"What?"
"But, Kaden...what about the girls? What about that redhead?"
Ah, she'd seen the photos. It was something I'd wondered about. "You mean Jess?" I asked, grinning. "She's a friend from Brooks - a friend, Tasha. She has a boyfriend. This is - this is actually kind of funny. My manager was so paranoid about sponsors thinking I was gay because I didn't go full man-slut mode in Dallas. He literally told me to show up at that event with a girl. He's kind of an-"
"But the way you were looking at her, it just-"
"Tasha, stop. Jess is a close friend but that is all we've ever been. I'll introduce you to her if you like, to her boyfriend as well. We were having fun that night, she knew she was there to make me look like a big man, we were playing it up. I should actually get my friends from Brooks to talk to you, too. They thought the same thing. That something was wrong with me because I didn't do the usual football player thing of fucking every girl I saw. They'd laugh their asses off if they knew you were asking about it right now."
Tasha closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I don't even have the right to be asking you any of this," she said. "It's not like we were together. I had no claim on you."
"Yeah," I agreed. "You're technically right, you had no official claim - neither of us did. But unofficial? It's always been you for me, Natasha Greeley. Always. I think even before high school, maybe back to that day I found you all indignant outside the grocery store covered in spaghetti sauce. It's always been you. I didn't choose it - in fact, it's been a huge pain in the ass - but I can't get away from it."
"Neither can I," Tasha said quietly, looking up into my eyes.
We stayed like that for a few seconds, just looking at each other, watching, reveling in it. And then, doing her usual thing of behaving the exact opposite of the way I expect, she started to cry. Really cry. Her eyes welled up and spilled over and she slid down the side of the car until she was on the ground, face in her hands, sobbing hard.
"Tasha?" I said, kneeling down in front of her. "Tasha! What's going on? What is this about?"
I had some idea of what it might be about but that - it was something I couldn't believe, something I couldn't even imagine how I would react to. But Tasha's distress was obvious and I had to say something - anything.
"You know," I whispered, leaning in close and wrapped my arms around her as my heart thumped so hard in my chest I felt sure she could hear it. "My manager called me a few days ago and said he heard a rumor."
Tasha looked up at me. "A rumor?" She asked, her voice halting and shaky with tears.
"Yeah, a rumor. He said a tabloid-"
"You have a son."
She was talking loud enough, it wasn't that I didn't hear her. For some reason, it didn't sink in, didn't click in my brain. I plowed ahead. "Yeah, he said there was a story that, um, that a girl-"
"Kaden," Tasha took my face in her hands. "You have a son. I know I should have told you - I meant to, I was going to, and I know you're going to hate me for not telling you, but it's true and I don't know how else to say it now it's gotten so late."
"I have a... what?" I asked. "A son?"
English is the only language I speak, but somehow that word - 'son' - sounded nonsensical.
"Yes," Tasha hung her head again. "A son. His name is Henry. He looks just like you, Kaden."
It felt like someone had suddenly sucked all the oxygen out of the air. A roaring sound in my ears was the only thing I could hear. Was I dreaming? I sat down on the ground, shaking my head.
"Tasha," I started. "What are you saying - a son? A baby? You - have a baby?"
"Yes. I'm so sorry you're finding out like this, Kaden. You don't deserve it. I was so scared, so worried you would be angry or upset or that you would be with someone else, it's my fault. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
I didn't have a single clue what to say. What came out of my mouth was: "Where is he?" Because it still seemed unreal, impossible.
She cracked a tiny, fleeting little smile at that comment. "He's at home with my family. I didn't want to just - show up with a baby, you know? Without telling you first?"
So it was real. Tasha wasn't the type to play practical jokes and even if she had been it would have been the cruelest practical joke of all time. The only possible explanation was that she was telling me the truth, that she had a baby. That she had my baby. I still couldn't get my mind around it. 'My' baby.
"I want to see him." The words came out unprompted.
"Yes, of course you can see him."
"Right now. I want to see him right now."