Taeja

6. Chapter 6

6

She rolled over with a long yawn. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sunlight streaming through the windows and illuminating the room. When they did, she was momentarily confused.

Then it all came back to her.

A small smile worked its way onto her face as she remembered how a bitter evening turned sweet. Now, she wanted nothing more than to see her guys.

Hopping out of bed, she headed to the bathroom to tend to herself. Remembering she had no clothes here, she glanced toward Damon’s rather spacious walk-in closet. She wasn’t sure how he’d feel about her wearing his clothes this soon into their relationship, so she didn’t want to overstep. Besides, all of those shirts would be too loose fitting for her.

She slipped back on Liyah’s clothes, then followed the aroma of food downstairs to the kitchen. She paused in the doorway, her eyes doing a greedy take of Damon. He stood before the stove while plating breakfast. He was dressed in a white shirt that gripped his muscles and black shorts that looked like it was made only for him to walk in.

“Good morning,” she greeted.

Damon jerked, spinning around with a pancake hanging from his mouth. Seeing her, he yanked the pancake from his mouth and dropped it on the plate. “Good morning, baby.”

A small smile crept onto her face as she walked further into the kitchen. “I scared you?”

Damon scoffed. “You didn’t scare me.”

Taeja grinned as she sat around the island and crossed her arms atop the white quartz countertop. The coldness of it made the hairs stand on her skin. “Why’d you jump?”

Damon rolled his eyes. “Fine, you got me. You take light steps.” He placed his plate aside and walked toward her. Stopping behind her, he spun the stool around and kissed her forehead, making her smile. “How did you sleep?”

“Like a baby!”

“I didn’t. I woke up with a cramp in my arm because your head was on it all night.”

Taeja gasped. “I’m sorry—”

Damon burst out laughing, ridding her worry. “I’m joking. I slept great. Are you hungry?” he asked while moving away to grab a plate.

Taeja looked toward the stove, her eyes settling on the omelets and pancakes. She had a bad habit of eating at noon. She’d been like this since her first semester boarding on campus.

Seeing Taeja’s creased eyebrows, Damon said, “Don’t worry, you won’t die from food poisoning.”

“I’m not hungry,” she said. “I eat at noon.”

His brows creased as he lowered the plate. “Oh, okay. Make sure you eat at noon.”

“I will.” She watched as he put away the plate, then sat on the stool beside her. “Where’s Zain?”

“In the gym.”

“Where’s the gym?”

Damon swallowed the food in his mouth. “Down the hall, second door on your right.”

“Okay…” she trailed off before glaring at him. “Don’t track my number again.”

He paused moving another forkful to his mouth. He looked at her, smiling guiltily. “How did you know I used your number?”

Taeja smirked. “Remember, I’m good with tech, too. ”

“I didn’t forget,” he said. “I never asked which college you go to?”

She answered his question, then deepened her glare. “Stop deflecting. If you track me again, I’m putting a virus on your phone.”

Damon scoffed. “I’d like to see you try. And I won’t, I promise. You had us worried, so I had no other option.”

“I know… Sorry. What Andrew said got to my head.”

“You’ll learn to ignore him.”

Damon didn’t know this, but his words provided reassurance to her. It meant they saw her in their future, just like she saw them in hers. Taeja smiled.

“What are you smiling about?” He looked away from her to reach for his glass of orange juice.

Watching his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed, Taeja licked her lips. “Nothing. I was thinking about how comfortable I am around you guys already.”

“Clearly…” Damon’s eyes flickered to her clothes.

Gasping, she playfully swatted at him. “I don’t have any clothes here!”

“You could’ve worn mine.”

“Yu shirt dem goodly big like granny frock pon mi,” she said, smiling as he chuckled. “You should know that I’ve never been with two men at once before.”

Damon swallowed another gulp of food before looking at her. “Are you worried about what people will say?”

Her father came to mind. How much worse would things get if— No, when . How much worse would things get when she told him about her boyfriends?

She heavily sighed. Feeling a hand lay atop her thigh, she looked at Damon. His brows were creased, but his eyes were soft.

“Are you worried about what people will say?” he asked, gently this time.

She didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t want to talk about her relationship with her father this early in the morning, either. She sighed again. “No… Yes. I don’t know. I’m confused. This is new to me.”

“Understandable.” Damon nodded, taking his hand off her. As Taeja grabbed his hand and put it back on her thigh, he chuckled. He brushed her soft skin with his thumb, and some tension left her shoulders. “Ask your questions.”

“Should Zain be here? ”

“We can get him if you want to.”

“No, it’s fine.” She used a finger to trail the veins in his hand. Looking at his large hand gripping her thigh, she imagined it wrapped around her neck instead. Knowing it wasn’t the time to give in to her horny thoughts, Taeja returned her focus to his face. Damon was a handsome man, even more so with his five o’clock shadow. “I guess that can be my first question. How will I split my time between the two of you? I’ve never had a stable relationship before, so mi nuh know why mi go tek up two man.”

Damon chuckled at the latter part of her statement. “It takes some getting used to, but how you split the time is up to you. No matter what, we’ll always make time for you.”

“So, if I’m tired of one of you, I can go to the next? Having two boyfriends doesn’t sound so bad…”

Damon scoffed. “No, Taeja. If you have a problem with one of us, you talk to us, and we work it out like adults.”

“Isn’t this weird for you guys?” she asked, and he shook his head.

“We want this. Why would it be weird? Next question.”

“I love sex, but I don’t think I can always have it with the two of you at the same time.”

He chuckled. “We didn’t expect you to.”

“Good, because last time you almost made me cry lavender. I love your tongue,” she said and licked her lips.

He smirked. “Yes?”

“Yeah.” Smiling, Taeja leaned over to place a soft kiss on his mouth. Her eyes fluttered closed when he kissed her back. Damon’s lips fluidly moved over hers, and it made her smile. The kiss was sweet — a type of kiss where lovers could speak without ever saying a word.

Taeja never wanted to break away, not even for air. But she had to. As heartwarming as this moment was, she didn’t want to die before seeing her other boyfriend.

Pulling away, her hazy eyes opened to meet his. Damon looked like he wanted to tug her close and give her another kiss. She pecked him again, so he didn’ t have to.

She broke the kiss and gave him a small smile while hopping off the stool. “I’m going to find Zain.”

Damon nodded, moving his attention back to his food.

Exiting the kitchen, Taeja followed his instructions to find the gym. Slowly opening the door, she peeked her head in.

The wall to the back of the room was made entirely of a mirror. There were three of everything — three punching bags, three stair climbers, three pull-up bars, three weight-lifting benches. Everything.

Zain’s back was turned to her while he ran on a treadmill. The treadmills were facing away from the wall made of mirror. His headphones were over his ears. She figured he didn’t notice her presence yet.

Remembering what happened the last time she snuck up on him, the idea of scaring him like she did to Damon, disappeared from her mind. On the other hand, she didn’t want to loudly announce her presence and possibly frighten him, too.

Quietly sighing, Taeja closed the door behind her. She was light on her feet as she approached him. She was planning to get close enough to stand by the side of the treadmill so he could see her.

Suddenly, Zain stopped the treadmill and turned to face her.

Taeja froze mid-step. Her eyes always had a mind of their own when it came to her men, so they took a greedy take of him.

One of the earmuffs didn’t cover his ear completely, so he must have heard her as soon as she entered. Beads of sweat dripped down Zain’s pecs and trailed over his abdominal scars and six-pack. Zain was ripped, and he looked delectable.

Licking her lips, Taeja dragged her eyes to his. Amusement shimmered in Zain’s eyes, and it had her heart doing backflips.

Sure, even when he glared at her, she still felt weak to her knees and had a group of butterflies swarming her stomach. But whenever Zain was in a relaxed state? It meant everything to her.

“Good morning,” she finally said, her voice coming out raspier than she intended .

“Are you done checking me out?” Zain asked, raising a brow.

Her eyes flickered from his abs to his eyes. “I wasn’t checking you out! Yu deevn look good,” she lied quickly.

He scoffed. “Have you seen me, Taeja?”

She scoffed more dramatically. “You have a big ego, you know that?”

Zain raised his left brow, making his scar look longer than it was. “Your ego is bigger than mine, Taeja.”

“It isn’t!”

Zain scoffed, moving to sit on the weight bench. “It is. Think about all you’ve done since we met you.”

She thought back to how she stripped for them, had her boobs out in the pool, and was somewhat thankful she was still in the tiny shorts from last night. Taeja shrugged. “I have the right to a big ego. I look good.”

He gave her a head-to-toe, making a shiver run down her spine. “You don’t look good. You look great. Come here.”

Her heart thrummed wildly at his compliment. It meant a lot coming from him because he’d somehow managed to knock her confidence down a few pegs the first time they met.

Regaining her composure, she strolled over and sat on the weight bench beside the one he sat on. “You woke up in a talkative mood today?” she asked, and he raised a brow. “You rarely talk to me. Even if you do, it’s always after I talk to you first,” she said, and he tensed for a second before his body returned to a relaxed state. Thinking she struck a nerve, she rushed out, “Sorry, I didn’t—”

“Taeja.”

She pursed her lips.

Zain sighed. “I was trained not to say more than needed.”

“In the military?” she asked, and he nodded. “Do you… want to talk about it?”

He side-eyed her before looking away with a shake of his head.

Though she was curious to know more, she dropped it. He was slowly opening up to her, and she didn’t want to push him. As a person with unhealed trauma, she understood how difficult it was to talk about some things.

“Why are you smiling?” Zain asked .

Taeja went straight-faced. She hadn’t realized she was smiling. “Because I’m happy you’re finally talking,” she said, in total awe of his voice. It was deeper than Damon’s, but she was attracted to it just the same.

“I’m not mute, Taeja,” he said and laid back on the bench. He gripped the bar and started bench pressing. “Talk to me,” he huffed out.

Eyes glued to his flexing muscles, she almost didn’t hear what he’d said. How did this man manage to get this muscular? Zain was cut from stone; his build was intimidating. She truly believed he could crush her with his pinky if he wanted to.

“How can I when you’re distracting me? I want to do more than talk to you.”

Zain released something that was a mix of a short laugh and a huff. “Taeja,” her name rolled off his tongue in a warning.

She frowned, lowering herself onto the floor and crossing her feet. “Why yu always call mi Taeja?”

“That’s.” He did a pump. “Your.” Another pump. “Name.”

“Yeah, but you’re my boyfriend now,” she said, smiling as she remembered how Damon always called her ‘baby’ and ‘gorgeous’. That man knew how to show her affection in all the ways she’d begged her flings for. And the best part about it? She never asked him to do it.

Zain rested the weights back in their original position and sat up. His breaths were heavy as he grabbed his water bottle off the floor and took a few chugs. After he finished, he placed the bottle on the floor. “I don’t like nicknames, but if you want one, I can give it to you.”

“No,” she said immediately, not wanting him to feel forced into doing it. She wanted everything to flow naturally. Just like wherever this relationship would lead them. “It’s fine. I love my name, so you can call me Taeja. But why don’t you like nicknames?”

“Remember what Damon told you yesterday?”

“Yes.”

Zain took a moment before he said, “Our mom was the breadwinner, so she wasn’t home much. Our… dad… ended up doing whatever he wanted. He was rough on me growing up. He’d give Damon the pats on his back, extra money, you name it. If it wasn’t for my brother, I wouldn’t know what love and kindness are.”

Taeja sighed. “I can relate to you.”

“What? We’re both fucked up?” he asked as if he expected Taeja to say the opposite.

Taeja smiled sadly. “Basically,” she said, watching Zain’s eyes swirl with questions. She waited for the questions to come, but they never did. Wanting to break the sudden silence, she asked, “Is that all?”

“They also make me think of the army.”

“Oh… Why was your father rough on you? You’re twins. I don’t understand how he could love one more than the other.”

Zain stared at her for a long minute, as if he was debating if it was worth it to share a deep secret with her. After a moment of complete silence between them, he spoke. “I’m not Andrew’s son.”

Taeja’s mouth fell open and her brows raised to her hairline. “Wa?! You said you’re twins!”

“Heteropaternal superfecundation.”

Her surprise skyrocketed. “Mi baxide! Your mom cheated?”

“No, she didn’t cheat. She had a one-night stand when they were getting a divorce. Andrew had suspicions after they worked things out, and he requested a DNA test. That’s when Mom found out, too.”

Taeja frowned. “Oh… but that isn’t fair. He shouldn’t hold it over your head—”

“Life doesn’t go how we expect.”

Taeja thought of the rift between her parents and how she got caught in the middle of it. She sighed while nodding. “I get what you mean.”

The words Zain said next surprised her. Any other person would’ve probably told her, ‘No, Taeja, you’re not fucked up.’ But not Zain. He never sugar-coated anything.

“What’s fucked up about you?” he asked.

She looked away from his icy stare, unable to look at him despite it not coming off as judgmental. Even if they weren’t having a who’s-the-more-fucked-up-person competition, she wouldn’t be able to bear his stare for long. Every shared glance made her hair stand on end. Zain always seemed to look past her top layer and right into the depths of her core.

Her gaze fixed on a ten-pound weight on the nearby rack. “I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she said before meeting his gaze. “Can we talk about something else? I don’t want to spend all our time talking about sad things. I know you’ll stop talking to me soon, and I want to make the most of it.”

Zain scoffed at the latter half, then stood. “I’m going to shower.” He walked toward the door.

She got off the floor and trailed behind him. “I’m coming with you.” She didn’t care if she’d already taken a shower this morning. The thought of being naked in a small space with Zain excited her.

“No.”

Taeja pouted, taking long strides to catch up with him. “Please? I can hold your dick while you wash it.”

“No, Taeja.” He stopped walking to look at her. “You want me to fuck you, and that’s not gonna happen.”

“Why not?”

“I want you to beg for it.”

“Right now? If you want me to get down on my knees, I will.”

Zain’s brows creased. “I forgot how you are. You’re different from anyone we’ve been with,” he muttered the last part, but Taeja heard it.

“In a good way?” she asked hesitantly. She hoped he wouldn’t say the opposite. Her dad always said she was a disappointment, and she hoped her guys wouldn’t see her as one so soon.

A small smirk crept onto Zain’s face. “Yes,” he said, easing her worry to the point she felt the weight lift off her shoulders.

Taeja smiled shyly as his brows knitted. “What?”

He continued to stare for a few more seconds, making Taeja hold her tongue. She both hated and loved it when he stared at her this intently. It felt like he was discovering things about her that even she didn’t know about herself.

“Nothing,” he said finally, walking away. “You can shower with me. ”

Taeja smiled, more excitement filling her veins. Zain led her to a bathroom in the nearby bedroom. She was out of her clothes as soon as he closed the door behind himself.

Turning around, Zain’s eyes widened upon seeing the state she was in.

Taeja was hot beneath his gaze. She couldn’t ignore these tingles, even if she wanted to. Shyness erupted in her, and she moved her hand to her chest, covering her full breasts.

Zain raised a brow as his eyes slowly dragged up to hers. Then, he took slow, calculating steps until he stopped before her. They were so close that if she leaned forward by even an inch, they’d touch.

Zain curled his calloused fingers around her wrists. His grip tightened around her soft skin as he moved her arms from her chest and brought them to her sides. “Taeja,” came his raspy voice. “Don’t hide from me. You’re the closest thing I’ve seen to perfect.”

Her brows furrowed as she looked up at him. “The closest?”

“No one’s perfect, but if they were, I think it’d be you.”

Her heart picked up its pace. The words rolling off his tongue sounded poetic, so genuine. He thought she was the definition of perfect? She was overwhelmed but didn’t know how to express it. The only thing she could do was smile as his words replayed over and over in her head.

“Fuck, don’t cry. I’ll go get Damon—”

Laughter bubbled from her throat. “I’m not crying.”

“You are.” Zain released one of her hands to wipe below her eyes. He held his finger in her line of vision, revealing a wet spot.

Taeja’s lips parted slightly. She hadn’t felt the tears when they fell. Zain was throwing her off her feet. Whenever she was around him, none of her bodily functions seemed to work how they should.

“My eyes were sweating,” she joked, breaking free from his hold and walking toward the bathroom. She took exaggerated steps, wanting to make her shapely ass and slender figure appear more pronounced. Barely glancing over her shoulder, she asked, “Are you coming?”

Zain’s jaw ticked. “Don’t say that. I’m only thinking about coming in you. ”

Her brows crinkled as she stopped at the threshold of the bathroom entrance and turned to look at him. Her eyes lowered to the bulge pressing against the crotch of his shorts. Taeja smirked as she dragged her eyes to his. “How long do you think you can go without having sex with me?” she asked in a sultry tone.

“Not long,” Zain forced out. “Beg for it.”

Taeja dropped to her knees. She spread her knees wide. Air brushed her throbbing clit as she laid her hands palm up on her thighs. “Fuck me, please.”