Chapter 13
L ast night owed me nothing.
I had the time of my life. While we hadn’t taken things too far, I was left more than satisfied with where we did take it.
My body had never been riddled with so much pleasure.
That man’s mouth was blessed. His tongue was skilled, and those fingers were dangerous.
If that was a prelude to the dick, I was in for a treat.
I didn’t feel an ounce of shame asking him for what I wanted this morning. He made me comfortable, and the whole “All of me is at your disposal” was one of the sexiest, most unselfish things a man could say. There was no pressure, just complete submission.
His mouth and fingers brought me the type of pleasure I’d been craving. I wanted so badly to just let him have all of me, but I was still hesitant. If I was being honest, I think I was afraid. Not of the pain, but the vulnerability that could come with it all.
I wasn’t crazy enough to associate sex with love and commitment.
I knew better. But I was afraid of becoming too attached, too soon.
Sex created feelings that were sometimes one sided.
While I didn’t take Quaid for a man that just fucked around to fuck around, he was still a man, and men were unpredictable at times.
The last thing I wanted was a broken heart.
I’d finally left Quaid’s house around one.
We never made it to breakfast, and I was starving.
He offered to make me something to eat, but I declined.
I was headed to see my mama since she was one of the people that was asking where I was.
When I got to Quaid’s last night, I placed my phone on Do Not Disturb.
Once things got hot and heavy, I never got the chance to turn it off.
Upon doing that when I left, I was bombarded with voicemails and texts. I figured I’d let her lay eyes on me before she had a fit. She was going to take one look at me and know I didn’t sleep in my bed last night. It didn’t help that I was wearing Quaid’s clothes.
“Maybe I should have gone home first,” I thought aloud as I pulled into my childhood home’s driveway.
Then I thought about who was probably waiting for me at my house and decided that here was probably my safest bet. I sighed heavily as I climbed out of the car and headed inside.
“Jaeda!” Jaiden said, running up to me as soon as I stepped over the threshold.
I scooped him up and spun him around. “Hey, bubby!”
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too. How was school this week?”
“It was awesome. We have a science fair coming up, and guess what I’m making?”
“What?”
“A solar oven! Dad’s been helping me. I really want that medal.”
I smiled. “You’ll get it, bubs.”
I had faith he would. Jaiden was already super smart. He made straight A’s, and he was on the principal’s list. My mom had a whole room dedicated to our awards and achievements. His shelf was quickly filling up.
“You wanna see it?” he asked, hopefully.
“Of course I do.”
I carried him into the kitchen where he’d come from. My stepfather was standing at the kitchen island, lining a box with aluminum foil. He looked up at me and smiled.
“Hey, baby girl.”
“Hey, Dad.”
I was probably the only one of my siblings that called our stepfathers dad, but I loved Hershel. It wasn’t an all the time thing, but it was often, and it always made him smile.
“Why are you carrying this big ol’ boy?” he asked, playfully ruffling Jaiden’s hair.
“’Cause he’s my baby. Where is everybody else?”
“Kalia spent the night at Allison’s. Your mom is upstairs, taking a nap. Lunch took her out.”
“I’m starving.”
He nodded toward the stove. “Help yourself.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. After placing Jaiden on his feet, I washed my hands and made myself a bowl of my mama’s white chicken chili. I took a seat on the opposite side of the island to watch Hershel and Jaiden mess with this damn makeshift oven.
By the time I was finished eating, Hershel was grabbing his keys to go get my mama a snack from the corner store for when she woke up.
The man had her spoiled, but it was expected and what she was accustomed to.
My mother hadn’t had a job since she dated my father.
When she got pregnant with Kerrion, he made her quit.
Since then, he’d always taken care of her, and once she married Hershel, he took care of everything else. Of course, Mom had a nice cushion in her bank account, courtesy of my father. He’d never been stingy with his money, especially not when it came to his kids or their mothers.
I made my way through the now quiet house and upstairs to Mom and Hershel’s bedroom.
This baby seemed to have her tired all the time.
I found her sleeping soundly. I smiled as I watched her holding her baby bump.
She sported biker shorts and a sports bra, her favorite comfort fit.
It was crazy that she was pregnant again, but she looked so cute.
Kicking off my shoes, I climbed into bed and snuggled up to her, gently rubbing her exposed belly.
“You aren’t slick, Jaeda Janelle,” she said.
“How did you know it was me?”
She turned over to face me. “I have four and a half kids. You can never sneak up on me. I heard when you came in the house.” She looked me over. “Avoiding going home in that man’s clothes?”
“You know your son, nephews, and baby daddy. I just wanna sneak in undetected.”
She giggled as she caressed my face. “My sweet Jaeda. Come here, baby.”
I snuggled up closer and rested my head on her breasts.
“Your titties got bigger,” I jested.
“Baby, everything on me is getting bigger. She’s making me fat.”
“She? It’s a girl?”
“Yep. Another girl. Hershel is over the moon excited.”
“You know people are gonna think she’s my daughter and not my sister when I have her.”
“Fuck people.”
I laughed as I rubbed her stomach. Leaning down, I kissed it.
“Hey, little sis. I can’t wait to meet you.”
My mom stroked my hair as I rested my head on her belly. I used to do this when she was pregnant with Kalia and Jaden.
“How was dinner?” she asked.
“Great.”
“And dessert?”
“Mommy!”
“Girl, please. You’re glowing. If I had to guess, you had a second helping this morning.”
“We didn’t have sex.”
“But you did something.”
I sat up. “Mom, this is awkward.”
“Sugar, you’re grown. We can talk about sex, especially since you’re a virgin . . . well, half a virgin now.”
I covered my face and groaned, causing her to laugh.
“Don’t be ashamed now! I’m sure you weren’t ashamed last night, and neither was that young man. You didn’t feel pressured, did you?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Good. He seems like a nice, respectable young man. You should invite him for dinner on Sunday.”
“I’d much rather have him for dinner here than at Dad’s. Mommy, they are so embarrassing! If Quaid was a punk, they would have run than man off.”
She giggled. “I’m glad he’s no pushover. Your brothers can be a bit much, my son included. They love you, though.”
“I love them too, Ma, but damn. What if I acted the way they do with Salima, Shar, or Romi? They would have my head.”
“It’s not in you to be mean, baby. Now Mia, . . . that’s a different story.”
I shook my head, remembering how Mia and Salima got into it when we first met her. I was a big fan of communication while my sister went off her feelings, and most times, that could be dangerous.
The front door opened, and we heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. No doubt it was my stepfather. He popped into the bedroom with a smile on his face and a corner store bag in his hand.
“Hey, baby,” he said, coming to hug and kiss my mother.
“Hey, my love.” My mom smiled as she rolled over and took the bag from his hands. “Thank you, baby.”
“You’re welcome.”
He dropped to his knees on the floor and started rubbing and kissing her stomach. I loved the way he always loved on her, especially when she was pregnant.
“How is daddy’s baby?” he asked, resting his head on her stomach.
“She’s good. That nap was lovely before your daughter here tried to sneak in.”
Hershel chuckled. “You know your mama has those bionic ears, Jae.”
“Oh, I know. Remember all those times my brothers tried to sneak in and out when we were growing up? She always caught them.”
“And they never learned,” my mother added.
“They still haven’t learned.” I flung myself back in the bed. “Ugh. I just know they’re at my house.”
My mother touched my arm. “You gotta face them sometime, baby.”
“The time isn’t now. I feel like I have six fathers instead of two. Hershel, thank you for being the only sane one.”
He chuckled. “I’m sane, but if push comes to shove, I’ll get active about my wife and kids.”
I always heard it was the quiet ones you had to look out for, mostly because I was the quiet one. Hershel barely had to raise his voice, but I suspected he would go apeshit if he had to.
I stayed with my mom and stepdad long enough to finish helping Jaiden with his project, before I left and made my way back to the compound.
It was too damn quiet when I pulled through the gates.
I mean, I wasn’t expecting a riot or anything.
I just got this feeling. The feeling was confirmed when I pulled into my driveway and the fucking calvary was sitting there waiting on me.
My brothers, father, and a few of my cousins were congregating around my front porch. I sighed as I shut off the car and got out. I was going to nip this shit in the ass right now.
As soon as Deuce opened his mouth to speak, I held up a hand.