“Pushes it back until he has to use that damn black spray to fix it!” Lolo added, causing me to laugh.

“There’s that beautiful smile. Life is too short to be stressing over that loser. Don’t let him steal your joy. You’re bringing a child into this world, and that’s a beautiful blessing.”

I smiled at my best friend. If nobody else in this world had me, I knew she did, and I appreciated her support.

“Thank you, Lolo.”

“You and the baby gon’ be just fine,” she said just as the door to the shop chimed, letting us know someone had entered.

“I gotta get back out there. Take a minute if you need it.” Lolo patted my back before walking out of her office.

Wiping my tears, I took a few deep breaths and dropped the money inside the purse I kept in Lolo’s office. Reggie had to be smoking the good crack if he thought I was going to kill my baby to spare his fiancée’s feelings. If anything, she needed to know who she was marrying. Grabbing my phone, I went to my Picsgram account and typed in the username that was attached to their viral engagement post. There she was, happy and smiling holding up her ring in her profile picture. Without a second thought about the consequences, I clicked on her inbox and typed eight simple words along with my ultrasound photo.

Phileighthebarber: I’m pregnant by Reggie and I’m keeping it.

With that I closed out the app and exited the office. The first thing I saw was Kellon standing by the window talking to Reggie. My heart sank, and suddenly, I remembered Kellon telling me that they used to play college football together. Shit!

“Wait.” Lolo turned to look at me. “They know each other?”

I nodded. “They played college ball together. Do you think I should tell him?”

Lolo nodded her head. “Girl, yes! Especially if you two are getting serious.”

“Well, we’re just friends right now… so…”

“Phileigh, tell that man he knows yo’ baby daddy,” Lolo said, cutting me off. Her gaze was intense as hell.

“Okay, I w⁠—”

Before I could finish, Kellon walked in the salon as Reggie pulled off down the street. I took a deep breath, watching him approach me in a hoodie and sunglasses. It wasn’t what he had on this morning, so I guess he managed to find somewhere to shower and change. I assumed the get up was to hide his identity, but he couldn’t hide how fine he was. The way he strolled into the shop sent a surge of relief through my system that I didn’t know I needed. All the stress from Reggie’s pop up dissipated the closer he got to me. I patted the corner of my eyes, attempting to dry my tears. Kellon couldn’t know I’d been crying.