Page 96 of Make it a Double

Lukas barrelled in two seconds later. We tried to tell him it was done, but he lost his footing. He went down hard, popping the massive balloon beneath his shirt. The baby doll he was carrying went flying across the room, crashing into the wall with a loud thud.

“You good, man?” Beckett asked, trying to bend down to help Lukas to his feet, but his balloon kept getting in the way.

Lukas batted his hand away, rolling onto his ass. He rested his elbows on his knees and hung his head in shame. “No, I’m not.”

Duke rolled his eyes. “Ignore him. He’s a sore loser.”

“I hate when y’all say that shit,” Lukas grumbled. “It’s not a bad thing to be competitive.”

Grady wrapped his arm around Cleo’s shoulders. “There’s being competitive, and then there’s whatever the hell you are.”

Lukas turned to Cleo. “Will you please cover my niece’s eyes for a second?” The moment she did, he flipped Grady off.

“Real mature,” he said, holding out his hand for his friend to take.

Liv stepped up with the TENS machine in hand. “It’s time to pay up,” she sang, looking at Duke. “Who wants to go first?”

“I’m not scared,” he said, pulling the balloon free. “Do your worst.”

She smirked, taking her time placing the sticky pads onto his skin. “I intend to,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

We all ignored Lukas, who blew a raspberry in protest.

To his credit, Duke took it like a champ. He made it all the way to level eight before breaking out into a sweat, but his strength only went so far. A slew of curses left his mouth the moment she cranked it to level ten. He yanked the cords free and braced himself on the back of a chair. “Fucking hell, honey,” he panted. “That’s horrible.”

“Try that when your vagina is the size of a bagel,” Grams said, shaking her cane. “And then rips nearly to your asshole.”

Grady went next, damn near matching Duke’s record. He only made it to level nine, but he did last for a full thirty seconds before he doubled over in pain. “Yeah, childbirth isn’t for me,” he muttered, sinking into the chair next to Duke.

Beckett stepped up behind me, running his hands along my belly and lifting slightly to support its weight. I groaned from the instant relief. All my life, I heard about how horrible morning sickness was, or that contractions were the literal devil, but no one ever mentioned just how heavy their damn belly was. I felt like I’d been misled.

“Thank you,” I breathed. “You don’t know how good that feels.”

He pressed a kiss right behind my ear. “Do you want to sit down?”

“Please.” He held my hand as we made our way over to one of the dining chairs. As wonderful as today was, I was exhausted. My lower back was killing me from lugging this baby around.

Beckett crouched next to me, jerking his head to where Lukas argued with his sister about paying his debt. “Want me to give it a go for solidarity?”

“No, you won fair and square. Although I do wonder where you got those skills.”

His gaze wandered to the three men on the other side of the room. Duke and Grady had Lukas pinned against the wall as Liv stuck the pads on his stomach. “I might’ve had a little help from some friends. There was no way I was going to let this baby come into the world without knowing the basics.”

My jaw dropped. “You mean…?”

“You’re looking at the first graduate of Duke’s Daddy Day Camp,” he smirked.

“I told you not to call it that,” Duke called.

I was about to ask him more when the sound of a honking horn, followed by the slamming of a door, cut through the noise. Liv and I shared a knowing look as the front door swung open and a slender figure stood at the threshold holding five boxes of pizza and a pack of candles.

“Surprise!” a sweet voice sang out. “Where’s my brother?”

Beckett stared at the spot before breaking out in a dead sprint. He grabbed the pizza, setting it aside with little regard before pulling his sister into a tight hug, picking her up off the ground, and twirling. They both laughed as he set her down and pulled back to look at her. “Tate! What are you doing here?”

Her lips twisted into a devious smirk as she nodded in my direction. “A little birdie told me we were having a celebration today, and you know how much I hate being left out. I couldn’t let everyone else have all the fun.”

Beckett turned to me. “You called my sister?”