One
Justin
I stare in the mirror as I slide my snapback on my head. My game is on point tonight, and I’m looking forward to the attention it’s going to bring my way. I have not had sex in a week, and that’s the longest I like to go without it. It never takes me long to find a willing woman; fuck, some nights I can bring home more than one, making the night even better. Our opening day win earlier tonight will sweeten the celebrating I am about to do.
I grab my phone from the kitchen counter, hitting the home button to see if I’ve missed anything. A few missed calls from an unknown number is all I find. I slip my phone into my front pocket and my wallet into my back one as I grab my keys and head for the garage. I hit the button on the wall, opening the large double door just as my doorbell rings. What the hell? I am not expecting anyone, so I step outside from the open garage to see who might be here at eight pm.
“Hello?” I call out. I take in the piece of shit car parked in my driveway and the woman who’s standing at my front door. “Can I help you?”
“JJ, I’m sorry to just show up like this, but I can’t do this anymore. I didn’t have anywhere else to bring her. I’ve put formula, diapers, and a few changes of clothes in the diaper bag,” she rambles on, and it is then I notice a baby carrier with a baby in it next to her feet.
“Excuse me?” I stammer as I realize the woman standing in front of me is Erica. We hooked up a couple of times last year. “What the fuck is going on here, Erica?” I demand.
“JJ,” she sighs, like I should know what the fuck is going on. “This is Evelyn. She’s yours. I’m sorry I never told you about her before now. I was trying hard to do this on my own, but I just can’t anymore. Everything you need, including my cell number is in her bag,” she tells me. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go,” she says as she takes off for her car. I watch in complete shock as she runs for her car and peels out of my driveway, leaving the baby and diaper bag on my doorstep.
My attention is pulled from the empty road to the sounds of the baby crying on my doorstep. I don’t know the first thing about babies. I’m only around them when I’m at my best friend and teammate, Derek’s place. I fish my phone from my pocket, juggling it in my haste to get it out to call him for help. The baby is getting pissed as the seconds tick by. I wander over to her, picking the seat and bag up, and carry them into my house before I attract the attention of my neighbors.
“This better be important,” Derek barks into the phone.
“It’s an emergency, dude. I don’t know what the fuck to do,” I ramble into the phone.
“Slow down, what’s going on?” He pauses. “Where are you?” he asks.
“Fuck, man. I am freaking out. A chick I hooked up with last year just showed up on my doorstep with a baby in hand and said I was her dad. Said she couldn’t raise the baby and then fucking left. What the hell am I going to do? I know jack shit about babies, and how do I even know if she’s telling the truth?”
“Holy shit. JJ, calm down. I’m on my way,” Jillian, Derek’s wife, says into the phone. I am obviously on speaker now, so she’s heard everything I just said.
“Dude, what the fuck,” Derek says. “Just hold tight, one of us will be over in a few,” he says before the line goes dead.
I pace the living room as I wait for Jillian or Derek to arrive. The baby is still crying from her seat across the room, where I set it down. I don’t even know how to take her out of the contraption, hold her properly, or get her to stop crying. Fuck. My mind starts to race as I try and figure out why Erica would do this and what the fuck I’m supposed to do with an infant.
I see headlights flash just as I hear the engine of Derek’s truck turn off in my driveway. He lives in the same gated community as I do, which reminds me, I’ll need to call up to the security gate tomorrow and find out how the fuck Erica got past it and to my house.
“What took you so long to get here?” I ask as Derek opens his truck door.
“I called Riley to come stay with the girls, but then we decided she would come with me rather than Jillian,” he says as they both get out of the truck.
I lead us into the house. “I have no idea what the fuck to do. Help!”
“First off, calm the fuck down, dude. Babies feed off your stress,” Derek states. We both watch Derek’s sister, Riley, as she hurries over to the car seat and pulls Evelyn from it.
As soon as she cradles Evelyn in her arms, she immediately starts to calm down.
“What’s her name?” Riley asks.
“Um, Evelyn is what Erica told me.”
“Hi, Evie,” Riley coos at the baby, and she stops crying almost immediately.
“Holy shit, you’re the baby whisper,” I state, amazed that she was able to calm her down so quickly.
“Not really,” she says. “Did her mother leave you with anything? Bottles? Formula? Diapers? Clothes?”
“She left that bag.” I point at the diaper bag sitting on the coffee table. “What the fuck am I supposed to do with a baby?” I ask the room at large. “I don’t even know how old she is.”
“If I had to guess, she looks to be about three months old,” Derek says.
We watch as Riley walks over to the bag and rummages through it. She pulls out a bottle and can of formula and walks to the kitchen, which is off the living room. She comes back a few minutes later with a bottle made and the baby sucking hungrily at it.
“Looks like she was hungry,” Riley tells us as she takes a seat on the loveseat.
“So, do you have any information on the mother?” Derek asks a few moments later.
“Um, some,” I tell him. I pull my hat off and run my fingers through my hair, before replacing it back on my head. “Her name is Erica. We hooked up last year. She left me her cell number but said that she just couldn’t do this on her own anymore and that it was my turn.”
“That’s pretty fucked up,” Derek murmurs. “I think, tomorrow, you need to call your attorney and get the ball rolling on a paternity test. Maybe try tracking down this Erica chick and finding out as much as you can about the baby.”
“What am I going to do with her when I go to practice? Games? Road trips?” I ask, freaking out again.
“Well, if Erica is truly out of the picture, you’re going to have to hire a nanny.”
“I can help,” Riley interjects. “I haven’t found a job yet, so I’m available if you need someone to watch her.”
“There you go. Problem solved, for now,” Derek says. “There isn’t anyone Jillian and I trust with our kids more than Riley. She’s the perfect person to help you until you can figure shit out.”
“Thanks,” I say, blowing out a huge breath. “I still can’t believe that Erica just dumped the baby here and left. Who would do that kind of thing?”
“I don’t know, but maybe it’s for the best,” Derek states.
“Do you have a guest bedroom?” Riley asks.
“Yeah, let me show you where it is.” I lead her down the hall, Derek grabs the diaper bag and follows behind, as well. I’m guessing we’ll need whatever is in that bag for the night, so it’s a good thing he grabbed it. I show Riley into my guest room, and she takes a seat on the chair in the corner as Evelyn continues to suck greedily on the bottle. I watch as Evelyn finishes it and Riley pulls it from her mouth. Riley turns her in her arms, laying her up on her shoulder, and starts patting her back. I have seen Jillian and Derek do the same thing with their girls, so it isn’t completely foreign to me.