Page 40 of Hooking

“I guess I’m going to give him a day or two. What other option do I have?” I say, wiping the tears that have fallen onto my cheeks.

Hayley hangs out for a little while longer before leaving to meet Brooks and Camden. After locking my front door, I change into a pair of oversized sweats before settling on my bed. Turning on my phone, I check it to see if I have any messages. I’m about to put my phone on do not disturb when it pings with a message from Channing.

Channing: Are you up?

I should ignore it. Turn it on do not disturb like I planned and go to sleep, but before I can process anything I’m doing, a message is sent.

Cassidy: NO.

Not even a minute passes after I send the message before my phone rings. Channing’s name flashes across the home screen, as my hand instantly swipes to answer.

Chapter 20

Channing

“Hello?” Her voice echoes through the line. Timid. Sad.

When she came up to me at the holiday party, I was too distracted by her beauty to see the growing bump. I had to grit my teeth the moment I realized she was pregnant as the thought of her having a baby with someone else pissed me off. But the moment she told me the baby was mine, I froze. It was as if everything that had happened over the past four months was about to happen all over again. She wanted me to say something, and I just stood there like a dumbass.

“Cassidy, I—” I start to say, pausing because I know I fucked up. I was angry, confused, upset with myself. Yet I know I shouldn’t have walked away. “I’m an asshole. I shouldn’t have assumed things and reacted the way I did. I was just—I was taken by surprise.”

“Imagine how surprised I was when I found out,” she says, sarcastically.

I can only imagine how she felt the moment she realized she was pregnant. Alone. Afraid. No, that’s not Cassidy. She’s strong willed and can take anything head on, but I know she must have been reeling, knowing she was pregnant. Especially when she pushed me away. It was my own fault, but I was the reason she did. And now, she’s been doing all this on her own.

Yeah, I’m a hundred percent an asshole.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, knowing it’s not the real question I want to ask, but it’s a start.

She releases a sigh, and I hear the sheets move in the background, knowing she’s probably in bed, and I may have woken her. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No. It’s okay,” she says, on a sniffle. “I could be better.” She pauses for a moment. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

How long has she had to do this alone? Why didn’t she feel she could tell me? God, Natasha really fucked things up for me and just when I felt like I could fix this shit, I blow it up even more. I look at her apartment and wonder if she’d let me in if she knew I was outside. On instinct, my feet move to the front of her building, my finger pressing the buzzer before I say anything else.

“Can you hold on a second? Someone’s at my door.”

“It’s me,” I say, before she presses the intercom. “Please talk to me, Cass.”

The line on the phone goes dead and before I know it, I’m being buzzed into the building. I take the stairs two at a time until I reach the third floor. Her door opens, and she leans against the doorjamb as if she’s been waiting for me.

“Hey,” I say, feeling awkward but breathless at how gorgeous she looks.

“Hey,” she says, slightly blushing. She moves into her apartment, and I follow her in, shutting the door behind me. “You can have a seat in the living room. I’ll be back with some drinks.”

I watch her leave the room, my eyes roaming her body. The navy sleep shorts and button-up top showcase her growing bump. God, I missed her so much. What would my kid think when they find out their dad wasn’t around in the beginning? She walks back in carrying two mugs. One with a tea bag, and the other smells of coffee. She places the mug in front of me before taking a seat next to me on her white couch.

She tucks her legs underneath her before bringing the cup of hot liquid to her lips, blowing it to cool off before taking a sip. “So, I guess you wanna talk about all of this,” she says, moving her hand in a circle above her bump.

I take a sip of coffee before placing it down on the dark oak coffee table. My body is positioned to face her as she sips her tea. “How many weeks are you?” I say, curiously.

“Twenty. Halfway there and before you get angry about not being there for it, I’m going to tell you it’s okay. You had a lot going on, and I didn’t want to add any more stress onto you or add even more rumors to the rumor mill because of it,” she says, looking down, slowly caressing her belly. “I was going to tell you the moment I found out about Natasha, but every time I picked up the phone to call you, I chickened out. I didn’t want you to think I was using you the way Natasha was. But I guess I kinda made you think that anyway.” She looks up to me, her gaze connecting with mine as unshed tears fill her eyes. “I’m so stupid. I should have told you the moment I found out regardless, instead of thinking I could manage it all on my own.”

Without thinking, I reach out to her, pulling her into my chest. Her body instantly relaxes in my hold. How could she ever think I wouldn’t be there to help her through this? That I wouldn’t want her. My hands rub her back gently as warm tears soak into my shirt.

“It’s okay,” I whisper into her ear. “I’m here now, and I’m never going to leave you both ever again.”

The moment she pulls back to look into my eyes, my mouth finds her. Her head tilts to the side as she kisses me back. The kiss deepens as my hand finds the back of her head.

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