Chapter 15
Kilo took the empty bowl from my hands and put it on the bedside table. He used his thumbs to wipe the unsolicited tears from my cheeks, then cupped my face.
“Why are you crying?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do, baby. Tell me why expressing yourself summoned your tears.”
I put my hands on top of his, removed them from my face, and intertwined our fingers.
“Because being a Black woman is hard sometimes. Always keeping it together, being on high alert, never letting my guard down, raising my Black son in this fucked up world, and being in protective mode twenty-four seven is exhausting. Besides my father, no man has ever taken care of me, spoiled me, or loved me. You saying you wanted to do those things made me emotional.”
Kilo’s gaze pierced my soul, and I was completely captivated. He looked at me the same way when our eyes connected for the first time in Soulful Diner. I couldn’t look away then, and I wouldn’t dare look away now.
“I don’t know how long it takes to fall in love, but just know, I’ve wanted to love you since our first meeting,” he confessed.
He pressed his lips against mine, and we fell onto the bed, with him on top of me. Naturally, my legs opened because they knew he belonged between them. I felt his dick, already hard, as he ground against my center.
We kissed, and ground, and kissed and ground some more, until my panties were soaked. He reached between us, moved the crotch of them to the side, and swiped his thumb over my slippery lips.
“Damn, baby. You wet as fuck,” he mumbled against my lips.
Finally pulling his mouth from mine, his lips traveled to the side of my face, and he tickled my earlobe with the tip of his tongue. He moved down to my neck, sucking, biting, and licking before kissing the same spot where I was sure he’d left marks.
My bra fastened in the front, so he slipped his finger through the clasp, freeing my breasts. He palmed each of them with one hand and alternated rubbing his tongue over my nipples.
“Mmm, shit,” I moaned, keeping my voice low because Nyeem was down the hall.
When his face finally made it between my thighs, he could’ve easily helped me shimmy out of my panties, but instead, he tore them away from my body. I couldn’t react because he wasted no time burying his face between my thighs.
“Oh God!” I said louder than I wanted.
“Sshh, baby,” he murmured against my lower set of lips.
That was easier said than done, so I grabbed a pillow and covered my face, releasing muffled screams as he devoured my pussy. As soon as I came, he pulled the pillow away from my face and filled my pussy with his dick.
“I need to see your face when I’m in this pussy.”
With my legs resting in the crooks of his arms, he pummeled my pussy until we both exploded. He collapsed beside me, then pulled me into his arms. I could get used to him being in my life.
The next morning, Kilo left before I was fully awake.
When I did finally wake up, I felt like my old self.
I hadn’t done a track workout since the previous week, so after washing my face and brushing my teeth, I dressed in my workout clothes, added my work clothes to my bag, which already had my toiletries, and headed to the kitchen to grab a banana.
Nyeem was at the table with his face buried in his phone while eating a bowl of cereal. He looked up and smiled, causing me to do the same.
“Good morning, Son. Why are you smiling?”
“No reason. Just happy to see you happy. You feel better today?”
“Much better, and I hope that doesn’t change. How are things?”
“Work is work, but I’ll be glad when camp starts so I can quit.”
He’d held down a part-time job at a small grocery store since he was old enough to work. They loved him and allowed him to make his own schedule. When the time came, they would hate to see him go.
“You’ll have enough on your plate, and with your stipends from the football and track teams, you won’t be hurting for money. As always, your mama got you for any and everything.”
“I know, Ma. So far, my classes are easy. Training has been good.”
“Good. Have you, umm, have you seen Ambrose?”
“Yeah, and we haven’t exchanged any words. Every time we make eye contact, I mean mug him.”
“Does he look at you in any kind of way?”
“Nah. He can barely look at me, which I find kinda funny.”
“Nyeem—”
“It’s cool, Ma. At first, I didn’t think I could handle being around him, but now that I know how uncomfortable he is in my presence, I kind of enjoy it.”
I shook my head and smiled. He’d found a way to cope with a negative situation, and I was proud of how he’d decided to handle being in the same space as the man who’d helped create him but pretended he didn’t exist.
“Son, if you ever—”
“I know, Ma.”
“Boy, you gon’ stop interrupting me.”
“I know what you’re about to say because you’ve said it before. You know you didn’t raise a fool. I got this.”
“All right. I’m here if you ever need me. I love you.”
“I love you more.” He stood to kiss my cheek. “Oh, and make sure you let Coach know your whereabouts. He wasn’t happy with you at all.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’ll get over it.”
“I know, but he really likes you, and I like him for you, and y’all are about to have a baby, and—”
“Okay, Son. I’ll be sure to keep him updated.”
“Or you can send him your location. That’s how I keep up with you.”
“First of all, you’re acting like I go anywhere besides work, home, Mimi’s, or Skye’s. I don’t be outside like that.”
He shrugged. “True, but Coach don’t know that yet. You had that man stressed for no reason.”
“Whatever. Speaking of Kilo, . . . a lot has changed in the past couple of months. Are you sure you’re good with everything?”
“Change is good, Ma. I’m excited.”
“You sure?”
“I’m positive. I’ve waited a long time to see you genuinely happy. Don’t worry about me.”
He kissed my cheek again and began cleaning up the small mess he’d made in the kitchen. I quietly left, pondering his last words. I didn’t think I’d been unhappy all this time, but maybe Nyeem saw something I didn’t see.
I thought about our conversation on the whole ride to campus, and when I started my workout, it was still on my mind. I put on my headphones, did a lap to warm up, and stretched in the middle of the endzone.
A few minutes later, after sprinting down and back a few times, I went to my bag to get my water bottle. As I squatted near my bag, I saw feet approaching me, and I knew who it was before he spoke.
“Nyomi, what the hell are you doing?” Kilo asked.
“What does it look like?”
“Should you be doing this? I don’t remember you clearing this with the doctor.”
I stood and put my hands on my hips.
“You think women stop working out because they’re pregnant?”
“Of course not, but do you have to work out like you’re training for the Olympics?”
“You’re exaggerating. I don’t know how many mornings I'll wake up and feel like myself, so I have to take advantage.”
He pulled out his phone, and his finger swiped over the screen. When the phone began ringing, he put it on speaker and held it so that we could both hear.
“Dr. Jordan’s office, Angie speaking,” the woman answered.
“Hello, Angie. Can I speak to Dr. Jordan?”
“He’s with a patient right now. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Is Nurse Jordan available?”
“Yes, sir. Hold please.”
As soon as she put us on hold, I began fussing.
“What are you doing?”
“I need to find out if it’s okay for you to be doing this.”
“Oh my God, Kilo. You’re ridiculous. You do realize I have a whole eighteen-year-old at home. I know what I’m doing.”
“This is Nurse Jordan. How can I help you?”
“Hi. I don’t know if you remember me, but this is Kilo. My lady and I were—”
“You were with Miss Kurrie. I remember you. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine, but I have a question.”
“I’m listening.”
“Is it okay for Nyomi to do intense workouts right now?”
“Umm, what do you mean by intense?”
“Sprinting up and down a football field, for starters.”
“Well, is that something she’s been doing for a while, or did she just start this today?”
“Hey, Nurse Jordan. This is Nyomi, and I’ve been doing sprints at least once a week for damn near my whole life.”
“Oh, okay then, carry on. It’s perfectly safe if it’s something you do often, but I would suggest not starting or trying any new exercises until after you give birth.”
“I told you.”
I turned around and took off down the field, slightly annoyed but also touched by his concern.
When I sprinted back to him, he stood with his arms folded across his chest. I stopped in front of him and playfully shoved his shoulder.
He picked me up, tossed me over his shoulder, then pretended to slam me on the turf, landing on top of me.
“You play too much,” I said through heavy breaths and giggles.
“I’m not playing with you, and I can’t help it if I don’t know shit about pregnancy. I’m a first-time parent.”
“Did you think I was lying?”
“No, but I didn’t think you were telling the truth.”
I smacked my lips and tried to push him off me.
“You need to get up because I’m sure this is inappropriate behavior for two university employees to do.”
“Gimme a kiss first.”
He didn’t have to ask me twice. I puckered up and waited for his lips to touch mine. It was a quick kiss, and thankfully, he didn’t get carried away. He got on his feet, helped me up, then pulled me into a hug.
“I’m glad you’re feeling good enough for this kind of workout this morning,” he said.
“Me too, and I can add bananas to the list of things I can eat. You want to finish my workout with me?”
“How many more sprints you got?”
“Four more. I can’t do the rest of my workout because this crazy man interrupted.”
“Crazy about you. Let’s do it.”
Ten minutes later, he was bent over, breathing hard, and asking for some of my water.
“I thought you were in better shape,” I teased.
He took a swig of my water before responding.
“Shit, I thought I was too.”
“Let’s stretch, or you won’t be able to walk in the morning.”
I sat in the end zone, and he sat across from me, as he did the first time he saw me on the track, and we quietly went through a series of stretches. When we finished, he helped me up again, then picked up my bag.
“Oh my God,” I mumbled.
He looked at me, then followed my gaze. Ambrose was headed in our direction, and unfortunately, avoiding him was impossible.
“How do you want to handle this?”
“I guess I’ll take a page out of Nyeem’s book. I’ll pretend I don’t know him when you introduce me.”
When we met up, I noticed Ambrose’s eyes traveling the length of my body. I may have been pregnant, but I wasn’t far enough along to be showing, and my body was definitely tea.
“Wassup, Ward? Headed to the track to get a workout in?” Kilo asked.
“Something like that,” Ambrose responded with his eyes still on me.
My eyes were on him as well, but not in the same way, and I was sure my face wore a frown.
“You’re staring pretty hard, bruh. You good?” Kilo questioned with a hint of humor in his voice.
“Huh? Oh yeah. I’m good. Who’s your lady friend?”
We were holding hands, and Kilo released mine and put his arm over my shoulder. I leaned into him and put my hand on his chest.
“Oh, she’s a lot more than a friend. This is my woman, Nyomi. Baby, this is Ambrose Ward. You may have heard his name since he was a senior on the football team during your freshman year. Does he look familiar?”
I looked at him, still wearing a frown.
“No. His name doesn’t ring a bell, and his face doesn’t look familiar. Baby, I have to get ready for work.”
I lifted my head, stood on my toes to kiss him, grabbed my bag from his other shoulder, and left. I couldn’t wait to hear how the conversation I knew they were going to have went. Nothing but pure entertainment.