“It’s crazy shit, I know, but I’m excited.” I rub my hands together, glancing at each of their faces, relieved to see genuine happiness for me in their expressions. Why did I doubt they’d support me in this? “I’m going ring shopping tomorrow.”
“When? Tomorrow?” Caleb asks, his eyes going wide all over again. He sounds traumatized. “Wait, you can’t be serious. You will give all the women in our lives ring fever and baby fever.”
“Wait a minute, you can’t marry Ava before I marry Jocelyn,” Diego says, seeming put out. “Then I’ll think you’re just showing off.”
“Bro, you’ve had four damn years since you got your girl pregnant to make her your bride. Get on it,” I remind him before I turn to Caleb. “And it’s not like I did this on purpose. Ava didn’t mean to get pregnant, but she is. Now I gotta step up and make everything right between us. Put a ring on her finger and get married before the baby is born so everything’s legal and we have ourselves a baby Bennett.”
Tony chuckles. “I think you like this.”
“I love it,” I say with a grin.
“Trust me, it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be,” Diego says, and I can’t help but send him a frown. “You can take your time, you know, and not rush into anything. Make sure everything’s going to work out between you guys first. I only say that because you two have had—trouble recently.”
“I know what I want,” I say firmly. “And what she wants too. I love that girl. So fuckin’ much I’m willing to give up whatever I have to in order to make her my wife.”
“You won’t have to give up anything,” Tony says reassuringly. “You two love each other, it’ll all work out.”
“Just—don’t get her a giant ring that’s like twenty carats or whatever,” Caleb adds. “You’ll put us all to shame.”
“Twenty carats?” Diego starts laughing. “Please. None of us can afford something like that.”
“Tony might be able to.” I point at him and he slaps my hand away. “He’s the one who’s sitting on the family fortune.”
“Hayden comes from money too,” he says. “A giant ring won’t impress her. She probably just wants a simple gold band.”
We all make ooh noises, giving him shit.
“You been thinking about this, huh?” Caleb asks Tony, scratching the back of his head and acting uncomfortable. “Crazy motherfucker. I need to get out of here if this shit is catching. Next thing you know my ass is in Zales at the mall and I’m buying a ring for Gracie like a chump, when I don’t even plan on asking her to marry me yet.”
“Ha, he said yet.” Diego laughs.
We all laugh.
Caleb just glares.
They all talk about rings and commitment and I sit there, thinking about Ava and what she might want. She’s never really said anything about the type of ring she’d prefer when we got married. And we’ve definitely talked about getting married before, but we were never serious about it.
At least, I wasn’t serious about it.
I’m for sure going ring shopping tomorrow, when I have a break in the middle of the day from school. After practice tonight, I plan on going straight home and convincing Ava that she should go back to her parents’ house and hang out with them for a few days while I put something together for her. Get ready to propose to her somehow. I want it to be sweet and romantic. I want to watch my girl melt and cry tears of joy when I slip that ring on her finger.
This is a time for celebration. Our lives are changing, but I’m embracing that shit wholeheartedly.
Life is good.
It can’t get any better than this.
Well, that’s a lie. If the NFL came knocking on my door and I got confirmation that I’m definitely going to be in the draft, then hell yeah. I’d really be on top of the world then. All of my goals reached.
We chat more about me and Ava. Babies. Diego shares horror stories about his daughter Gigi and what a little nightmare she can be, especially when she was a baby. The endless diapers full of disgusting poop, the throwing up, the crying fits, teething. You name it, he throws it out there, trying to scare the shit out of me.
The only one it works on is Caleb, who looks like he’s watching a horror show. All wide eyes and gaping mouth and endless cursing. I just smile and nod, taking it all in. Being a parent won’t be fun all the time, but damn it, that’ll be my baby, so I’m good with it.
Bring it on.
“You tell the parents yet?” Tony asks me once Diego has finally shut up.
I shake my head. “Not yet. Ava didn’t even want me telling you guys.”