Chapter 9 #2
This shit felt worse than anything, layin’ right here with this man and still feelin’ like I was by myself, ’cause this wasn’t us.
Kay’Lo was never like this with me. He was always on me, pullin’ me to him, touchin’ and always makin’ me feel like I was the only thing on his mind, and now it felt like all of that had just been cut off.
I stayed turned away from him, tryna hold it together, but inside, it just felt empty, like somethin’ was missin’ that I couldn’t reach no matter how close he was. That was the part that hurt the most… knowin’ he was right here, but still feelin’ like I couldn’t get to him.
After a while, I felt the bed shift behind me, and I went still for a second, not sure of what was really happenin’.
But then I felt Kay’Lo’s body press in close, his heat settlin’ against my back.
After all this time… he was finally right here again, and the second his bare chest pressed against my back, my whole body reacted before I could even think about it.
His skin was still a lil’ damp from the shower, and when he slid closer, I felt his thighs pressin’ against my ass, pinnin’ me right where I was without even tryin’. I naturally let out a light gasp ’cause my body had been waitin’ on this exact moment.
Then his scent hit me all over again. It was clean, rich, and heavy on him like it had soaked into his skin.
It wrapped around me so quick it made my eyes close.
I ain’t even realize how much I missed that until it was right here again, sittin’ all on me, all in my space, makin’ everything feel… familiar.
His arm slid around my waist, and when his hand spread over my stomach, and he pulled me back to him, I felt all of him pressin’ into me.
Even with his dick soft, I could feel him. It rested heavy against my ass, just sittin’ there. It was enough to make my stomach tighten, and enough to make my body ease into him without me even meanin’ to. A part of me felt shy about how easily my back arched like I was tryna feel more of his dick.
His fingers pressed into my waist a lil’ deeper, holdin’ me in place. I could feel the roughness of his hands against my skin, mixed with the smooth glide from the lotion he had just rubbed on me earlier. It was too much, but in a good way.
I swallowed slow, but my breathin’ had already changed, gettin’ heavier without me sayin’ a word. I knew he felt it.
I just lay here, lettin’ him have me like this, and lettin’ my body melt back into his like I hadn’t been cryin’ five minutes ago… like I ain’t been hurtin’ over him.
Kay’Lo’s hand finally found mine, his fingers slidin’ between mine slowly until they locked together. He pulled my arm across my chest while he held me close, keepin’ me right against him like he wasn’t about to let me go again.
His thumb brushed against my hand while our fingers stayed locked, and that small movement said more than anything he could’ve opened his mouth and told me, ’cause it felt like him. It felt like the man I been missin’.
Right in that moment, with his arms wrapped around me and his face still tucked into my neck, I could feel he still wanted me, even if he hadn’t been sayin’ it.
And that was it for me…
All that tension I had been holdin’ onto just melted. I leaned back into him, lettin’ myself relax into his hold, feelin’ safe again in a way I hadn’t in weeks.
And just like that, I fell asleep in his arms.
It was the middle of the night, and Kay’Lo still had me in his arms, sleepin’ with his chest pressed against my back and his arm wrapped firm around my waist like he hadn’t moved at all since he pulled me in earlier.
I woke up slow, not even understandin’ what the hell pulled me out my sleep at first until that strange feelin’ came through my stomach again, low and tight. It was a stretch deep inside me that I ain’t never felt before.
I stayed still, blinkin’ into the dark, tryna catch it before it passed. For a second, I thought maybe I was trippin’ or maybe my body was just adjustin’ again the way it had been doin’ these last few weeks.
I kept my head rested back into Kay’Lo, tryna let it go and fall back asleep, but my hand moved on its own, slidin’ down over my stomach while I waited to feel My’Love.
That had become my comfort, just waitin’ for her to move, and to remind me she was right here, but this time… it was quiet.
I pressed a lil’ more, rubbin’ slow and patient at first, givin’ her time. I kept tellin’ myself she was probably just sleeping, but the longer I waited, the more that quiet started messin’ with me.
My heartbeat picked up just a lil’. It wasn’t necessarily enough to panic, but it was enough that I couldn’t ignore it. When that same tight pull came back again a few minutes later, stronger this time, I couldn’t brush it off no more.
I reached for my phone off the pillow, bein’ careful with it so I wouldn’t wake ’Lo yet. When the screen lit up and showed two in the mornin’, it made everything feel heavier.
The room was silent, dark, and still, and I was lyin’ here countin’ seconds, rubbin’ my stomach while waitin’ for my baby to move.
I pressed my hand a lil’ firmer, slidin’ it across my belly, tryna wake her up without rushin’ it, but when nothin’ came back, I felt that uneasiness settle deeper in my chest.
I swallowed hard, breathin’ through my nose, tellin’ myself to stay calm, but then that pain came again, and this time I felt it wrap through me enough to make me shift in Kay’Lo’s arms.
That was when I tapped him.
My fingers brushed against his forearm first, then I tapped him more, callin’ his name low. He moved just enough to let me know he heard me, his hand already slidin’ over my stomach before his eyes even opened.
Even half asleep, he was tuned into me and into My’Love.
His palm spread over my belly, rubbin’ automatic, and I pushed myself up a lil’, turnin’ my head so I could look at him in the dark while I told him I couldn’t feel the baby move and that my stomach was hurtin’. That woke him all the way up.
He sat up behind me with no hesitation, his hand stayin’ right where it was while his focus locked in. I felt that shift in him instantly.
“A’ight,” he muttered low, his voice still rough from sleep.
His hand slid over my stomach with intention, his palm spread wide while his fingers pressed in slow, with firm circles that made me focus on him instead of the panic I felt.
He ain’t hesitate or second guess nothin’.
He just moved, adjustin’ me without a word as his other hand slid under my belly and lifted it, supportin’ the weight of me and My’Love at the same time.
The pressure had my body easin’ into him before I even realized it, and the way he held me here, grounded and sure, made it hard to be scared.
“My’Love… Move for Daddy,” he murmured low, his voice calm but heavy with certainty while his hand pressed a lil’ deeper, workin’ her into place like he knew exactly where she was sittin’.
His thumb dragged slow across the side of my stomach, then back again. I could feel how focused he was just through his touch alone.
“Come on, lil’ mama,” he said.
There was somethin’ in his tone that felt sure, like he already knew she was gon’ answer him. He kept his hands movin’, firm enough to get her attention, but patient enough not to stress her out.
Then, she kicked… and it was a strong one.
It made me gasp, my fingers grabbin’ onto his wrist while relief hit me so fast it almost took the breath out of me. I nodded quickly, tryna catch myself while my chest rose and fell uneven.
“I felt her…” I whispered, my voice soft and shaky.
Kay’Lo let out a low hum under his breath.
He leaned down closer, his hand still spread over my stomach while his lips pressed against my skin.
He kissed my skin slow at first, right over where she just moved, then again, and again, like he was lovin’ on her through me.
Like he needed her to feel him just as much as I did.
“Yeah, baby… I know you in there,” he murmured low against my stomach, his voice deep and calm while his hand kept movin’ over me, rubbin’ firm and sure. “Don’t do that. You hear me?”
The way he said it made somethin’ in me soften all over again, and without even thinkin’, my hand slid up to the back of his head, my nails movin’ through his hair while I held him there, not even tryna hide how much I needed this moment.
My stomach was still tight from the fear that had just been sittin’ on me, but the way he was kissin’ me, the way he kept his hands on us like he wasn’t lettin’ go, it was steadyin’ me in a way nothin’ else could.
He kissed across my stomach again, lettin’ his lips linger while his hand smoothed over my belly. When she kicked one more time under his palm, he gave a small nod, like that was all the confirmation he needed.
“A’ight,” he muttered, satisfied, but he ain’t move away.
He stayed right here, one hand holdin’ me and the other still rubbin’ over My’Love.
But then that pain came back, and it was stronger.
It rolled through me again and had me grabbin’ my husband tighter, my body leanin’ forward while I tried to breathe through it.
This time, he felt it for real. He felt the way I tensed under his hands, how my stomach tightened and how my grip on him changed.
His whole focus shifted off the baby and straight onto me.
“Aye…” he said low, his hands slidin’ from my stomach to my sides to steady me, bringin’ me back to him. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”
I shook my head, tryna catch my breath while my fingers stayed locked on him. “I don’t know,” I muttered, my voice tight. “It’s like… cramps or somethin’… but it ain’t regular. It keep comin’ back.”
His eyes stayed on me, sharp now, watchin’ everything I was doin’, from the way I was breathin’ to the way my body kept reactin’ even after it passed.
“You been feelin’ that all night?” he asked, calmer than I expected, but I could hear that change in him. It was that part of him that ain’t play.
“I don’t really know… it started about an hour ago I guess,” I replied, swallowin’ while I rested my hand on my stomach again. “I tried to ignore it, but it kept hittin’ me.”
He looked down at my stomach for a second, then back at me, his hand comin’ back up slowly to press against my belly like he was thinkin’ through it.
“You think you in labor?” he asked, low and direct.
I let out a breath that ain’t even feel steady. “I don’t know, ’Lo… this my first time. I don’t know what this supposed to feel like.”
That landed different on him, and I could see it in his face, even in the dark, how he was already shiftin’ into somethin’ else mentally. He seemed more focused and locked in now.
“A’ight,” he said after a second as his hand slid over my stomach again. “Call my mama.”
“I’m about to,” I said, already dialin’.
Kay’Lo stayed right on the side of me with his hand movin’ over my belly, keepin’ contact while I talked to his mama.
Treasure answered quickly, her voice alert. and when I told her what was goin’ on, she ain’t hesitate. She told me she was on her way up.
When I hung up, I just sat there for a second, breathin’, waitin’ on the next one, and Kay’Lo ain’t move from beside me.
His hand stayed on my stomach, rubbin’ slow and consistent.
But he wasn’t just feelin’ for the baby no more.
He was payin’ attention to me, too, and to how my body was reactin’.
He was clockin’ how often the pains was comin’, and how strong they felt.
Another one came, and I gripped his hand tighter, leanin’ into it while I breathed through it. He moved closer, his other hand comin’ up to brace me without sayin’ nothin’.
About twenty minutes later, Treasure knocked, and Kay’Lo got up to open the door, movin’ quick but calm. When she walked in, she already had what she needed in her hands.
He turned the light on low, keepin’ it dim, and came right back to my side while she stepped in closer, her voice soft when she asked me what I was feelin’.
I told her about the cramps, about how they kept comin’, and about the moment I couldn’t feel the baby.
She nodded, calm, already movin’ into what she needed to do.
“Lay back for me, baby,” she said real gentle, and I did it while feelin’ Kay’Lo settle right beside me. His presence was solid as his hand found mine again while she used the doppler.
The sound of My’Love’s heartbeat came through clear a second later. It was strong and fast, and I felt my whole body loosen just from hearin’ it. Kay’Lo’s fingers tightened around mine, and I knew he heard it the same way I did.
“She sounds good,” Treasure said, her tone even, and then she put her gloves on, lettin’ me know she was about to check my cervix.
I breathed through another cramp while she did what she needed to do, my grip on Kay’Lo tightenin’ again, and when she finished and looked up at us, there was a look on her face that made my stomach flip again.
“You’re three centimeters,” she said with a proud smile on her face. “Our sweet ‘Lo’Lo’ is on the way.”
For a second, I just stared at her, then I looked at Kay’Lo, and I ain’t even have to ask nothin’ ’cause the look in his eyes told me everything. He ain’t say a word, but he was already ready and locked in on what was comin’ next.
And right here in this moment, with his hand still holdin’ mine and the feel of our baby’s energy sittin’ in the room, it hit me real clear…
My’Love was on the way.