“Okay, so all we have to do today is go to the card store and pick up the wedding invitations,” Hayden said aloud.

Leo was fast asleep on the couch. Hayden sighed and set down his checklist. He was overwhelmed with things to do, and his wedding date was only getting closer as the days passed. With Nathan taking up most of their time, I could just imagine the stress they were feeling.

Hayden saw me looking at Leo and gave an exhausted laugh. “I love the shit out of that alpha, but he’s such a lazy ass sometimes,” he said.

Lifting him up from the couch, I laughed. “Here,” I said. “I’m going to help you out today. I’ll be your personal chauffeur.” Nathan was asleep in his crib, so luckily, we had the chance to sneak out if we wanted to.

Hayden was too nice to accept any help straight up, so he quickly shook his head. “It’s okay. I know you have a lot on your plate too. You’re picking up Noah and Adam today, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s at eight-thirty. You need to stop saying no to help. I want to do it. Plus, it’ll be fun getting out of the house for the day,” I said.

Hayden looked grateful, and he quickly took my hand. Lifting him up, he smiled. “Okay, let’s do this,” he said. “The card store is only a few blocks away, but there’s an ice cream store across the street. I vote we get a cone afterward as a little reward for our hard work.”

I didn’t want to tell him that ice cream didn’t sound too great right now, so I agreed and walked with him to my car. Lately, I hadn’t felt so hot. It wasn’t that Adam and Noah were gone. I could handle that, even if I missed them a lot. No, something else was going. Something I dreaded.

I had been puking.

I still didn’t know the truth. I hadn’t seen a doctor, and I was too nervous to go to the pharmacy and pick up a test. But I knew in my heart what it was. One of them had gotten me pregnant.

At first, it didn’t even seem possible. My entire heat cycle had gone away… I thought. But as soon as I opened my laptop, I found hundreds of websites. Pregnancy was possible, and it happened to more guys than I thought.

I wasn’t convinced I could be a father. And without knowing what Adam and Noah wanted out of this relationship, I couldn’t make a decision. Instead, I stayed silent.

But Hayden knew something was off with me. As soon as I started driving, I felt sick to my stomach. I locked eyes with him and sighed as I felt the quick salivation push up the sides of my mouth.

“Something’s wrong. I can see it in your eyes, Hank, Hayden said. “What’s going on with you?”

Trying not to look at him, I made a quick right turn. I could have stayed on the main road, but I didn’t really want to admit to him what had been going on with me. “I’ve just been feeling a little sick,” I said.

There was nothing to worry about. I just kept telling myself that, but it was hard to run away from the truth when one of your good friends had his eyes on you. He could sense it, maybe even smell it on me. Omegas always knew before alphas.

The nausea came as expected, in strong waves until it forced me out of the car and onto the side of the road. I puked my brains out. I hated throwing up in front of people. It made me look weak, and it was alarming for anyone to see.

I took a deep breath and relaxed my body. Glancing in the side mirror of the car, I saw my reflection staring back at me. My skin was glowing. It was so obvious now. When I got back in the car, Hayden had to lay it all out in the open.

“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” he asked.

There was no turning back. It was almost as if once Hayden said it, it became a reality. I pulled the car over, stopping on the side of the road, feeling breathless and powerful, weightless and hindered.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But it does seem like it.”

Hayden didn’t need to say a word to consolidate me. He knew what I was experiencing. He went through that two years ago with Leo. When he was pregnant with Nathan, it was also a shock.

They stuck it out. They decided that their love was the most important thing in the world. They fought for their family, and now they were better off.

“I know what you’re going to say—that you and Leo made it through this, that it’s going to be okay. You know what? You’re right,” I said. “I’m not worried.”

“So you’re keeping it?” Hayden asked. His hand touched mine. I held on for support.

“I think I should,” I said. It was a shock, but there were no tears. This was a happy day, I decided. “I don’t know what Noah wants, or Adam for that matter. They seem pretty focused on other things right now. Frivolous things, if I’m being honest. For me, the exhibition was just fun, but now it feels a little stressful.

“It’s consuming them right now, but you don’t know how they’ll act after they find out about this. They might come to your need. It’s in an alpha’s nature,” Hayden said.

“Some alphas,” I said. Hayden stayed silent. He was never quick to judge, nor was he quick to interrupt those needed pauses for thought.

“I don’t know, Hayden. Should I go through with this? Am I being totally crazy? I don’t have parents that can take care of me anymore. I’m a full-fledged adult. Crazy how fast that happened…”

“If things don’t go as planned with Noah and Leo, you can always rely on us. We’ll help you out whenever you need us,” Hayden said.

A thin smile formed on my lips. I couldn’t do anything except hug my friend for talking with me. At the end of the day, the decision rested with me. I was going to buy a test, and then I was going to tell Adam and Noah. We could take it from there.

“Thanks, Hayden. You’ve always been a friend,” I said.

“I just want you to know that you have a choice with this. It’s not their decision,” Hayden said.

“Yeah. I know.” I turned they key to the ignition.

“And one more thing. I know you’re hung up on your age and all that crap but just remember something. You’re younger than Leo by two years. He had a kid. And Noah is younger than both you and Adam. If they’re on board, it’s completely doable,” he said.

“Yeah, but do you think it’s smart to raise a kid with two husbands? Are kids going to make fun of him? Shit. I didn’t even think about that. Dammit, there’s so much to think about!” I exclaimed.

Hayden took my hand one last time, squeezing to get my attention. “Hank, who gives a damn what those people think! If people want to give you crap about your relationship, it’s because their own relationship isn’t up to par. Love is love. Period,” Hayden said.

All of my life, I had fought for people to speak and live their truths. Yet, somehow I had let my mind wander back to those common societal pitfalls. Hayden was right. Why did I care what other people thought? I was always going to be my self, so I needed to make a choice on my own.

I put the car in park and drove to the card store. We got the cards but quickly rushed to the pharmacy to pick up a pregnancy test. When I bought tests in the past, I always felt weak and scared shitless. This time, I felt strong.

“You can do anything,” I told myself.

At Hayden’s house, I took the test. I waited a few minutes until I heard the loud beeping resonate around me, growing in volume. Sure enough, all of my thoughts came true.

The test read positive. Then came the hard part…

Hayden and Leo were whispering in the room. I knew they were talking about me because they filed out like two students in trouble when I finally called them out to the couch. “Don’t look so weird,” I said. “It’s not the end of the world. This is a new beginning.”

I watched as both of their faces turned from morose to incredible excitement. “It’s true? You’re pregnant?”

Leo nearly jumped into the air. His massive body came running toward me. Picking me up into his arms, he cried with joy. “My best friend is having a baby! I can’t believe it.”

“I knew it all along,” Hayden said, proudly.

“I’m pregnant,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Pregnant with no job and debt up to my ears…”

The reality hit me like a ton of bricks. Before I could celebrate, I would have to tell Noah and Adam. And who knew what they would think?

I remembered how the three of us felt when we were together, gathered around their kitchen table. We all felt connected, and we even admitted it to each other without feeling too awkward about it.

“Hell, if they don’t want to take care of the kid, they can worry about your debts. Slap them with some child-support payments, and you and the baby will live like kings,” Leo said.

Hayden looked at him disapprovingly. “Don’t listen to a word he says, Hank. It’s almost eight. You’ll know what to do in a few hours time,” he said.

I didn’t want to overthink anything, so I said my goodbyes before getting in the car. Leo could joke around all he wanted to. At the end of the day, I knew they both had my back.

Driving to the airport, I felt like a blank canvas. I went over my life like a movie, trying to pick out the best scenes or where I made the right choices. Some moments stuck out more than others, but nothing felt this important. Once I saw Adam and Noah’s smiling faces, I realized how hard this was going to be.

The constant sickness in my stomach prevailed. Was it because of the pregnancy or the fear? I wasn’t sure. I’d spent too much time on things that didn’t matter, things like the leather and Lace club. Suddenly, all of that didn’t feel important anymore. I felt proud of my accomplishments, but I wanted this to be the thing I was most proud of. I wanted to be a father.

In front of the arrival doors, I hugged both of them, tenderly kissing each equally. Without any word, I took their bags and loaded them into the car. “We’ve missed you so much,” Adam said.

“I don’t know why we ever went without you,” Noah sighed. “It’s been a whirlwind, but guess what?”

“I’m pregnant,” I whispered low enough that they couldn’t hear me. My heart was pounding against my chest. I could barely start the damn car.

“We got a venue! It’s not the usual gallery, but I think it’s going to do well. Now, all we have to do is get the PR set up, and then we can—”

“I’m pregnant.” This time, I said it much louder than before. Noah’s voice dropped off, and suddenly, the vibe inside of the car changed.

“Are you serious?” Adam asked me, clutching his hand against his heart. Was he really taking it that badly? “You’re… pregnant?”

“I took a test today. I didn’t think it was possible,” I said. I felt like apologizing, but I wasn’t sure why. I was the one going through this, not them. Everything started to speed up inside my head, and although I never broke down, I felt consumed with fear that they wouldn’t have my back.

“Please tell me you’re keeping it,” Noah said.

Then, Adam nodded his head. “Yeah. We’ve been talking all week about this. There has been something missing from our lives. We wanted to give it time… you know, so you could see if you liked us or not. But this is a blessing in disguise. We’re with you if you want to do this,” Adam said.

“You’re not mad?” I asked. What a dumb question, I thought.

“Hell no. This is incredible,” Noah said. “I mean… way to lay it on us, Hank. I can’t even believe it. This is the best thing that’s ever happened to us.”

“Oh, thank God,” I whispered, falling into Adam’s chest in the front seat of the car. Noah took off his seatbelt and kissed the side of my temple. The three of us huddled close. Closing my eyes, the real tears finally started to fall. They were tears of joy, relentless and warming to my soul. I still felt overwhelmed and confused, but I got the clarity that I needed.

Everything was going to work out.

“So, should we move in together?” Noah asked. I laughed and wiped the tears away from my eyes. “How does this work?”

My voice was congested and heavy. “I’m not sure. I guess we should, huh,” I said.

“I’m not raising a family in that high-rise apartment,” Adam said, flat out. “I’ll sell it, buy a real house in a real neighborhood, and we’ll raise our child together there.”

“With a white picket fence?” I asked, trying not to laugh.

“Yeah, and a swimming pool. Can’t go without that,” Noah added.

“And a giant kitchen,” Adam said.

“You can build a small studio in the backyard for your photography,” I added.

“And a small playset for the backyard with a zip line!” Noah shouted.

The three of us laughed, but it was clear that we had a lot to focus on. I drove home, but Adam and Noah couldn’t stop planning. Eventually, Adam sat back, smiling. “We should postpone the show,” he said, aloud.

“What?” Both Noah and I stare at him like he was crazy.

“I have an idea,” he said.

“Oh, God,” Noah groaned.

“Just hear me out. This is the biggest step we’ve ever taken. All of us feel that, right?” We couldn’t disagree with that. It was a huge step.

“I think we should document the pregnancy. Obviously, it’s up to you, Hank. We have the photos that we already took. Those are great, of course. But wouldn’t it be amazing if the world could come with us on our journey?”

Excitement crept into my throat. “Let’s do it,” I said.

“Panties and all.”