Chapter 17
Troy opened the door with a slight attitude.
“Bout time,” he said, leaning against the frame. “My baby starvin’.”
Serenity slipped past my leg before I could answer, glitter overnight bag bouncing against her side.
“Daddy!” she shouted, beelining for his knees. “Nana said you better not give me too much candy.”
“I’ma give you a little bit,” he promised, dropping into a squat to hug her. “Don’t tell her.”
She giggled, conspiratorial.
“Say bye to Mommy,” I reminded her.
She ran back, wrapped her arms around my waist. “Bye, Mommy. See you Sunday.”
“Bye, stink.” I kissed the top of her head, smoothing a flyaway braid. “Be good. Don’t talk back.”
She gasped. “I never.”
“You always,” I corrected.
She grinned and darted back inside, already halfway through a story about a girl in her class who’d gotten in trouble that day.
The second she disappeared down the hall, Troy straightened up. His gaze doing a slow drag from my face to my sneakers and back up.
I felt exposed, even though I had on a oversized hoodie with leggings on.
“Damn,” he said finally, eyes narrowing. “You pregnant?”
My spine stiffened. “Excuse me?”
“You pregnant,” he repeated, like he was asking if I’d bought new lashes. “Don’t play with me, Sev.”
I folded my arms. “Why the hell would you ask me that.”
He propped his shoulder against the frame, studying me.
“I can smell it on you,” he said.
I laughed. “Nigga, you not a bloodhound.”
“I’m serious.” His gaze didn’t move. “You got that glow again. Same one you had with Serenity. Plus you gained a little weight in your face and you holding your stomach like it’s a purse.”
I dropped my hand immediately, annoyed that he’d caught a tell I hadn’t even realized I was doing.
“Maybe I just been eating,” I snapped. “You never considered that?”
“You eat all the time,” he said. “It never looked like this.”
The worst part was…he wasn’t wrong.
He knew my body.
He’d known it when I was twenty, when we were stupid and in love and I thought loyalty could fix everything.
He knew how I carried weight when I was stressed, how I looked when I hadn’t slept, how my nose spread when I hit the third trimester.
Physically, at least, he’d always paid attention.
My mind flickered to the night everything changed. My pussy throbbed just thinking about how good Kasen felt.
“See,” Troy said quietly, watching my face. “I know that look too.”
I snapped back. “What look.”
“The one where you somewhere else,” he said. “You thinking about that nigga fucking you.”
Heat burned up my neck.
“Wow,” I said flatly. “And there he go.”
“This what we doing now?” he asked, jaw ticking. “You really out here letting Batman shoot your club up?”
“Do not say that about the father of my child,” I snapped.
“You really pregnant,” he said, something dark and ugly flickering across his eyes. “For real.”
I held his stare, lifted my chin.
“Yes,” I said clearly. “I’m pregnant.”
His nostrils flared.
“By him?” he asked. “By that nigga?”
“Say his name,” I said, voice flat. “Kasen. We not doing nicknames like you in high school.”
He laughed once, humorless. “You really letting the IT guy build a family on my watch.”
“You watching a little too close for somebody who fumbled the first one,” I shot back. “Relax.”
He pushed the door a little more closed behind him, stepping half onto the porch like he didn’t trust himself with volume.
“How far?” he demanded. “How long you been hiding it?”
“I’m not hiding anything,” I said. “I found out last month. Fourteen weeks. I was still wrapping my own head around it before I started sending out press releases.”
His jaw tightened. “Serenity know?”
“Not yet,” I said. “She’s five. I’m not telling her nothing until I’m ready for follow-up questions every five minutes.”
“So what, I just find out at the baby shower?” he snapped. “You show up with a belly and a Batman themed gender reveal?”
My eyes narrowed. “You finding out now, aren’t you?”
“That’s not the point.”
“What is the point, Troy?” I asked, folding my arms tighter. “You mad I’m having a baby with somebody that actually show up for me? Or you mad it’s not you again?”
His mouth opened then closed.
He looked away for half a second, then back.
“You think this not gon’ affect Serenity?” he asked, changing lanes. “Y’all adding more kids to the mix. More adults. More houses. You ain’t think about that?”
I laughed. “You got nerves bringing up more kids like you not the blueprint for secret families.”
“That was different,” he said automatically.
“How?”
Silence.
He didn’t have an answer.
“Look,” I said, voice dropping. “Our daughter already got a sister you didn’t tell me about for two years. Now she’s getting a brother I am telling you about early. That’s growth on my end, not yours.”
“So he just…dad now?” Troy bit out. “To my kid?”
“He’s a dad,” I corrected. “To his kid and he’s a man in Serenity’s life that loves her and shows up. If that bothers you, unpack it with a therapist.”
His throat worked.
“And you just…what?” he said. “Build a little blended family with Reed and them? My daughter calling another man daddy?”
“She calls him Batman,” I said. “You really over here doing entirely too much.”
“That’s not better.”
“Troy,” I sighed. “You still her father. That’s not changing, but I’m not pausing my life because it make your ego itch. I’m happy. Serenity’s happy. Kori’s happy. The only person pressed is you.”
He stared at me like he wanted to argue but couldn’t find the angle.
“You don’t even look scared,” he muttered.
“Oh, I’m terrified,” I said. “I’m just not letting you see it. You lost access to my softness years ago.”
We stood there for a beat, the sounds of cartoons drifting from inside, a neighbor’s car door closing down the street.
Finally, he huffed out a breath and scrubbed a hand over his face.
“When due date?” he asked, quieter.
“August,” I said. “Sometime middle. Doctor still narrowing it down.”
He nodded once, grudging.
“Is what it is then,” he said. “Serenity still my first priority and I’ma be watching how y’all move.”
“I would hope so,” I said. “That’s called parenting.”
His eyes cut to my belly one more time, then back up.
“He treat you right?” he asked suddenly.
My chest softened a fraction.
“Yes,” I said simply. “He does.”
He held my gaze for another second, then backed up into the house.
“Aight,” he said. “Text me when you get home.”
“I always do.”
He closed the door without another word.
I stood there on his porch for a beat, heartbeat loud in my ears, fingers automatically finding the small curve low on my stomach.
A baby.
With Kasen.
News was out now, whether I’d planned to tell Troy today or not.
I exhaled, shook my shoulders out like I was shaking off his energy, and walked back to my truck.
By the time I slid into the driver’s seat, my phone already had a text waiting.
BATMAN:
You good?
I stared at the screen.
Of course he felt it. Somehow, even from across the city.
Just dropped Serenity.
Your favorite hater sniffed me and guessed lol
Three dots.
He knows?
He asked and I confirmed. We’ll talk later. I’m okay though.
A beat.
You sure?
I looked down at my stomach again, hand still there.
Then out at the street ahead of me.
Yeah, I promise. We got this, Batman.
His reply came fast.
We do