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“Thank you for coming to my birfday party,” Addie exclaims, her words coming out like gibberish. “I dance like a big girl.”
The whole table cheers, Kingston hooting like a wild animal, and all the women swoon as Briggs kisses his baby girl on the cheek, evident pride highlighting his face. “Thank you, everyone, for coming to celebrate my little dancer. She may only be two, but she sure is fierce. Right, baby girl?” he asks her, smiling wide.
“Big girl!” Addie squeals, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Yes, you are such a big girl.”
Fuck.My chest aches with anticipation knowing that in less than three months, that’s gonna be me. Enveloping my son in so much love, he’ll never know for a second what it feels like to grow up without it.
Never feel how I did.
“Now, let’s celebrate!” Briggs chants before taking his seat.
A sniffling catches my attention from beside me, and I turn to find Tenley in bottomless tears, wiping her eyes with a table napkin. “Hey,” I say softly, trying to get her attention.
She turns her head to the side, shielding her face from me. “You okay? What’s wrong?” I ask her.
“Nothing. I’m good. Great speech,” Tenley responds abruptly, but it sounds like the woman caught a cold out of nowhere and can hardly breathe.
“Are you…crying?” I ask her tauntingly.
“What does it look like?” she bites out, finally turning to face me, and heavens, I like what I see.
Black mascara streaking down her cheeks. Red eyes swollen and filled to the brim with tears. Pink lipstick smeared out of the lines of her lips.
Gorgeousness.
A grin plasters across my face without a second thought. “It would make you smile seeing me cry!” she huffs as more tears escape without her permission.
I swipe at a lonesome one. “You’re perfect like this. My match made in fucking heaven. Never thought I’d see the day.”
“What are you talking about?” A sob leaves her, and not gonna lie, I’m hella confused, but too distracted by her to comment on it.
“Never thought you’d show me this side of you. Vulnerable and knee-deep in sweet feelings. I typically get the bitter or aggressively turned-on side of you. This is a nice surprise.”
“I’m happy, okay?” she scolds. “Give me that stupidly handsome smirk all you want, but this”—she points towardBriggs and Addie—“is adorable. And my hormones have a mind of their own. I have no control over them, and I hate it. I’m a prisoner in my own body.”
I chuckle, and that earns me another look. But also more tears. And some more.
“Oh, beautiful girl. You give pregnancy hormones too much credit.” I pull her into my side and cradle her in my arms. Tenley doesn’t fight me on it, only pulling me closer, letting the tears fall. “You were picturing me with our son, weren’t you?”
“God damnit,” she huffs, finally giving up. “Yes. Okay. Are you happy now?”
“Delighted, actually.” She jabs me in the stomach, but to my benefit, she doesn’t let go.
“We’re gonna be parents soon, August.” It’s a statement with the magnitude to scare anyone, but not me.
Gone is the woman with sass and pride. This is defenseless Tenley now, and the root of her emotions is baring itself to me. “We are,” I respond steadily.
When she feels shaky, I want to be her stable ground. The landmark she runs to for support and rescue. I’ll shield her from it all.
I run my hand across the back of her head in a calming motion, doing my best to comfort her. I have no idea what it feels like to struggle managing my emotions, but I’d imagine it’s frustrating and hard to process. Especially in a season of her life where everything is heightened.
“There’s so much fear in here.” Tenley places a hand against her heart, and my chest tightens.
I kiss her forehead. “Fear is good. It means you care.”
“What if I fuck it up and he hates me?”
