Hustlin' by L. Divine Read Free Book Online Page A

Mickey’s family planning. But there’s more to Nellie’s disgust than just hating. I feel like she’s plotting in that freshly-pressed head of hers, but I’m not sure what she’s thinking.
    â€œDo you have a name picked out for a son, just in case?” I ask.
    Before Mickey can answer, Nellie smirks at my question as if the answer is obvious. “Of course she does. She probably picked it out when she first met Nigel.” Nellie flips through the pale blue booklet without looking directly at her target.
    â€œWhat’s that supposed to mean?” Mickey demands reaching across my lap to snatch the catalogue away from Nellie’s face, almost pushing me back across the bleachers behind us.
    â€œDamn, Mickey, watch out,” I say as she sits back down. I know that was a low blow on Nellie’s part, but violence isn’t the answer, especially not for an expecting mommy.
    â€œIt means just what it sounds like,” Nellie says, straightening out the pages of her catalogue before continuing her browsing, and her conspiracy theory. “I think it’s all very convenient, if you ask me.”
    â€œYou think I planned this pregnancy?”
    Mickey’s as shocked as I am by Nellie’s accusation. Ever since she was crowned Homecoming princess a couple of months ago, Nellie’s become a lot bolder in the way she carries herself.
    â€œYou are a real trip, Nellie, you know that?” Mickey says.
    â€œWhatever, Mickey. It doesn’t even matter, right? You got the dude, locked him down in two months and can claim to be his baby-mama, maybe. You won. Now can we please talk about something else for a change?”
    I don’t like the tone of Nellie’s voice. There’s still too much hating in it for me.
    â€œNo we can’t. Not until you let this go, Nellie,” I interject before Mickey has a chance to respond.
    Mickey looks at Nellie like she wants to rip right into her, but resists for her baby’s sake. I look down at the bleachers below to see Misty, KJ, and the crowd laughing at our dramatic scene. We can get loud when we want to without being fully aware of just how big our mouths really are. If Mickey was still trying to keep her baby bump a secret, it’s definitely out of the bag now.
    â€œJayd, how can I let it go when she keeps rubbing it in my face?” Nellie sounds like a wounded little sister whose big sis got the gift she wanted.
    â€œNo one’s rubbing anything anywhere. It’s a fact, Nellie. We’re going to be aunties no matter how you may feel about it, so you need to get over your jealousy and get with the program,” I say, trying to lighten the mood. But with Misty glaring our way I don’t think we’re going to have much luck keeping the peace.
    Mickey, back in shopping mode, breaks the momentary, uncomfortable silence, making Nellie’s teeth grit even tighter.
    It’s going to be a long seven months.
    â€œJayd, what do you think of this baby crib? It converts from an infant to a toddler bed. And this crib converts all the way into a full bed, but I don’t know if we want to keep the same baby bed for that long,” Mickey says, pointing out the expensive baby beds to me in the Babies R Us catalogue she’s studying like I do my government text. She’s got every section tagged, with her favorites highlighted in fluorescent pink or powder blue. Some girls live to become doctors or models. Mickey’s dream is to be a spoiled housewife, and it looks like hers is very close to coming true.
    â€œI think it’s too big to fit in your tiny-ass room that you share with your little sister. Where is she going to sleep?” Mickey’s family is already bigger than Brad and Angelina’s international brigade. How she thinks she and her lovechild are going to fit in that small house is over my head.
    â€œYeah, where are you and the baby going to live?” Nellie