23. Sametra #2
He moved with one goal in mind: to drive me crazy.
Make me crazy. Make me surrender. His hips grinding into mine, our breath syncing, moans mixing.
He kissed me like a man starved, slow, dirty, worshipful.
And when he picked up the pace, I held on tight, giving him everything I had, while he gave me all he had.
We finally collapsed into each other, spent and tangled in the sheets. I was going to be a wife.
His wife.
The birds chirped outside as I stood at the kitchen island, still wearing his oversized Alabama T-shirt from last night.
I missed waking up here and in his arms. My hair was damp from the shower, and I couldn’t stop looking down at the beautiful diamond ring on my finger.
Every time the light caught it, I had to blink to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
I was engaged. To Malik. The man who’d somehow made me believe in forever again.
I was up before him, something that rarely happened since he was usually an early riser.
But last night had worn us both out, and my body had now started getting into mommy mode, because I was up at 7:30 every morning no matter what.
He was still sleeping peacefully upstairs; one arm stretched across the space where I’d been lying.
I’d kissed his forehead softly before slipping out to start breakfast.
The familiar ritual of cooking helped calm the butterflies in my stomach. Not about the engagement, that felt as right as breathing. That was ordained. Fate . No weapon formed would prosper against that. But about the conversations we needed to have this morning.
Samaj would be coming by. I’d texted him this morning and told him we needed to chat.
It was time to tell him about Ashe. That wasn’t going to be easy, even though I knew it was necessary.
Or maybe it would be. Samaj seemed to be off the idea of Ashe, and I was getting that vibe before we found out about the extortion.
I was whisking eggs when I heard his footsteps on the stairs. My heart always flipped when I knew he was near, even more so now that we were officially engaged. When he appeared in the doorway, durag managing waves, wearing nothing but black boxer briefs, I had to grip the counter to steady myself.
“Good morning, fiancée,” he said, his voice rough with sleep but his smile bright and satisfied. “I handled it like that?”
“Good morning, future husband,” I replied, unable to keep the grin off my face.
He moved toward me with that predatory gaze I’d come to love, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and pressing a kiss to the side of my neck. “And you know you did.”
“How long you been up?”
“About an hour or so. I wanted to make you breakfast.” I leaned back into his warmth, feeling completely content for the first time in weeks.
“Mmm, what we having?” His hands splayed across my stomach, and I knew he was thinking about our baby.
“Scrambled eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and toast. Nothing too fancy, but...” I stopped mid-sentence as his hand shot out to move the coffee mug I’d been reaching for.
“Uh-uh. What’s this?” He turned me around in his arms, eyebrows raised.
“Coffee?” I said innocently, though I knew exactly what he was doing.
“Sametra Jonelle, caffeine’s not good for the baby.”
I rolled my eyes playfully. “It’s one cup of coffee, Malik. Pregnant women can have a little caffeine.”
“Define ‘a little,’” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“One cup of coffee is like 95 milligrams. It’s fine.”
“And how much caffeine did you have yesterday?”
I paused, thinking. “I had a Dr. Pepper with lunch, and…”
“Exactly. You already had caffeine yesterday, which means today you get tea.” He reached into his cabinet and pulled out a box of my herbal tea that I left over. “Chamomile’s good for pregnancy.”
“Since when did you become a pregnancy expert?” I asked, but I was smiling. His protectiveness was sweet, even if it was a little overbearing.
“Since the moment I found out you were carrying my child. I’ve been reading everything I can get my hands on.” He started preparing the tea.
“Sit, I can make my own tea.”
“Nah you sit,” he said, helping me sit. “Did you know that at six weeks, the baby’s heart is already beating? And all the major organs are starting to form?”
I stared at him, my heart melting at the obvious pride and excitement in his voice. “Look at you, this is so cute.”
“This is my first baby, Sametra. I want to do everything right.” He handed me the steaming mug of tea and cupped my face with his free hand. “That includes making sure you take care of yourself and take it easy.”
“I just want you present, my love.”
I knew Malik wouldn’t leave me high and dry to raise our child, but I don’t think Ashe intended for that to be our outcome either. My fear would creep up on me every now and again.
“I know you do.” His thumb stroked across my cheek. “And I will. You worried about that?”
“Would you be offended?”
“A little, but that’s a realistic fear, but you know I’m not Ashe, and I would never run from my responsibilities. Plus, that rock on your fingers says I’m tryna be locked in before Summer even arrives.”
“Summer?” I questioned, sitting up in my chair to look at him. I had tears in my eyes.
“Damn, you hate it.”
“No, no I love it. She got me crying about literally everything.”
“I know how much you love Summer, and we made her during the summer. If it’s a girl, I want her name to be Summer. Blaze for a boy.”
I stood on my toes to kiss him properly, tasting mint on his lips. “I love you.”
He kissed my forehead softly. “I love you too. Now, what time is Maj coming over? Because I know you didn’t make all this food for just us.”
“He should be here in about an hour.” I turned back to the stove to check on the bacon. “Are you ready for this conversation?”
His arms came around me again, and I could feel some of the tension return to his body. “Yeah, and so is he. He deserves to know the truth. Are you? You cook like this when you’re nervous.”
“Yes, but you know this is a lot. It’s been a lot going on. You sure he can handle it?”
“He’s almost eighteen, Sametra. He’s smart. You’ve done a good job, baby. He can handle it. And if he can’t, he’s got two parents right here that we will see him through it.”
I nodded, though part of me still wanted to protect my son from the uglier parts of the world.
“Thank you for stepping up for us.”
“I told you early on how I was coming. That boy is mine, Sametra. Maybe not by blood, but in every way that matters. And when our baby gets here, they’re both going to know what it feels like to have a father who would do anything for them.”
The conviction in his voice made my eyes water. “How did I get so lucky?”
“We both got lucky. And we’re about to get even luckier.” His hand moved to my stomach again. “Speaking of which, how are you feeling? Any nausea this morning?”
“A little, but not as bad as yesterday. The tea is helping.”
“Good. And you took your prenatal vitamin?”
“Yes, Dr. Holloway,” I said with a laugh. “I took my vitamin.”
“Don’t get smart with me, woman. I’m just making sure my babies are healthy. I ain’t forget about you running in a burning building.”
I shot him a look that said move on, “And your babies?”
“Yeah, mine. You and sweet pea.” He kissed my nose. “And speaking of taking care of you, we need to talk about living arrangements.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, we do?”
“Damn right we do. You think I’m about to let my pregnant fiancée live in a different house from me? Hell nah.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“I’m suggesting you and Samaj move in here until we find a place together or build something together. But either way, we’re not spending another night apart unless absolutely necessary. I’ll move in with you if that’s what’s comfortable for you.”
The idea of waking up next to him every morning, of building a life together under the same roof, made my heart race with excitement. “I’d like to move here. What about Samaj? This is a big change for him, too. Should we ask him?”
I loved Malik’s house, it was spacious he had plenty of room. It was on the outskirts of the city, close enough to enjoy but far enough to escape the hustle and bustle. I could make this a home until we found ours, or if we ever had to. And I didn’t mind renting mine out. That would be income.
“We’ll talk to him about it today. See how he feels. But honestly, I think he’ll be more than cool with it.”
“Did you get fired? I’m not going to be upset if you did. I just want to know if I need to go back to work.”
“No, I resigned because I’m going to open Pressure Points by the end of the year.
And I know it’s a lot happening at once, but I’m committed to ensuring you don’t have to worry about anything ever again.
Going back to work will always be a choice, never a requirement. Money ain’t an issue. I got us.”
“Baby, that’s amazing. And I want to help, so let me. I’m not useless, okay? What’s next?”
“Okay.” His face lit up with excitement. “I signed the lease yesterday. Pressure Points should be up and running within three months or so. I’ll have eight treatment rooms, space for group therapy, even a children’s area for when parents bring their kids to appointments.”
“A children’s area?”
“Yeah, I was thinking about our baby when I saw it. Somewhere, they can play while Daddy works.” The pride in his voice was unmistakable. “This is going to be good for us, Sametra. Really good.”
“I’m proud of you. Taking something negative and turning it into something positive.”
“I learned that from you. You’ve been doing that your whole life.”
Before I could respond, the sound of a car door closing outside caught our attention. I looked out the window to see Samaj getting out of his new Mustang, a huge grin on his face.
“He’s here,” I said, suddenly nervous.