Bennett (On the Line 2)

“The fuck?” I said. “Is someone gonna clean that up?”

Charlotte shrugged. “Hopefully. Maintenance isn’t exactly stellar here.”

She opened the door to her apartment and I followed her inside. I hadn’t noticed the furnishings the other time I’d been here because all my attention had been focused on her. But now the threadbare couch with two crates in front of it as a coffee table caught my eye.

The place wasn’t lavish by any means. It kind of reminded me of our player housing apartments. I’d figured an attorney would have something better than this.

“What up?” a man asked as he walked out of the small kitchen. He was short and skinny, his dark hair shooting up in all directions.

“Hey, James,” Charlotte said, sounding weary. “Can we have some privacy?”

“Yeah, when I finish cooking my bacon.”

James scanned me from head to toe. Suddenly his eyes looked like they were about to bulge ou

t of his head.

“OMG! This is him, isn’t it? This is your baby daddy! Stop denying it, Charlotte, because I know from the way you blow chunks every morning that you’re knocked up.”

I furrowed my brow and looked at Charlotte. “Did he just say OMG?”

“Yeah. This is my roommate. He’s a bit . . . quirky.”

“You guys want some bacon?” James asked.

“No.” Charlotte sighed. “We’re going to my bedroom.”

“Oh, got it. You gonna bump and grind? No worries about getting pregnant anymore and all?” He grinned at me and gave a thumbs-up.

“Shut the hell up,” I said. “Go eat your bacon.”

Charlotte led the way to her bedroom, closing and locking the door behind us.

“Why do you live with him?” I whispered. “Tell me you were never involved with that jackass.”

She glared at me and hissed back in a whisper, “Of course not. Gross. We’re just roommates.”

“But why?”

“Money,” she said. “I went to law school with James’s sister, and when she said he needed a place to live, I said yes because I needed the money.”

“But you’re an attorney.”

She scoffed. “I’m an assistant state’s attorney, Bennett. The money’s not that great, and I have huge law school loans to pay off.”

“Oh.”

Her expression was defeated as she sat down on the edge of the bed where we’d gotten ourselves into this situation.

“I don’t know that I’ll let him stay once the baby comes,” she said. “I think that would be a bit much.”

I buried my face in my hands as it all hit me again. She was pregnant. We were having a baby together. I wanted to flip my shit, but I couldn’t with her right next to me. That could wait until I was alone.

“One step at a time,” I said. “We’ll figure things out, okay? For now, I think you need some sleep.”

“What about you?”

I glanced at the other side of her bed. “I could lie down with you. I’ve gotta leave for a road trip at four AM.”