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“Rainbow slob monster cake. It was pretty cool looking.” Aria says as Nolan holds her in his arms, and he smiles at us as Aria licks up more cake from her arm.
“A rainbow slob monster,” she repeats. I can’t help but chuckle feeling full of all the cuteness my little sister and her friend have to offer.
“Nope. That was fresh dropped-in-the-box cake.” I smile and she mimics the gesture, curling her lips up just the slightest. “Was your birthday ruined?” I ask.
“No, I guess not.” She shrugs her shoulders.
“Well then, mine isn’t either,” I assure her, helping her up out of the pile of squashed cake. We both have frosting and sprinkles stuck to our butts and everyone, including Nolan and Aria and my mom, laugh at us. My mom shoots me a little smile letting me know she’s proud of me.
“Where’s Daddy with those towels?” Em asks, looking around.
And almost at the same time, Dexter comes around the corner from the hallway and my eyes shoot wide to Nolan, suddenly realizing where he got those towels from.
Dex awkwardly looks between Nolan and I before looking in my mom’s direction and I know he saw it.
The pregnancy test.
“Shit,” I say quietly and drag my hand down my face.
“I’ll be back,” Nolan says, giving me a knowing look before setting Aria down and heading to the bathroom to retrieve andhidethe test.
“Did I miss something?” My mom says, moving her eyes from me to her boyfriend and I can feel my face go red.
Dexter’s expression is one of surprise, but he’s trying to play it off like he doesn’t know anything. Which I appreciate because I didn’t really want to tell anyone until I had a true confirmation.
But I don’t know how I’m gonna get out of this one.
“Mom, I—” I go to admit my truth, tell her up front because it’s not right of me to ask Dexter to lie. But right before I can finish what I was going to say, Nolan runs out holding a fucking wrapped condom in his hands, stuffing it in his pockets before the girls come into his view.
“I left a rubber in the bathroom.” He rubs the back of his neck in an awkward attempt to lie for me.
God, this man is sexy. The way his biceps flinch when he brings his hand up. The way I can see the outline of his abs through his white shirt. The dimple that peeks out from his facial hair gives me a shiver down my spine as he smirks. He’s, again, saving the day.
My mom looks at me with wide eyes as Dex seems to let go of a breath he was holding in.
“A rubber?” Aria looks over her shoulder from where she stands.
“A rubber ducky,” I say quickly. And Nolan gives me a look that saysgood thinkingand I smirk.
“Nice, I like rubber duckies,” she says before turning back around and playing with the squishy animals that her Emsley had out earlier.
I stand, take a towel out of Dexter’s hands while trying my hardest to avoid his pointed and awkward gaze as I walk toward Nolan, cleaning myself free of any cake on the way.
“I’ll go get this one cleaned up,” he says as he picks up Em and takes her to the bathroom upstairs this time.
My mom just smiles at us, probably not liking that, she thinks, we fucked in her bathroom or were about to—or whatever she’s thinking because she doesn’t know the truth—as she follows Dex and Em up the stairs.
I toss the towel down on the dining room table before Nolan pulls me into him. I have to stand on my toes to reach around his shoulders, butterflies ascending in the most beautiful way as he embraces me in nothing but a simple and comforting hug. It’s his promise to me that I’m safe with him. That this is all going to be okay and that we’ll get through this together.
thirty-seven
Nolan
ThisMondaymorningseemsparticularly harder than any other I’ve woken up to before. I didn’t sleep much last night. I tossed and turned, and for some reason, I just couldn’t get my mind to shut off.
Dakota is pregnant.
Is this going to be another repeat of what I went through with Jessica? I sure hope not, because something feels different this time around. And I think that has to do withwhomore than anything. Because being a father is something I’ll always love doing. So, it’s not a difference in the pregnancy as a general reason as to why I’m a dad to begin with. But it’s more so the feeling and emotion attached to the person carrying the baby.
