7. Eric
CHAPTER SEVEN
ERIC
The gym smells like chalk, sweat, and rubber—sharp, but with an undercurrent of disinfectant. I grip the next hold on the wall, fingers pressing into the textured plastic, and pull myself up. My muscles burn, but it’s the good kind, the kind that forces focus.
Diego’s already at the top, hanging loose against the ledge with one knee bent, shaking chalk from his fingers.
He’s got that compact, lean build that makes him a natural at this—quick hands, quick feet, always moving efficiently with no real effort behind it.
His black curls are sweat-damp, sticking to his forehead, hair tie long lost. When I haul myself up beside him, he gives me a once-over, then snorts.
“Man, why did you add all those extra weights? You’re climbing slower than my abuelita.”
I lean back against the cool surface, exhaling sharply. “Fuck off.”
“Right. You’re just kicking and pulling at the wall like you got nothing better to do.” He shakes his head, dusts off his hands. “C’mon, what’s up?”
“Where’s Andrzej today?” I ask, trying to distract him. “He usually tags along with us on Wednesdays.”
“Andrzej’s got girl trouble.” He dismisses it with a wave. “Don’t dodge. What’s going on?”
I hesitate. It’s Amanda’s business, not mine.
But Diego’s one of the few people who actually listens instead of just waiting for his turn to talk.
He’s also my closest friend, other than Amanda.
When I was thirteen, during one of those summer trips to the cabins, it slipped out that Keith and I shared a father.
Ever since, Diego helped me kick my half brother’s ass more than once during those summers.
Diego is part of the fabric of my childhood and a permanent fixture in my life that I’m thankful for.
I roll my shoulders, flex my grip against my knee, and say it. “Amanda stayed the night.”
His eyebrows go up. “No shit. How’d you swing that?”
“She needed somewhere—needs somewhere.” I keep my voice even. “I have space.”
Diego doesn’t react right away, just studying me, sharp eyes flicking over my face. I don’t give anything away. He leans forward, forearms resting on his knees. “Is that a good idea?”
I huff a laugh, humorless. “Time will tell.”
He grins because I’ve just proven his point. “You know it’s not, right?”
I rake a hand through my hair, pressing my palm against the back of my neck, searching for the right words, but nothing comes out. Diego catches the movement, his gaze narrowing. His voice shifts, losing its usual sharp edge.
“What aren’t you saying?”
“Look, it isn’t my shit to tell, you know? It’s Amanda’s.” My jaw tightens, but I don’t have to say more. Diego watches me for a second longer, then exhales through his nose, piecing it together.
“Oh, shit.” His eyebrows lift. “She broke up with the fucker, didn’t she?”
He hates Daray as much as I do because he isn’t only a cheating bastard, he’s also friends with my half brother.
His dark brown eyes try to find mine, but I avoid them. “It’s really complicated. She needs someone.” My pulse ticks in my throat.
Diego lets out a low whistle, eyes wide, shaking his head. “Did he knock her up?”
“She’ll kill me if I tell you.”
“You’re not! I’m just a smart one.”
I look him in the eyes and nod. Then add, “He cheated on her for months. Knocked her up, too.”
His shoulders sag. A breath leaves him as if this hurts him.
Amanda is his friend too. His jaw tightens, fists curling at his sides.
He won’t lecture the way his dad does, but he’s a big brother to four sisters that he’d go to war for—so would I, for what’s worth.
Quiet disappointment rolls off him. Uncle Tony—his dad—hammered that you don’t lie or use people.
You treat any woman the way you’d want your mom or sisters treated.
My friend took better to it—me being a manwhore and all.
Diego holds doors and keeps promises. He won’t even take someone home unless it means something.
He won’t touch them unless they’re sober and able to say the word yes.
“Jesus. What a goddamn train wreck. Poor Mandy.”
“She’d kick you in the nuts if she heard you call her Mandy. Cut them off, too, if she heard the pity you’re throwing her way”
“Fuck off. She’s my Mandy.” I know he’s just trying to get a rise out of me. He succeeds, anyway. “Is she keeping it?”
I nod. “I think so. We made a budget.” I cringe when I notice my slip.
“We, Eric?” His head jerks back, standing abruptly. “A fucking budget?” He drops back down, closer now. “Is that why she stayed with you?” I glance away, but he’s already locked in. His voice drops, more serious now. “You do know the ship’s sailed, right? That baby ain’t yours.”
The words hit in the center of my chest, knocking off my center of gravity for a few seconds.
I clench my fists on my knee. I already knew that, obviously.
Diego’s words, however, make it something I can’t ignore.
Still, it’s a shock to him when I stand up and, with my bigger frame hovering over him, I slice my palm through the air.
“That kid’s way more than Daray’s son.”
It comes out louder than I intend, and a few heads turn.
Diego lifts his hands defensively, even though he’s smirking, unfazed. “Alright.”
“I mean it. You know the piece of shit father I got. Biology means fuck all to me.”
He studies me, letting me stew in my own discomfort “You don’t want her going back to him.”
I exhale sharply. “Of course I don’t. Screw him.” The thought of her going back to him after what he’s done makes me sick to my stomach.
“But it’s not just that.” He tips his head, narrowing his eyes at me, testing a theory. “You’re not just thinking about her. You’re thinking about the kid. You want that baby.”
My shoulders tighten. “I don’t know what I’m thinking.”
“Bullshit.” Diego shakes his head. “You wouldn’t be this worked up if you didn’t want this.” He moves around me until we’re facing each other. “You want her.”
I have always wanted her. The thought has been clawing at me since Amanda told me she was pregnant.
I’ll never be the man to give her a child—not the first one, anyway.
That truth sits heavy in my gut. It tastes bitter and acrid.
Still, just last night, I thought I’d lost any chance of making a life with her at all.
And now… maybe I haven’t. If I can just figure out how to—
Diego exhales, dragging a hand through his trimmed beard. “So she stayed with you last night. What now?”
That pulls me out of my self-flagellating train of thought. I look at him. “What? She’s staying tonight. She said so.”
“She’s not gonna go for it much longer. You may have two or three more nights before she figures out how to get you guys back to the status quo.”
I make a noise in my throat, half a scoff, half a challenge.
Diego scoffs. “She’s smart as a whip and stubborn as hell, man. She can figure somewhere else to go in record time.” He lets it sink in—how easily she could leave. Again. “Does she even open the door to your house? She has a key.”
“She will,” I say, annoyed, because he’s right.
“She’s got a million ways to talk herself out of staying with you. Hell, she’s got a vivid memory of you wrecking her gentle little heart. You need a plan.”
I scoff, rubbing a hand over my face. “Amanda has never been gentle or had a little heart.”
“No matter.” He waves his hand dismissively at me. “You need a plan.”
“And what, you’re gonna help me brainstorm?”
Diego shrugs. “I know Amanda. You’re playing the long game. ‘I have space’ isn’t a strategy. It’s a noncommittal, weak-ass excuse.”
I press my tongue against the inside of my cheek, considering that. “She trusts me.”
He tilts his head. “Does she?”
My jaw tenses. “She does. For this. I have her back, and she knows that.”
Diego shakes his head. “I really don’t think that’s right, man.
” He lets his words linger. “But even so, trust isn’t enough.
She also doesn’t like owing people, and she sure as hell doesn’t want pity.
” He tips his head, thinking. “You have to make it something she wants, not just something that makes sense.”
I exhale through my nose. “What the fuck, Diego? What could she want other than to huddle up and figure things out?”
He smirks. “You know Mandy better than I do. What is she feeling? Make it about her, not you. She’ll run to fuck knows where if she thinks it’s about you.”
That lands uncomfortably because it is about me. Diego gets up, drying his hands on his sweats.
“You’re so dumb sometimes, man. What are all your degrees good for?” He loves hating on my doctorate any chance he gets.
I shift, gripping the first hold of the next route, needing to move. “You just told me this was a bad idea. Why are you so invested?”
Diego snickers, clapping me on the shoulder. “Hey, I never said don’t do it. But you need to know what you’re doing.”
I shake my head, exhaling sharply. “Yeah. Good luck with that.”
He grips my shoulder. “I mean it, Eric. If you do this, you have to be all in. No pussyfooting. No backtracking. Come what may. It’s you, Amanda, and that baby.” He waits for me to face him. “Are you in?”
I’ve been dying for the universe to throw me a bone and give me a chance to fight for her. This is it. But I’m paralyzed with fear. Because what if I try and lose her anyway?
Diego steps into my space, looking up at me with a challenging gaze. “You ready to stop fucking around? Man up for the woman you’ve always wanted?”
I nod tentatively.