Chapter 9
I woke up feeling inspired, so after I freshened up, I checked on Mikayla, then I grabbed my laptop and headed to my favorite spot on the couch in the living room.
Arsel’s parents had dropped Mikayla off early in the morning because they had to be somewhere.
As soon as she was settled, I went back to sleep as well.
Arsel wasn’t in bed when I woke up, but knowing him, he’d left for his morning run.
It was how he stayed so damn fit and fine.
I tried going with him before, but I couldn’t keep up.
I chose to walk or do light calisthenics, but I hadn’t done much of either lately.
I needed to find a balance with everything I needed to do in a day.
Life had gotten a little easier since Mikayla came to live with us.
It felt like things with Arsel had been getting better, too, and it was all I ever wanted.
I was finally living out my dreams. Mikayla adjusted to things faster than I thought she would.
I guess it was easier since she was so young.
I had the music playing at a low volume since it was still early in the morning.
Since it was so early, I didn’t even get my normal writing snacks.
I wasn’t sure when Mikalya would wake up, so I didn’t waste any time typing.
I had my legs tucked underneath me with a blanket around my shoulders.
I only turned on the lamp on the table. Arsel had specifically gotten the lamp for me for my early-morning or late-night writing sessions.
I managed to get two chapters done when I heard the front door open.
I looked up when he entered the living room.
As soon as his eyes landed on me, he smiled.
I watched him as he walked across the living room to me.
He wore tight black pants with shorts over them, a hoodie to match, and a black beanie.
I loved it when he wore those pants because they showcased the thick muscles in his legs.
“Good morning, baby.” His neck tattoos peeked through the neckline of his hoodie.
I tilted my head up to meet him halfway when he leaned down to kiss me.
“Good morning.”
He smelled like bodywash and sweat.
“I got you some coffee and breakfast. How long have you been up?” He kissed me one more time, then sat next to me. He placed the coffee and the bag on the table in front of the couch.
“A minute. I felt inspired, so I wanted to get some writing done while the house was quiet. I managed a couple of chapters.”
Arsel looked at me and smirked. “I’d like to think that good dick inspired you.”
My eyes glanced down to his dick as heat spread through my body. The same pants I loved were also pants I hated, because sometimes his dick would be front and center. I wasn’t insecure at all, but I didn’t need bitches looking at my husband’s dick and getting any ideas.
“I mean, you might be right.” I shrugged, then giggled when he tickled my side. It was moments like this that I missed about us. We used to play around with each other all the time. Somewhere between work and life, we lost those small moments.
“Stop, you gonna make me drop my laptop.” I continued giggling. I tried to get away from him, but he moved my laptop to the table and laid me across his lap. I turned my body and wrapped my arms around his neck as he cradled me like a baby.
Arsel pushed my hair out of my face. Since I’d taken my scarf off, it was all over the place.
He got serious as he looked into my eyes. His face was a little dewy from sweat.
“Are you happy?” He rubbed the side of my face. “Like, truly happy?”
I traced the freckles across his nose and his cheeks with my index finger. He closed his eyes as his breathing slightly hitched. I loved the effect I had on him even after all these years.
“I am.”
Arsel’s eyes opened. “Good, because I am too. Let’s eat before little mama wakes up.
” He kissed my forehead, then helped me sit up.
He kept me on his lap as he reached for the bag on the table.
Once he had it, he placed it on the couch next to us.
With one hand, he opened the bag and pulled out breakfast sandwiches.
My stomach growled when he opened the sausage, egg, and cheese on a croissant. I knew he’d gotten it from the deli that wasn’t too far from our house. They always made mine with extra cheese.
“Open.” Arsel held the sandwich up to my mouth.
I took a bite, with my eyes on him. He took a bite of the same sandwich. The sun had slowly risen, casting a glow over the living room as we shared the sandwich. When we were done with the first one, he pulled another one out.
“Remember we used to share our food all of the time because we didn’t have enough for two meals?”
“Yeah. I thought you wouldn’t fuck with me because I couldn’t afford to properly wine and dine you.” Arsel chuckled.
“I liked you too much. Plus, I trusted the process. Look around us.” I spread my arms and looked around the room. “Those shared meals were worth getting us to where we are.” I leaned forward and dropped a kiss on his lips.
Arsel and I were both struggling college students, but we made things work as best as we could.
My grandmother couldn’t do too much, but she helped when she could.
I didn’t have as many classes as Arsel, so I got a job at the school’s bookstore.
It wasn’t much, but we made it work. Arsel’s parents would give him money, and sometimes we would go out to dinner or the movies.
Arsel always looked out for me, even when he didn’t have it, and for that, I knew he was special.
I also knew I was too, though. We just got a little lost along the way, but we were back like nothing happened.
By the time we finished eating, Mikayla started crying.
“I’ll get her. I know you need to shower still,” I told Arsel as I climbed off his lap.
He smacked my ass and stood from the couch.
“Okay. Do you have anything you want to do today?” he asked as he gathered the trash from our food.
“No. I figured we could just hang out here. Maybe we can play some games with her and watch some movies.”
Mikayla’s cries stopped, but I knew she was still awake.
“That works.”
Arsel went into the kitchen, while I went upstairs to get Mikayla.
When I walked into her room, she was standing up in her crib. The minute she saw me, she stretched her arms.
“Good morning, mama.” I reached in to pick her up.
Her eyes were still watery, so I wiped her face, then carried her to the bathroom. I ran the water in the tub to give her a quick bath, even though she’d gotten one before bed. We were in the process of potty training her, so she wore diapers to bed.
It took a few minutes to wash her up because she loved to play in the tub, and I always gave her a few minutes to do that. Arsel had gotten a basketball hoop and balls for the bathtub, and that seemed to be her favorite thing to play with.
“Looks like we might have a future WNBA player on our hands,” Arsel said from the doorway. He’d changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt.
Mikayla’s face lit up when she saw him.
“That would be nice. I guess she’s ready to get out since you are here,” I joked as I let the water out of the tub.
“Your face lights up, too, when you see me.” Arsel winked.
I wrapped the towel around Mikayla and sucked my teeth. “You wish.”
He and I both knew I was lying. I definitely lit up whenever I saw him. How could I not?
“Please. Anyway, I made her some oatmeal and bananas.”
“Okay. Thanks. I’m gonna get her dressed, then we’ll be down.”
I carried Mikayla back to her room while Arsel went downstairs. Mikayla talked to me while I lotioned her body, then put her clothes on. Of course, I hardly understood what she said, but that didn’t stop her from talking or me from responding.
“You ready to eat?”
“Eat.” She clapped her hands.
This child would clap her hands for everything. I laughed, then picked her up. I kissed her cheek as we left her room.
She knew how to walk down the steps, but sometimes I liked to carry her. I put her down when we reached the bottom of the steps, and she ran to Arsel, who bent down to pick her up.
“Hey, pretty girl.” Arsel kissed all over her face as she giggled.
The three of us went into the kitchen so she could eat. Arsel helped her while I fixed sandwiches for us to eat later in the day for lunch.
When Mikayla was done eating, the three of us migrated to the living room.
Mikayla pulled out some of her toys and played with Arsel while I scheduled some promo for the last book I put out. When I was done, I joined them on the floor.
“What’s this?” I asked Mikayla as I held up a block with the letter A on it.
“A!”
“Good job,” Arsel praised.
We went through the rest of the alphabet, and she screamed and clapped when she recognized a letter. After we were done with that, we moved on to numbers. I found some flashcards online, and they seemed to work better for her.
After our learning hour, we moved to the couch and watched a movie.
Mikayla sat on the couch between Arsel and me. My heart was full as I watched both paying attention to the movie. Whenever Mikayla got excited about something, she pointed at the television and told Arsel to look, even though he was already looking.
“I almost forgot to tell you. There’s an event at work coming up, and I would love to have my wife on my arm.”
“That would be nice. I’ll see if my grandma could keep her for the night.”
“Okay.” He winked, then focused back on the TV when Mikayla got his attention.
We watched another movie until Mikayla took her nap. While she was sleeping, Arsel and I cuddled on the couch and talked while a movie played in the background.
He told me more about his work event, and I couldn’t wait to get dressed up and look good on my husband’s arm.