Justin had been in a lot of awkward, uncomfortable situations in his life, but this one certainly took the cake.

They didn’t even finish the rest of their meal because no one would stop talking and asking questions and Justin didn’t want to talk about it while they were in public.  He was pissed that Trace would drop that kind of news while he was at dinner with his parents and his girlfriend, and all Justin really wanted to do was punch Trace in the face.

His mother wouldn’t stop staring at him and Gina wouldn’t even look at him.  The papers had been passed around the table after Trace’s little declaration, and Justin didn’t even need to look at them to know what they said.

He was going to be a father.

That thought stuck in his throat and made it difficult to breathe. 

He had tried to forget about Adah while he was out on tour.  He hardly knew the girl and he knew even less about being a father.  Thinking about her and the situation made him anxious and he really didn’t need to be distracted while he was out on tour.  Of course, all Gina did was mention Trace and his new baby, which made it pretty difficult to forget about Adah and…his baby.

“Are you going to explain any of this to us, Justin?”  It wasn’t a surprise that his mother was the first to break the silence.  “How could you get a girl pregnant and not even mention it to us?”

“I didn’t really know if the baby was mine until tonight.”  Was his response, even though he knew it was a lame one.

“Right, but you had to have had an idea.  I mean, you slept with the girl, didn’t you?”

“Obviously.”

“Don’t give me attitude.  You’re not in a position to be upset at the moment.”  He finally took a chance to look at his mother and there were tear stains on her cheeks and her eyes were wet.  He felt like an ass, but he also felt like he should be getting just a little sympathy.  He had no idea what he was doing but all anyone could do was attack him.

“What’s going on, Justin?  I think we deserve an explanation, at least.”  Gina spoke for the first time, her usually bubbly voice was flat and thick with tears.  He knew he should have said something to her from the beginning, but she’d been away shooting the film and he wasn’t sure where to start.  He wasn’t sure where to start with anyone, but all three pairs of eyes were waiting for him to give answers.

“All right…”  This was going to be a long night.

~*~

“Adah! There’s a gorgeous hunk of man-meat standing at our door asking for you!”  Sam’s voice carried through the living room and in to the kitchen where Adah started to blush.  She dropped the hand towel she was holding and rushed out to grab Brennan before Sam had too much time with him.

“Hey Brennan, you’ll have to forgive my roommate here.  We don’t let her out much.”  Adah was happy to see Brennan was smiling, and she was even happier to spot the yellow Lab sitting anxiously at his side.  “And who’s this?”  She crouched as much as her belly would allow and started to scratch the dog’s chin, getting attacked with kisses.

“This is Ranger.  Sorry about the drool.”  Brennan tugged on his leash, hoping that bringing his dog wasn’t a terrible idea.  But Adah seemed smitten with the puppy and he was starting praise himself for bringing Ranger.  As strange as it sounded, Brennan was pretty nervous to be seeing Adah again.  He’d truly enjoyed getting to meet her before and he hoped that they’d have a chance to sit and talk some more.

“Don’t worry, Adah’s used to drool, Sam does it all the time.”  Brett came into the living room, shaking hands with Brennan.  “I’m Brett, the third Stooge.” 

“Hey, I’m Brennan, the new neighbor.”  He gestured to the door across the hall.  “This is Ranger.”

“Well come on in, man.  Don’t mind the girls, they’ll be hanging all over that dog for the rest of the night, especially Adah.”  Brennan walked further into the apartment, allowing Adah and Sam to walk off with his dog while he happily accepted the cold beer from Brett.  “How’s the move going?”

“Not too bad.  Just trying to go one box at a time.”

“Adah told us she’d run into you while you were moving.”  Brett eyed the other man carefully, his protective side starting to come out.  Adah was already in one predicament with the baby on the way, he didn’t want some sleazy neighbor coming into her life and messing things up even more.

“Yeah, she helped me with a box.  She’s a really nice girl, I’m glad she invited me over tonight.”  Brett watched Brennan watch Adah.  “She’s great with Ranger.”

“Yeah, she’s a dog trainer.  Give that dog and hour with Ads and you won’t even recognize him.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”  He took a long swallow of beer, unsure of whether he should ask the question that had been weighing on his mind.  “So…is Adah’s boyfriend coming?”  He obviously knew that Adah didn’t have a boyfriend; she’d already told him that.  But he wasn’t really sure how to approach the topic of her being pregnant.

“She doesn’t have one.”  Brett turned to stare at the other man, knowing what was on his mind.  “It’s Adah’s story to tell, but she is having this baby on her own.  Anything more than that, she’s going to have to give the details.”

“Oh.”

The two men were left in a relatively awkward silence until Ranger came barreling back into the room with the two girls close behind.  Adah seemed to glow, the smile lighting up her face. 

“Sorry, you must be hungry. I’m just having so much fun with your dog.  I’ll finish up with dinner.”  She brushed past them, disappearing into the kitchen as Brennan’s eyes followed.

He was really unsure about what was going through his head.  He was instantly attracted to Adah when they met in the hallway, but when he discovered he was pregnant it changed things a little.  He had just moved to L.A. from New York and he wasn’t really looking for anything serious.  Getting involved with a pregnant woman seemed serious.  Then again, he had no idea about what her story was and he wouldn’t know unless he asked.  They’d just met and he was only going on physical attraction, but they were going to be neighbors and he’d be an idiot not to get to know her better.

“You’re thinking too hard, just enjoy the night.”  Brett’s voice broke Brennan from his thoughts.  He looked up to see Brett handing him a fresh beer and he offered the other man a smile.

“Sorry, just a lot on my mind, I guess.”

“Yeah, I can tell.  But Adah is a really good cook and she’s making some of her best dishes.  You should probably get in there before Sam eats it all.”  Brennan laughed and Brett gave him a look, “I’m not kidding.  She’s tiny, but Sam can put it away like no other.”

With that, the two men made their way into the kitchen amidst the sounds of laughter and the smells of something really savory cooking.  So far, Brennan couldn’t complain about the move.

~*~

“I had a great time tonight, thanks for having me over.”  Adah walked Brennan across the hall, Ranger at their sides.

“I’m glad you came.  I had a great time, too.”  She smiled at him, running her hands through Ranger’s fur as they reached his door.  “Just stop by or give me a call when you want some help with training this one.  I’ll be happy to give you some pointers.”

“Thanks.”  Brennan grabbed his keys, reluctant to leave.  “I had a great time.”

Adah laughed, “You said that already.”

“I did.  Sorry.”  He rubbed the back of his head, a move that made Adah instantly think of Justin and her good mood faltered slightly.  “I guess I’m a little nervous.”

Willing her focus back to the man in front of her, Adah smiled.  “Eh, don’t worry about it.  I’ll see you soon?”

“Absolutely.”  He leaned over and gave Adah a light kiss on the cheek, making her blush.  “Goodnight Adah.”

“Night.”

She waved at him as he entered his apartment, Ranger happily trotting inside.  With a deep breath, Adah made her way across the hall and back into her own apartment.  She had such an amazing night just talking and laughing with Brett, Sam, and Brennan.  It was unfortunate that Justin kept popping into her mind just when she thought she’d forgotten him.

Sometime after dinner Adah had checked her phone and found a couple of texts from Trace, telling her that he’d given the paternity test results to Justin and now Justin’s mom wanted to talk with Adah and meet her sometime.  Justin’s lawyers also wanted to set up a meeting because arrangements needed to be made.  Nothing had come from Justin himself.  If Adah were being honest, she’d have to admit that she was disappointed about that fact.  No that Justin really owed her anything,  but she was hoping that with the news that he really was the father, he’d make a little bit more of an effort to get to know the mother of his child.  He could just be busy, she reminded herself, but it didn’t really help.

While Brennan had presented one of the best looking distractions Adah had ever seen, she still couldn’t help but think about the fact that her dream about having a family didn’t look like the reality she was in.  She found herself thinking about what it might be like if she and Justin got to know each other and ended up together, making it Mommy, Daddy, and Baby.  It was a stretch, she knew, but she couldn’t help herself.

Laughter broke Adah from her thoughts and she decided to ignore the texts and forget about Justin for the night.  She was in a good mood and she’d had a great time…she wasn’t about to let Justin ruin it.  He’s already turned her life upside down; she wasn’t going to let him take this night, too.

Of course, she knew that once she woke up in the morning she was going to have to face this reality head on.

But not tonight.