May Contain Wine (SWAT Generation 2.0 5)

I shook my head.

That was when she started to laugh.

“I always knew that y’all were going to get back together.” Ares snickered. “Dammit, I lost the bet! You were supposed to hold out longer!”

I tilted my head in confusion. “What?”

“All the SWAT kids had a bet going on how long that it would take y’all to get back together. After I got with Hayes, we made the bet. And you were supposed to hold out for another year,” Ares explained.

I narrowed my eyes. “You bet on Louis and me?”

She shrugged. “Honey, anyone could see that it was only a matter of time. He does those googly eyes every time he sees you. And you talk about him like he doesn’t matter, but we all know he does. A lot. You’re his one and he’s yours.”

I felt something in the vicinity of my heart lurch.

“It’s really soon…” I hesitated.

I didn’t even want to contemplate it. What if I allowed myself to think good thoughts, and bad things happened?

No, it was better not to even think about it just yet. It was still very early in our relationship. Bad things definitely had a way of sneaking up on you, that was for sure.

“Oh, this is grand.” She snickered.

“What is?”

I looked up to see Ashe making her way toward us. With her was Rowen, Dax’s wife. Avery, Derek’s fiancée, was just behind the two of them.

With our men—damn, it still felt weird to call Louis my anything—having a SWAT meeting here, we’d decided to tag along. Only, we’d gotten our own table across the room from them so we could talk.

Well, Ares had. I’d gone along with it because I knew it would be easier to have this conversation without all the prying eyes of the men there, too.

“This new challenge,” Ares said as she showed us her phone after they were all seated. “It says to ‘text your man this and post his response.’”

The challenge read: Text your man ‘I want a baby’ and post his response.

I grinned. “Do it with Dax.”

“I’m fairly sure that Dax would look at me like I was a dumbass.” Rowen patted her already pregnant belly.

“Do it anyway,” Ares ordered. “We all will. Then we’ll get a good laugh at their responses.”

Everyone picked up their phone but me, which caught their attention.

“No, girl,” Rowen said. “You’re doing this. Get to it.”

I shook my head. “I’m not. No.”

And I was still trying to not think about how many times we’d had unprotected sex four days ago.

There may already be a baby.

But before those thoughts could truly take root, Ares reached over and snatched my phone out of my hands.

When I went to grab it from her, she held me off by diving underneath the table.

I cursed and looked at her, staring at her as she typed away on my phone.

“I should’ve never added you into my phone as an authorized user,” I muttered darkly.

“I added you into mine,” she said. “It was only fair.”

That was true.

“So it just has to say ‘I want a baby?’” Avery asked as she scooted closer to the table.

I looked at her with a grin.

“Yes.” I paused. “Are you even allowed to be in a bar?”

Avery rolled her eyes. “I can be in a bar. I just can’t drink.”

Avery was definitely not twenty-one. Even though she acted like it.

“Sent,” Avery said as she placed her phone onto the middle of the table.

“Mine, too,” Ashe said as she did the same with her phone.

“Mine and Calloway’s done.” Ares plopped our phone onto the table, too.

“Dax’s gonna shit himself.” Rowen snorted.

Before I could say anything to her response, the little blue bubbles on my screen started to dance, indicating that Louis had read and was answering my text message.

I froze, my eyes flicking from Louis’ to the phone and back.

“You know, I would’ve expected an immediate no from him. But it’s like he’s writing a novel in reply,” Ares mused.

“He doesn’t even look all that tense,” Rowen surmised. “In fact, he looks relaxed.”

Still, the dots kept rolling.

I bit my lip and leaned forward, waiting for his response.

I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous to see what he said, but I was.

Plus, I really wasn’t quite sure what he’d say, and all of the ladies at the table were leaning forward, ready to read the message just like I was.

Then Avery started to giggle. “Derek said that I was a nutjob. And to lay off any more alcohol.”

We all snorted.

But Derek was technically correct. Avery was taking care of her baby sister. A baby that really was just a baby. I could see how Derek wouldn’t want any more right now.

“Dax says that maybe after this one is born, we can discuss it.” Rowen rolled her eyes. “Boring.”

“Oh, gosh.” Ares snickered as she leaned forward upon seeing her message light up the screen.