Damn. Who was I with back then?
The idea that this kid could be mine is scary as hell. They scream all the time. They take big shits. They never sleep. That’s about the extent of my knowledge on the subject.
In fact, I’ve never considered having any. Although this one seems nice enough, it’s just… Fuck. How the hell am I or any of the guys supposed to juggle a baby, classes, and our grueling football schedule? It’s impossible.
Gabby pats Poppy’s butt gently. “The baby is maybe six or seven months old. Add in the gestational period, thirty-seven to forty-two weeks. Someone please calculate that. My head is too foggy to figure this out.”
Olly hums for a second. “By that math, conception would’ve been mid-June, July, maybe early August. Not last summer, obviously, but the summer before.”
“Okay, so who’d you hook up with the summer before last?” Gabby glances around the room slowly, and my heart hammers hard in my chest for some reason, but when she gets to me, she stops and looks away.
I exhale.Christ. I do not want to sit around with Gabby and discuss my hookups. My chest hurts thinking about it.
“How do you know her age?” Tank waves a finger at the kid. “The note didn’t say.”
Gabby shrugs. “I’ve done a lot of babysitting, so I’ve been around babies. Plus, I want to be a teacher and had to take child development.”
“You want to be a teacher?” Ben asks.
How is her brother so clueless? Judging by the glare Gabby sends his way, I’m not alone in thinking this.
She ignores his question and turns back to Tank. “Poppy can hold up her head, and when I asked her if she wanted her bottle before she fell asleep, she said, ‘Baba.’ Which could just be baby babble or indicate she’s really smart. And, I’m no expert, but really young babies aren’t this sturdy. You have to hold their heads and give them more support.”
“Huh.” Tank pulls out his phone, and after a minute nods. “Google agrees with your assessment.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” Ben mumbles. “Make a list or something?”
Trevor gets up and motions to himself. “Sorry, chief. I’m out. One, she looks nothing like me.” He lifts an eyebrow dramatically. Trevor likes to brag he’s a younger and even better-looking version of Idris Elba. The ladies seem to agree. “Two, I was dating that Brazilian model back then, and there’s no way the two of us together could’ve popped out a blonde baby. Though she’s cute as hell.”
Bree nods and looks to her boyfriend. “I have to agree.”
Tank shrugs. “Before we finish out this game of Clue, can we all vow to take tonight to our graves? No way can this shit get out. It’s bad enough people were at the party when we discovered Poppy.”
Fuck. “Coach will kill us if he hears a baby got left on our doorstep and we can’t figure out who’s the father.”
I swallow.No way. No way this kid is mine. Relax.
Taking a deep breath, I realize I just need to help the guys troubleshoot until we get to the bottom of this, and then I can take a gargantuan nap.
By this time tomorrow, we’ll be back to normal and laughing at how ridiculous this was. It’ll be fine.
9
RIDER
I textmy study group because this is obviously going to take longer than I thought. Maybe we can meet up this evening.
Olly breaks out a notebook. “By process of elimination, Trevor is out, and so is Tank because Bree would cut off his testicles if he had a baby with another lady.”
Everyone laughs, and Bree grabs her boyfriend’s face in a fierce hold before she peppers him with kisses. “That’s right, boo. You’d be dead, but you know better, don’t you?”
“I certainly do, my little honeybee.”
We all make puking sounds, and I turn away from the love fest. “Fine. That leaves Ben, Noxious, Johnson, and Olly.”
Olly squawks, but I level him with a look. He might be a big nerd, but I know he got major ass last year, so there’s no way he’s wiggling out of this. Knox looks like he wants to puke.
Ben’s eyes narrow. “What about you?”
