“What’s this?”
“Grams told me that you were sick last night, so I did a survey of all the teachers who’ve had kids about what helped them with the morning sickness.” I mark the studs with a pencil, then drill the screws into the wall, so she won’t have to. “There’s ginger ale and coke, there’s crackers and chamomile tea and peppermint tea, and these tablets that you’re supposed to let dissolve on your tongue. Somebody said chocolate-covered Oreos settled their stomach and I don’t know what that’s about, but they’re in there too.”
“And these?”
I glance over my shoulder and Lainey is smelling the bouquet of wild flowers I picked up. They reminded me of her—vibrant and wild and unique.
“Those are for you.”
I step off the ladder and stand in front of her.
“I figured it’s the least I could do since you’re the one who has to do all the puking.”
Lainey’s eyes get this shiny, tender look as she smiles. “Thank you. That’s sweet.”
“Yep, that’s me—sweet. But . . . you’ve had a taste, you already know that.”
Lainey cheeks flush the prettiest pink—and I want to spin her around and fuck her over the back of that comfy navy couch.
Jesus, I need to stop thinking shit like that—I’m just torturing us both.
She clears her throat and puts the flowers down.
“Since you’re here, I wanted to ask how you felt about being in the Life with Lainey videos? No pressure—Jay doesn’t show his face on camera. And I’ve mentioned you, but the Lifers don’t know your real name.”
“What do you call me?”
She shrugs, fidgeting with her hands.
“Baby-Daddy, Sexy Drummer Guy and once . . . Mr. Fuck-Hot.”
I chuckle. “Highly accurate nicknames.”
“Yeah.”
“But, it’s cool—I’ll be on camera and you can use my name. I’ve never been shy.”
“Great. Do you . . . want to do a live video with me now? I could introduce you to the Lifers.” She grins. “They can be a frisky bunch, but they’re fun.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Okay.” Lainey runs her hands through her hair, shaking out the spiral curls. Then she positions her laptop on the table, aiming it at us and hits a few buttons, before stepping back next to me. “And we’re live.”
She smiles into the camera, all warm excitement, and for a minute I forget about the camera and I just watch her. I could make a full-time hobby out of watching this girl.
“Hi, Lifers! I have a special surprise for you today! Mr. Baby Daddy is here with me to meet you guys! And you’re not going to believe it—he’s actually Jaybird’s teacher! Crazy, right?” She gestures to me. “This is Dean Walker. Dean, these are the Lifers.”
I salute the camera and give it my best smile.
“Hi, everyone. Nice to meet you.”
And the notifications explode. There’s smiley faces, thumbs-up, and hearts galore. There’s also comments that pop up along the side of the screen.
Jackpot!
Ooooohhhhh, he’s pretty.
Lainey, guuuuurrrllll!!
He can be my Baby Daddy any day.
I’m dead. Dead, died, done, just leave me here on the floor.
Lainey looks up at me, laughing. “I think they like you.”
I gaze into the camera. “Of course you like me. I mean, you’re all into Lainey’s show, right? Obviously you have awesome taste.”
~ ~ ~
It turns out, I didn’t think the whole “appearing on Lainey’s social media show” all the way through. There are some unexpected developments that I didn’t anticipate—and one of those developments hit front and center three days later, in the middle of AP Calculus.
I review Hailey’s answer on the board to a particularly challenging problem.
“Nice job, Hailey, you got it. You want your question now or later?”
She pushes her hair behind her ear. “I have a question that I want to ask now, but I don’t know if I can.”
I hold my hands up at my sides. “You can ask anything—that’s the whole point. Hit me.”
Her eyes dart over to Jason, then back up to me, and my spidey senses start tingling.
“So, my mom watches this webcast—Life with Lainey—it’s the one Jason’s mom does.” She smiles at Jay. “She’s a big fan.”
Jay nods with a chuckle.
“And the other day, she said she saw you on one of the live videos. And she said that you and Lainey are, like, having a baby. Is that true, Coach Walker?”
I scan their faces and can tell right off the bat who Jason confided in and who he didn’t. Quinn knew—along with Diego and Louis. Daisy, Min Joon, Martin and Keydon were in the dark.
Then I glance at Jason, to read how he’s taking this. And he’s not embarrassed, he looks more . . . contemplative. Waiting on me, weighing my words, my reaction—watching to see how I handle this. And more importantly—how I’m going to talk about his mom.
“Yes, it’s true. I’m having a baby. Miss Burrows and I are having a baby together.”