I looked down at Avi who was occupying her time grabbing at air. “I know he does but this man has literally made multiple statements about not wanting kids. He’s even addressed pregnancy scares with his whole chest saying ‘just tell me where to send the check for the woman to get rid of it’. How the hell can he blame me for not suffering through the embarrassment of being treated like that?”
“Did you explain that to him?”
“No.”
She sighed. “Give him a chance, Kari. It’s not really about you at this point. This is about Avi. If he’s truly willing to step up, then she deserves to have him in her life.”
“And if he drops the ball and flakes…”
“You’ll handle it the same as you’ve been handling this but you can’t keep making decisions for him without giving the man a chance to prove he can do this.”
She was right. No matter how much I wanted to protect Avi, I had to give him a chance to step up or fail. The worst part was that I feared both because what would my life look like if he was actually an amazing father? And how would I make things right for my baby girl if he tanked?
“Let me text him a time. Can you be ready in an hour?”
“Yeah, I can. I’ll meet you at your place but we both can drive just in case you need to stay and I have to get to work.”
I frowned hard. “I’m not staying.”
“Mhm. I’m about to drag my ass out of bed and get dressed. I’ll see you in a bit.”
She hung up and I dropped my head back and closed my eyes before I found the call he made to my phone and tapped the number to send a text.
I guess this was really happening…
Chapter 4
Omiri
The minute I left Makari’s house I hit Raaj and let him know to be on standby because I was waiting on a time for the test. But it was happening today. I let a week slide by because I went back and forth a million times trying to decide if I really wanted to do this. I had so many fucking doubts but then I dreamed about O’Rion. He didn’t say shit, just looked at me in that way that always made me feel like I could do better. When I woke up, I called Raaj and told him to start working on the legalities of me becoming a father.
I glanced at the bottles of Black Ops on my bar, secured the cap on the regular one and placed it into the smoked glass cabinets above the set up then shoved the corked top into the Black Barrel. Before I could put it away, someone was knocking at my door. I dug my phone out of my pocket and pulled up the camera to find a body leaned against the opposite wall, head dropped while they swiped their own device.
I tapped the screen to unlock my door then pressed the microphone. “It’s open.”
A few seconds later, Ryland was striding into my apartment with a goofy ass grin on his face.
“Damn, bruh. You’re only one week in on this parenting thing and she’s already got your ass bypassing the glass and turning up the bottle.”
“I’m not drinking. It’s too early for that shit,” I muttered and placed the Black Barrel bottles next to the Black Ops.
“When the hell has drinking needed a timestamp for you?”
I smirked. He was right. My life had been pretty interesting with me not giving a damn about social norms. I did what the fuck I wanted but the reminder only further proved Makari’s point. Honestly, I couldn’t be upset ’bout her wanting to shield a kid from me. I wasn’t anybody’s role model but the way that shit gut punched had me defensive. Not to mention, she was also right about me not wanting kids. I hadn’t in the past. I didn’t know if I was fully invested now but I had to do this.
“We’re doing the DNA test in a few hours.”
“So you are drinking then?”
“Muthafucker, no. I’m trying to make sure I have my shit on point. I want everything in place when they get here.”
“It’s a DNA test, not a home inspection, fam. She knows who you are and how you’re living. So I can guarantee she’s not going to be in here evaluating your housekeeping abilities.”
“Trust me, she will be evaluating every fucking thing. She thinks I’m irresponsible and can’t handle having a kid in my life.”
“So you think hiding who you are is the right way to go? I get being responsible but pretending to be someone you’re not damn sure won’t win you any favor if she’s that critical. She’ll see right through the act and call bullshit. You’ve gotta do this your way, O. You’re not perfect but I’m guessing she isn’t either. She did some foul shit already by keeping the kid from you.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m going to be the villain in this story if it leaks. They’ll be on her side because I’m the asshole athlete whohas said enough foul shit about not wanting kids and fuck these hoes that try to trap me with one.”
