Page 46 of A Kingpin’s Weakness

Stormi

In true Seth fashion, he had to fuel up the jet just to go to Disney.

I rolled my eyes when he first told me, but deep down I didn’t mind.

Not one bit. The flight was quick, the ride was smooth, and most importantly, I got to nap.

The way this baby had my body set up, the second I touched anything soft—whether it was the bed, the couch, or his chest—I was out cold and snoring like I hadn’t slept in days.

Pregnancy exhaustion wasn’t just real, it was disrespectful.

“Stormi! We goin’ to Disney today!”

S3 busted through the door like he had a lightning bolt in his back. I was still getting dressed, but I couldn’t even be mad. His whole little face was lit up, joy practically leaking out his pores. That excitement It was contagious.

I’d ordered us all matching Disney shirts, shorts, and sneakers. It was a little cheesy, okay, very cheesy, but this was my first time at Disney ever, and my first time going with my own little family. I wanted the pictures. I wanted the memories. I wanted the moment.

I’d gotten my hair done in fresh small knotless boho braids, the kind that hung down my ass like rope. I left them down and slipped my Mickey ears on top to match the shirt.

“You ready?” I asked S3, still smiling at how hyped he was.

He nodded so fast I thought his head might roll off. “I been ready!”

Before I could respond, Seth walked in shirtless, of course with a fruit bowl in one hand and a cold bottle of water in the other. This man had made it his personal mission to keep me fed, hydrated, and spoiled.

If he wasn’t trying to feed me something, he was eating me.

Which, nine times out of ten, turned into sex.

Like this morning, S3 stayed up ‘til 2 a.m. watching movies in bed with us, and the second he finally crashed, Seth and I had like five minutes to rush into the bathroom and act like horny teenagers.

And now here he was, looking like temptation, holding fruit I didn’t want but would probably try to eat for him anyway.

“You gotta eat,” he said gently, placing the bowl in front of me like I was made of glass.

“I’m not even hungry.”

“You ain’t ate since yesterday.”

“Because the baby doesn’t like anything . ”

“Try,” he said, lowering his voice. “For me.”

Seth had a way of asking for things that made them feel less like demands and more like promises. I picked up a piece of watermelon and slowly took a bite. He kissed my cheek and nodded like I just passed a test.

“You look good,” he said, his eyes doing that thing like he was undressing me with his mind.

“I look like a big kid,” I muttered.

“You look like my wife,” he whispered back.

I wasn’t his wife, not yet. But the way he said it made my stomach do something my morning sickness hadn’t already ruined. S3 ran out the room yelling about wanting to be first in line for Space Mountain, and Seth leaned in closer, sliding his hand around my waist, eyes fixed on mine.

“You sure you still wanna tell him today?”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “I got his gift ready.”

Seth smiled like he was proud of me. And that, that did something to me. I wasn’t used to being seen. Not like this. Not loved like this. And I wasn’t about to take it for granted.

“You sure you up for Disney? This ain’t gonna be too much for you?”

Seth asked for the third time that morning, standing there looking me dead in my face like I wasn’t already dressed and walking out the door.

I turned and stared at him with a soft smile. “Seth, I’m fine.”

He didn’t budge. Still had that concerned look on his face.

“I also know you called the doctor four times asking her if it was fine.”

“She a snitch,” he mumbled, putting on his shirt. “Whatever happened to doctor-patient confidentiality?”

“You’re not the patient.”

“My son is,” he shot back, smirking, like that made him win.

I raised an eyebrow. “What makes you so sure it’s a boy?”

“I want a boy.”

“So you don’t want a daughter?”

“I mean yeah,” he said, dragging the word out. “But only if she looks and built just like me.”

I blinked. “Seth, what?”

He just shook his head, laughing to himself like he wasn’t saying crazy things.

“You wouldn’t understand,” he said quietly, but something in his voice made me pause.

Maybe he was scared of having a little girl. Scared of loving something that soft. Something that delicate. Something that might break him if she ever got hurt. That’s how Seth was, he hid his fears in jokes and control.

So I softened. “You want more kids after this?”

He didn’t even hesitate. “Yes.”

“How many?”

“However many you give me.”

That answer did something to me. Something warm.

Something deep. Because I did want to give this man more children.

I wanted to build a life with him, not just the house or the jet or the matching fits at Disney but a real life.

One filled with little hands, late nights, scraped knees, baby bottles, and tired kisses at the kitchen sink.

I smiled without meaning to. And he saw it.

Seth leaned in, kissed my lips like he was sealing a promise between us, then reached down and pulled me up by the hand.

Outside, S3 was already running circles around the rental car, yelling about roller coasters and churros.

Seth popped the trunk and tossed the bags in, then helped me into the passenger seat like I was fragile. I wasn’t. But I didn’t stop him either. I was starting to like being taken care of.

“Y’all ready?” he asked, glancing at both of us as he got in the driver’s seat.

S3 threw both arms in the air. “Let’s goooooo!”

And just like that, we were on the way to Disney.

My first time. Our first time as a family. And this baby’s first adventure riding along with me, already changing everything.

S3 and Seth rode all the rides laughing, yelling, throwing their hands up like they didn’t have a care in the world, and I sat on the sidelines with a camera in one hand and a funnel cake in the other, lowkey jealous.

I wasn’t mad, not really. Watching them was its own kind of joy.

I’d gotten some beautiful photos of them: S3 mid-laugh, Seth holding his hand at the top of the coaster, their matching shirts soaked from the water rides.

Moments like these made my chest tighten in the best way.

It was what I didn’t know I’d always wanted: this life, these memories, this family.

The baby wasn’t even here yet, and everything already felt different.

I took another bite of my Oreo-covered funnel cake just as I saw Seth and S3 walking toward me. Seth had S3 on his back, both of them grinning like little kids.

“You can eat that, but you can’t eat fruit?” Seth asked, squinting at my plate like I offended him personally.

“I ate the fruit,” I replied, licking powdered sugar from my thumb. “I just ate it with a turkey leg.”

He smirked, and S3 slid off his back to sit next to me.

“Stormi, can I have some?”

“I got you one,” I said, handing him the plate I’d been hiding for him in the stroller wagon. His eyes lit up like it was Christmas.

“Disney and sweets” he said, smiling so wide it stretched across his whole little face.

Seth pulled me into his arms, pressing a kiss against my lips like he’d been waiting to all day. “I’m glad your appetite’s back.”

“Me too,” I whispered. “Thought this baby hated food.”

“You ready to tell him?”

I looked at Seth, surprised he hadn’t already slipped up. He almost did three different times earlier, but I gave him the look, and he locked it in. Still, I knew he was bursting at the seams.

I took a breath. “Yeah.”

Seth turned toward S3. “Hey, Jit. Come here, we got something else for you.”

S3 perked up, mouth already smeared with powdered sugar. I reached into the stroller wagon and pulled out the gift bag I’d packed with everything I knew he loved.

He grabbed it with both hands like it was made of gold. “Presents!”

He started pulling things out fast; his favorite snacks, a couple Spiderman toys, the coloring book he begged me for last week. Then he paused. He held up the tiny t-shirt and stared at it. Big Brother. His brows pulled together, confused.

He looked back in the bag and saw the matching cup that said #1 Big Bro , then turned toward us slowly, eyes wide and unsure.

“…Am I a big brother?”

“You’re going to be one,” Seth said, his voice a mix of proud and soft.

S3 blinked. “How?”

I bit back a smile as I knelt down next to him. “Because I’m pregnant.”

“With a brother?” he asked, looking straight at Seth.

“Yes,” Seth answered without hesitation, like he had some inside info from the womb.

“Or a sister,” I corrected, giving Seth a look. “We don’t know yet.”

S3 was quiet for a moment. I held my breath. My heart was racing harder than when I told Seth. I needed this to go right. I needed S3 to feel safe, included, seen because this wasn’t just about me and Seth. This baby was about all of us.

“How do you feel about that?” I asked gently.

He looked down at the shirt in his hands, then back at us. His little face lit up slowly.

“Happy,” he said. “All my friends are big brothers or little brothers, but not me.”

“Now it’s your turn,” Seth said, voice thick with emotion.

“I want a baby brother,” S3 added quickly, then looked at me. “Then a baby sister.”

Seth grinned. “I can make that happen.”

They hugged, arms around each other tight, and I swear I saw a glimmer in Seth’s eyes. Then S3 ran over and wrapped his arms around me, his little head resting against my chest.

“I’ll be right back,” Seth said, voice low, walking off before either of us could ask why.

S3 looked up at me. “Stormi, I’m gonna be the best big brother ever.”

“I know you will, baby.”

“Can the baby sleep in my room?”

I laughed. “We’ll see how you feel about that when they’re crying at 3 a.m., waking you up every night.”

“I can stay up all night,” he said confidently, like he’d trained for this.

“I know you can.”