Chapter 6
Keynauri’s light snores filled the room, and I couldn’t hide the smile on my face.
It seemed like a dream, but the soreness in my body proved that it was real.
After years of being in love with him, we were finally a couple.
I always knew I wanted him to be my first, and it was everything I’d imagined and more.
I didn’t need the candles and music. All I needed was him.
We fell asleep in the early morning hours, and I was exhausted. I wanted to be wrapped in his arms, but my bladder would not let me rest. Reluctantly, I moved his arm from around my waist, slid out of bed, and tiptoed out of the room, shuffling my feet as I headed down the hallway.
I winced as I wiped myself, not realizing how sore I truly was.
Sex with Keynauri was a mixture of pleasure and pain.
It hurt way worse than my friends told me, but I was pretty sure it had more to do with his size than anything else.
After I finished washing my hands, I observed myself in the mirror.
For once in my life, things were beginning to come together, but I wondered how long it would last. For some reason, bad luck seemed to follow me, and it made me question every good thing in life.
Keynauri made me happy, but a part of me still worried about the future.
I wanted us to be together for a lifetime, but we were still so young.
While we had been exposed to a lot at a young age, we hadn’t fully stepped into the real world yet.
I wondered whether we would be able to withstand whatever obstacles life threw at us.
My thoughts were beginning to fester into a sea of overthinking, so I decided to head back to my room.
When I slid back into bed, I tried to be quiet so I wouldn’t interrupt Keynauri’s sleep, but my plan backfired. He reached out to bring me closer to him, and I smiled as his arm draped over me again.
“I was trying not to wake you up,” I whispered, backing my butt against his semi-hard dick.
“I was up the minute you left my arms.” His gruffy voice turned me on, but I wasn’t sure my body could handle another session with him so soon. I turned in his arms so the two of us were face-to-face. My hands stroked the stubble on his face that he called a beard.
“When I came over tonight, I planned to tell you everything that was on my mind. I wanted to make it clear that I wanted us to be together because I don’t think I’m strong enough to watch you be happy with someone else.
In my mind, you were always going to be my one and only love, but I wanted to wait until I could give you everything you deserved.
I don’t want to make promises I may not be able to keep, but I want you to know I’ll never stop loving you.
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, and whether we’re together or not, you’ll always have a place right here.
” Keynauri pointed to his heart, making my eyes water.
His body was littered with tattoos, including one with my name on it.
He promised that he would never have another best friend, and it made me feel special.
“I love you, Keynauri. I’m sure we’ll go through ups and downs along the way, but this is the only place I want to be.
You’re the only man I trust to protect me and love me the way I need to be loved.
I don’t know where life will take us, but I know that I want to go through it all with you.
You’re special, even if you can’t see it yet.
” I leaned up to kiss his lips, thinking it was going to be a quick peck, but the next thing I knew, we were making love again.
This time, the pleasure far exceeded the pain.
“I’m gonna have to buy some condoms because you’ve got me out here being reckless. I haven’t had unprotected sex since I lost my virginity. The last thing I want is your momma to be mad at me when you end up with a belly full of my babies,” Keys joked, but the idea of being a mother scared me.
I realized how easy it was to get caught up because I hadn’t once thought about the fact that we were having unprotected sex.
A part of me wanted to know what it would be like to have a family with Keynauri one day, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that kind of commitment.
Plus, he already had Keyami, so there was no rush.
“Maybe I should get on birth control, too. As much as I can’t wait to have a family with you, I need to get my degree first.”
“You're gonna have my babies one day, Cocoa?” A grin spread across his handsome face, making me want to kiss all over him.
“Of course. I want to get married and have at least four kids. I kind of want to have them back to back so that they can protect each other and have a close relationship.” He chuckled as I described what our life would look like in ten years.
It was something I thought about often because I truly couldn’t see myself with anyone else.
“I’m fucking with your plan. I definitely want to give you a big ass house and fill it up with kids.
If this rap shit takes off, we can get married on an island somewhere and travel all over the world.
I want to be like the old-school rappers who settled down with one woman and built an empire.
We can build a legacy and set our kids up so they never have to go into the workforce.
They’ll be able to create their own businesses or follow whatever dream they have,” Keynauri declared.
My eyes grew heavy as thoughts of our life together swirled in my mind.
Most people took a lifetime to find their soulmate, but there were no doubts in my mind that I had found mine.
We both dozed off after a while, until the sound of his phone going off back to back woke us up.
The sun was barely up yet, so I knew it was still early.
Keynauri answered the phone with his eyes still closed, but that changed in an instant when he heard the sound of someone screaming on the other end.
“Slow down. What the hell happened?” Keynauri roared into the phone as he hopped out of bed. I sat up, too, because my gut was unsettled.
“I’ma kill that bitch ass nigga. He put his hands on you? Where the fuck is he at?” My instincts kicked in, and I rushed over to put clothes on. Keynauri was a hothead, and based on the conversation, it sounded bad.
“Call Aunt Trina. No, I don’t want to hear that shit. I’m on my way. Stay by the phone!” Keynauri barked before disconnecting the call. He turned right around and called another number as he raced out of the room. I followed behind him, trying to grab what I needed before he left without me.
“Bro, I’m going to jail. All I need you to do is grab my stash at Shamya’s house and meet me at the precinct. Naw, I’m dead serious. That nigga violated, and I’m not about to let this shit slide. Yeah. I hear you. Look, I gotta go. Just do what I asked and meet me there.”
Tears pooled in my eyes because I had never witnessed him this upset. Keynauri was a fighter, but this sounded different.
“Baby, what happened? You’re scaring me.” He tossed one of the couch cushions on the floor as he searched for something. It took a moment to realize he was looking for his keys.
“Keynauri! What’s going on?” I raised my voice because he was so caught up in his anger that he couldn’t seem to hear me.
When our eyes locked, I noticed there were tears in his.
That only sent my emotions further into overdrive because he wasn’t the crying type.
They were tears of anger, which to me were much more dangerous.
“I gotta get home. If you don’t hear from me for a few days, just know I love you.”
“No. No. Tell me what’s going on.” I followed him as he walked out of my house and down the steps.
“Keynauri!” I yanked him by his shirt, but his strength outweighed mine.
“Naiari, now is not the time,” he barked. I was taken aback by his addressing me by my real name. That was another indicator of how angry he was.
“I just want to know what’s going on. You just got out of bed while yelling into the phone.
It sounds like you’re walking into danger, so I’m not about to stand here and let you go without answers.
” My back was pressed against his driver's side door. In my head, he would have to move me in order to leave, and I knew he wouldn’t do that.
“Move, Cocoa. If not, I’m gonna walk home. Either way, I’m leaving.” He was seething. His mahogany face was filled with rage.
“What’s going on? Tell me what’s happening, and I’ll move,” I reasoned, knowing that wouldn’t be enough to satisfy me.
“That was Lyric on the phone. Apparently, Tone and my momma were arguing, and things got physical. She said she tried to break things up, but Tone punched her and pushed her into a wall. They are still fighting, and I’m about to put an end to this shit.
Now move.” Keynauri’s chest rose and fell, and I could tell that repeating the story only made him angrier.
“I’m going with you.”
“No. I don’t have time for you and your emotions right now. This is my family, and I need to handle it on my own.” His words stung, but I tried not to let it show.
“Why don’t you call the police?” I proposed, but I must have said the wrong thing because he glared at me in disgust.
“Why are you acting as if you’re new here?
They’ve been out to our house so many times, and nothing ever happens.
My momma refuses to press charges and ends up taking him back every time.
I’ve tried to hold my tongue, but now that I have my own money, we don’t need his ass.
I’m about to make sure that mothafucka never brings his ass back to our house. I’ll catch up with you when I can.”
“Wait. You’re not coming back here?” Selfishly, I wasn’t ready for our time to be over. We were finally a couple, and it was already starting off with a bunch of drama.
“Don’t wait up for me.” Keynauri moved me aside and got into his car.