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“If he was, what would you do?” I asked.
“Honestly? Probably nothing. Have you seen the size of this fucking guy? Little brother, my ass.”
Hale cracked up at that, his laugh so much like True’s it shocked me. “Hey, you might get a few hits in.”
“Psh. Thanks for coming, bro. Isn’t this crazy?” True took his arms off my shoulder and wrapped it around my waist, his hand resting on the side of my protruding stomach.
Hale ran a hand through his hair. “Man, I can’t believe you’re gonna be a dad. Are you guys excited?”
True and I looked at each other, staring into each other’s eyes until we both smiled. “So excited.”
Kennedy grabbed me and pulled us to a different set of tables. She clapped her hands a few times. “Can you all come over here? I don’t want to wait anymore, and I know Amara’s been going crazy, so let’s find out what this baby is!” She yelled across the yard, and everyone came over, gathering loosely around the table.
She grabbed a bin filled with what looked like water guns. “Full disclosure, this was Zen’s idea.”
He raised his beer with a cocky grin, and Maddox and Harrison patted him on the back a little harder than was necessary, making him stumble a little.
She passed out the guns to everyone. “So you’re all wearing white. When I blow the whistle, we’re starting a full-on water gun fight. The water is the color of the baby’s gender, so with the first hit, we’ll know what he or she is. But don’t stop until your guns are empty. The first one with an empty gun wins!”
I held the squirt gun in my hand, feeling the weight of not only the plastic but the moment itself. I was about to find out if I’d be having a son or a daughter. I cradled my belly for just a moment longer, enjoying one last minute of the wonder of the unknown.
“Spread out!” Kennedy yelled, and everyone scattered. Hale, being the athlete that he was, took off, jumping over a lawn chair in his effort to get across the yard and get a good vantage point. Montana was just as competitive, diving behind the barbeque. With my belly, there wasn’t a chance in hell I was running around this yard. I’d wait until someone ran close enough for me to get them.
“Ready? Go!” Kennedy blew the whistle, and chaos ensued. Everyone ran around, shooting the colored streams of water. And I inhaled sharply when I saw the pink splatters on everyone’s white clothes.
“Holy fuck. It’s a girl!” I yelled, and True ran across the yard and picked me up, spinning me around.
“I fucking knew it!” He kissed me hard like we were the only two people around, and at that moment, nothing else mattered except True. We were having a daughter, and I didn’t even care that I was wrong.
True kissed me one last time before resting his forehead on mine. We were both breathing hard, and I couldn’t wait until we got home and could really celebrate. Based on the way he was looking at me, True felt the same.
“You guys started without me!” Jericho had just stepped through the doors to the back yard and shot True a half-heared glare.
True let me go and stepped over to him, pulling him into a hug. “Sorry, buddy.”
Jericho patted him on the back. “No worries. Congrats, man. A girl. I’m genuinely scared for her teenage years with you as her dad.”
True stiffened. “Oh, fuck. Let’s not think about that, okay?” He shuddered. “I remember what I was like as a teenager, and she’s not allowed to date until she’s solidly into her adulthood.”
Jericho chuckled. “Good luck with that.”
I sat back and watched as our friends laughed and ran around the yard, pelting each other with pink-colored water feeling so full and happy. Things weren’t perfect right now, but this moment was pretty damn close.
Zen ran up next to me panting, covered head to toe in pink water. Pink droplets ran down his face, and I had to laugh. He flashed me a smile and then raised his gun above his head. “Empty, bitches!”
There were some groans, but everyone looked like they’d had a good time.
Zen turned to me and pulled me into his arms, giving me a quick hug. “Congrats, Amara. Maybe next time you guys can try for that boy.” He let me go and winked at me, and my eyes widened.
“Next time?”
He laughed before shrugging. “I think True wants like four kids. You two should probably talk about that.”
I swallowed. Yeah, that’d be a conversation we needed to have at some point. I chuckled nervously. “Right, probably.”
I was still trying to wrap my mind around the fact we were having a daughter. All I knew was I was determined to be a better mother than my mother had been to me, and this was my chance to show myself I could do it.
* * *
