33. Archer #3
I laugh, rolling my eyes as I nuzzle my head against his shoulder and continue our walk.
Even though it’s late January now, there are still string lights hung around each of the shops along the promenade, and the silhouettes of palm trees line the sidewalks.
There is a balmy sea breeze that blows through my hair, and I again ponder a future where I give up this picturesque perfection—if next January I’ll be stumbling through snow-packed sidewalks with a baby stroller, all alone while Archer works six days a week, traveling half the time.
I shake those thoughts away, unlinking from him as we reach the main entrance and the parking lot. “I’m parked over there.” I point to the left.
“I’m actually parked on the backside.” Archer laughs, hitching a thumb behind him. “But I wanted to walk you to your car.”
“Mmm.” I hum, lifting onto my toes to press a kiss against his lips. “How about you pick up some burgers on your way home? Baby and I want extra pickles.” I kiss him again. “Like extra, extra pickles. Tell them you want an obscene amount of pickles, and then a few more.”
He laughs into my mouth. “Whatever you want, Allie Cat.”
“Thank you,” I sing, spinning on my heel as I step into the parking lot.
I take a few steps, searching for my keys inside my bag as I make a left toward the section I left my car when a scoff cuts through the air in front of me.
My head snaps up, eyes landing on the most unpleasant sight.
Declan is standing in front of me, his blond hair coiffed like an asshole, his sweater vest too damn tight, dumb ass loafers looking ridiculous on his tiny feet.
My gaze roams to his face, finding his brows halfway up his too-large forehead, and his jaw dropped in shock, eyes fixated on my protruding stomach.
“Hey, Dec,” I mutter. “How are ya?”
With a vexingly slow drag, he pulls his gaze to my face. “You’re pregnant.”
“You make observations.”
He blinks, scoffing with an incredulous eye roll.
“Wow…” He coughs, rubbing his jaw. “So this is why I haven’t seen you around campus lately, huh?
Why you’ve been inactive on social media?
” That putrid smile he used to give me just before an insult would spit from his lips spread over his mouth.
“Was this your last-ditch effort to get him to stay? Let him knock you up?” His laugh is venomous and lifeless.
“Still ended up alone, though, didn’t you? ”
While his face, outfit, and generally obnoxious demeanor irritate the hell out of me, his words mean absolutely nothing. The shots he’s attempting to fire in my direction are blank, and all I see when I look at him is a meaningless waste of my time.
I laugh, to his surprise, I’m sure. “You are…such a fucking loser.”
Declan rears back, features twisting in confusion.
“Dec…I say this as kindly as I can possibly muster when looking at your face, get the fuck over yourself, and get the fuck over me. Why do you care if I’m”—I raise my fingers and make air quotes—“knocked up? Or by who? Or why? You are so insecure, so focused on what’s going on around you.
Maybe if you took all that energy you spend on being a douchebag and used it to internally reflect on why you hate yourself so much, you’d be happier.
” I shrug. “I dunno.” I move to step around him before pausing.
“Oh, and by the way, I’m not on campus because I graduated a semester early.
I’ve got my degree, asshole. Which I told you months ago, if you’d ever fucking listened to a thing I said,” I mutter. “And I’m not alone. Archer is—”
“Right here.” Dec’s eyes widen just a second before a thick arm is slung over my shoulder.
Archer pulls me against him, sliding his hand down my arm before splaying his palm across my belly.
“Someday, when you’re in a sports bar and you see my fucking face, my number, my last name on the television, and someone’s telling you why I’m their favorite player, I want you to think back on this moment.
I want you to reminisce on the grace I’ve extended you by not caving your goddamn skull in for the way you just spoke to my girl, and all the repulsive shit you’ve said to her in the past. I want you to think about how I’m going to finish that game and go home to her, and our babies, and I’ll be loving her far better than you ever could have.
” Archer pauses, and when I glance at him, I notice a grin on his face.
“Someday, when you see me everywhere, I want you to remember that I was the bigger man.”
I flash Declan a smile. “In every conceivable way.”
His face falls as his eyes flash between Archer and me with utter disdain.
Archer doesn’t even give him the chance to respond before he’s guiding me around Declan’s frozen form, sweeping past him with a rough laugh. “I heard his snide, high-pitched little sneer and couldn’t not intervene,” he mutters.
“I had it handled.”
“Oh, I know, baby. You’re a vicious little viper. It’s so fucking hot.” His hand moves to my ass, giving a light squeeze. “I’m going to take you all the way to your car and watch you drive away so I know you didn’t go back and kick his ass.”
I snort, shaking my head.
“Oh, and babies?” I ask. “Plural?”
“What?” Archer raises his tone with feigned innocence. “I said someday.”
“And someday, how many babies do you want?”
When we reach my car, Archer opens the door for me, hovering in the frame with his massive arms flexed on the roof as he smirks down at me while I climb inside. “As many as you wanna give me, Amor.”