Page 75 of Only for Tonight
“Ralph,” Manning says, his voice tight, “let’s give them a chance to talk.” My father looks over at him and the stare is one I’ve never seen before. I’m about to step forward when my mother gasps.
“Oh my God, you’re the one.” She puts her hand to her mouth and then looks over at Evelyn who opens her mouth also. “You’re the puck bunny his girlfriend caught you with.”
“Don’t call her that,” Jaxon snaps, his tone tight and my mother’s eyes go big.
Evelyn puts her hands on her head. “This is unbelievable.”
“And she’s my ex-girlfriend,” Jaxon snaps, “long before Ariella and I even started anything.”
“You got her pregnant when you were with someone else?” my father sneers at him. In that moment my heart breaks as he looks at me, disappointment all over his face. “Incredible.”
twenty-six
Jaxon
I feel her tremble beside me and I hold up my hand. “Okay, enough,” I snap, not caring anymore about how my tone sounds. “I know this isn’t how you thought this conversation would go.” I look at Ralph, then look over at my father, who is ready to jump in if need be. “But we are going to do this calmly.” I look at Ralph. “It's a surprise to you, I’m sure.”
“You can say that again,” he scoffs at me.
“But this is where we are and we’re dealing with it together.” I slide my hand in hers to stop her from shaking. When I look down at her, I see her head is down, looking at her shoes and I turn to her. I put my finger under her chin to lift it so I can see her eyes, a lone tear escapes from the corner of her eye and is slowly rolling down the side of her beautiful face. “It’s going to be okay,” I whisper to her, not caring that our parents are watching us. My only concern right now is making sure she is okay. They can unleash whatever they want on me, but they will not be doing it to her. I will not let that happen.
“Promise?” she asks me and I move my hands to hold her face, her eyes searching mine.
“Absolutely,” I assure her and she smiles and I don’t give a shit what they say, this is right, “not.” Before I kiss her softly, whispering in her ear, I declare, “We’ve got this.”
“Okay.” She looks up at me and I kiss her nose before turning back to our parents.
My father is smiling at me with so much pride, it’s what I needed and I didn’t know I needed. My mother and Candace both wipe tears from their eyes and then I look at Ralph, who is staring daggers at me. “I’m sorry this isn’t how you thought it would go.”
“That is the understatement of the year.” He shakes his head.
“In all honesty, it was unexpected. But sometimes the best things happen when you’re least expecting it.” I put my hand on her hip and squeeze it.
“When?” Ralph asks, holding on to the chair in front of him with both hands. “When did this happen?”
I share a look with Ariella, who I’m sure doesn’t want to come right out and tell them exactly when this happened. “I’m thirteen weeks pregnant,” Ariella shares and shock fills his face. I think she is going to let it go at that and let them do the math, but she’s nervous, and when she’s nervous it’s like everything comes out. “It was at the party.”
“At what party?” Ralph asks and then his eyes go big. “At that party? The Dallas party?”
“At that party,” Ariella mumbles.
“You guys have been dating for three months and never told us,” Candace says softly. “Why wouldn’t you just tell us?”
“Well,” Ariella starts, “it wasn’t like that, exactly.” Ariella tells them of the weeks following the party from her first time in LA when she showed up on my doorstep to our trip to Palm Springs last week.
“A baby,” my mom says, clapping her hands excitedly, then looks over at Candace. “We get to plan a baby shower.” Ariella and I share a look now, knowing that the hard part of the conversation is past us.
“Our story is unconventional, but it’s ours.” I look at her and then back at Ralph. “You know me. You know the man I am, the boy you watched grow into a man. You even helped take care of me in some ways, so you know I’m going to take care of her.” I bring her to me and she wraps her arms around my waist. “I’m going to put her and the baby before me, because that’s the kind of man my father”—I look to Evelyn—“my parents raised me to be.”
“You fucking better,” Ralph cuts in. “You fucking better.”
I nod at him, wondering if that is somewhat his approval of the situation or not. “We don’t know what the future holds,” Ariella says. “We’re navigating it the best way we know how. But we’ve got a foundation that is strong because of you guys, so we’re already starting off winning.” She looks up at me. “Don’t you think?”
“So that’s why you’re moving to LA?” Ralph asks her and she nods.
“That is half the reason why I’m moving to LA,” she admits. “I mean, he can’t just up and leave, and I refuse to keep this child away from him. Plus, I’ve come to really love it out there.” She looks up at me. “So we are having a baby and moving in with each other.”
“Wait a second.” Evelyn holds up her hand and then turns to my father. “Why aren’t you more shocked?” He stares at her, his eyebrows pinching together. “You are oddly calm.” She stands up and puts her hands on her hips. “Why is that?”
