Page 52 of A Kingpin’s Weakness

Stormi

“How are you horny at a Lamaze class?” I whispered through clenched teeth, swatting at Seth’s hand as it slid into the waistband of my leggings like we weren’t sitting on floor with pillows surrounded by other expecting couples.

He leaned in, voice low and lips brushing against my neck. “My wife,” he said, like that was a complete sentence. And somehow, it was.

His mouth left a slow, lingering kiss just below my ear, and I had to bite my lip to keep from melting into him.

Meanwhile, the instructor was up front talking about breathing through contractions, and here I was needing to breathe through the fact that my man couldn’t keep his hands off me, even with a belly in the way.

Since finding out I was pregnant and getting married, it felt like we’d been walking on air. I never expected this kind of peace. Never expected to smile this much without wondering when it would be taken from me.

Who would’ve thought the city I once ran from would be the place that gave me everything I was missing?

My husband. A baby boy on the way, my mom back, and my bonus baby.

I didn’t expect S3 to accept me overnight, and I damn sure didn’t expect to care about him the way I do now.

Me and Jo… We’d come a long way. Jo and I talk every day, sometimes just about random stuff, and sometimes deep things that make my chest feel tight in a good way.

She’s doing her program. She’s showing up. And so am I.

“Alright, parents to be, that ends today’s class,” Melody, our instructor, announced cheerfully. “There are refreshments in the back feel free to grab whatever you like.”

Seth stood up first, then reached down to help me. His hands were gentle, like I was made of glass, even though I felt more like steel lately. Stronger than ever. As I adjusted my shirt over my bump, Melody walked over, smiling wide.

“Stormi, Seth, surprised to see you two at a morning class. You’re usually night crew,” she teased.

Seth smiled, his hand instinctively settling on my lower back. “We’re going to dinner tonight. Celebrating my mom’s six months sober.”

Melody’s face lit up. “That’s beautiful. Especially with Shiloh due in just a few weeks. You ready?”

I placed my hands on my belly, feeling a soft flutter from inside. He always moved when people said his name, like he knew we were waiting on him.

“I can’t wait to meet my son,” I said, voice catching just a little.

Melody’s eyes softened. “I already know you’re going to be an amazing mom.”

That hit me in a spot I didn’t expect. “Thank you,” I whispered, pulling her into a hug. It wasn’t just polite it was real. I felt seen.

“See you two next week,” she said before walking off to speak to another couple.

Seth turned to me, fingers brushing my cheek. “You ready, baby?”

I nodded, heart full. “Yeah,” I said quietly.

“Wait, baby. I got a surprise for you.” Seth’s voice had that playful edge to it, the one that made me feel like I was about to be spoiled in a way that only he could pull off. Before I could ask what, he slipped a blindfold over my eyes and gently grabbed my hand.

“A surprise?” I asked, already smiling, the kind of smile you can’t fight off even if you try.

“You askin’ a lotta questions for somebody who about to be real happy,” he said, lacing his fingers with mine as he led me forward.

I could hear our footsteps echo across concrete and feel the sunlight hitting my skin, warm and soft like a love note from God.

We stopped. Then, silence. That kind where you can feel someone grinning even if you can’t see them.

Seth tugged the blindfold off, and my eyes took a second to adjust before I saw it. Parked right in front of me.

An all-white Maybach truck. Brand new. Gleaming in the sunlight. Sitting pretty with a deep purple bow on the hood like it was plucked from a dream.

My hands flew to my mouth. “Seth you didn’t?”

“You said you wanted a push present, right?”

I turned to him with wide eyes, my voice somewhere between a laugh and a sob. “I meant a purse! Maybe a weekend vacation not a two hundred thousand dollar car!”

Before he could answer, Rich walked over, gave me a respectful nod, and opened the driver’s door with a little ceremony. He handed me the key fob like it was royalty. I climbed inside slowly, like I was stepping into a moment that wasn’t fully real yet.

The interior was smoky gray leather, soft and flawless.

Diamond stitching hugged every curve of the seats.

My name Stormi was embedded in silver thread on the driver’s seat like it belonged there all along.

Every detail was tailored to me. From the lavender-scented air freshener to the playlist that started up the moment I hit the ignition: Ella Mai, because Seth knows that’s my vibe.

I was speechless. And that never happens.

Seth leaned against the door, watching me with that proud smile that made my knees weak even after all this time.

“You like it?” he asked.

I climbed out, heart still thudding, eyes wet, but trying not to cry. “I love it, baby. Thank you.” I threw my arms around him, kissing him like I was still falling.

He held me close. “Anything for you and my son.”

I pulled back, wiping the corner of my eye with a laugh. “So does this mean your cars are officially off limits to me now?”

“The way you scratched up my BMW? Hell yeah,” he said, cracking up.

I rolled my eyes, but I was grinning. “Can we take it for a spin?”

Seth looked at his watch. “You can drive it all day, baby. I’ll catch up with you before dinner.”

He pulled me in again, this time slower, softer, kissing me with the kind of love that didn’t wear off over time.

“I love you,” I whispered into his neck.

“Love you too.” I nodded, already sinking into the buttery seat of my new ride, feeling like a version of me I never thought I’d get to be.

I pulled off smooth, windows down, wind in my curls, and headed toward Jo’s rehab for our family therapy session.

I leaned back in the driver’s seat. When I arrived, I parked outside Jo’s rehab, the engine humming low beneath me. I sighed, staring out at the sidewalk, then hit Noah’s name in my phone. I needed to know he was coming. I needed him to just show up. The phone rang twice before he answered.

“Yeah, Stormi.”

I paused. That was it? No hey sis? No nothing.

“That’s how you pick up for me?”

He let out a slow, tired breath. “I’m tired. Had a long night.”

“What time did you even come home last night?”

“I don’t know. Late.”

That same heat rose in my chest, the kind that builds from worry and turns into something sharp when you love someone who’s lost.

“Noah, I think you should come stay with Seth and me. You got too much freedom right now. Too many nights with no one checkin’ in.”

“Stormi, don’t start.”

“No, you need structure,” I said firmly. “And you might not want to hear it, but I’m not gonna stop saying it.”

The line went quiet. That kind of silence where you know the other person heard you, but they didn’t like it.

“You coming to therapy?” I asked after a beat.

“Not today.”

I felt my jaw tighten. “Why not?”

“I don’t wanna sit in some room and tell a stranger my feelings,” he snapped. “So they can judge some shit they didn’t live through.”

My heart cracked at that. Not because he was wrong, but because I knew exactly where that came from.

“At least do it for Jo.”

Noah snorted. “You and Jo’s relationship was broken. Not mine and hers. You left her. I didn’t.”

That landed like a slap. I sucked in a breath, my voice smaller than I meant for it to be. “Wow, Noah. Really?”

“I’m just sayin’,” he said, more defensive now. “You the only one carryin’ guilt.”

I stared out at the sky, blinking fast. I wasn’t about to let him hear me cry.

“Listen, I’ll see you tonight at dinner.”

“Oh, you can come to dinner, though?”

“Free food on your rich nigga’s dime, right?” he mumbled under his breath.

I closed my eyes and counted to three.

“Okay, Noah. Because clearly you’re on one today.” I didn’t wait for his response. I hung up.

My hand lingered on the steering wheel as the silence wrapped around me again.

I didn’t know what was going on with him lately.

He was angry at the world, angry at me. Maybe even angry at himself.

But he’d never admit that part. And I was tired, so tired of trying to mother everyone when I was still learning how to mother myself.

But I’d keep trying. For him. For Jo. For the family I never had, but was determined to build. Something didn’t sit right in my chest. A quiet, uneasy feeling. Like something was about to happen but I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad. Just heavy .

I stepped out of my car and made my way up the steps, the sun warming my body. Shiloh gave me a little kick like he felt it too. The second I walked through the doors and signed in at the front desk, I heard her voice.

“Look at fat mama,” Jo said, a smirk tugging at her lips as she leaned against the wall near the check-in window.

I laughed a little, rolling my eyes as I handed my ID to security for the visitor pass. “Hey, Jo.”

She looked me up and down with a tilt of her head. “Shiloh filling you out nice. Looks like he tryna come early.”

Rubbing the side of my stomach. I muttered, “This little boy got me out here waddling like I’m carrying a damn planet.”

We walked side-by-side down the hallway toward the therapist’s office.

I couldn’t lie… me and Jo had gotten close over the past few months, but we still hadn’t gone there since that night.

Since she told me about Sweetie. About what that monster, my father, did to her.

We didn’t ignore it, we just lived around it.

Moment by moment. That was how we survived.

The door to the office opened before I could knock.

“Stormi, it’s almost time,” Ms. Sylvia said with a warm smile. “It’s so good to see you.”

“You too,” I said, voice thinner than I meant.