Page 22 of That Fire

“I can get with that,” he said, then leaned over and kissed my belly. “I feel like our previous assumptions were right. You were probably ninety percent sure they were mine. I think that clinic fucked up for sure. I’m gonna make sure Bali puts a rush on those results.”

“Yeah. I need to know. This uncertainty is killing me. I’m due for another ultrasound. Are you gonna wanna know the sex of the babies?”

“I think so. Let’s get dressed so I can show you why.”

I smiled at him, then kissed his lips. It felt good to have him back. He didn’t know just how much his absence had affected my mental state. I felt every emotion on the spectrum while I was apart from him. I never wanted to go through that again. Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to.

Chapter 7

Royal

When I turned in the driveway at my house, Aaliyah frowned slightly. I knew she was trying to figure out why we were here. We were supposed to be going to her parents’ house, so I could confront them as the man in her life and father of their grandbabies. Whether I was the biological father or going to be a stepfather was yet to be determined. The point was that I would be playing a vital role in their lives.

I didn’t care about that other nigga. That shit was insignificant compared to living without Aaliyah’s love. I was truly hoping she would say it back, because I didn’t plan to say it at all. That shit slipped right out of me. Her pussy had lubed up my fucking thoughts to where I couldn’t even contain them. When she reciprocated, I wanted to just stay buried in her all night. I knew she was tired though. They’d been at it almost an hour before I got there.

I got out of the Escalade and went to help her out. As I did, I noticed Seven pass by. He was building a house two acres down. Kingsley was almost done building next door. He honked his horn, and I lifted my hand in the air so he’d know I saw him. When I opened Aaliyah’s door, I helped her slide out of her seatuntil her feet touched the ground. She looked so beautiful in her sundress.

I loved when summer rolled around and she wore shit like this, simply because I knew she didn’t have on under garments. That ass would jiggle just right when she walked. I purposely walked a couple of steps behind her just so I could watch that shit. When we got to the door, I opened it for her, and she stepped inside, then turned to me.

“We’re going upstairs, baby.”

I scooped her up amidst her giggles and cradled her like a baby. “I can’t wait to see what the surprise is.”

“Mm-hmm.”

I was nervous about showing her for some reason, and apparently, she could feel that my nerves were getting the best of me. When I showed her this, she would know that it was something I planned a while ago.

“You okay, Royal? You’re trembling.”

“Yeah,” I said as I stopped outside of the door.

I took a deep breath and kissed her neck, burying my face there for a moment. She always smelled so good. Finally, after gathering the nerve, I lowered her to her feet and opened the door. When she walked in, she gasped. “Royal! Oh my God.”

Tears graced her cheeks as she walked around the room, looking at the browns, yellows, and greens that made up the Jungle Book nursery. There were giraffes and monkeys painted on the walls, and green rugs that looked like grass on the wooden floors. She went to one of the wooden framed baby beds and looked inside it to see the giraffe bedding I’d bought, along with the jungle themed mobile hanging there.

She turned to me as I lowered my head. My eyes were still on hers, as I silently tried to reveal to her how invested I was when she told me she was pregnant. She now realized that I was all in from the moment she told me.

“I get it, Royal. I understand why you were so disappointed. I had no idea you were looking forward to this. You were more than disappointed. You were hurt.” She came to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “It’s so beautiful. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, but thankyou.You’re going to make me a father. That’s a gift that I can’t top. I will never outdo that. I wanted to show you when I was moving in, but it wasn’t quite done. I was waiting for the artist to come in and paint the walls. It was supposed to be a surprise once we got the DNA results, stating that I was the father.”

She cried as she laid her head against my shoulder. “Forgive me for not understanding how much this meant to you.”

“You don’t need forgiveness. I didn’t exactly communicate my excitement. I can’t wait until we go to the doctor’s office so we can know what we’re having. We can add more colors when we know.”

She lifted her head and puckered her lips as I caressed her stomach. I obliged her by kissing her lips, but I believed I gave her a little more than what she was expecting. I slid my tongue to hers and kissed her like I would never get the chance again. I had so much passion inside of me that I’d been spreading out to whoever wanted to feel it. I wanted all that passion to be hers. I wanted her to be the one who could claim me and have my attention.

Even when we were with Nikki and Lareesa last night, I wanted her to see that she always had my attention. They were the side shows. If she wanted it to just be the two of us, I would be fine with that too. She was the only woman I craved. When I separated our kiss, she caressed my cheek.

“Royal, I never thought this day would come. I swear I’ve been wanting you to myself for a while, but I didn’t think you would be cool with that.”

“We have to stop assuming shit about each other. Take a leap and say what you feel. That advice is for me too.”

“I was shocked when you told me you loved me. I was feeling like I had fucked up for a minute.”

“Why? I was doing the same shit you were doing.”

“Right. When I came to that conclusion, I got pissed. Now that we’re in this room, I can see what your emotions were about.”