Page 51 of Draft Pick

I chewed my bottom lip. "I guess it does make sense to give him the chance to prove himself," I said. "Sink or swim, I'll have the answer."

"Exactly. Give the man some rope. Either he'll hang himself or he'll rope a cow — I don't know how the rest of that saying goes but you get the point."

I laughed, shaking my head. God, what would I do without Darby's odd logic? "Assuming you're onto something, how do I do this? Do I treat it like a date or do I treat it like an interview? Because those are two entirely different vibes."

Darby cracked a grin. "Or bring an actual vibe and see where the night goesha ha ha. Could be fun."

I blushed. Cason did not need accessories to make me cum. The man had twisted me inside out and left me weak as a kitten each time, but it was best not to think about that right now. "I'm definitely not going to sleep with him," I declared.

Darby surprised me with a shrug as if she didn't see the problem with it. "I don't know, you're already pregnant. What's the worst that could happen?"

The worst is that with each orgasm, I got more and more attached to him. I shook my head. "Nope. I am not sleeping with him. That's what got me in this mess and I need to think clearly to make the right decision."

Darby took a long sip from her milkshake the minute the waitress set them down, continuing around the ice cream in her mouth, "Yeah, I mean you could go that way. But there's also the possibility that you guys are meant to be together. What if you're delaying the inevitable? I say you might as well take advantage of some good dickin' while you're still able to. I don't know much about pregnancy but to me, it seems like having a basketball in front of you might be problematic in certain positions."

Definitely, and Cason had this amazing way of bending me over and railing me so hard that the tip of his dick surely jiggled my kidney. I shook off the reverie. "Back to the point. How should I treat this, a date or an interview?"

"Maybe initially treat it like an interview, but be open to the potential of it turning into a date. But a first date where you are determined not to fuck him. Like you haven't shaved your legs or something. Oh yeah, there's an idea —don't shave your legs and wear your ugly granny panties. You get where I'm going."

As ridiculous as that advice sounded, there was some merit to it. If I went wearing my granny panties, I surely wouldn't feel like getting naked, not that I was too worried about that. I didn't feel like getting naked as it was. I doubted there was anything that Cason could say or do that would change that feeling either.

I sipped my milkshake, gathering the courage to stay the course. A part of me wanted to run and hide because I couldn't get hurt if I didn't take the chance, but like Darby said, it wasn't just about me anymore.

"I'm curious…did you ask him why he ghosted you in the first place?" Darby asked.

"Yeah," I said, not wanting to share that part. When Darby stared expectantly, I answered reluctantly, "It was because he was afraid of being judged for being with a fat girl."

"He said that!" Darby nearly choked on her milkshake, her eyes bugging with instant rage. "I'll kill him."

"No, he didn't say it exactly like that but it was implied. My weight was the problem."

Darby scowled. "My favorable opinion on his second chance is rapidly dying. That's fucking shallow."

"Yeah." I wasn't quite ready to let him off the hook for that one, but I was used to people treating me differently because of my size. It just came with the territory of not being a size six in a fat-phobic society. "But it was also because he had so much going on and he didn't think he had the energy to fight that fight, too."

"Boo-freaking-hoo," Darby said sourly. "Grow a pair. I can't believe in this day and age we're still fat-shaming people. Get over it. People have different sized bodies. Who cares? Like it's okay to have a preference but clearly, he liked what you were putting out there and the only reason he pulled back was because of some bullshit societal conditioning. Point deducted, just saying."

"I know, I feel the same way but from what he said at the park, he seemed really ashamed of his actions so maybe this was a growth opportunity."

"Maybe but I don't like that his growth came at the cost of your feelings," Darby said, scowling in my defense. "If he's going to be stupid like that, maybe I don't want him around my precious niece or nephew. Sidenote, have you thought about names yet? Because I'd like to throw my hat in the ring. Darby Jr has a certain flair, wouldn't you say?"

"No," I shook my head, "to both of those questions." I loved Darby, but I wasn't naming my kid after her. "Name your own kid after yourself."

Darby shook her head. "No can do. I don't plan to use my uterus for spawn of my own. The world isn't ready for iterations of me. I'll stick to being the awesome auntie and save the world from experiencing little versions of me running around."

"Famous last words. Careful, fate will put twins in your belly if you're not careful."

"Not likely," Darby said with confidence. "I might just become a lesbian. Men suck."

I laughed. "You can't just switch your sexuality like flipping a light switch."

"Sure I can. Watch me."

I wouldn't argue that point because I wasn't sure if she was serious. Darby's dating habits were eclectic enough that it wouldn't surprise me if she showed up with a girlfriend one week and a boyfriend the next. I think Darby was equal opportunity at this point in her life. Either way, she kept life interesting.

"Okay, so it's settled, you're going to this dinner — steak and mashed potatoes, nice — and you're going to play it by ear but you're not going to sleep with him. Accurate recap?"

"Yep."

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