Chapter 6

Five Months Pregnant

“You know they’re going to be suspicious, right?”

Paige looked up from her phone.

You were sitting beside her on the couch, one hand resting against your growing stomach.

“What do you mean?”

You gave her a look.

“The free pizza.”

Paige frowned.

“What about it?”

“You never offer free pizza.”

“I absolutely offer free pizza.”

“You stole half of my pizza last week.”

“That was different.”

“How?”

Paige pointed dramatically.

“I was hungry.”

You laughed.

Five months into the pregnancy, your apartment had slowly begun transforming.

Tiny clothes had appeared.

Books had started stacking up.

Stuffed animals somehow kept multiplying despite neither of you remembering buying them.

And in the room that would eventually belong to your daughter…

There were boxes.

A lot of boxes.

A crib.

A changing table.

Shelves.

Dressers.

Furniture that desperately needed to be assembled.

Unfortunately, neither of you had the time.

Or patience.

Or skill.

Especially not skill.

Paige had attempted to assemble a bookshelf two days ago.

It had ended with three missing screws and an instruction manual she was convinced had been written in another language.

Which was why she’d come up with a plan.

A questionable plan.

But a plan nonetheless.

—

Group Chat: UConn WBB

Paige: Everyone come to my apartment after practice tomorrow.

Nika: Why?

Paige: Free pizza.

Azzi: Suspicious.

Aaliyah: Extremely suspicious.

KK: What kind of pizza?

Paige: Whatever you want.

KK: I’m in.

Nika: She’s definitely hiding something.

Paige: Just come.

Ice Brady: Free food is free food.

Ashlynn: Agreed.

Azzi: This feels like a trap.

Paige: It’s not.

Nika: That’s exactly what someone planning a trap would say.

—

The next afternoon, you headed to your parents’ house for the evening.

Your mom wanted to spend time with you.

Paige had encouraged it.

Almost suspiciously enthusiastically.

“You sure you’ll be okay?”

You narrowed your eyes.

“Why are you smiling like that?”

“What?”

“Paige.”

“I love you.”

“Paige.”

“I’ll see you later.”

You laughed.

But eventually left.

The moment your car disappeared from view, Paige got to work.

—

Around six o’clock, her teammates started arriving.

The first through the door was KK.

Immediately followed by Azzi.

Then Nika.

Then Aaliyah.

Then several others.

Within minutes, the apartment was packed.

Everyone looked confused.

Especially when they realized there wasn’t actually any pizza yet.

Nika crossed her arms.

“Okay.”

Paige smiled nervously.

“Okay what?”

“Where’s the pizza?”

“Coming.”

Nika narrowed her eyes.

“You lied to us.”

“I didn’t.”

“You lured us here.”

“It worked.”

“It absolutely worked.”

The team groaned.

Paige rubbed the back of her neck.

“Before the pizza gets here…”

Every player immediately looked suspicious.

“Paige.”

“Just hear me out.”

“Paige.”

She took a deep breath.

Then finally said it.

“My wife is pregnant.”

Silence.

Complete silence.

For approximately three seconds.

Then-

“WHAT?”

The entire apartment exploded.

Everyone started talking at once.

“You’re serious?”

“Pregnant?”

“Since when?”

“How long have you known?”

“You have a wife?”

Paige pointed.

“Okay, most of you knew I had a wife.”

“Fair.”

Paige laughed.

Then smiled.

“She’s five months pregnant.”

That immediately quieted everyone down.

The realization settling in.

This wasn’t a joke.

This was real.

Azzi was the first to smile.

A genuine, happy smile.

“Paige.”

Paige looked over.

“Congratulations.”

Something about hearing that from one of her closest friends made her emotional.

“Thanks.”

Aaliyah walked over and pulled her into a hug.

Then Nika.

Then KK.

Then basically everyone.

The congratulations came one after another.

And suddenly all the anxiety Paige had been carrying for months disappeared.

Because nobody was judging.

Nobody was upset.

They were just happy for her.

—

“So what’s the catch?”

Nika asked.

Paige sighed.

“There it is.”

“I knew there was a catch.”

Everyone laughed.

Paige pointed toward the nursery.

The team followed her.

Then stopped.

Boxes everywhere.

Unassembled furniture.

Instruction manuals.

More boxes.

And somehow even more boxes.

KK immediately started laughing.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, this is bad.”

Paige groaned.

“I know.”

Aaliyah picked up a box.

“A crib?”

“Yep.”

Azzi grabbed another.

“Changing table.”

“Yep.”

Nika looked around.

“Paige.”

“Yeah?”

“Have you built any of this?”

Paige hesitated.

The hesitation answered the question.

The team collectively groaned.

“Absolutely not.”

Paige laughed.

“Look, Y/N has been doing all the hard work.”

The room immediately quieted.

Paige’s smile softened.

“She’s carrying our daughter.”

The words still made her emotional.

“She’s dealing with morning sickness, doctor’s appointments, exhaustion…”

She looked toward the nursery.

“I just wanted to do something for her.”

Nobody joked after that.

Because they could hear how much she meant it.

Paige rubbed the back of her neck.

“So.”

She pointed toward the furniture.

“Help?”

The team stared.

Then KK raised her hand.

“How much pizza are we talking?”

Paige immediately brightened.

“A ridiculous amount.”

“Define ridiculous.”

“I’ll DoorDash whatever you want.”

“Unlimited?”

“Within reason.”

“That’s not unlimited.”

The apartment erupted into laughter.

—

Two hours later, the nursery looked completely different.

The crib was built.

The changing table was assembled.

The shelves were mounted.

Furniture stood where boxes had once been.

The room was finally beginning to look like a nursery.

Paige stood in the doorway.

Speechless.

Because it looked real now.

Really real.

Their daughter would sleep here.

Grow up here.

Make memories here.

For a moment she just stared.

Then she felt someone nudge her shoulder.

Azzi.

“It looks good.”

Paige nodded.

“Yeah.”

Her voice was quiet.

Emotional.

Azzi smiled.

“She’s gonna love it.”

Paige looked around the room.

At the crib.

At the shelves.

At the tiny stuffed animals already waiting.

And for the first time, she could actually picture it.

A little girl.

Curly hair or straight.

Blue eyes or brown.

Laughing.

Playing.

Growing up.

Their daughter.

Paige smiled.

“Yeah.”

Then her smile grew.

“She is.”

And somewhere in the living room, KK shouted:

“PAIGE! THE PIZZA’S HERE!”

Immediately ruining the emotional moment.

Paige laughed.

Some things never changed.