Noah
I took a deep breath, trying to hold it together, but the tears came anyway. Once they started, there was no stopping them. I leaned forward and let my body collapse onto Jo’s grave, my fingers digging into the grass as I cried like I’d been holding it in for years.
“I made it, Jo,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “I really did it but you ain’t here to see it.”
My chest ached as I thought about everything I’d lost and everything I’d gained over the years. I loved the woman I was becoming, loved the life I was building but what hurt the most was losing the people I wanted to share it with. The ones who were supposed to be right here.
I stayed there longer than I meant to, tears soaking into the earth, my thoughts heavy and loud. Then suddenly, arms wrapped around me and lifted me up like I weighed nothing.
“I got you, baby,” was all Seth said before I was in his arms and he was carrying me away.
We made our way back to the car and he placed me inside the driver’s seat as he leaned over watching me. I wiped away the tears and stared back at my husband. I wanted him. I needed him at this moment.
“What I do?” Seth looked around asking.
And with quickness, I grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer to me as I stuck my tongue down his throat. I didn’t want to wait until we got home, I didn’t want to wait until Shiloh decided hewanted to give us some alone time, I wanted my husband now right here.
“Back seat now,” was all I said before I climbed in the back of the truck and Seth closed the passenger door and got in the back with me.
I snatched his pants until I had them off. His mans jumped out glad to be free, and I took all of him in my mouth until his dick hit the back of my throat. The saliva dripped down his dick from my mouth, and I used my tongue to coat every inch of this man. Taking him in and out of my mouth, I watched him grow bigger until he couldn’t take it anymore. He tossed me back, lifting my dress and ripping off my thong. I felt his tongue lick my pearl as he got ready to lick kiss and suck every inch of my pussy. My essences coated his mouth and all I could do was lay my head back and moan. Everything Seth did to my body was amazing but the way this man ate my body, and I mean my whole body like I was the last supper, did it every time for me.
“Fuck me,” was all I said before I pushed him into the seat and climbed on top of him, slowly sliding down his dick taking every inch of him inside of me. A soft moan escaped my mouth as I slowly moved my hips.
Seth grabbed my face and our tongues began to wrestle as our bodies got lost in one another. This man was everything I wanted and needed. Just his presence took everything away. I felt safe and protected in his arms. It was an honor to be his wife and the mother of his children. We stayed locked onto one another, even after our bodies collided together. I felt loved, completed, and satisfied all at once.
Epilogue
“Happy Birthday, Mommy!”
The boys burst into the room at the same time, their voices colliding with laughter and chaos. I cracked one eye open just in time to see Shiloh leading the pack, gripping a bunch of balloons I already knew he wasn’t about to give me peacefully. Behind him was S3, struggling but determined, holding a bundle of red roses almost as big as his little body. And then there was Savior, the baby of the bunch, waddling side by side with Seth, who balanced a tray full of food.
Seth might not have gotten his daddy’s girl, but Savior was his twin in spirit. The boy wanted to be in Seth’s skin twenty-four seven, copying every move, every step, every attitude.
Today made thirty-four years on this earth for me. And even though my plan was to lay in bed all day, ignore responsibilities, and let life pass me by for just a few hours, I already knew Seth had other intentions.
“Mama, you gettin’ outta bed today?” Seth asked, climbing right over me. He pressed a kiss into my neck, lingering just long enough to make me smile.
“Do I have to?” I mumbled, pulling the covers over my head like a child refusing to go to school.
I didn’t even get a second to enjoy my protest before Shiloh snatched the covers clean off and smacked me dead in the face with the balloons. See, everything they say about the second child, believe it. Shiloh woke up choosing violence every single day. If there was chaos in this house, we never had to ask who started it; we already knew Shiloh was somewhere in the middle, smiling like an angel. I was counting down the days to his third birthday, praying these terrible twos would finally loosen their grip on us.
“Happy birthday, Mommy Stormi,” S3 said softly, holding the roses up to me. “Are we gonna have cake?”
I took the flowers from him, my chest tightening in that way it always did when my babies looked at me like I was their whole world. I kissed both his cheeks and smiled.
“What’s a birthday without cake?” I spoke.
S3 was nine years old now, and he’d grown into the kind of big brother every kid deserved. Protective and always patient with the boys, even when they drove him crazy and I knew for a fact that Shiloh drove him crazy. His heart mirrored his father’s.
We hadn’t heard from Imani in years. Seth even hired a private detective, pulling every string he could to get answers. But the investigation came back empty. No leads and no trace of her existence. Eventually, we stopped searching and chalked it up to her slimy ways finally catching up to her. That was the story wetold ourselves. What we didn’t tell S3 was the truth, we carried it in silence. We hoped a body would surface one day. At least then he’d have closure and he wouldn’t be stuck wondering if his mother was alive somewhere choosing not to love him. He stopped asking about her, no longer said her name. He even stopped searching for her face in crowded rooms the way he used to from the outside, it looked like healing.
But I knew better. There had to be nights when he lay awake, replaying memories he barely had. Moments when he wondered what he did wrong, or why he wasn’t enough to make her stay. And no matter how much love I poured into him, no matter how hard I tried to fill every empty space she left behind, there were pieces of his heart that only his mother could ever touch.
“Eat up. Get dressed. I’ve got a surprise for you,” Seth said, handing me the tray. Pancakes stacked just right, eggs fluffy, sausage on the side, and fresh fruit filling the rest of the plate.
Savior let out a scream the moment he saw the food, scrambling to climb onto the bed. Eating was his favorite activity and his favorite word.
“A surprise?” I asked, arching a brow.
