He finally speaks. “Wah yuh woulda do if yuh deh yah and yuh get a call say mi dead?”
My heart drops. His voice. His face. The aura… it’s scary. “Why yuh a talk to me like this?” I ask, tears threatening, my voice cracking under the weight of fear.
“This mi a meds enuh…” he says, tone still calm. “Everything feel like fairytale to yuh. Yeah, mi love yuh. Mi woulda love fi do dis wid yuh every day. But yuh caught up in it like yuh think things a go always sweet. So mi a meds say… wah she woulda do if, mi nuh say it a go happen. Mi just wah know weh yuh headspace deh. Cause dem thing yah come wid the game.”
“So you wah mi prepare fi it?” I ask, voice shaking. He nods slowly.
“Not really prepare… just keep it in yuh mind. Cause mi know yuh nah meds dem thing yah.”
Fresh tears pour down my cheeks. “Y-you a talk like mi fi just prepare fi something happen to yuh when mi have a baby fi yuh… M-mi never plan fi be a single mom. So stop talk to me like that,” I sob, wiping my face. “And I also don’t see myself living if you’re not around.”
He sits up a little straighter. “Nah say dat man. Mi just nuh wah yuh walk round in a bubble like life sweet when yuh deh wid a drugs lawd. Das all mi a say. Mi a live careful. Mi a try play the cards right. Mi want deh yah fi mi family.” His voice is grounded.
Even through tears, I smile. He pours me the sparkling wine, and I take it gently, kissing his cheek over and over before wiping my tears.
“I love you,” I whisper.
After a while, he gets out of the water, robe on, Henny cup in his hand. He sits in the chair nearby, staring. I sip the wine, watching him. He’s so intense without trying. Even when he’s just sitting still.
“Take my picture, babe,” I say. He smirks, grabs his phone. I strike the easiest Jacuzzi pose I can think of, staying still. When he’s done, I scroll through them and stop at my favorite.
“Babymother,” he says proudly. I turn to look at him with a smile. His tone says everything. This man treats me like a trophy. “I mean… wifey.”Ouuu.
“Huzzi,” I say, biting my lip, batting my lashes.
“Yuh love me?” he sits up, eyes locked on me. His stare makes my heart skip. I sip the wine again.
Whew. Well… that’s hot.
He stands. Walks toward me. Puts his hand around my throat, and my eyes flutter closed instinctively. Just as the thought hits me, I feel his lips warm, soft melting into mine. Electric. Like the kiss knows where I ache most.
I hold his face, feeling his tongue slide across mine. I part my lips, welcoming him in. “Nickoi,” I breathe, and under the water, his hand grazes the inside of my thighs.
I already know where this is going. And it makes me tremble.
His mouth moves to my neck, lightly sucking my skin. Fire blooms across my chest. “As mi tell yuh before… yav mi heart.”
12
British
“Congratulations!” I hear Suzanne squeal through the phone. I already knew Junior would tell her. Of course he did.
“Thank you so much,” Zara replies, smiling sweetly as she sits on the counter. I lean against the island, watching her. Her face is glowing. Eyes gleaming. But her attention is on the call, not on me.
“No problem, hunny. Welcome to the wife club,” Suzanne says, flashing her ring through the camera. Zara lifts her hand too, showing hers off with a shy grin.
“Mi a go get mi nails done shorter though,” Zara beams, admiring her hand. My legs start rocking slightly, involuntarily. Brown eyes locked on her. She doesn’t even notice.
“Fi graduation?” Suzanne asks.
“Mi just a go wear them short till mi have the baby,” she answers casually.
“Okay… but as mi mention graduation—girrrll, a wah mek dem a rush everything so?” Suzanne huffs. “It’s like dem nuh wah next year come and we still deh here a wait.”
Zara covers her mouth as she laughs, eyes crinkling. She’s too soft for this world sometimes. I keep staring. Her voice, her joy… the way her collarbones peek out under that tank top, the curve of her cleavage, the hickeys on her neck, all from me. I bite my lip and chuckle quietly to myself, thinking ‘bout last night.
“Dem a tell we fi get ready fi graduation and still nuh send recommendation list yet,” Suzanne continues. “Anyway, girl, dem say a tomorrow or Thursday the results post. So I guess we fi just gwaan prepare same way till everything settle.”
