“Your father likes this one. He never liked Tony.”
“I like him too,” I tell her, smiling.
“Yeah, he seems a bit rough around the edges. But I can see by the way he looks at you he thinks the ground you walk on is magical.” She gets a dreamy look in her eyes as she says, “Your father still thinks that about me and I love it.” Mom pulls me into the kitchen and starts cutting the cake she was baking before Kyson showed up. “Do you think he may stay for a little while?”
“Yes, I think he will.”
“He won’t be needed at work?”
I shake my head and tell her, “But I have to go back to work soon.”
She reaches over the counter and clasps my hand. “I’m so proud of you. Look how far you have come.” And her words make me feel good. Really good. It’s crazy how a few simple words from someone you love can make all the difference. I’m still trying to understand and process it. Tony never complimented me. All he ever did was talk down to me. And after so long without praise, I guess you forget what normal is and only expect the worst.
Well, not anymore.
I deserve the best.
Twenty-Nine
Kyson
Kalilah’s parents are nice, and they clearly love and miss her tremendously. I’m not really sure what that feels like, but I’m glad it makes her happy.
I ended up spending the night, and her mother asked that I sleep in the spare room. Kalilah tried to say it would be fine if we shared, but I didn’t want to disrespect them, so I slept in the spare room across from her and didn’t move all night. Though when I finally woke, she was lying next to me, her leg swung over mine, and her hair fanned out over my chest.
She’s supposed to go home with me today.
I’ve been thinking of how I’m going to tell my brothers about the baby and what I’m going to do. The idea of leaving the life is even more at the forefront of my brain as well as the notion that I had to choose one life or the other might have been a decision I was planning to make for all the wrong reasons. Kalilah hasn’t asked me to make a choice, and she knows all about me and what I do to earn my money. It doesn’t really seem to bother her all that much.
“Kalilah.” I nudge her, and she jumps up, covering her mouth. She goes to turn, but before she can move, she throws up all over the bed…and me.
“Fuck.”
“Sorry,” she chokes out, running for the bathroom.
I get up to follow her, careful not to touch my vomit-covered chest while trying not to retch myself.
Jesus! That shit stinks.
Bad.
“Everything okay?” Her father pops his head in, already dressed, and looks around the room. I hear Kalilah spewing again and push past her father and into the bathroom, where she is hunched over the toilet. I grab her hair, which is already covered in vomit, and hold it back.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” she whimpers.
“It’s fine,” I tell her, brushing her hair back out of her face.
“I’ll get you some clean water.” I hear her father from the doorway and catch a glimpse of him just before he walks off.
“Can you move?” I ask.
“I—” She goes to stand but heaves again, throwing up whatever remains in her stomach. When she stops, her father steps in and sets the water on the counter.
“Your mother left to get some fresh bread. What can I do?” he asks, sympathy showing on his features.
“I’m going to shower her. Maybe you could bring some fresh towels?” I ask, and his face lights up, happy to help. After grabbing some towels and bringing them back, her father steps out and closes the door behind him.
Still gripping her hair, I step away and start the shower, making sure it’s warm before I help her stand.
She turns to me and meets my eyes. “I’m so sorry.” Tears spill down her cheeks.
“It’s done. It’s just payback for the river I made you swim in, right?”
She smiles at me as I reach for her shirt and pull it over her head. I didn’t sleep with a shirt on, only trousers, which I manage to get off before I help her with her underwear. We step into the shower, and I start to wash her.
“I was hoping I’d skipped over the morning sickness. Mom said she had it bad with me and even had to be hospitalized at one stage because she couldn’t keep anything down.” I smooth her wet hair back under the water as she talks. “Let’s hope I don’t get the same thing. Can you imagine me at work spewing on a customer?” She shivers at the thought. “I couldn’t sleep last night, so I crept into bed with you.”
“I know.” I grin at her. “I could tell from last night’s dinner that ended up on my chest.” Her lips tug up into a smile, and I know all is right in the world. She pushes up against me and kisses my chest.
“My mother also told me that some women get really aroused while pregnant.” She grabs my hand and pulls it down between her legs. “Can you tell?” She starts rubbing against my hand before I find her entrance and slip a finger inside. She moans.
“Fuck, you’re wet.”
Kalilah drops her head back under the water and rinses her mouth out, all the while gripping me to her and riding my hand. I reach for the removable showerhead and take it off, turning it to a more powerful setting, then I point it down at her clit. Her eyes open wide, and I slip a second finger in.
“That’s making me feel so much better,” she whispers, knowing full well her parents could be out there.
“Good, that’s what we want.” She nods eagerly as she moves her hips, and I finger fuck her hard. Watching her come is truly something magical.
I fucking love it.
“I love you,” I tell her.
She freezes for a moment, then pushes the showerhead away and basically climbs me. I lift her, and she quickly finds my cock and slides straight onto it. She bites my shoulder and rides me up and down. I grip her thighs, helping her, and slip a finger into her ass to make her move even faster.
Just as she starts to come, she bites down hard enough to break the skin on my shoulder, but I don’t stop. Her pussy is milking my cock like nobody’s business, and the water is spraying everywhere, probably soaking the bathroom.
But I don’t care.
Fuck it all.
As she comes down from the pleasure high, her body goes slack, and I have to take over. I fuck her like the good girl she is.
And then when I’m done…
“I want to marry you,” I declare.
She throws her head back and laughs.
Little does she know I am not joking.
Thirty
Kalilah
My parents like him a lot.
I’m not all that surprised.
I like him a lot too.
Kyson jokes about marrying me, and I don’t want to tell him that those words alone give me heart palpitations. And not in a good way. Not that I’m afraid to marry him, specifically. I’m more afraid of marriage itself, considering how my last marriage turned out. Kyson hasn’t expressed his worries to me, but I can tell they’re there—it’s extremely evident.