“I didn’t get to tell you this, but I’m pregnant, so I don’t know if it’ll affect anything,” I say, a little unsure now. The excitement dips.Don’t worry.
“No, that’s no issue. The decision is up to you, whether you want to wait until after the baby, or start now and take maternity leave. But it’s no problem at all,” she assures me. Great!
“Okay, I’ll talk to my boyfriend about it and let you know what I’ll work with,” I say, and Mama smiles beside me.
Yuh mean yuh fiancé.
“Okay, no problem. And congratulations on your new bundle of joy. I’m really proud of you,” she adds, and I smile.
“Thank you.”
“Alright, let me know what decision you’re working with later.”
“Yes… bye.” I hang up and find Mama still smiling at me.
“What you think I should do?” I ask her.
“Work now, man, and go on the maternity leave when you a go have the baby. Being active is good,” Mama says.
“Okay.” I nod. I like that too.
Mi a go ask Nickoi wah him think though.
I stay in the living room with her for almost an hour before heading to my room when I got tired of watching the TV. After showering and changing into a soft pink polo dress, I lie on the bed and drift off to sleep.
“Mami?” he shakes me gently, voice sliding into my ear like velvet. I smile.
“Mami?” Nickoi says again, and I curl into his chest, my arms slipping around his waist.
My lips find his, slow and searching. His scent, fresh, woody, warm fills my lungs like something I never want to let go of. The view behind him is unreal. Paris. The Eiffel Tower lit up like a promise. The city looks like it’s holding its breath for us. Damn. I really love this man.Zara… wake up.
He kisses me again this one realer, hungrier and I lean into it, sighing through my smile. He shakes me again, more playful now.
I blink up at him with a blank face and mumble, “Stop shake me nuh.” He laughs, full belly and soft eyes.
Wait… That laugh sound too real. I open my eyes slowly. There he is. Nickoi. Towering over me, full smile on his face. His skin glows against the sunlight sliding through the curtains. My heart flips. Without thinking, I pounce. Legs around his waist. Arms locking around his neck. Lips crashing into his in real-time. Not the dream version. This is better, sloppier, wetter, messier.
He laughs into my mouth, holding me like he need me just as bad. “Mi couldn’t survive another day without you here with me. I love you,” I say against his lips, still clinging to him like my life depends on it.
His arms tighten. One hand finds the back of my thigh, the other gripping me low and firm. His voice is low, like he dragged it from the pit of his chest just for me. “Mi love yuh too.” It’s the rasp in his voice for me. The way it sinks into my skin, coils between my legs. Sends a chill in all the right places.
“Mi did miss yuh enuh, Mami,” he murmurs into my neck, lips barely brushing my skin. I tilt my head, eyes fluttering, waiting. Needing. But he’s teasing. Lips hovering, not touching.
What are you doing to me?
He stares straight into me. That look. Serious. Focused. My breath catches. He eases us down onto the bed so I’m straddling him, dress riding high on my thighs. My heartbeat skips.
His lips drift to my ear and he whispers— “When mi tell yuh seh mi love yuh… mi mean it.” His voice is cold. Possessive. Beautifully dangerous. I nod, breathless.
“Yuh get me?” he asks.
I nod again. “I get you.”
But that’s not enough for him. His hand finds my wrist, grips a little tighter. Not to hurt, but to remind me that he’s not playing.
“Words,” he commands. Damn… chills run from my scalp to my navel.
“M-mi know yuh mean it,” I whisper, trying to breathe through the heat. Though his eyes are on me, dark and unreadable. Then I see it. That look. He’s mad.
