12. Guess Who
CHAPTER TWELVE
Guess Who
"I'll do the site tour in the Midwest first..."
Deja nibbled her thumb while scrolling through the approved sites for her life globes.
She was beyond excited that this project finally had feet thanks to generous investors.
Though the anxiety and fear of a missing body she had killed still haunted her, she decided to take Esme's advice and let her handle it, while she focused on something to distract her.
Like her life's work.
She heard a knock at the door and looked up. "Deja?"
"Yes?" Deja furrowed her brow, wondering why Caleb was knocking on the door of his own house.
"Are you decent?" he asked. Deja twisted her face at the strange question.
Getting up from the couch, she headed for the door when Caleb walked inside, quickly closing the door behind him.
His eyes roamed over her body, sparsely covered with his t-shirt.
"So, that's a 'no'," he smirked. "As much as I love having you roam my house naked, I need you to put on some pants. "
"Why? What's wrong?"
Caleb bit his lip. "There's a group of women waiting outside to see you… for a baby shower."
Deja looked at him, startled. "A what-?"
"They say they're your friends from Georgia. Kristin. Diamond. Shawna-"
" What ?!" Deja blurted. "But-how-why-who-what do I-"
"Pants," Caleb said, grabbing her shoulders and turning her around.
"Pants," she panicked, shuffling to his bedroom.
Caleb smirked, watching her ass move beneath his shirt as she rushed to his bedroom. Deja had complained to him about how much weight she had gained with the pregnancy, but he absolutely loved the way she looked. He was already itching to get his hands on her again.
Adjusting his pants, which had tightened from his erection at the mere thought of her, Caleb opened the door. "Come in. She'll be out in a minute," he smiled, letting the women inside his home.
Deja stared at herself in Caleb's mirror. She changed into a pair of sweatpants and a nice blouse that barely covered her stomach. She felt hideous and wanted to cry. Biting back her tears, she grabbed Caleb's oversized sweatshirt.
"Aww! He's so cute! Hi, wittle dwarling!"
Deja tiptoed into the living room where she saw Diamond, Shawna, Kristin, and Ari gathered on the couch, playing with her pets. Caleb was the first to look up at her and smiled as if she had walked out in a wedding gown.
"Ahh! Lookit Mama Dej!!"
"OhMyGod! You’re huge !"
"Look at your belly!"
"It’s giving Oshun-Beyonce!"
Deja shrank as her friends swarmed her. She couldn't help but laugh as Diamond grabbed her face, peppering it with kisses while Shawna got on her knees, pressing her ear to Deja's belly.
"Hi girls..." Deja said meekly. "What are you doing here?"
Diamond pulled back, looking at her, bewildered. "Girl, is you serious?!"
"Deja, you like… fell off the face of the earth," Kristin said, exasperated. "Changed your phone. Deleted your social media-"
"Didn't say nothin' to nobody! Just up and disappeared like a bitch who owes money," Diamond snorted.
"And then, have the audacity to email us talkin' 'bout, 'Hi friends. I know it's been a while, but I'm pregnant and lonely. Please throw me a baby shower', or whatever the hell that email said," Shawna said, rolling her eyes.
"Wait, what-" Deja started.
"Like, you didn't even send us a picture," Ari said, shaking her head. "And then, you said not to tell your mom. Like that's a little fucked up, Dej, not even gonna lie. I mean, we respect your privacy, but it's gonna break her heart-"
"Wait-wait-wait," Deja said, trying not to panic. "You got an email from me?"
Kristin scrolled through her phone and handed it to Deja. Deja's eyes widened in full-blown panic, glancing at Caleb. "Well! The cat’s out of the bag, am I right?" Caleb clapped his hands together with a chuckle. "Baby, I think you were actually drunk when you sent that, and just… totally forgot."
"Drunk? But she's pregnant," Diamond said, alarmed.
Deja looked at Caleb wide-eyed. "Right! I mean-I meant drunk off of… of… ice cream! And snacks. Those pregnancy cravings are regularly sending her into food comas."
"Right, babe. The food comas," Deja chuckled nervously, pulling her fingers.
"Hold on a second," Shawna said. "Baby? Babe? Deja, is this fine-ass white boy your new boo thang?"
"Ooooh! He's cuuute !" Ari grinned.
"Right? Tall, muscular, and look at that smile. Girrrrlll..." Diamond said, sucking her teeth.
"Way better than that no-good, fucked-up ex of yours," Kristin muttered.
Deja and Caleb locked eyes with each other. She tried not to panic at the inquisitive look in his gaze. "Caleb," Deja said suddenly. "Would you mind giving me a minute to talk to the girls?"
Biting his tongue, Caleb nodded with a smile. "Sure. I'll just be in the garage."
The women watched him leave until he closed the door behind him. "Girl, I hope you are riding that man's face like a rodeo," Diamond said. "Ok, now what the hell is going on?"
"Seriously, Deja, this is crazy," Kristin said, concerned. "What happened? What's up with all the secrets?"
Deja took a deep breath, digging her nails into her palm.
"Okay. My first question is… are you in therapy?" Shawna asked.
Deja snorted with a chuckle, wiping the tears from her face. "I should be."
"Why didn't you tell us sooner that things weren't working out with Jax?" Kristin asked. "I mean, that engagement party, you guys seemed so happy. So in love."
"Because we were," Deja sighed. "But he wasn't the man I thought he was."
"Oh, baby-boo," Shawna scooted closer to Deja on the couch, pulling her into a hug. Deja felt the girls wrap their arms around her. And despite the fear of not knowing who knew about her baby and exposed her, she felt some relief to finally have some love and support from her friends.
"Wait, I'm confused," Ari said, pulling back. "You said his death was an accident. That you just barely escaped the house fire that killed him. So, why are you hiding?"
"Ari, did you read those tabloids?" Diamond snorted. "Those bitches tore our girl apart. Calling her a gold-digger. Whore. Murderer-"
"I think she gets it, D," Shawna interrupted.
Deja looked at them helplessly. "I just don't want to draw anymore attention to myself."
"We get it, boo. But..." Shawna sighed. "You're about to have a whole-ass baby, Dej. And you haven't even told your parents-"
"I will tell them," Deja said quickly. "Eventually. Please, girls. Promise you won't say anything to anyone."
Kristin sighed. "So what, you're just going to raise this baby alone?"
"Um. Mr. Sexy-Truck-Drivin-Blue-Collar seems more than ready to play Daddy, if you know what I'm sayin'," Diamond grinned as the girls laughed.
"Forreal! What's the deal, Dej? Is he your new man?" Shawna asked.
Deja's eyes widened. "No, we're not official or anything. Just… friends."
"You must mean friends with benefits. ‘Cause with the way that man looks at you, ain't no way he's not up in them guts," Diamond snorted.
"Diamond!" Ari cackled.
"Chile, if my man don't look at me the way he looked at you when you walked outta that bedroom. I don't want him," Shawna shrugged.
"Girls, we're just friends. That's it. I'm not ready to be in another relationship..." Deja trailed off.
"If you say so," Diamond said, standing from the couch. She approached the garage door when Caleb stepped out, carrying a toolbox. Diamond stepped back, looking him over with a grin. "Speaking of Mr. Fine."
Caleb's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry, I won't stay long. Just picking up something. 'Scuse me," he said, walking around her. "You ladies help yourselves to my fridge. I apologize in advance for all the beer."
"Actually, Caleb, we were wondering," Ari said, quickly approaching him. She stopped short in front of him and stared at his arms. "...God, you're hot."
"Ari!" Shawna snapped as Caleb chuckled.
"Right," Ari said, shaking her head. "We were wondering if we could borrow your house and decorate it for Deja's baby shower."
Caleb glanced at Deja and smiled. "Of course. Can I do anything to help?"
"I can think of a lot of things," Ari smiled.
" Ari !" Shawna, Diamond, and Kristin snapped.
“Can you point us to a mall?" Ari asked.
Caleb glanced at Deja again, who looked at him quite embarrassed. As much as he wanted to be alone with her, he had a feeling she needed this. "You got it," he smiled.
"He said he was busy."
"He's never too busy for us. We're like the most important people in his life."
"Lena, he's probably working-" Phil was cut short by the way his sister abruptly put her hand in his face while looking past the shrubs to Caleb's house.
Lena watched the women come and go from Caleb's home, deeply confused. "Who the fuck are they?" she asked.
"Uh. Probably friends. You know Caleb is friends with everyone," Phil said, looking over her shoulder.
"I've literally never seen them before," Lena said, annoyed.
She squinted at Deja standing in the corner of his house away from everyone else as Caleb placed a hand on the wall by her head while the other possessively held her waist. She wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying.
But it wasn't hard to figure out from the way Caleb grabbed a handful of Deja's ass, lifting her onto her toes until their lips met.
"...damn..." Phil grinned. "Caleb's got a naughty side. He is all over that ass."
"I dunno why. She's not even pretty," Lena muttered.
"Aww, come on, Lena! Don't be salty. She's definitely not ugly. And whether you think so or not, Caleb clearly likes her. Why can't you just be happy for him?"
Lena's jaw twitched watching Caleb's hand slip into Deja's sweatpants. Deja gripped Caleb's bicep as her eyes closed. The way she gasped indicated...
"Is he… is he fingering her ?!" Lena whispered angrily.
"Oh, fuck yeah!" Phil laughed. "Get it, Caleb!"