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The room is practically holding its breath, waiting for my response. I nod slowly, the weight of what’s about to unfold settling heavily on my shoulders.
This could be the beginning of us putting this shit behind us. Or the final nail in the coffin of a friendship that has spanned decades.
As we step outside, I brace myself for whatever might come. Good or bad.
The night sky stretches out above us.
We sit on the bench near the arena where we’ve shared so many memories. The humid summer night air settles around us like a second skin.
There’s a moment of silence before Gio as he shifts his weight, his green eyes glowing as he leans in ever so slightly.
“So..."
I cough. "So."
"All right. I'll start."
"That would probably be best."
He exhales, the sound steady in the half-dark. "First things first...care to tell me how your fake engagement with Gabi turned into the real thing...or do I have to pry it out of you?”
I freeze, the guilt of keeping my secret from him weighing like a shit-ton of bricks. But I can’t just come out and say it. Not yet.
“I…I don’t know, man,” I start. “It…it just kind of happened.”
Gio's face falls slightly before he blinks. "What? The act of pretending to be in a relationship got too real?"
"No. Not exactly."
"Then what? You were caught up in the moment?"
"Hell no. Not at all. It's just...the act of pretending it wasn't real was the problem." I can feel his piercing gaze on me as I turn to face him, and I wonder if my still-healing lip can take another punch. "Feelings aren’t exactly easy to stuff back in once they’ve started to bubble to the surface.”
Gio sighs, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck. "You could've said something, man. We always tell each other everything."
"I know, I know," I say, feeling guilty as hell now that it's all out in the open. "But it wasn't just about me anymore. It was about Gabi too. And..." I swallow. "The baby."
His eyebrows shoot up in recognition. "You never did answer my question about who the father of Gabi's baby is."
"I know. I was thinking of a million different ways to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"That Gabi's baby, your niece or nephew…it's...it's mine."
Gio's hands flies to his forehead as he leans forward. "Jesus fucking Christ, man." He gets to his feet, pacing back and forth on the half-lit sidewalk. "You knocked up my sister...while pretending to be engaged to her."
Still sitting, I grimace. "Technically, I knocked her up way before the fake engagement shit even started. That being said...if you're ready to punch me in the face again, I understand. Just...give me a second to brace myself.”
But instead of punching me, Gio stops pacing and turns to me, his expression unreadable. "You know this is a mess, don't you?"
"Honestly? I've been aspiring to get this to 'mess' status. Because whatever the hell status it is right now is a hundred times worse."
Gio lets out a laugh, continuing to pace. "You always did have a way with words, Jackhammer."
"Words were always easy for me. It's the actions I struggle with."
He stops again and looks at me, his eyes softening. "Is that why you kept this from me? Because you thought you wouldn't step up for Gabi and the baby?"
