“Sheisfine,” Gemma added under her breath.
Then, there was that. While Gemma came out as bisexual, she tended to prefer women to men.
I raised a questioning brow. “So you’re looking for a girlfriend?”
Shrugging, she said, “Maybe. My last relationship with JaMarcus was enough to make me never want to fuck with a man again.”
“Bro, don’t talk to me about that man. Punk-ass pressed charges against me like a lil’ bitch.”
“Not that I’m trying to defend him, but you did break into his house and pack him up.”
Not my best moment, but . . . “He put his hands on you. He should be grateful that’s all I did.”
She shot me a sad smile. “I know.”
“How are you doing really?”
“I have my days. I really wanted that baby.”
Gemma miscarried her baby during Blake’snonwedding to Lennox. I would never forget the pain in her eyes when I rushed to her side at the hospital. She’d cried for days and I’d stayed with her the whole time. Missed the wedding reception, the Sunday brunch, and theactualsmall ceremony two days later. Long story.
“I’ve actually been thinking of finding a donor.”
Surprised, I asked, “Really?”
She sighed heavily. “Yeah. It’s important to me. But now that I know you’re an expert . . .”
I elbowed her gently. “Come on, Gem.”
“Seriously? I think that’s cool.”
Waving a dismissive hand, I mumbled, “Whatever, man. I’m just glad you’re not with that busta-ass nigga anymore, and that he won’t be your baby daddy.”
“Well, remember our pact?”
I retreated a step. “Nah, dog. I’m not going to be your baby daddy. That’s in the past.”
“Okay, okay.”
“And when I made that promise, we were drunk.”
On Gemma’s twenty-fifth birthday, we hit up Cancun. And she’d picked the worst moment, when I could barely stand up straight, to ask if I would be her baby daddy if she didn’t find a suitable match before she turned thirty-five.
“Besides, my sperm donor days are over.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I’m serious,” I tossed back.
Gemma stared at the floor. “I don’t know what I was thinking messing with him.”
I pulled her into an embrace. “You were thinking with that big heart of yours. The one that is always drawn to fucked up people.”
“Bro.” She wrenched herself from my grasp and smacked my arm. “Don’t play me. I learned my lesson.”
“So you say. We’ll see when you introduce me to the next love of your life.”
“You said you were never gonna throw him in my face.”
