Chapter 6
Amir
The next morning
I came over to Delilah’s house last night to check on her before bed, and just when I was about to leave, she told me I should stay with her instead of traveling home.
I tried to convince her to come back to my place, but she said she was too tired to travel that late at night, and, seeing how drained she looked lately, I believed her.
Delilah opened her eyes and saw that I was awake, lying on the left side of her small ass bed, and she smiled, raising off her side enough to kiss me on the forehead.
“Good morning baby.”
“Morning.”
She yawned and stretched her arms.
“I know that this isn’t that big king-sized Tempur-Pedic mattress you have at home, but how did you sleep?”
“I slept alright.”
“Good, you can sleep longer if you need to.”
“Nah, I'm good. I need to get my day started. You know twenty-four hours isn’t.”
“It isn’t enough time, I know,” she finished my sentence sarcastically.
I stood up from the bed and went into the restroom connected to her room, adjusting my boxers and pants I had on because I didn’t feel comfortable enough to sleep in my boxers.
Being inside this house still felt strange because every time I came here back in the day, I was sneaking in, instead of being welcomed through the front door.
I remembered when Delilah was upstairs, and I used to sneak into their house while her parents were down at their laundromats, thinking she was just at home studying.
Really, she and I were laid up in here making out half the damn day.
She wasn’t giving it up, and I wasn’t the kind of man to force it on her.
I listened to my brothers talk about sex for years before I ever tried it, so Delilah and I took our time.
I looked on the shelf in her restroom and grabbed one of the unused toothbrushes near the sink. After brushing my teeth, I picked up one of the towels folded neatly nearby and ran water over it to wash my face.
“Yo, how long does it take for this water to get hot in here?” I called out.
Delilah didn’t answer right away, and her silence made concern creep up on me. Anytime she got too quiet, my mind instantly went to her lupus or the pregnancy, stressing her body out.
I walked out of the restroom.
“You went back to sleep?” I asked, my concern soon fading when I saw her sitting upright in bed with the covers pinned tightly against her chest and my cell phone in her hand.
Her face was torn up enough for me to know she not only had my phone, but had also seen some shit she didn’t like.
“What are you doing with my phone, Delilah?”
“Why did that Jasmine girl just text you that she needs to see you today? You messing with her after all? And what is this picture of this building on fire about?”
I walked over to the bed and grabbed my phone from her hand.
“I don’t know what she wants to talk about, and no, I’m not having sex with her anymore. That picture is work, and that’s the last question I’m going to answer this morning. You going through my phone is out of line. Fuck around and see some shit you can’t unsee in this mutha fucka.”
I walked back into the restroom, this time catching the scowl sitting on my face in the mirror. A few seconds later, Delilah appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame with her hair falling over her shoulders.
I hated that her ass was still pretty as hell to me right now because she had pissed me off with that prowling shit. I do too much heinous shit for her to ever go through my phone.
“Amir, I’m sorry I looked in your phone,” she said softly.
“I wasn’t trying to invade your privacy, and you know I never did that before.”
“But you magically start today?”
“Not magically. Your phone chimed, and I picked it up and saw the name. And that made me jealous. I don’t like you talking to any other girls.”
I shook my head while sticking the towel under the water that had just gotten hot.
“Anyway, I had a new client sign up on the website last night. It’s another guy. A teenager, I believe.”
“Is that right?”
“Yeah, and I hate to admit that I’m excited about it, but I am. Children and teenagers with mental issues were my main focus in college. It’s the help that I wish to give.”
After washing my face, I finally turned around toward her.
“How long are you going to keep listening to other people’s problems when you've got so many of your own?”
“As long as Allah allows me to.”
I couldn’t argue with her reasoning because most of the time, Allah was mine too.
“Well, I hope you don’t let others stress you out so much that it hurts my seed. You already have a lot of shit on your plate as it is.”
“I know, I do, babe, but I can handle it. I’m strong, I’m a big girl.” She walked up to me and put her forehead against the bottom of my chest.
“Thanks, Amir.”
“For what?”
“Caring the way you do.”
“I’m supposed to.”
“Yeah, but you don’t have to.” she replied,
“And I love you so much for that baby.” She pressed her palms up against my chest.
“You’re so handsome, so thoughtful, so protective of me. You deserve the world, Daddy. And I can’t wait to give it to you and have your first child.”
She started to drop down to her knees before she grabbed my dick out of my pants and put it straight into her mouth. Or at least all that she could fit.
Delilah sucked my dick right there in the restroom against the counter, and for the first time since I woke up, I felt completely relaxed for the moment. After about five minutes I exploded in her mouth and watched her swallow my nut like I was her morning tea.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Delilah, Amir, it’s Nadia.”
Her mama’s voice carried down into the restroom, and Delilah quickly got up from the floor, wiping her mouth fast like she was trying to hide what she had been doing.
The panic in her movements made me laugh because it reminded me of the old times with us.
Back then, whenever her parents called for her while I was over here, she would react the same way.
“Yes, Mother?” she called back.
“Your father and I are cooking breakfast. I have shakshuka on the stove, turkey sausage, warm pita bread, and some mint tea made. You both should come up and enjoy it while it’s hot.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Delilah replied, going over to the sink to brush her teeth.
Delilah freshened herself up a little more, and once we finished getting dressed, we headed upstairs together.
The second we stepped into the kitchen, the smell of seasoned tomatoes, onions, peppers, and tea filled the whole space.
Her mama had the kitchen smelling good as hell, and despite my not being completely comfortable here, the warmth in the house was comforting.
We sat down at the small kitchen table, and I felt big as hell sitting there because everything in the room felt compact compared to what I was used to. Delilah’s father, Sahir, sat on the opposite side of the table, sipping coffee quietly
Me and Sahir never got along in the past. He has called me everything under the sun, except "Amir," at one point or another. Half the time, he would hear gossip about my family floating around his laundromats and judge me for it. A lot of the shit he heard about me was true, but a lot of it wasn’t.
Sahir was the kind of man who would rather believe his own assumptions than listen to facts.
He had a pride that often fucked people up because being realistic was out the door when you had to stick to whatever bull shit you came up with.
Delilah helped her mother fix the plates before bringing one over to her father and me and sitting them down in front of us.
I quickly dove into the food, remembering how good this homemade Halah was in the morning.
Mecca always kept a Muslim chef in the kitchen to cook these kinds of meals for us.
He was a lot of things, but with that, he always made sure we were in touch with our culture.
“So, Amir.” Sahir finally spoke up after sitting in silence for a good minute.
“Delilah tells us that you two are expecting a child together.”
I wiped my mouth again with a napkin, buying some time before I spoke.
“Oh.” I looked to Delilah.
“I didn’t realize she told anyone yet, but yeah, we are.”
“Delilah and I, along with her mother, have a very open and honest relationship. We are always here to support her, and we hope you will as well. You do plan on supporting her throughout this pregnancy and the child’s life, correct?”
“Dad, we can talk about this another time.”
“Why so? We are having breakfast, my love. It’s just a discussion, it’s okay, isn’t it, Amir?”
“Of course it’s fine. But yes, to answer your question, I plan on being there for Delilah every step of the way through this pregnancy and even after.”
“Great, so what about marriage. When shall we book the Mosque for a ceremony?”
“Dad.”
“Delilah, it’s a good question.” Her mama spoke, taking a slice of Pita up to her mouth.
“Amir, you are in touch with your faith, correct?”
“Of course, I am.”
“Well, you do know that marriage is a sacred union, used as a strong foundation for your family and your child being brought into this world. Nadia and I have been married for thirty-five years, and I like to credit Delilah’s success and proper upbringing to the foundation we laid.
You all have to think the same way, so marriage should be on the table as soon as possible.
” He finished, and I nodded to let him know I was listening, but the subject he was speaking about was one that I had to think about by myself.
Me and Delilah getting married hadn’t crossed my mind, and when it does, I’ll be the one to bring it up to them. Not the other way around.