"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," he shot back unapologetically. "Now, the way I see it, you've got two choices. Get your ass all prettied up and wait downstairs for Daryl to pick you up, or hide out in your room like a little baby and I'll come get you myself. But I warn you now, if you choose the latter, I ain't waiting around for you to put something nice on. I'll drag you there in your ugly ass pajamas. Your decision, Peterson. Choose wisely."

19 Daryl

I didn't want to be in my house any more than my stepfather wanted me here. It never felt like home anymore, not since he moved his ass in all of those years ago.

But I took comfort in the fact that Wren wasn't around to berate me when I stepped out of my room in a suit.

I hadn't worn this suit since junior prom and it was plain to see that I had packed on some serious muscle in the past year.

My shoulders, biceps, and chest were welded into the white dress shirt and dark vest. My bow-tie was crushing my windpipe, and my thighs were bulging against the fabric of my black slacks.

Not bothering to entertain the notion of attempting to wedging my arms into the sleeves of the matching jacket, I tossed it over my shoulder and headed outside to my truck, with only one thought in mind.

Molly.

Climbing into my truck, I tossed my jacket next to the fresh flower corsage on the passenger seat before pulling out my cell and dialing Molly's number.

"Well, if it isn't Ocean Bay's answer to Tom Brady," she teased when she answered. "Congrats on the win tonight, QB1. I bet you had those cheerleaders working overtime to cheer their King on."

I felt my smile stretch at the sound of her voice. "How's my baby mama?"

Her throaty laugh filled my ears. "Much more stable than the last time we spoke."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, I took your advice and did a test."

"No period math?"

"Nah, my periods are super irregular so that kind of thing doesn’t work for me."

"And?"

"It's all good. One pink line all by its lonesome. A big, fat negative. Yay!"

"So, I'll put a hold on that child support check?" I teased.

"You're such a douche." She laughed again. "But in all seriousness, why weren't you panicking as much as I was?"

"Full disclosure?"

"Always."

"Because it doesn’t scare me," I offered honestly. "Not as much as it scares you, that is."

"How in God's name does the thought of having a baby with me not scare you?"

"For that exact reason," I replied. "Because I would be having a baby with you. I don’t wanna have a kid in high school, Molls, at least not any more than any other guy, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if it had happened because, well, you're my best friend, and all jokes aside, we would have handled it."