Charlotte

02 // frappes and naps.

"Wow! I'm excited for you both." I smiled. "And when you two become famous, I hope you keep me close."

Noah scoffed. "I think you're the one who needs to keep us close, Lesra. I heard pregnancy is an emotional journey. You're going to need all the friends and support you can get."

I watched as Noah stood up and slid his way past Samuel. Without another word, he stormed out of the diner.

I looked at my remaining two friends, who both had the same surprised facial expressions as me. What was stuck up his ass?

"You two have been arguing a lot lately. Maybe you should go talk to him?" Shay suggested.

In the mood that he was in, that was the last thing I wanted to do, but I reluctantly agreed.

Noah sat on a bench placed right outside of the dinner. He was leaned forward with his arms resting on his thighs.

I took a seat next to him, my hands clasped in my lap. The air was warm, and the streets were empty, except for the occasional vehicle that passed by every few minutes.

"Noah," I trailed off.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked. His usually confident voice was low and shaky.

"Doing what?' I replied, although I had a pretty good idea of what he was referring to.

"This; this surrogate stuff. What made you want to have another man's baby?"

"Another man's baby? It's a couple who cannot conceive a baby, Noah! I'm not even sure why you're bothered by any of this!"

He turned to look at me. Anger flared in his eyes, causing me to shrink back a little. "I'm bothered by all of this, because you're giving your body away to another 'couple,' so they can use it as an incubator for their baby. Why don't you think about yourself and about your life?" His voice lowered to a whisper. "Don't you want to settle down and have kids of your own someday?"

"Of course I do, but that will just have to be put on the back burner for now, Noah."

He laughed without humor. "And you don't think carrying a baby for nine months will create some sort of bond between the two of you? You and the baby?"

I shrugged. "Maybe, but I know that it won't be mine. They asked me for this favor, and I'm granting it to them."

He tsked. "That's ridiculous. I don't care if these people are close to Shay's family. If they can't conceive, then they can't conceive. Simple."

"You're an asshole, Noah. What if you were in that situation where you and your wife weren't able to conceive?"

"Then we would adopt!" he answered right away.

I shook my head. I couldn't believe him right now.

"If they didn't want to adopt, why couldn't they have picked someone who has already been through this? Like an older woman or something? Why you, when you have so much going for you still? You're putting your whole life away for a year, and maybe even longer, to do all of this."

"They wanted someone young and healthy; someone who was in the family and wouldn't mind doing it for a few thousands shorter than some random surrogate mother."

"So, this isn't for the money then?"

"What?" I shouted. "Of course this was never for the money. No doubt, extra cash in my pocket would be helpful, but still, no. Why would you even think that?"

"Because last time I checked, your mom needs to get a procedure done."

"And I will handle that!"