiday decor before Gemma strides into the pool area of my parents’ backyard.
She told us all she was running late but she doesn’t look prepared for a relaxing day of lounging around as she stops by the grill, rubbing her hands against the material of her denim shorts.
“You made it!” Dad exclaims, handing the spatula off to Evan to kiss my sister on the cheek. “You want a beer?”
Gemma shakes her head, her eyes darting around to all of our faces as she noticeably swallows.
Is Gemma… nervous?
That’s certainly an emotion I’ve never seen my self-assured, badass older sister possess.
“Margarita?” Mom suggests, taking a tray of hot dogs from the grill to the table.
“Listen, I need to talk to all of you,” Gemma says, evading my mom’s question and fidgeting with the buttons on her linen shirt.
We all fall into silence. Mom slows her table setting while Evan sets down the spatula. I push myself up into a sitting position in the lounger and note Tashia and Stace doing the same.
Gemma chews on her lip for ten grueling seconds, no sound but the breeze and Jimmy Buffet playing through the speaker by the grill. Her eyes zigzag between all of us before she takes a deep breath and says, “I’m pregnant.”
I can practically feel my jaw unhinge as everyone matches my expression. Mom’s eyes go wider than I’ve ever seen and Dad puts a hand on my brother to stay standing. Stacy whips her head back and forth between me and my sister and Evan grips the side of the grill with white knuckles.
Gemma’s an adult. She’s twenty-five, intelligent with a good job, and she’s more than old enough to make a decision on her own.
It’s not the fact that she doesn’t have a boyfriend and now she’s pregnant that’s making my head spin.
She’s grown and can have all the one-night stands or casual situationships that she wants.
It’s the fact that Gemma’s never wanted kids that’s throwing me off.
She’s always talked about her career like her baby and has been vocal for years about wanting to travel and be selfish with her time and money.
She’s barely ever showed interest in getting married, much less having a child.
Which tells me this was anything but on purpose.
We sit in stunned silence for a painful amount of time before Gemma begs, “Someone please say something.”
Mom clears her throat and shakes her head before walking up to my sister. “Sorry, I’m just… confused. Are you happy about this, sweetie?”
Gemma shrugs, her brows pulled down over her green eyes. “I haven’t figured it out yet.”
“And you want to keep it?” Dad asks, approaching her slowly like she’s a wild animal that might bolt.
Gemma won’t run but she damn sure looks ready to throw up.
She nods as she worries her lip. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m keeping it.”
We all bob our heads like robots and I know the question running through my head is in everyone else’s as well.
Finally, Evan voices it and asks, “Who’s the dad, Gem?”
Gemma’s brows furrow deeper as she cracks her knuckles a couple of times, a nervous tick she’s had since she was a kid. “He’s here, actually. He’s inside.”
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise as Dad rears back slightly.
Gemma’s always been bold, I’ll give her that.
“Well,” Mom starts, keeping composure as she always does. “Bring him out. I’d love to meet him. And… congratulate him?” Her voice is a question and I can’t really blame her.
I’m so damn confused.
Gem gives Mom a curt nod before turning back towards my parents’ sliding glass door. None of us say anything for the minute that Gemma’s inside, shock silencing us all before the door opens again and Gemma steps back out.
Drew walks out into my parents’ pool area.
Wait. What? What the hell is Drew doing here with my sister?
“Guess I don’t need to worry about introductions.” Gemma gestures to Drew and I hear Stacy gasp to my right. “I know this is a surprise but it’s Drew. Drew’s the father.”
?
I lazily trace Stacy’s sun-kissed skin as we lay in my bed later in the night. I’m trying to recount the day’s events and make them make sense in my head but they’re not computing.
The Labor Day celebration ended pretty abruptly after Gemma’s announcement.
She didn’t stick around and neither did Drew but I didn’t feel much like hanging out after that.
I’m not sure anyone did because we didn’t know how to talk about what just happened but how the hell were we supposed to talk about anything else?
“That sure wasn’t on the calendar,” Stacy murmurs in the dark after I’m uncharacteristically quiet for too long.
I snort loudly, albeit bitterly, before I shift onto my side and pull her back flush to my chest. “No shit.”
Stace hums, tracing the skin on my arm that’s wrapped around her waist. “Do you think your parents are happy? You know, first grandchild and everything.”
I consider this. “I’m sure they’ll be happy once the shock wears off.”
“Think Gemma’s okay?”
I shrug. “She’s resilient. Even if she’s not okay right now, she will be.”
Stace pauses, a heavier pause than she’s taken in a long time. “Do you think you and Drew are okay?” she finally asks.
I shift, tugging Stace until I’m flat on my back and she’s on my chest. I consider this, my mind scattering in a million directions as emotions flood my body.
Part of me is so damn excited to be an uncle but that part is at war with the part of me that feels pretty fucking betrayed by one of my best friends.
Damn. The people I love really like to go behind my back.
“We’re going to be,” I decide. “He reached out after they left and asked if we could get together and talk but I’m… not ready yet?”
I feel Stace nod against me. “That’s fair.”
“I just wish he would’ve talked to me first.”
“Yeah, but what kind of conversation would that have been? ‘Hey, sorry man but I kind of want to fuck your sister,’” she challenges.
I grimace. “Okay, ew. Point taken now please never say that again.”
“I’m just saying, friends like Drew don’t come around often. Try and give him some grace, yeah? ”
I sigh as Stacy swings her leg over my hips, sitting up to straddle me. “When did you get so wise?”
Her silhouette shrugs. “I’ve always been wise. You’ve just been too busy staring at my ass for the past four years to notice.”
I chuckle, running my fingers across her thighs as that familiar heat coils low in my stomach, my fingers tingling at the brush of Stacy’s skin.
She leans down to press her lips to my jaw and I’m ready to lose myself in Stacy, to forget about the world for a few minutes while I find peace in my girl, but she pulls back before I can slide my fingers past the waistband of her satin pajama shorts.
“You know I’ve got you, right?” she whispers. “Life’s gonna get shitty sometimes. Whether it’s your best friend getting your sister pregnant, losing a job, an illness, family trouble… Shit’s going to get tough. Just know I’ve always got you. We’ve always got each other.”
I swallow the lump in my throat and pull Stacy back to my chest. “Yeah. I know. We’ve always got each other, angel.” I stroke her hair and choke on my emotions. “I’m so damn happy I got stuck with you as a stunt buddy.”
Stacy chuckles, the sound rumbling against my chest and warming my heart. “Yeah. I guess you’re alright.”