Dirty Little Secret

So there I was, facing the father of my child at Starbucks. I never thought the day would come. He didn’t look much different from the photo I had seen earlier in the week. He had a hat perched on his head, and he was sporting a pair of sunglasses, as if someone might suddenly recognize him. His figure towered over my petite 5’4” frame which made me feel like a kid again.

I looked up at him awkwardly, “I believe this drink is mine.”

“I beg to differ,” he said, “I ordered a mint mocha chip frappuccino.”

“So did I,” I countered.

“Wait, aren’t you that girl from the party?” he asked.

I mentally cursed myself. “What party?”

“The one at Heather’s house.”

So this was definitely Jack. I was really hoping that it was someone who happened to look exactly like the twenty one year old guitarist. Damn it.

“Yeah, I remember,” I said cautiously, “I’m Holly.”

“Jack,” he extended his hand for me to shake.

“Can I have my drink?” I asked.

“Oh, here you go,” he handed over my frap and I briskly walked out of the building, hoping he would leave it at that.

But no. Instead of staying behind and waiting for his drink like a normal person, he decided to follow me out to my car.

“So where are you headed?”

I turned to look at him. “Home.”

“Can I come with you?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

Why in the world would I ever bring Jack Barakat to my apartment? Granted, he was the father of my child but he doesn’t know that yet. From what I experienced at the party, he was an irresponsible party boy, much like I was several months ago. I wanted to say no, but there was something about the way he was looking at me.

I sighed. “I don’t even know you.”

“Sure you do. We met at the party remember?” he said, “And besides, we could get to know each other.”

I shook my head. “I don’t-"

Before I could finish my sentence he was already on the passenger side of the car pulling on the handle. “C’mon, open the door, Holly.”

I rolled my eyes and unlocked the doors. I slid in and turned on the radio, hoping that he wouldn’t talk throughout the whole ride. To my surprise, he was actually quiet for longer than ten seconds.

“Holy shit!” he yelled.

I nearly jumped out of my seat but still managed to keep my eyes on the road. “What? What’s wrong?!”

“You’re pregnant!”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” I sighed.

“Do you know if it’s a boy or girl?” he asked tentatively. I glanced over at him. He looked genuinely interested and didn’t seem freaked out (or creepily turned on) by my pregnant belly like most guys. Maybe I could let him know some minor details.

“It’s a girl,” I said, my eyes averting back to the road.

“What are you gonna name her?” he moved to change the radio station, but I put my hand out to stop him. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, something sparked when our hands touched. Even though I was freaking out on the inside, I put on my best poker face on and put my hand back onto the wheel.

“I haven’t really thought about names yet,” I said, “I’ll get back to you on that.”

The rest of the ride back to my apartment was quiet with the exception of Adam Young’s voice in the background. My eyes were glued to the road for the remainder of the time, but I could still sense Jack’s eyes drifting onto me from time to time. It made me slightly uncomfortable, but I tried to relax.

When we arrived at my apartment complex, the air was still slightly awkward. I prayed that Caitlyn was home. Thankfully, I saw that her car was parked in her parking spot.

“Cait, I’m back,” I called out into the complex.

“Who’s Cait?” I heard Jack ask from behind me. I stepped aside to let him in and closed the door behind him.

“It’s Caitlyn. Holly’s best friend…” she trailed off as she saw who was in the room with me. She sent me a knowing look, but I ignored her.

“Caitlyn, this is Jack. Jack, Caitlyn.”

“I know who he is,” Caitlyn said, “Guitarist for All Time Low, right?”

He nodded and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet uneasily.

“Are you hungry?” I asked him. “Because Caitlyn could start on lunch if you wanted.”

“Now that I think about it, I’m starving,” he said, “The guys left me to get Panera but they never came back.”

Soon after, we ate lunch together. Caitlyn invited her boyfriend Seth over so Jack wouldn’t be the only guy there. Surprisingly, the conversation flowed easily and there weren’t any awkward silences. It felt like we had been friends forever aside from the fact that he had ambushed me earlier in the day.

Now, it was about nine at night and we were on the couch watching a rerun of Lost. Seth and Caitlyn were cuddled up on one couch while Jack and I sat on the other. He was rambling on and on about the episode and how he had already seen it dozens of times. Usually, this kind of stuff annoyed me, but I found it kind of cute the way he was so into it.

When it was over, Jack finally realized what time it was and checked his phone.

“Wow, I can’t believe it’s already ten o’clock,” he chuckled, “The guys are probably wondering where I’m at. They keep me on such a tight leash.”

I laughed. “Today was fun. It was better than I expected.” I closed the door behind me and looked up at him.

“What exactly were you expecting?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. You might’ve been a rapist or something. I didn’t know what to expect when you jumped into my car.”

He laughed. “I promise I’m not a rapist, closet murderer, or anything of that sort. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to have this much fun with you. I thought you were gonna be a bitch the whole time.”

I gasped. “No cussing. The baby can hear you.”

“Oh shit, sorry.”

I stared at him, and burst out laughing. “Maybe you should just get going.”

“Yeah, see ya.” He turned to walk away, but I called him back.

“Jack.”

“Hm?”

“Capri.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“That’s what I’m gonna name her.”

He smiled. “I love it.”

I hope he loves her.