The Player and the Single Mom

My mouth got hot and my stomach dropped to the floor, but it was in relief. “Oh, thank God,” I said. “The way you were acting I thought it was something really serious. You scared the fucking shit out of me.”

The way she looked, so pale, and the way she was behaving, it had sounded like impending death.

In actuality, it was a baby?

A me and Sera baby. I fought the urge to grin, knowing she probably would not appreciate that particular response. Time to stay cool.

But would you look at that.

The universe had just given me a sign.

In fact, the universe had basically dropped the fucking mic.

We were having a baby.

Sera

His response shocked me.“What? This is serious! This is a baby!” I dropped my voice on the word “baby,” somehow afraid to say it out loud.

“You looked so solemn I thought you had cancer for chrissake. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Momentarily taken aback at how upset he seemed to be at the idea of me having cancer, I felt off-balance. That was sweet. He obviously genuinely cared about me. I hadn’t meant to actually scare him. “No cancer. But I’m, we’re, having a baby.”

There was a long pause. “I thought you said you couldn’t get pregnant.”

“I know I promised you that it wasn’t possible, but apparently it is.” I bit my lip, feeling oddly guilty for that fact, like I had somehow deceived him.

“Apparently.” He didn’t say anything else. He looked like he was processing the information.

The silence was driving me insane. I went on the defensive. “This is all your fault for having a big cock. If it wasn’t so damn big it wouldn’t have torn the condom.”

Cash smirked.

“It’s not funny.”

“I’m not laughing. It's just that you didn’t seem to mind my big cock in Mexico. But I apologize for having such a big cock.”

“That doesn’t feel sincere.”

“It’s not. I was just trying to be polite.”

“You and your idea of being polite make me crazy. But anyway, what the hell are we going to do?”

“It sounds like we’re having a baby.”

His nonchalance was going to give me an aneurysm. “That’s all you have to say?”

“What do you want me to say?”

That floored me. “I don’t know.”

“Do you want me to get angry and yell or panic and freak out?”

The question confused me. “No, of course not.”

“Then good. Because I’m not angry and I am not going to panic. I told you all babies are a blessing. And I know for a fact you’re an excellent mother, Sera.”

“Well. Thank you for not being angry. For being so damn reasonable.” He did deserve that acknowledgement. But I was still upset and just petty enough to add, “But this is still your fault.”

“I take full responsibility.”

That’s all he was going to say?

“Do you want to have a baby?” I asked, thoroughly confused. Weren’t all men supposed to lose their minds when told about an unplanned pregnancy with a hookup?

“Of course I want a baby. I’m excited to have a baby, but I get the distinct feeling you are not as okay with this as I am.”

That was an enormous understatement. My entire world had been turned upside down. “I have three kids already. Plus, I’m thirty-five. Cash, this is considered a geriatric pregnancy!”

The corner of his mouth turned up.

My cheeks went hot. “I swear to God, if you smile right now, I will wipe it right off of your face.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“What the hell am I going to tell my kids?” I moaned. “Mama was thirsty for dick and now she’s having a baby? Oh God, this is what I get for wanting a sex life.” I put my hands to my flushed cheeks. “I need some water. I feel like I’m going to pass out.”

“Have you been to the doctor?” he asked, heading toward a cupboard.

“What? No. I just found out yesterday.” Which felt like a thousand years ago. I had probably slept for all of twenty minutes during the night, panicked at fitting a baby into my life and how to tell Cash and my kids.

“When is the baby due?” He held up his fingers like he was counting the months. “November?”

“I don’t know. Sometime around there.”

“That gives us time to make it obvious we’re dating so it’s not a big surprise.” He filled a glass with water and handed it to me.

“I thought we said no dating.” I took the glass and chugged the water like I was dying in the desert. Then immediately regretted it because my stomach felt sloshy.

“That was before we got you pregnant. There are benefits to dating. We tell the kids we’re a couple so then they’re not shocked when you pop a baby out. Otherwise, you’re totally right, how do you explain a hookup to your kids? Especially the older ones.”

That did not make me feel better.