by Magan Vernon
“Yes, it is. You had a future and all of these good things in your life, and instead, you’re stuck with a twenty-year-old pregnant girl,” I sobbed.
Johnny leaned back, taking my face in his hands and wiping a fallen tear from my cheek with his thumb. His green eyes met mine, practically shining in the moonlight. “Sofie, this is both of us. We’re in this together. You and me, we’re a team. Okay?”
I sniffled. “I don’t think I’ve ever been someone’s teammate before.”
“Well, that’s what we are, for better or for worse. You’re stuck with me now, which means...” He stood up slowly and put his hand out. “You’re not going to go home crying, so you’re coming back to my place. I promise I didn’t use that lavender laundry soap again, and if you really want, you can sleep on my uncomfortable couch.”
I smiled despite everything and took his hand. “Okay, Johnny, take me home.”
***
The sound of a slamming front door woke me out of a deep sleep. My eyes snapped open, and for a second, I didn’t recognize the dark gray comforter or the dull, plain walls around me.
I sat straight up, realizing I was still in Johnny’s bed, but he wasn't in bed.
“Johnny? Oh, John Boy!” a high-pitched female voice yelled throughout the apartment.
Holy. Shit. Did Johnny have a girlfriend? I mean another girlfriend if that’s technically what I was?
Now, I was a home wrecker. I pulled the blanket over my chest and looked around the room. There was a window, but we were on the second floor. I was not the most athletic person, and the chances were high I would die if I jumped.
In the other direction was the bathroom—the perfect place to hide from a girlfriend who might kill me.
Slowly, I pushed the blanket down and got off the bed, thinking I was sneaky. But the bed had to creak, and the floorboards squeaked as soon as I put my foot down.
The door flew open, and there stood a statuesque brunette in a TCU swimming t-shirt and leggings with her blue eyes wide as she stared at me wearing just my tank top and undies.
“I...I...I can explain!” I cried, pulling the comforter off the bed and wrapping it around me like a giant gray cocoon.
“Oh my gah, I just caught Johnny getting it on when we both said we’d go without until after the Italy meet. I win!” she squealed, doing a little jig in place and pumping her fist in the air.
“Um...what?” I replied, pulling the blanket tighter around me.
The girl leaped from the doorway and came farther in the room. “I’m Emily. Johnny and I have the same coach, and I live across the hall.”
“Oh. Okay. I’m Sofie,” I muttered, pulling the blanket tighter around me. It still didn’t explain what this model-looking girl was doing in Johnny’s apartment.
“I didn’t know you spent the night. He should have put a sock on the door or something. Geez. I guess he went to the pool without me like the competitive shark he is. Dammit. Now, I’m going to have to go find him,” she said more to herself than to me before she sprang up from the bed.
The front door opened and closed, and Emily squealed, making her way to the living room. “Johnny! I can’t believe you did morning laps without me and left your hookup here alone!”
“I hope you didn’t scare the hell out of her, Speedy,” Johnny’s deep voice said.
Slowly, I crept out to the living room with the blanket still around me. Johnny stood near the kitchen island wearing the same sweat suit as last night with his hair wet and sticking up in every direction. “Morning, Sofie. I left you a note on the nightstand. I just wanted to get a quick swim in before taking you to your car. Hope Speedy didn’t bother you too much.”
“Um, no, Speedy wasn’t a bother. I didn’t know there was, uh, another teammate who would be coming into your apartment at...” I squinted at the clock above the stove. “Holy hell, it’s only 7:00 am? I should still be sleeping.”
Johnny laughed. “Sorry, I can find a coffee shop or something around here.”
Emily raised an eyebrow, looking back and forth between the two of us. “Since when do you buy hookups coffee? I mean besides me.”
“You two are hooking up? What?” I asked, looking at them. Holy hell, my baby daddy really was a man whore.
Johnny waved his arms in the air. “No, no, no! Speedy and I hooked up a few times when I first came out here. She’s how I found out about the swim club here in Ft. Worth. After we started training under the same coach, it became like swim-cest, and we knew we were better off friends anyway.”
“Um. Okay...” I said, trying to wrap my head around this former hookup living across the hall from him.
Johnny put his hands on the corner. “Don’t worry, nothing going on here. No swim-cest. She’s just under the same coach as I am, and she comes over a lot for food or training. Next time, I’ll just make sure she texts first before barging in.”
“Aw, boo, John Boy, are you going to change the rules now that you have a girlfriend? This still doesn’t change that you owe me fifty bucks since you lost the bet,” Emily whined in a baby doll voice.
“Don’t be jelly, Speedy,” Johnny said with an “aw shucks” smile, holding out his arms.
Emily pouted, and Jonny wiggled his fingers. “Come on. Bring it in, Speedy.”
Emily continued to pout but hid a small smile as she gave Johnny a hug, him enveloping her in his large arms as they swayed back and forth.
“Okay, okay. I’ll let you have your girlfriend time. But you’d better not ditch me in the weight room later,” she said, releasing him and pointing a finger in his direction.
“You know you’re the best spotter, Speedy,” he said with a grin.
Emily punched his arm then turned and waved. “It was nice to meet you, Sofie, and thanks for helping me get fifty bucks off the big guy here.”
“Thanks for revealing all my secrets, Speedy,” Johnny yelled as Emily finally went out the front door, shutting it behind her.
“Sorry about that,” Johnny said, turning toward me.
“So...former...?” I asked, looking from the door then back at him.
Johnny let out a big breath. “Yeah, I was kind of, sort of seeing her when I met you. By seeing, I mean we hooked up a few times while I was out here training with Jay and Scotty.”
My eyes widened. Holy shit, I really was a home wrecker.
Johnny walked around the breakfast bar and took both of my hands in his. “But as cheesy as it sounds, the moment I met you that night, I knew I had a spark with you that I didn’t have with Emily. She knew that we were also better off as just friends, so when I started training with her and under this new coach, we made the hookup bet. That I definitely lost.”
“Wow...I don’t even know what to say,” I said, taking a seat on the barstool.
“You don’t have to worry about her, Sofie. I promise. I may have not known what I wanted and been stupid on New Year's Eve, but it’s you and me. We’re going to do this boyfriend and girlfriend thing, and I’ll give you my class ring and mark monthly anniversaries on my Google calender if I remember to check it.”
I laughed. “Is that what people do in relationships?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never actually been in a serious one.”
“Me neither,” I muttered.
We stayed silent for a few moments before I finally spoke. “So...is she going to barge in here all the time when I’m over? Because that could get awkward.”
He shrugged. “She does it a lot, but next time you stay, I’ll make sure to lock the door.”
“Okay.” I nodded because I wasn’t sure what else to do, especially knowing that a hot swimmer, who has previously hooked up with Johnny, could be walking in on him naked again at any point. Him or me. Or both of us.
“I need to shower. What do you say you join me then we can head and get some breakfast before getting your car?” he asked, stepping forward and putting his arms around my waist.
“Um, I saw your shower.
I’m not sure how even you fit in there alone, let alone with someone else, and nothing about food sounds appealing right now,” I muttered, feeling my stomach lurch at the thought of watching Johnny inhale a million pancakes.
“Okay. I’ll be quick then you can hop in, and I’ll get you some of my warm-ups to wear. If you want. Unless you want to get back in that dress,” Johnny said each word as if he was trying to think of the next word he was going to say.
“Do you think your warm-ups will fit me?” I asked, looking over his long and lean body.
He grinned and leaned in to place a quick kiss on my lips. “Only one way to find out.”
***
I stood at the end of Johnny’s bed wearing a pair of his gym shorts rolled over three times at the waist just to sort of fit me and a giant TCU swim shirt that might fit me at the end of my pregnancy.
“I kind of like this look on you,” Johnny said, sauntering toward me in nothing but a pair of low-slung jeans.
Johnny was one hell of a good-looking man. He was tan, and I didn’t think he had an ounce of fat on his six-foot-five body. Combined with his dimpled chin and messy brown hair with bedroom green eyes and he was literally every girl’s wet dream. His looks alone should have had me fawning all over him and thanking my lucky panties he was a supportive baby daddy.
But even as he kissed me, his tongue on mine as I tasted his fresh mint toothpaste, something in the pit of my stomach was holding me back. Something that told me not to get too close even though this guy would be in my life possibly forever unless he ran as far as he could once September came.
“What time do you have to meet your dad?” Johnny asked in a husky voice as he trailed kisses down my neck.
I widened my eyes. “Shit. My dad. I forgot all about that.”
Pushing Johnny back slightly, I bolted toward the living room and pulled my phone out of my purse only to see a black screen. “Dammit,” I muttered. “Do you have a charger?” I asked, holding up the dead phone to Johnny standing in the doorway to his bedroom.
“Yeah, I think I got one that’ll work,” he replied, heading toward the kitchen and grabbing a white charger off the wall before he came back to the couch and handed it to me. “There’s an outlet next to that lamp.”
“Thanks so much,” I said as I quickly scrambled to the side of the couch and plugged in the charger and my phone.
I waited a few minutes until my phone came back to life, and then I saw about ten missed texts from my dad and a few missed calls. Shit.
Dad: Hey, Sofie, just got home a little bit ago and didn’t see you. Is everything okay?
Dad: Sof, it’s almost midnight, and I haven’t heard from you. Just wondering where you are.
Dad: Sof, I know you’re a grown woman now but would like to be kept in the loop.
Dad: Sof, called your phone and it went straight to voicemail. Please call me as soon as you get this.
I didn’t read anymore; I just went right to my missed calls and called my dad back. I usually texted or called him no matter what I was doing, but usually, he didn’t care either. He was always gone late, and since Mom passed away, I took care of everything on my own. I guess he just put that much trust in me since I never broke it.
“Sofie, hey! I was worried. Is everything okay?” Dad’s tone was hushed.
“Hey, yeah. Sorry, Dad, I just stayed at a friend’s house, and my phone died,” I replied, looking up at Johnny with a small smile. I wasn’t about to tell my dad over the phone I was at my boyfriend’s or baby daddy’s.
“Oh. Good. I knew it was something like that, but you never know. Glad you’re okay.”
“Yep. I’m fine.”
“Hey, listen, Sof, I can take a little break here if you want to meet me at the hotel, and we can have lunch downtown at eleven? I know it’s kind of early, but if you can take some time, it would be great to see you. You can even bring your friend with,” Dad said.
I looked at Johnny then back at the floor. Did I want to bring my ‘friend’ to have lunch with my dad? I guess if I brought Johnny along, maybe it would soften the blow of the news...or make it worse. “Um, yeah, I can ask him.”
“Him? Sofie, are you with that boy from New Year’s?” Dad asked, his voice brimming with concern.
“Um...maybe?”
Dad sighed. “I mean maybe we should have had this talk years ago, but I just want to make sure you’re safe...”
Well, he didn’t have to worry about that one anymore.
“Johnny and I will see you at the hotel lobby at eleven, okay? Thanks, Dad, love you, bye,” I said, quickly hanging up the call and setting my phone on the ground before leaning my head back against the sofa.
Johnny crouched down slowly and then crawled over to the couch until he was sitting next to me. Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, he asked, “Everything okay?”
I sighed. Something was comfortable about the way I fit perfectly into the crook of his arm. “Yeah. That was just my dad. You want to have lunch with us at eleven?”
“Does he know about...um...our situation?”
I shook my head. “No. Like I said last night, just you and the doctors so far. I guess it’s now or never.”
Johnny laughed, kissing my forehead. “I can come with you then. Only if your dad doesn’t try to kill me.”
I smirked. “No promises.”
Chapter 9
I’d been to the hotel where Dad worked dozens of times, but this was different. This was like walking into a courtroom where I had to confess to murder.
I decided it was best to change out of Johnny’s clothes and back into my little black dress and tights I had worn the night before. I didn’t know which one made me look less like I was doing the walk of shame, but the fancy hotel probably appreciated the dress more than the oversized sweatpants that smelled like chlorine.
“So what does your dad do here exactly?” Johnny asked, staring up and around at the floor-to-ceiling windows with the view of downtown Dallas.
“He’s the catering manager. Thus he always seems to be here nights and weekends,” I said, taking one small step at a time while looking down at the floor.
Usually, I was thrilled to meet Dad for lunch or even just to eat the leftovers from one of the fancy events he had organized. But instead of being excited for lunch on the terrace, sitting by the fire pit while I drank a Shirley Temple and munched on brown butter and sage mac & cheese, I felt like I would throw up the granola bar I found at the bottom of my backpack.
“So do you know what you’re going to say?” Johnny asked as we stepped into the elevator, and I pressed the button for the fourth floor.
I shrugged. “Maybe I’ll do something fancy like order buns and say ‘Hey, Dad, these aren’t the only buns on this table, ‘cuz I got one in my oven, holla!’” I raised my hands in the air and gave jazz hands for good measure.
Johnny laughed, shaking his head. “Not sure that’s the right way to say it, but I don’t know how your relationship with your dad is. Should I add in some Riverdance moves for good measure?”
Johnny moved his feet and ankles in some awkward jig and raised his hands in the air while spinning in a circle.
For the first time all day, I actually laughed a good belly laugh. And my whoops got even louder when the elevator doors opened, and a group of men in business suits witnessed a mid-jig Johnny. He finally stopped when he saw them and jumped out of the elevator, waving his arms in the air. “Jazz hands!” he yelled as the businessmen stepped around him and mumbled amongst themselves.
“How are you so happy all the time?” I asked, walking next to him toward the terrace.
“What’s not to be happy about? The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, it’s a brisk sixty-two degrees, and I get to take my girlfriend to drop a bombshell on her dad and pray he doesn’t kill me,” Johnny said.
“So...we’re boyfriend and girlfriend now? Is this what we’re going with?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Johnny stopped
and slowly turned. Once he was in front of me, he put both hands on my upper arms. “If that’s what you want, you tell me. I figured it was the next step in whatever this was. Hookup against a goat pen, get pregnant, and then maybe put a real label on this. You know like in all those romance novels?”
I shook my head but couldn’t hide the small smile creeping onto my face. “I’ve read a lot of books, and I’ve never seen that as the big plot line to get the couple together.”
Johnny leaned in and placed a small kiss on my cheek. “Then I guess we’ll write our own story.”
“How long have you been thinking of that one?”
Johnny laughed and turned, taking my hand in his and entwining our fingers. “I figured I’d get to use it sooner or later.”
I sucked in a deep breath as we headed, hand in hand, toward the restaurant. I wish I had a way with words or a way with anything that Johnny had.
I’d been the crazy awkward girl my whole life. I always had bad teeth and unruly curly hair, and I matched it with my fashion sense of mostly bright colors. The black dress was the only thing I owned that wasn’t on the major color wheel. I figured if people were going to gawk at me, then I might as well give them something to talk about.
Now that I had the hot guy by my side and a bun in the oven, I didn’t need to hide behind my crazy clothes. But that didn’t stop me from wishing I had a bigger coat or some bright pink tights for people to stare at instead of looking at the girl with the soon-to-be growing belly. Come to think of it, I probably could just head to the Goodwill and pick up a bunch of brightly colored men’s sweaters in an XL and wear those for the next nine months with some leggings. Dad would just think it was a new fashion trend, and I could hide the baby then SURPRISE, grandchild! Maybe he’d be less upset then. Maybe.
Dad sat by the fire pit on the outside terrace. The top button of his white dress shirt was undone and his hair all over the place, as if he’d run his fingers through it a million times.
He was staring out over the rippling waters of the pool, lost in thought, until Johnny and I were practically at the table. His dark green eyes slowly turned in our direction at our approach, and a small smile crossed his face before he finally stood up and held his arms out. “Sofie! Johnny! Glad you could make it!”