Page 28 of Tap In

Here I was now, caught like hell. I knew that bitch Cindy Lou Who would tell him. I thought she would have told him sooner than this. I half ass expected Joston to call me that same night or the next day. When he didn’t, I thought maybe she wasn’t going to tell him. Clearly, I thought wrong.

“Oh, I trapped you now? I guess trapping you is one way to get your lil ass ready,” Joston asked with a smirk. He gazed at me for a second before he bent over laughing. “I didn’t trap you, love, or at least it wasn’t my intention to.”

I crossed my arms over myself while he continued to chuckle. “Well, when I tell the story, that’s what I’m going to say. My baby daddy trapped me.”

He laughed harder. “You do that. Shit, you a hell of a woman to trap.”

That comment made me feel all giddy inside. Now that he knew, it was time to have the real conversation. “How do you want to handle this as far as coparenting long distance?”

His laughter subsided. “Jacobia, there’s not going to be any distance. I’m moving back to Charleston to be close to my baby. Wait, do you know what we’re having?”

I smiled, thinking about our baby. “Yes. We’re having a baby girl.”

His face lit up before he put his hand on my stomach. “Damn, I’m gonna be a girl dad. Let me make sure I have my guns ready. If our baby girl looks like her mother, then it’s gonna be a problem. I’m gonna be slapping lil boys in the sandbox.”

My blushing cheeks had a mind of their own. “Just like that, you’re moving back to Charleston? What about the club and everything?”

“The club can successfully run without me physically being there. That’s why I have managers. I’ll do my pop-ins when I see fit. My poker tournaments aren’t always in Vegas. I’ll travel wherever they are and be back in the morning before my baby wakes up.” He glanced at me. “So, yeah, just like that.

“Jacobia, I don’t want you to think that because I’m not cussing your ass out that I don’t feel a way about you not telling me that you were pregnant. I didn’t deserve that. I also know staying in my feelings and mad won’t help anything. We need to move forward. Hopefully we can do that in a mature manner where we don’t hold detrimental information from each other.” His tone was even, words intentional, and stare deep.

My head fell for a moment. There were tears in my eyes when I lifted them. “I’m so sorry for not telling you. I promise that you would have known before she was born. Yes, we can move forward as mature parents. Thank you for being you.”

His willingness to uproot to be close to his daughter made my heart smile. That was one of my biggest concerns when I found out that I was pregnant. When you grow up in a close-knit family like mine, not having your father at hand’s reach was unfathomable. We sat there for a while longer talking about how my pregnancy had gone so far and what was to come. He made plans to be at my next appointment in two weeks. There was a weight lifted off my shoulders now that he knew.Thank you, Cindy Lou Who bitch.

* * *

A LITTLE TIME LATER…

Lark laughed at my expense. “You’re really in your feelings, best friend? Y’all are too funny.”

We were in her home office, eating. We were both thirty-four weeks pregnant. I thanked God that I was carrying small. We opted to have a joint baby shower in Christianson Circle. It was an amazing time. I ate so many blue crabs that Joston had to rub my belly.

“Lark, this shit is not funny. I need some dick, and his ass is acting stingy with it. He knows that I won’t fuck anyone else.” I pouted at the simple thought of it all.

Pregnancy had me hornier than a rabbit. Joston completed his move to Charleston two weeks after he found out that I was pregnant. It wasn’t as if he had much to move since his house here was fully furnished. He also had three vehicles at his house here.

I thought that since he was here, and we were spending more time together, that my baby daddy would give me some dick. I mean, wasn’t that the core of the baby mama, baby daddy relationship? This man had the perfect audacity to tell me that unless we were in a relationship, he wouldn’t be giving me any dick. At first, I was like cool, cool. He could just give me some head and stuff. His ass said that he wouldn’t give me any sexual pleasure outside of a relationship.I beg your finest pardon, baby daddy?

“Jacobia, I don’t know why you’re being so damn stubborn. At this point, it’s like you’re not being with him to prove some kind of stupid point that no one cares about. Furthermore, you know your ass wants to be with that man,” Lark pointed out correctly.

I did want to be with him. There was no real reason why I shouldn’t be with him. “I know, I know. It’s just not even eight months ago, I told him that I wasn’t ready for anything serious. It’s gonna look suspect if all of a sudden because I’m pregnant, I’m ready.”

“Girl, who gives a fuck. That man won’t care, trust me. I personally think God let you get pregnant so you could carry your stubborn behind where you’re supposed to be,” Lark said with a twisted lip.

We sat there quietly after her statement. She’d given me a lot to think about with that one. Before either of us could say anything else, her office door opened. In walked Chance and Joston. Chance beelined to Lark to deliver a kiss on her lips. I wanted Joston to do the same, but I knew it wouldn’t happen.

“What’s up, baby mama?” Joston greeted me before he squatted down in front of me, pulled my shirt up, and kissed my belly. He pushed lightly on my belly. “Hey, daddy’s baby. You being a good girl in there for mommy?”

I was convinced that he was our daughter’s favorite person. She started to kick around as he continued to talk to her. Some nights, he would come to my house, lie in my bed, and just talk to her. That was torture for me. I wanted him to talk to this pussy.

“What y’all in here talking about?” Chance asked from his seat next to his wife on the couch in her office. My best friend’s happiness looked great on her.

Lark side-eyed me.This bitch better not.“Oh, we were talking about how stubborn her ass is. She can’t seem to get out of her own way.”

I couldn’t stand her ass sometimes. She mastered a way to spark up a conversation without directly saying what it is. I noticed that in college.

“What you being stubborn about?” Joston asked from the seat next to me that he sat in. “There are so many things that could be the answer.”

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