Chapter 13
The front door clicked shut behind me as I stepped inside my apartment.
“Home sweet home.”
I sighed as I kicked off my shoes. Man, my feet ached from standing up for six hours straight. I was blessed to have a good amount of clientele to keep me busy on a Friday, but boy, did I miss the days when I was just hanging out at Lolo’s shop for fun. I didn’t know how to manage this workload with my pregnancy or after the baby.
I removed the ultrasound pictures from my coat before placing it in the closet and making my way down the long hallway toward my living room. My eyes never left the photos. I was still on a high from having seen my baby for the first time. There was a little life growing inside me, and I was in love. Flicking on the light, my heart stopped at the sight of Kellon sitting on my living room couch. His head turned in my direction, and his eyes narrowed in on me, freezing me in place like I’d seen a damn ghost.
“Kellon?” I skipped town on this man to avoid him, and now, here he was sitting in my house.
“Phileigh.”
“What… are you doing here? How did you get into my house?” Hell, how did he even know where I lived? I watched him on television a few hours ago at the victory parade. I stared at him as I ran my fingers through my hair in pure confusion.
“You ran,” he said, sitting up a little. “And I know how to pick locks.”
His voice was too calm to admit to breaking into my home. This was wild, and I didn’t know if I should be turned on, scared, or irritated.
I sighed. “Kellon… You shouldn’t have come, and you definitely shouldn’t have come to my house unannounced.”
“You shouldn’t have run. You left my house without saying goodbye. You had to know I was coming after you.”
“No, I thought you would just move on and live your life. I mean, we spent less than two days together.”
Kellon stood from the couch and moved in my direction.
“Two days, and I can’t stop thinking about you, Phileigh, about… the baby you are growing, about why the universe sent both of you to me. It’s not a coincidence.”
“The baby?” I repeated. My heart raced. “You been thinking about my baby?”
I was speechless. My mouth opened and closed, but no more words came out.
“Phileigh, having a baby is a lot. You don’t have to go through this shit alone.”
“I won’t be alone. I have Lolo and my parents.”
“And you got me.”
“No!”
“Yeah.”
“Kellon, it’s insane to want to take on the responsibility of a child with a woman you’ve only spent two days with. You don’t have to try to fix this. This isn’t your problem.”
“I want it to be my problem. I’m not walking away from this,” he said, taking my hand in his. “Wait. Is this baby Phileigh Cheese?”
He stared at the ultrasound photos tucked in my hand and politely took them from me.
“Yeah. That’s my baby,” I confirmed. Kellon stared at the pictures. His face lit up.
“Head… body…legs…” He flipped through the pictures. “Oh, shit. Is this empty space the heart?”
He held up one of the pictures, and I nodded. Seeing him so happy to see my baby had me smiling from ear to ear.
“Damn, you growing a whole lil’ baby inside.” He took the pictures and walked back over to the couch and sat down. I joined him, watching as he stared at the pictures. “As far as I’m concerned, this is my baby now. I don’t care who helped you conceive it. God put y’all in my presence for a reason, and I’m not about to fumble this.”
“Kellon, don’t—” I held up my hand.
The weight of his words penetrated my soul. There was no way I could let him take on such a huge responsibility. He deserved better than this. Than me.
“Come here.” He called me in a voice barely above a whisper. I shook my head. He was clearly out of his mind, and somebody had to be the voice of reason.
“Come talk to me,” he pleaded.
“Okay.” I stood from the recliner and made my way over to the sofa. Before I could take a seat next to him, Kellon was already pulling me onto his lap.
“Tell me your apprehensions,” he murmured in my ear.
My apprehensions? Weren’t they obvious?
“For starters, we’ve just met. You haven’t spent enough time with me to commit to me and my child. We’re in two different tax brackets, two different states, and I’m pregnant with someone else’s child.” I rambled off my list of valid concerns.
“Are you done?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, well, time is relative. Those two days seemed like two years to me. I don’t need you to be in my tax bracket. I have a private jet, and I don’t care.”
“Kellon…”
“That’s my name, beautiful.”
“This is just too much. My entire life is about to change. Being a mother needs to be my only focus. You’re a great?—”
“Nope. Don’t say that lame shit.” He held up his hand cutting me off, but I had to say it.
“You’re a great guy, Kellon. You’re truly one of a kind, and you deserve someone who doesn’t come with all this baggage. I mean, I don’t even fit the aesthetic of someone you should date, and then add being pregnant. Starting a relationship while pregnant has to be some type of sin or something. It just doesn’t seem right… we’ve just me?—”
“A friendship then.” He interrupted my rambling, making me stop and stare at him.
“A friendship?” I clarified that I heard him correctly.
“Yeah, a friendship. If me cuffing you up is moving too fast, then let’s slow it down.”
“Slow it down?” I contemplated his words.
“We can go as slow as you want to go. I’m down. I already know how this love story ends.”
At that moment, all my defenses crumbled, and I just stared at him. His persistence was cute, but he couldn’t be serious.
“A friendship?” I repeated it for the second time, probably sounding like a broken record.
“No strings attached. Just two introverts looking out for one another.” He brushed his thumb along my cheekbone. His expression was full of sincerity.
“But we’ve already crossed the line of just friends, Kellon.” I’d never been friends with a man before, especially a man who had already tasted my juices.
“Naw, male best friends can eat they female friends pussy. It’s called being a considerate friend.”
I couldn’t believe he said that with a straight face.
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, everybody know that.”
I burst out laughing at his crazy ass, and he joined me. His laugh silenced my doubts. It was okay for pregnant women to have friends. Nobody would fault me for that, right?
“Well, maybe we shouldn’t include that in our friendship.”
He smiled at me with a silly smirk on his face.
“One day at a time, friend,” he murmured against my lips. “You shouldn’t have to feel alone going through this pregnancy, Phileigh. You need someone to go to an appointment or if you’re having a hard moment, I want to be the friend you call on.”
“The friend I call on?” I whispered more to myself than to him.
Maybe having a friend a few thousand miles away would be good for me. It definitely couldn’t hurt, right?
“I’m only one call away, best friend.”
“Oh, don’t let Lolo hear you call me that. She gon’ kill you and me,” I joked.
“I ain’t worried about it.” He shrugged. “She gon’ have to move over.”
The doorbell rang. My eyes flew to the door. I wasn’t expecting anybody, and anyone it could be had a key.
“I ordered pizza. Here. I got it.”
He handed me back my ultrasound photos and lightly pushed me from his lap. I stood as he made his way to my front door. What did he mean he ordered pizza to my residence? That brought me back to how had he even got my address? I stared at him amused as the pizza man handed him four large pizza boxes. Kellon swung the door shut and made his way into the kitchen. I followed.
“I haven’t eaten since this morning. A nigga hungry,” he said, setting the boxes down on my kitchen counter.
I raised an eyebrow. “Four boxes? Were you expecting someone? It’s just us!”
“I wasn’t sure what toppings you liked, so I got a few options.” He winked as he peeled open the first box, releasing the cheesy smell in the room.
“For two people? Seems a bit much, and how did you know I wasn’t going to call the police on you for breaking into my house?” I teased, shaking my head.
“I had a hunch.”
I rolled my eyes playfully. “You’re lucky I’m hungry.”
I reached for a couple of plates from the cupboard.
“I know you are. You’re eating for two.” He chuckled, taking a seat on one of my tall kitchen stools.
“Nope. I rebuke that. That’s how women be gaining hundreds of pounds while with child. I will not. I’m big enough as is.” I set the plates down on the counter. The unusual silence and feeling of eyes burning through my soul had me looking up to stare at Kellon.
“What?”
“Don’t you even think about depriving little Phileigh Cheese so you can watch your figure. Give her what she wants, and I’ll work those extra pounds off you later, da fuck?”
I stared at him with a smirk on my face.
“I’m not laughing, Phileigh.” He pointed.
“Okay, Mr. Serious… I was just joking.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s strict over here.”
“You damn right.” Kellon laughed as he reached for a slice of pepperoni pizza and plopped it on my plate. “What else you want?”
I laughed. Having someone show that kind of concern for my baby was cute.
“I can do it myself.” I rolled my neck and grabbed a slice covered with what I could only describe as the weirdest combination of toppings I’d ever seen. It had pineapple, jalapenos, and pepperoni, and my mouth was watering for it.
“Thought Baby Phileigh might like that one.” Kellon eyed me as I plopped two slices on the plate.
“I don’t usually eat weird shit like this, but it’s calling me,” I said as I took a big bite. “Oh no…” I murmured, gripping the counter tightly. “I think I’m going to?—”
“Wait! You good?”
He moved toward me, but before I could reply, I bolted from the room and made a beeline for the bathroom. I had to throw up. Thankfully, I made it to the toilet just in time, leaning over as I let my lunch out into the bowl. Kellon rushed in behind me.
“Here, let me help you.” He wasted no time pulling my hair back to keep it from falling into the toilet. “I’ve got you.”
“Thanks.” I managed to speak between heaves, feeling a wave of gratitude wash over me. I was grateful to have him here, even in such an embarrassing moment. After making sure my hair was secured in a bun, he started moving around the bathroom.
“Here.”
He handed me a wash towel. His eyes held a mixture of worry and care.
“Let’s get you cleaned up,” he suggested, helping me stand.
“I don’t know what just happened,” I said weakly, glancing at him as I brushed my teeth in a daze. I thought my morning sickness phase was over. I hadn’t thrown up since New York.
“Honestly?”
I looked up to see him staring at me like I was crazy.
“I don’t know much about pregnancy, but I do know it sometimes involves throwing up,” he replied.
I didn’t know if he was trying to lighten the mood or be a smart ass.
“Fuck you.” I flipped him off before rinsing my mouth out. I’d barely finished spitting before he scooped me up into his arms.
“Um… What are you doing?” I questioned, though his big strong ass had just turned me on.
“Carrying your smart mouth ass to bed. You need to rest,” he stated, and I couldn’t argue with him there. He gently laid me down on my bed, and I welcomed the comfort of my soft sheets. I watched as he walked to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of water.
“Drink this,” he said.
“Thanks.”
“What are friends for?” he replied, sitting on the end of the bed. “You need to take it easy. Can I do anything else for you?”
I shook my head as I sipped the water slowly, hoping it would ease my stomach. This morning sickness stuff was not for the weak.
“I don’t feel too good,” I admitted, handing him back the bottle. He set it aside as he moved closer to me.
“Let’s just lie down and relax. How about we watch a movie?”
I nodded despite not feeling great. Movies were definitely my healing language.
“I have to warn you. I only watch kids’ movies. I’m a sucker for happy endings.”
“I’ll watch whatever you choose.”
He smiled at me as he settled beside me. Grabbing the remote, he scrolled through the selections on my TV before finally landing on one of my favorite princess movies.
“You couldn’t wait to ride this one in Orlando. So, this has to be a favorite.” He started the movie, settling back against the pillows.
“So, I watched the parade,” I confessed as the opening credits rolled.
“Oh, really?” he said with a casual shrug. “It was pretty intense. I’m glad all that press shit over for real, for real.”
“So, are you like on break now, or how does that work?”
“Yeah. It’s off season. I get to be a regular person until we ramp up for training again. I may get called into a few meetings in between now and then but nothing too hard.”
“And when does training camp start?” I questioned.
“Late July, early August,” he stated.
“That’s around my due date… Doctors say I’m due in August…” My words trailed off. I didn’t want him to think I was insisting on him being there when I gave birth.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be there.”
He pulled me close, and we fell into a comfortable silence as the movie drew us in. The warmth of Kellon’s body and the sounds of my favorite black princess had my eyelids growing heavier and heavier until I finally succumbed to sleep.