Papi Chris

You rolled your eyes but as you looked back to Zabdiel, you had caught him staring at you. He was tall with blonde hair and stark dark eyebrows. You blushed under his gaze and tried to tear your eyes away from him but you were trapped as he walked over to you. The night went by so quickly. He introduced himself and the next thing you remember was ripping his shirt open in your hotel room. He had spoken in English for most of the night but as soon as you started touching each other, he couldn’t help but let the Spanish fall from his lips. It was a long night and you didn’t fall asleep into the early hours of the morning. When you had woken up, you expected to be alone but you felt tight arms around you and you couldn’t pull away. Grumbling as you struggled to move from him, Zabdiel let go lightly. 

“Sorry.” he mumbled as you moved away.

You sat up in the bed. “That’s okay.” Reaching over you grabbed your phone checking in on your friend. 

“Do you have much on today?” he asked sitting up with you. He spoke slowly making sure that he was making sense when he spoke in English. 

You were unsure why he was still there, it was supposed to be one night. You didn’t want him to think this was anything more than that. Letting the thoughts rush out of your head, deeming yourself as dramatic you smiled up at him. You began reciting your itinerary but Zabdiel shook his head, “No. You shouldn’t go there.”

“What?” you asked surprised.

“I don’t know if this is out of line,” he shrugged, “but I can be your tour guide or something. I know what you should see. After all, I'm from Puerto Rico.” You remembered the smile he gave you because it hit you in your chest. 

“Y-yeah. That sounds good.”

You had three weeks left of your trip. The entire three weeks were spent with Zabdiel. Quickly you were both wrapped up in a holiday romance. Both of you knew where you stood, it was sex and company. Once you would jump on your plane home, that was it. You were done. You had discussed the rule that you would delete each other's numbers once you said goodbye at the end of your trip and refused to share any social media. He picked you up in your hotel every morning and took you and your friend around with the guy that she had slept with that night.

You hadn’t expected your feelings for Zabdiel to grow so rapidly in the three weeks. The first week was casual, he had an arm around your shoulders as he showed you around the city. It was late into the night when you thought you might have feelings for Zabdiel. You had just had sex for the third time that night when he stood up to grab a snack.

“It’s a hotel Zab, I don’t have snacks.” you laughed slipping a dress over yourself. 

You weren’t wearing anything underneath and Zabdiel walked over to you, his hands wandering underneath your dress so he could grab your ass. Resting your head in his chest you blushed as he hit your ass lightly.

“Come on,” he smiled pulling away, “room service.” Lifting up the menu the both of you looked through it finding something to suppress your appetite. As he flipped through the pages, you watched him. The street lights entered the hotel room through the window brightening his face as he concentrated on the options. Looking at him, you thought to yourself, if this was another time in another place maybe this would be more than what it was. Zabdiel caught you staring at him and smirked, “you like the view?”

“Only a little,” you joked, moving to snatch the menu from his hands. Zabdiel laughed at you before reciting his order. As you flicked through the pages, he moved to the shower before you called to order.

The second week with Zabdiel, you barely saw your friend. The both of you choosing to spend time with your holiday flings instead. Beach trips, picnics and dates filling up all your time. 

“I’ve never really done this before,” Zabdiel commented, as he laid a towel out on the sand. 

“Gone to the beach?” you asked bewildered. 

He laughed, “No. I don’t really do dates.” Rolling over onto his stomach, he supported himself on his forearms as you laid on your back. Your arm rested on your forehead, in an attempt to shield the sun. 

“You don’t do dates?”

His face scrunched together almost in disgust. “I’m not really looking for anything serious so what’s the point in dating, you know?” 

You knew that you weren’t going to enter a long distance relationship but his statement still hit you in the heart. 

“Yeah, I know. Instead,” you began joking as you leaned forward. Your face almost pressed to his, “Instead, you rather find girls on holidays that you can have quick flings with.”

Zabdiel laughed leaning in forward for a kiss. Sharing a sweet and passionate kiss, Zabdiel pulled away. “This quick fling is turning out to be a lot better than I thought,” he looked down to your lips biting his own.

“You’re just sweet talking to me.” you grumbled pushing his shoulder.

In your second week with Zabdiel, you began learning about the real him. At least that’s what you thought. He spoke about his parents divorce, how he doesn’t want to get married and that he has never been in love and never thinks he will be. You listened to everything he had to say, sharing your own opinions about love and life. 

“So you really think you will get married one day?” he asked with his head resting on your legs as you relaxed on the couch. 

“Yeah I really do. Love is real. Why wouldn’t it be?” Stroking his hair behind his ear you looked down to him. 

“I don’t think it’s that it isn’t real,” he commented, looking up at you. “I just think it comes and goes. I’ll never fall in love. It just ends in pain.”

You grabbed his chin affectionately, “you’re just too cynical,” you joked.

In your third week, things became bitter sweet. You were excited to be spending time with Zabdiel but knew that your time together was coming to a rapid end. Sadly, he picked you up outside your hotel, his arms wide as you walked into them. You didn’t want him to know how upset you were, worried he would pull away as soon as he sensed your real feelings. As much as you knew that you had real feelings, a big part of you was hoping that as soon as you arrived home you would move on from your summer romance. Zabdiel looked at you with the same sad eyes you had.       

“One more week.” he said meekly. You didn’t respond, instead you just pouted sadly. Zabdiel smiled back at you. “We better make the most of it.” he winked, taking your hand.

You didn’t realise that you could fall in love with someone in just three weeks but you did. You were so in love with Zabdiel but you hadn’t realised it just yet. Another few days passed when the feelings hit you all at once. It was late at night when you were eating at a restaurant with Zabdiel. He had walked off to head to the bathroom when you reached for your phone. You had to tell your friend how you felt.

‘I think I’m in love. Genuinely in love. What do I do?’

She suggested you speak to Zabdiel about keeping his number, staying in contact if either of you are in the same place again one day but you aren’t sure you have the confidence to propose the idea. As you packed on your final day in Puerto Rico, Zabdiel offered to keep you company. Shuffling through your drawers, you heard your phone beep next to him.

“Can you check that?” you asked.

Zabdiel took your phone and began reading the message when you realised it might be your friend. Worried he might see your confession only a few texts above, you quickly leaped over. Zabdiel cleared his throat uncomfortably and you knew that he had seen it. You snatched the phone checking your own message as Zabdiel stood up acting normal but both of you could feel the tension in the room. Responding to the text you received, you moved back to your bags folding more clothes. 

Zabdiel moved towards your crouched position on the floor, pulling you up so you were standing. He looked at you smirking and for a brief moment you thought he might confess that he felt the same way. He looked into your eyes and you swear if he had told you he loved you, you would have cried but instead he grabbed your legs lifting you so you were wrapped around him. Pulling you to the bed, he diffused the tense situation with sex. You told yourself he hadn’t seen the messages, if he did surely he would have said something. After that, you refused to entertain the idea that you might ask him to stay in contact. If he wanted to be with you, he could have made the move but you knew where he stood on relationships and there was nothing else to it. 

As you waited in front of the departure gate, Zabdiel held your face, his forehead pressed to yours. You so desperately wanted to tell him how you felt but you didn’t want to ruin the last three weeks with real emotions. Your best friend tugged on your shirt after saying her goodbyes but Zabdiel tightened his grip. You had tears in your eyes and in an attempt to cover how you felt you wiped them as soon as they fell hoping he wouldn’t notice. 

“This is it, huh?” you smiled but it didn’t quite reach your eyes.

Zabdiel looked down at you, his heart breaking. He had never felt this before and just nodded in response. Unsure of exactly how to explain just how much he meant to you, you grabbed his face giving him the most passionate kiss of your life before quickly pulling away and turning to the gate. You kept telling yourself, ‘don’t turn around, don’t turn around,’ but you couldn’t help yourself. As you turned, Zabdiel was right behind you, your face brightened with excitement hoping that this would be the great confession.

Zabdiel cleared his throat uncomfortably, “my number,” he said.

“What?” you questioned.

“My number,” he repeated pointing to your phone, “I already deleted yours.” 

“Oh, right.” Pulling out your phone you began to find his contact in your phone. Looking at the delete contact button on your phone for a little too long, you press the button. “All done.” you grumbled slightly annoyed and turned one final time. Before you could run away Zabdiel was grabbing your hand and pulling you in for one final kiss.

“I’ll never forget you.” he mumbled. 

His sweet comment had almost erased what he had just made you do and you said the only thing that you truly felt, “Never.” 

You had only been home for a few days when you realised your period was late. You hadn’t had your period in almost two months but you were always skipping months and you had thought it was just your body being unpredictable. Concern washed over you when your friend suggested you were pregnant but you refused to believe it. How could you be pregnant? You had been so careful during your trip. Your friend stood with you while you took the test. As soon as the test came back positive you made an appointment with a doctor. The doctor predicted you had conceived the baby between the dates a few weeks earlier. Coinciding with your time in Puerto Rico and your face paled. You had no way to contact Zabdiel to tell him he was the father of your child. He had destroyed his ability to know when he forced you to delete his number. 

You wanted to honor your daughter's father so you called her Zoelle. Seven years had passed when you met Chris. It was your friend's birthday and you had to bring Zoelle along after her babysitter cancelled at the last minute. As soon as you walked in, Zoelle ran off into the apartment playing around with some of the toys she had left last time she visited. Chris immediately spotted the seven year old at the adult party and crouched down to her level, playing with her instead of hanging out with everyone else for most of the night.

“What’s your name hermosa?”

“I’m Zoelle.” she smiled, “this is Madison.” She showed Chris her doll proudly.

“Nice to meet you Madison.” 

“Do you want to play with me and Madison?” your daughter offered. 

You had been distracted by your friend and when you heard Zo trying to trap him into a game so you squatted down. “Honey, I’m sure that,” you looked to Chris, “sorry, what was your name?”

“It’s Chris mum!” your daughter whined.

Chris laughed at Zoelle while you looked at her in surprise. She normally didn’t have so much attitude, “I’m sure that Chris doesn’t want to play with Madison. Why don’t I play with you and Madison?” you offered trying to let Chris off.

“I can play with Madison.” he nodded. “I’m sure you don’t get to hang out with friends. Always busy with this little one,” he smiled ruffling Zoelle’s hair. “Go on. I got her.” You were apprehensive at first. Nervous to leave your daughter with a stranger but you were in your friend's apartment and would be only a few feet away. 

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” he smiled, taking Madison from Zo’s hands.

You hadn’t realised how much time had passed when you rushed back towards them. It had been almost two hours but you were so happy to be talking to your friends without Zoelle’s prying ears that you had taken advantage of the situation.  

“Thanks for looking after her,” you smiled. “I didn’t mean to leave you with her for so long.”

“No. No. We had fun. Right Zo?” he smiled down tapping her nose. 

“So much fun mama!” she jumped into your arms excited. “Can Chris come over to play sometime?”

“Oh I’m sure Chris is busy.” you laughed.

“I’m not that busy.” he shrugged.

Your friend was close behind you, taking Zoelle in her arms. “Hi my angel. I haven’t seen you all night!” she smiled walking off.

You were left alone with Chris, “oh did you want to come over and play with her?” you asked puzzled by his response.

“Well if it means I can see you again.” he flirted.

Your face turned red. You hadn’t been hit on in a while and usually when guys did hit on you, they weren’t aware you were a single mother. 

“Oh,” you said out of surprise.

“Maybe next week sometime?” he asked.

“Mmmhmm. I’ll um, give you my number?”

“Yeah.” he nodded smiling. 

That was the start of you and Chris. He came over a week later bringing you a large bunch of roses and a small bunch for Zoelle. Instantly, he gained a few brownie points for his sweet gesture. 

“These are for you,” he offered, passing you the flowers. 

“You didn’t have to bring anything.” you blushed as you moved to find a vase. 

Before he could respond, Zoelle was tugging on his jeans pulling him to her play corner. You didn’t have a spare chance to talk to him until she fell asleep in the middle of watching a film with her head in his lap. You made a move to pick her up but Chris held your hands back.

“I got her.” he smiled lifting her with a hand under her legs and another under her head. Leading him to her bedroom, you watched him settle her onto the bed before wrapping her tightly under the blankets. Once you had shut the door closed, Chris looked at you smiling. “Is it wrong that I was hoping she would fall asleep? I wanted to have a chance to talk with you alone. I felt weird hitting on her mum in front of her.”

You chuckled at his comment. “I don’t think it’s wrong,” you blushed. “Do you want dessert?” You had strategically made sure not to offer dessert when Zo was around hoping that you could make Chris stick around longer after she had gone to sleep. Luckily for you, he didn’t need much convincing. The two of you sat together on the couch, stuffing your face with a frozen apple pie that you shoved in the oven and some ice cream. Chris burst into laughter. “What?” you asked, becoming self-conscious. Leaning over he wiped your nose showing you his finger that had ice cream and cinnamon on it. “Oh gosh,” you blushed embarrassed.

“It’s cute.” he commented.

“Whatever,” you rolled your eyes, putting your bowl down. “Tell me more about this band?”

“Right so,” he started going into the entire story from La Banda to now.

“And you just met these guys on the show?” you asked, surprised.

“Mmhmm. They’re like my brothers. All of them.” he nodded, taking another spoonful of dessert, “Tell me about being a mother.”

“Wow. I haven’t had a date in years because I’m a mother and here you are wanting to know more about it. I’m suspicious,” you joked.

Chris laughed, “come on,” he urged.

“I was young when I went on a trip with my friend. We had met these guys and I guess it was just a big holiday romance,” you tried to skim over the parts about Zabdiel. Your relationship with him had always felt like ‘the one who got away’ and reminiscing hurt you more than it should. “We exchanged numbers when we were there but we deleted each other’s numbers just before I jumped on the plane. I came back home and found out I was pregnant. I was really surprised. I knew I had to have the baby. I think I was being selfish. Almost like wanting to hold onto the romance with something so permanent.” you confessed. Clearing your throat uncomfortably, you muttered, “I’ve never told anyone that.”

Chris moved closer, “keep going.”

“Uhh. I had Zo and that was it. My whole life became about her. I never wanted anything different, you know? I didn’t care about dating or finding someone.”

“Do you still not care about finding someone?” he asked for his own benefit.

The both of you were sitting so close to each other, you were surprised that you hadn’t turned into your high school self who would giggle as soon as a guy was touching you. 

“I think as she grew older I realised that I still want to find someone. Just someone who loves her as much as they love me.”

You were surprised you were being so open with Chris. It had been years since you were this open with anyone let alone someone you were attracted to. You wanted to make a move to kiss him but you weren’t sure what to do. Before you could come up with anything, Chris looked down to your lips.

“You still have some ice cream on your face.” he smiled.

Your face turned red again, “oh gosh, where?” you began wiping your cheeks in an attempt to get rid of any food.

“I got you,” he smiled leaning forward, a hand settling on your cheek so he could bring you closer. Chris pressed his lips to yours, kissing you so softly it barely felt like you were kissing. In a desperate plea for more you pushed yourself against him further. 

That was all it took for you to open yourself up completely to Chris. You had spent almost every day together after that. He would come over to surprise Zo and play with her but he was under strict rules not to kiss you infront of her.

“I just don’t want to introduce you as anything more than a friend for now,” you explained.

Chris completely understood your reasons and accepted them without question. Chris had always been understanding of your pressures and responsibilities as a single mother. One day, you were cleaning up after Zo, the stresses of being a single mother overwhelming you when your doorbell rang. Rushing to the door, your hair was up and you were still in your pajamas. Chris was on the other side of the door with some balloons for Zo. You were surprised and almost shut the door in his face, embarrassed by your appearance. 

“Surprise!” he smiled excited. He wasn’t expecting your reaction when you burst into tears. The day had been stressful and seeing Chris was a release of all your pent up emotions. “Hey, hey princesa. What’s wrong?”

You had been dating for a month at this point and you wished the ground could have swallowed you whole. 

“N-nothing. I’m being silly.” you sobbed.

“Mama?” Zo asked, appearing behind you.

You kept your back to her, not wanting her to see you cry. Quickly, Chris bounced into action.

“There’s my favourite girl!” he widened his arms and she ran towards him. “Look what I bought you.” he tied the balloons to her wrist and her smile was so bright, he could feel his heart melt. “Why don’t we watch a movie, yeah? Why don’t you go choose one, me and your mum will come soon okay?”

“Okay!” she smiled running off, the balloons trailing behind her.

Standing up from his crouched position, you turned to him letting him pull you into his arms. Kissing the top of your head, his breath fanned down your back calming you down. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, rubbing the back of your head with his large palm.

“I haven’t even showered today. I just need a break.” you sobbed. “You’re here and I look like a tragic mess.”

“You look beautiful.” he smiled. “Go get ready. I’ll watch her.”

“Are you sure?”

“You don’t have to do this alone. Not anymore. Take a bath. Go relax.” 

It was the first time you really thought maybe you could fall in love with Chris. The last man you had been in love with was Zabdiel and it had been years ago. It was pathetic that you still cared so deeply for him. Chris was beginning to tear him away from your heart and you were grateful. You had rapidly begun growing concerned that Zo would figure out something was happening between the two of you. Chris constantly reminded you she was too young to even consider it.

“Babygirl, she’s seven!” he laughed.

He had pulled you into the hallway, pushed you against the wall and kissed you while Zo was watching a movie in the other room. 

“What if she catches us?” you ask.

“I’ll say I was doing CPR,” he shrugged, leaning down to kiss you again. Giggling you grabbed his shirt letting him run his hands down your body. “I was thinking,” he said, his lips still moving with yours.

“Mmm?” you responded.

“The boys are all flying in next week, maybe you could meet them.” 

You pulled away, “you want me to meet your friends?”

“Yeah I do.” he spoke proudly. 

“Okay.” you smiled brightly.

“Mama!” Zo called out. Chris leaped away from you and the two of you moved back to the room to see what she needed.

A week had passed and before you knew it, it was time to meet Chris’ friends. You had made your best friend come over to help you choose an outfit.

“What does it matter what you wear?” she laughed.

“I want his friends to think I’m hot so that Chris is proud.” you smiled.

Your friend rolled her eyes but stood up to help you. Chris picked you up driving you back to his apartment while your friend looked after Zo for the night so that you could go out without worrying about her. Zo almost loved your best friend as much as she loved you so you knew that she wouldn’t mind being left alone with her. 

“You know Zo could have come? Richard has a daughter too, they would have loved her there.”

“I know,” you nodded. “Richard’s one of your bandmates?”

“Mmhmm.” You were helping Chris plate up some food when the doorbell rang, “I got it,” he mumbled. You heard their voices greet each other excitedly. The four boys were meant to be arriving together. “I missed you!” Chris shouted. The boys all laughed as you nervously walked over to them.

“This must be the girl!” Richard smiled.

Joel and Erick introduced themselves quickly when you realised one was missing.

“Where’s Zabdiel?” Chris asked.

Your face fell at the name. “Zabdiel?” you questioned.

“I told you there’s four.”

“Mmhmm. Yep.” you smiled brushing off the effect of hearing his name. You knew it wouldn’t be your Zabdiel. How could it be possible? You had been surprised to hear his name but continued your conversation with Joel and Erick as Richard explained that Zabdiel had been running late and said he would drive himself. 

You were sitting on the couch. It happened in slow motion. The doorbell rang and you stood up with the rest of the boys. You were looking at Richard and talking as all of you walked to the door. You were engrossed in the conversation but still needed to greet Chris’ friend Zabdiel. After all, they were all here to meet you. You heard his voice before you saw him. 

Richard’s voice faded into nothing when Zabdiel said, “hey, el verdadero bebe.”

Your head snapped over to him and you could feel your walls crashing around you. Here he was. Zabdiel. The man you had been pining after for years standing in front of you at your boyfriend's apartment. Your boyfriend was introducing you to the father of your child.

“Ayyyy!” Chris laughed pulling him in for a hug. 

As Zabdiel wrapped his arms around Chris, he looked past his shoulder briefly seeing all the boys. His eyes skimmed past you and quickly back in surprise. He pulled away from Chris rushing to you, the boys looked puzzled as he grabbed your shoulders and hugged you. 

“My gosh,” he breathed out, “What are you doing here? I thought I would never-” he stopped himself as he looked around the room at everyone's faces. He saw the awkwardness of the boys and his desperate eyes saw you looking at him in shock, unsure what to do.

Chris walked to your side putting an arm around your shoulders, “do you know each other?” 

Zabdiel’s face fell as he looked between you both, finally putting together all the pieces of the puzzle. 

“We’re here to meet your girlfriend. Th-This is your girlfriend?”

“Yeah.” Chris responded. You were still in shock, looking at him unable to move. “How do you two know each other?” he asked again. 

Before you could answer Zabdiel did for you. “Uhh, we met when she was in Puerto Rico like seven or eight years ago, right?” he asked. 

You knew Chris was about to put the pieces of the puzzle together but all you could do was watch. Zabdiel smiled pretending that everything was normal but the look in his eyes proved to everyone there was more to the story. Chris took a step away from you in shock as he looked back and forth between you and Zabdiel. He pointed a finger between the two of you. 

“Zoelle.” he uttered out. You turned to face Chris but you weren’t sure what to do. Your hands shaking with all the emotions flowing through your body. Anger, hurt, relief, love. “Zoelle is seven.”

“Who’s Zoelle?” Richard asked. 

Chris looked into your eyes as he spoke, “Zoelle is Zabdiel’s child.” 

“What?” Zabdiel asked, turning to you. 

You couldn’t breath and you began hyperventilating. An anxiety attack crashing down on you. “I-I can’t do this.”

Chris knew that there was no way you would have known that his best friend Zabdiel was the Zabdiel you knew but that didn’t make it hurt any less. The other boys watched on but the three of you ignored them all.

“Tell me what he’s talking about.” Zabdiel demanded.

“Zabdiel was your holiday romance, wasn’t he?” Chris asked. 

As your breathing fastened and the apartment began to tighten around you, your thoughts were racing. Unsure how to speak, you clasped at the air signalling that you needed water as your open mouth struggled to find the words. Richard quickly passed you his glass and you sipped it slowly. 

“Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?” Zabdiel almost shouted.

“Maybe we should go.” Erick commented.

You wanted to make a good impression tonight but this night changed very quickly. Looking between the two men, you began to find the words. You had to speak to one of them at a time. You couldn’t address them both. So you turned to Zabdiel. You had been thinking about this moment for years. What you would say. How you would react. 

“Zabdiel,” you breathed out a tear falling from your eyes, “when I got back home from Puerto Rico, I found out I was pregnant.” The shock on his face made you grow angry but you knew this wasn’t his fault. 

Before you could continue, he snapped out, “And you never fucking told me?”

“What?” you asked.

“Did you even try to tell me?”

Chris watched the interaction unsure how to act. You were angry. Too angry. The last seven years worth of anger that you had ever felt built up inside of you. Richard could sense you on the verge of exploding and ushered the other boys away. “Let’s leave them for a minute.” he said to Chris, pulling him towards Chris’ bedroom. The four boys were stuck in the room while your eyes squinted in anger.

“Are you kidding me?” you asked. “How was I supposed to do that? You made me delete your number!”

“You really deleted it?” he asked, surprised.

“What? You made me. I did it in front of you.”

“I-I just thought you would have had it saved somewhere else. I still have your number, why wouldn’t you have mine?”

“You still have my number and you just never called me?” you asked, raising your voice in anger.

“If you wanted to stay in contact you would never have deleted my number!” he argued back.

“I did it because you didn’t want a relationship!”

“How do you know what I wanted?”

“You said that!”

“I SAID THAT BEFORE I FELL IN LOVE WITH YOU!”

“HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW YOU WERE IN LOVE WITH ME?” You shouted pushing his chest aggressively as tears began running down your face. Zabdiel stumbled backwards, almost hitting the furniture behind him.  

“YOU KNOW FOR A FACT I LOVE YOU!” he yelled after regaining his composure.

“You love me?” you whispered out.

“Loved.” he said again. “You know for a fact I loved you.” he corrected himself. 

“Yeah well, you ruined any ideas of us being together when you completely ignored what you saw on my phone. Do you remember that? When you saw me confess my love and just acted like it was nothing. What was I supposed to think?” you sobbed out. 

“I should have asked you to stay. I know that but I was scared. I didn’t know what love felt like. You knew what I thought about love and marriage. How was I supposed to know you were the love that I never thought I would find! Not a single day has gone by where I haven’t thought about you!” he confesses. 

“Love and marriage? Who was talking about marriage? You should’ve tried to figure out how you felt!” you snapped.

In anger, Zabdiel turned around punching the wall behind him creating a whole in the plastered wall. “Fuck,” he grumbled grabbing his fist in pain. You rushed to his side grabbing his hand and looking at the damage. The both of you took a few deep breaths to calm yourself down. 

“Do we really have a baby?” he asked as you continued to inspect his hand.

“We do.” you mumbled looking up at him.

“I need to meet my child.” he said 

“I can’t just introduce a seven year old to their father!” you scoffed.

“Well figure it out because I have to meet her!” he exclaimed. 

You grumbled in anger as you pushed his hand away from you, “I’ve spent the last seven years figuring things out.”

“So what? I don’t get to meet her?”

“I’m not saying that,” you sighed frustrated.

Both of you were shaking unsure of what to do or how to handle the situation. Zabdiel took a step towards you again, his hand moved up to your face and you leaned into his palm with your eyes closed. The familiarity brought you comfort. 

“We can figure it out together. You don’t have to do this alone. Not anymore.” Zabdiel smiled. His words reminded you of when Chris had said them not so long ago. You felt trapped between Chris and Zabdiel. Your heart breaking into two as you thought of both men who had been offering you so much. “Maybe you weren’t the one that got away,” he said affectionately. You opened your eyes in surprise at his statement. He began leaning towards you, his face only mere inches from yours. You so desperately wanted him to kiss you but you both pulled away when Chris cleared his throat loudly. 

“What the fuck is going on?” 

Quickly you both turned your backs away from each other. You looked at Chris, your eyes filling with tears as Zabdiel wiped his tears away running his hands through his hair. Chris looked into your eyes unsure how to feel about his best friend trying to kiss his girlfriend. He understood how much history there was between the two of you but he felt so much for you that he didn’t want this day to destroy everything you had together. 

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