SALVADORA DE LEON

"Mama!" Arturo yelled as he came running into the house from the back yard. "I can't find the ball."

"Have you checked under the porch chair?"

It went silent for a moment until I heard his shoes retreating. A few moments later, when he yelled out that he found it, Hazel, Ava, and I all laughed.

"I can't wait to have kids." Ava sighed, her head turned to glance out the window where Amy, Ashley, and Arturo were kicking around a soccer ball in the backyard. Arturo was baseball mad, but Hazel's girls favoured soccer. Probably because their dad, Rob, was obsessed and lugged them around to as many games as he could.

"Have you guys started officially trying yet?" I asked, placing the wine bottle on the coffee table since I was getting annoyed always having to head into the kitchen for refills.

"Kind of." Ava shrugged, avoiding eye contact.

"Kind of?" Hazel asked, curious.

"We're still using condoms."

"You're not going to get pregnant that way." I pointed out.

"Not unless the condom breaks, or you poke holes in it, but I don't recommend that." Hazel pitched in. "I thought Hunter couldn't wait to have kids."

"That's what I thought, too, but he's been really stressed with work lately." She sighed, a melancholy expression washing over her face. "I don't want to put more pressure on him than he already has. We just need to wait for the perfect moment before we start trying."

"Let me tell you, the perfect time never comes." Hazel snorted. "If you try to wait around for it, you'll find yourself waiting forever."

"I can second that." I said. "I got pregnant in the first month of my new job, and I was only twenty at the time, but I wouldn't change a single thing about it. I don't know what I would do without Arty."

"And Rob ad I were supposed to wait a few years before we tried to have another baby, but I was already pregnant with Ashley before Amy's first birthday." Hazel said. "It's difficult, but they're perfect. I wouldn't change a single thing about it either."

"I know, guys." Ava sighed, her lips quirking down at the corners. "Hunter is just stressed with work. I don't want to stress him out even more by hounding him for a baby. I want to have one when he's ready to have one as well."

"It sounds like you're both ready to have a baby to me, but both of you are too in your head to tell the other." I said. "Have you spoken to him recently about trying for a baby?"

Ava pursed her lips but before she could answer, three loud knocks sounded on the front door.

"Hold that thought." I murmured, but Ava beat me to it. No doubt eager to change the subject even though she knew that we were right.

"Expecting anyone?" Hazel asked, moving to pour herself another glass of wine.

"No." I murmured and shook my head. "It might be a delivery, but it's not scheduled to arrive for a few more days."

"Someone has been holding out on us." Ava sing-sang as she headed back into the living room with the biggest bouquet of red roses I had ever seen in her arms.

"Woah! Those look pricey!" Hazel's eyes widened as she swallowed a big gulp of wine and watched Ava place down the huge flower display in the centre of the coffee table. "Who is it from?"

"Guess." Ava grinned excitedly, as if this was some sort of game.

The worst part was that I knew exactly who these flowers were from. For one, I wasn't exactly out in the dating scene so there wasn't anyone who would want to send me flowers and secondly, there were clearly far fancier and more expensive than a regular person could afford.

"You horny bitch!" Hazel laughed and playfully shoved my shoulder. "Have you been fucking your baby daddy again?"

"No. Nothing like that." I was quick to deny. I really regretted telling them about fucking Titus when he came over the other night. Thankfully, I hadn't mentioned that it had happened on this very couch that we were sat on – I had thoroughly washed it, of course – otherwise I would never hear the end of it.

"Well, if you haven't been sleeping with him, then why is he sending you flowers?" Ava asked, dropping herself between the both of us. She just about had literal hearts in her eyes as she studied the beautiful red roses.

"We don't even know if the flowers are from him." I said, trying to brush it off even though I knew they were definitely from Titus.

"Well, if they're not from your famous football player baby daddy, then who are they from?" Hazel asked, a puzzled expression on her face as she scratched her head.

"I don't know." I shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe it's a secret admirer." I suggested, hoping to throw them off the scent of the truth.

It was more so their teasing than anything else that I wanted to avoid. If they knew it was confirmed that the flowers were from Titus, I would never hear the end of it, and then I'd have to tell them the truth about all the crazy thoughts that had been clouding my mind ever since Titus came back into the picture.

Not that he was much in the picture in the first place.

"Bullshit." Ava snorted as she pulled out a small card from her back pocket. "There was a note in them from Titus. I just wanted to see if you were going to admit it."

My cheeks flamed, and I didn't even bother fighting it as she flipped it open and began reading.

Sal,

Thanks for coming over the other night. I had a great time and loved spending time with Arturo. I hope we can do it again sometime soon. I look forward to getting to know him more.

I also hope we get the chance to get to know each other better as well.

Yours,

Shithead

Hazel and Ava were a giggling mess by the time she finished reading the last of the note, and I couldn't help but join in.

"You called him shithead?" Hazel snickered, literal tears streaming down her face as she struggled to control her laughter. "You called Titus Reyes, the best quarterback the New York Eagles has ever seen, a shithead to his face?"

"I was mad." I shrugged, but I couldn't help but laugh at how funny it sounded. "You will not believe how annoying that man can be."

"Not annoying enough seeing as you keep going back to him." Ava laughed.

"I don't keep going back to him." I groaned. "I already told you guys that I took Arturo over to his house the other day so we could break the news and they could have the chance of getting to know each other."

"What about the part where you kissed him goodnight?" Hazel teased, blowing kissy faces at me.

That girl was most definitely drunk. No more wine for her.

"I didn't kiss him goodnight. I didn't kiss him. Period." I added the last part for emphasis, needing them both to take me seriously.

"But?" Ava prompted me, playfully shoving nudging me with her shoulder.

"But I wanted to." I groaned at the way I gave in so quickly. "I know I shouldn't, but I really wanted to kiss him. And I probably would have if his brother didn't turn up."

"You're down bad, girl."

"I am." I groaned again and buried my face in my hands. "I was the one that said we needed to keep things platonic, but my feelings just aren't listening to me. I don't know what to do."

"Why don't you just give him a chance?" Hazel asked.

"Because if things go wrong, then that's just going to make things difficult for Arturo. We'd have complicated everything for no reason."

"But what if things don't go wrong?" Ava suggested, forever the optimist.

"The risk is too high."

"It's only those things that are high risk that are worth doing."

"Maybe." I murmured, but quickly shook my head before the thoughts could consume me. "I can't do this, guys. I can't get involved with Titus in case things go wrong. We already have a messy past and I don't think we should be complicating things further. It's just going to make things so much messier, and that's the last thing I need. I just want to focus on Arturo. Allow him to get to know his papa and have a relationship with him."

Hazel and Ava were quiet for a few moments as they stared between me and each other.

"You really don't want to see where things go with you two?" Hazel asked with a small frown, looking more sober than she did a few minutes ago.

"I think that'll be really selfish for Arturo if things go wrong. It'll be like I'm ruining things for him before they even begin." And that's the last thing I want. To take anything away from my son.

It was my job to give him everything in the world, and I was determined to do just that for as long as I lived.

Hazel looked like she wanted to say something, but Ava should her head.

"You know what you need to do?" Ava asked with a sleazy grin.

"What?"

"You need to get under someone else to get over him."

"Either that, or you need to get under him again, you horny bitch." Hazel giggled, going back to being drunk.

"That's not an option." I reminded them.

"Then you definitely need to get under someone else." She snorted.

"And I know just the guy." Ava said with a triumphant glint in her eyes.

My nose scrunched up. "It sounds like you guys are setting me up with an escort."

"He's not an escort, but he can certainly pass off as one with how good looking he is."

"What?"

"I've got the perfect guy for you. He's a guy I went to high school with, and he broke up with his girlfriend of a year a few months ago. I think she cheated on him which in my mind, means she must be blind because she was already reaching with him. But I think you two would be a good match."

"I don't know guys." I sighed. "I don't think I'm in the right headspace to be dating right now."

"You don't have to date if you're not ready for it." Hazel assured me, her words a little slurred. "Besides, it sounds like a friends with benefits arrangement is more of what you need."

I pursed my lips. "I'll agree to one date, but I'm not making any promises. And don't mention anything about benefits because I'm not looking for that either."

"Great!" Ava grinned. "I'll text him and find out what day he's free."

"If I do this, you guys are going to have to help me out with the baby sitting though."

Hazel and Ava grinned evilly, sharing a knowing look.

I didn't like the look of that but knowing my friends, they were going to bully me into whatever they wanted, whether I liked it or not.

-

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