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“I’m not really sorry for saying that. So I’m not gonna apologize.” Maddie playfully smirks. “I mean, come on!” She flails her arms in the air, and it takes all the willpower in the world not to look at Lennon for a reaction.
“We’re just friends, Maddie. Stop it, you’re embarrassing me,” Lennon sternly tells her, then glances at me with apologetic eyes as though it would be a bad thing if we were more than that.
Sophie clears her throat, acting as mediator, then places her hand on Lennon’s. “You took the test without calling me first. You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
Lennon swallows hard, then nods. “You owe me twenty bucks.” Sophie turns to Maddie with a chuckle.
Both of them stand and rush to Lennon, wrapping their arms around her, and I lean back and watch the three of them, seeing the love they have for each other.
Sophie starts crying. “I’m so happy for you. I know how much you’ve wanted this, wanted a family.”
My heart feels like it’s being torn into a million pieces. At any moment, I could throw it up in the air as celebratory confetti. It’s official. I’m a bastard for being jealous that I wasn’t the man to give her this. It wasn’t in the cards for me, can’t ever be.
“Great, now I’m crying too,” Maddie says, and then Lennon starts.
“Stop!” Lennon sniffles with a half-laugh. “You’re making me so emotional.”
I stand and grab one of the boxes of tissues from the living room and pass it around. It’s a happy moment, one that should be cherished. After they’ve exchanged hugs and cried tears of joy, we sit down and finish eating. The room gets quiet, other than the sounds of our silverware scraping against plates.
“So,” Sophie begins, “when are you going to tell Mom and Dad?”
Lennon stills. “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet, but as soon as I do, you all will be the first to know because I’m going to get disowned.”
“They’ll get over it,” Maddie says with certainty, glancing down at the tattoo on her wrist, one of many I’ve heard. “And we’ll be here for you, no matter what.”
Lennon smiles, but I can tell she’s getting lost in her head. I wish I could say what I want, but I keep quiet. My mind’s still hung up on what Maddie said, and I realize the only person who doesn’t see how I feel about Lennon is Lennon.
Once everyone’s finished eating, and not one crumb remains, I take everyone’s plates and bring them to the kitchen. I turn on the water and rinse everything before setting them into the dishwasher. Leaving them alone, I take my time to clean up the mess Lennon made in the kitchen. When everything is spotless how she likes it, I peek my head out and tell them I’m going to bed.
“Already?” Lennon says, shooting me a smile.
“Yeah, I’m tired. Long day,” I tell her with a grin and leave them to sister time.
A week has passed since the big news. Lennon doesn’t want to tell anyone else besides her sisters and me until she sees her doctor. As we’re sitting on the couch watching another episode of Friends, she bursts into tears.
“Lennon?” I ask, confused at her sudden breakdown. “Everything okay?”
She sniffles. “Sorry. I’m just scared about tomorrow and having to go to my OB alone. Sophie and Maddie can’t break away from work and—”
“I’ll go with you,” I blurt out without thinking.
She wipes tears from her cheeks. “Really? You’d do that for me?”
I move closer to her, and she leans into me. I wrap my arm around her small frame, and she hugs me, melting into me fully. It takes everything I have to keep my emotions at bay and not pull her onto my lap.
I place my hand on the back of her head. “I’d do anything for you, Lennon. What time?”
She sucks in a deep breath. “Ten.” She pulls away and looks up at me. “Are you sure? What about your job?”
“Absolutely. Let me worry about work,” I tell her. “Plus, I don’t know anyone who’s cried during one of the funniest episodes of Friends.” I wipe away a rogue tear that’s struggling to spill from her face, and she watches me. If I weren’t keeping the biggest secret of my life from her, I’d be kissing those tears away.
Letting out a stifled laugh, she sighs. “Thank you. I feel like all I’m doing is thanking you lately. And it doesn’t feel like enough.”
I give her a small smile. “It’s more than enough,” I tell her, forcing myself to move away. “Want to watch the next one? We’re almost done with season three.”
Lennon nods and leans back on the couch. I feel her eyes on me, but I keep mine facing forward. Boundaries, I remind myself.
