20. it's a...

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p a r k e r

"Where do you want this box?" I ask Olivia.

"Could you put it on the table? Once all of my boxes are delivered, I'll sort all of my mugs and cutlery." She motions toward the dining room.

This morning, I called the movers to help pack all of Olivia's belongings and transfer them to my condo. I don't think Olivia realized how quick I wanted the move-in process to be.

This week has been a whirlwind of emotions. Immediately after the news of Olivia's pregnancy got out, I was called into the office. Surprisingly, I didn't get into trouble, but I know they think differently of me. I hate that everyone believes my commitment to the team will falter because I'm becoming a father. Then again, they're not in control of my life.

Aside from all the drama, I'm so proud and relieved that Olivia has gained positive attention. I was so worried about her wellbeing after she fainted and then had to deal with the so-called "pregnancy scandal." I'm just glad we're both moving forward together.

Today is a busy day for us. After Olivia is settled in my condo, we have to attend our appointment, then a gender reveal party that Annalise and Hayden are throwing for us, then rush to the set of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for Olivia's segment.

Not to mention, the first playoffs game for the Blaze is tomorrow. I can only hope my team trusts me enough to lead us to victory. Sandra warned me that I will be getting a lot of questions about the pregnancy during interviews. Something I'm really looking forward to... Note my sarcasm.

On the bright side, I've received numerous endorsement deals with athletic companies. They want to highlight how you can balance fatherhood and a professional athlete career. Something I wish everyone could see.

While I'm dealing with a lot of stuff, I love my life. What's not to love? I have a beautiful roommate slash girlfriend slash baby mama slash love of my life, a baby on the way, and hopefully a Stanley Cup. I am the luckiest bastard in the whole world.

"Parker." Olivia pulls me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?" I didn't hear what she said before.

She giggles. "I asked if we should put the baby stuff in the other bedroom." I cleared out the extra bedroom in my condo to transform it into a nursery. There's still a shit ton we need to buy, but it's a start.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, let me grab those boxes." I grab the boxes filled with gender neutral baby clothes that my parents sent. Speaking of parents, Olivia hasn't contacted her family since news broke out. I totally understand why she hasn't. If they were my family, I'd completely cut off contact with them. But, I'm holding out hope that maybe they can reconcile with each other.

•••

"We should probably get going. Our appointment is in thirty minutes." She looks down at her apple watch.

Dr. O'Hara will be emailing the gender results to Anna and Hayden. They're setting up the party as we speak. They invited my teammates and a few of Olivia's other friends.

Annalise and Hayden are throwing a gender reveal for us, so Dr. O'Hara will be emailing them the results. Olivia's friends invited a few of my close teammates. My family will be on Skype, awaiting the gender, as well. Other then that, I have no idea what to expect with this party. They were insistent on keeping all details of the gender reveal a secret.

When I tried to pry them for details, Olivia said it was a lost cause. She told me her friends are unpredictable. According to her, we can either expect a cake, where the inside is blue or pink. Or, a huge billboard located in the busiest part of New York City with the words 'It's a boy!'

•••

"Baby looks very healthy." Dr. O'Hara moves the probe around Olivia's stomach.

"A size of an tomato," I proudly add earning a laugh from Dr. O'Hara.

"Okay, I'll email the results to your friends with the address you gave me." She collects her files. "I'm very excited for you folks."

Olivia and I look at each other with big smiles on our faces. I'm so anxious to find out, but ultimately, I just want a healthy baby.

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a n n a l i s e

"Did you grab the streamers?" Hayden asks.

"Yup." I hold up the pastel pink and blue streamers.

She looks down at the list of items needed for the gender reveal. "And the 'baby' balloon?"

I nod. "It's already blown up and in Deacon's trunk." Like Olivia, Hayden and I don't have cars, so Deacon offered to help us bring the stuff to the location.

"What about the blindfolds?" She questions.

I pull them out of the back pocket of my jeans. "Right here."

She smiles. "Then we're ready to go!"

Hayden and I took this gender reveal very seriously. Of course, we had to make it beyond special for Ollie. "We'll go with Miles and Deacon to set everything up, and Olivia and Parker will meet us after. She just texted me that she's headed to her appointment, so we need to hurry."

We catch the elevator in Hayden's apartment down to the parking lot, where Deacon and Miles are waiting by the car. My eyes automatically roam Deacon's chiseled features. Snap out of it, Anna!

"Hey, girls." Deacon opens the back door for me, and Miles does the same for Hayden. I swear, NHL players are a different breed of men.

I'm dressed in a pink silk top with a matching fur coat, and Hayden wore a pink jumpsuit. Deacon and Miles both have on light blue shirts. We haven't gotten the email regarding the gender yet, but I'm team girl.

Once we're at the location, we hurriedly grab the decorations and head inside. We work quickly to set everything up with the help of a few more Blaze players. I catch Hayden gawking at Cole Williams, #57. Something she does frequently at every hockey game we've attended. I can't blame her, I do the same to Deacon.

"AHH!" Hayden squeals. "I got the email!"

I run over to her and look at her phone screen. A picture of the sonogram is attached with the gender. Hayden and I look at each other with tears in our eyes. "Oh my gosh!" I cup my hands over my mouth.

Hayden bites her quivering lip. "I'm so happy for them!" We hug each other, tears streaming down our face.

Deacon and Miles come over, confused by our current state. "Are you guys okay?" Miles worriedly asks.

I sniffle. "Yup, we know the gender."

"What's the verdict?" They ask.

Hayden shakes her head. "Nope, you'll find out at the same time as Olivia and Parker do."

They're smiles turn into pouts, but Hayden stays firm. "Ugh, you're impossible," Miles scoffs.

"And you sound like an impatient five-year-old," Hayden retorts, making Deacon and I laugh.

Hayden and I's phones both buzz, and we retrieve them from our pockets. "Olivia and Parker are almost here, people! Get in your hiding place!" Hayden yells to everyone.

We gave Parker and Olivia the location of a diner down the street to keep the location of the actual gender reveal a secret.

Hayden and I rush to meet them, earning weird looks from people. It's not everyday you see models running down the street in heels, dressed in all pink.

We see Parker's Audi in the parking lot of the diner. He gets out of the car and opens the door for Olivia. "Hey!" She says walking toward us. "Why didn't you guys come out of the diner?"

"The gender reveal is actually at another location." I grab the blindfolds out of my pocket.

"We're going to blindfold you, so everything about this reveal is a surprise," Hayden explains. Hesitantly, they oblige and put on the blindfolds. Once they're secured on their faces, we usher them back to the party.

When we open the doors of the building and walk in, Parker and Olivia turn to face us. We can't see their full facial expression, but I can tell they know where we are.

"The Blaze hockey arena?" Parker asks.

"How'd you know?" I question. "Are you peeking?"

"The smell of greasy concession stand food and sweaty feet gave it away," Parker states. "And, this is practically my second home." Touché, Baylor.

They remove the blindfolds and we walk toward the open area where we decorated. "SURPRISE!" Everyone shouts. Olivia and Parker jump in shock. I have to admit, they even startled me.

"OMG! This is amazing!" Olivia wraps Hayden and I in a hug. "I love you, guys!"

"We love you too," Hayden and I both say.

•••

Once Parker and Olivia are done saying hi to everyone, Hayden and I gather the crowd together for the reveal.

"So, Parker and Olivia will go onto the rink. We have a puck filled with either blue or pink smoke. When Parker takes the shot, one of those colors will explode out."

They both smile at each other. Deacon passes Parker his skates and stick that he got from his locker, and we give Olivia new, white skates we ordered online. Again, we had to make this gender reveal spectacular.

I grab my laptop and Skype Parker's parents, who answer after the first ring. We all move to the stands, while Parker and Olivia enter the rink. We all anxiously wait as he arranges the puck in the center. I face the laptop toward them and hear little squeals of excitement from his parents. They're adorable.

"Are you ready?" Parker shouts to us.

"YEAH!" We all exclaim.

Olivia stands a few feet away from where Parker is, nervously fidgeting with her bracelet. Someone starts a countdown from five and we all join in. "5... 4... 3...2... 1..." Parker hits puck perfectly and everyone gasps when they see the color erupt from the puck. The stands start to shake as we all jump up and down.

I see Parker swiftly skate to Olivia and wrap his arms around her. He places a kiss on her lips, then bends down and plants one on her belly, causing tears to fall from my eyes again. I see Olivia crying, as well. Ugh, maybe I'm pregnant too because I'm so hormonal!

________________________

p a r k e r

I drop the hockey stick and charge for Olivia. I pull her into a tight hug, making sure I don't squeeze her belly. I'm barely aware of the loud cheering from the stands.

I drop to one knee and put my hands on the sides of her belly, then place a kiss on the center. "Hey, baby girl," I coo. "Daddy's here."

I stand up and look at Olivia with pure adoration. I can't believe this beautiful woman standing before me is carrying our little girl. "You were right. We're having a girl," I say. She must have mother's intuition.

I remove the gloves and place my warm hands on her rosy cheeks. My thumbs wipe of the tears just below her eyes. I lean in and place a chaste kiss on her soft lips. "Let's go celebrate!" Olivia cheers.

"Sounds good to me." I smile take her little hand in mine. Olivia is a bit wobbly as we skate off toward the exit. "Sorry, I'm not the best skater." She smiles sheepishly. "I'm like bambi with my long legs."

Once we exit the rink, Annalise and Hayden wrap Olivia into a hug. Their tear-stained cheeks match hers. They start jumping up and down, but Olivia's skates prevent her from jumping with them. They all start laughing hysterically... or crying. I can't exactly tell.

"This girl is going to be so spoiled from us," Hayden says.

"OMG! We should buy her little heels!" Anna adds.

I look at her incredulously. "What? We have to start her early!" She tells me.

"My baby girl is definitely not wearing heels or makeup," I say. Olivia laughs at my protectiveness.

Deacon and Miles grab me into a bear hug. "Dude, you're a fucking girl dad!" Miles exclaims.

"She's going to have you wrapped around her tiny finger," Deacon adds.

A smile creeps onto my face. "She already does."

"Mmmm, I smell pizza," Miles says. Like a dog, he follows the scent. Classic Miles.

Once my skates are off, Deacon and I head over to where everyone is eating and engaging in conversation. I smile when I spot Olivia dipping her pizza into ranch dressing. I love that she has three other slices stacked on her plate. I'm glad she's not ignoring her urge to eat.

"CONGRATULATIONS, MISS OLIVIA!" Miles lifts her off the ground and spins her in a circle.

"Woah, be careful!" I nudge him on the arm to put her down.

Being the goon that he is, Miles tries to lift me off the ground but fails. "Fucking beanstalk," Miles quips.

Deacon embraces Olivia into hug. Smart man. He probably doesn't want me to get riled up. "I already told my buddy this, but you're baby is going to be gorgeous just like her mama and no thanks to Baylor over here," he jokingly says. I can't even get mad at him because he's right.

Once Olivia and I are left alone, I encircle Olivia's body from the back and spread my fingers wide on her baby bump. "How are my girls doing?"

"Mommy is doing just fine, baby is apparently craving lots of pepperoni pizza and ranch dressing," she says.

I can't help but chuckle. "Baby's gotta eat."

As I look around at the party, I reflect on my life before Olivia entered my life. I never really got involved in the party lifestyle or hooked up with a shit ton of girls. I rarely did anything besides hockey. And to be completely honest, I was somewhat lonely. Yeah, I had Deacon and Miles, but I never really felt complete. Sounds cheesy, but it's true.

Olivia and this baby are the greatest gifts in my life. I'm living in a dream.

________________________

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