Page 34 of Book Bae

“It wasn’t painful.”

The phlebotomist smiled at us and stated, “The results should be back within six to eight business days. You can have them delivered to you or here and pick them up.”

“I’ve already arranged to have them delivered to us. Thanks again,” I declared as I helped Myraj out of the chair that she was seated in.

We walked out of the office and out of the building into the bright sunlight. She searched through her purse and removed her sunglasses. I watched as she placed them on her face.

“All right, so I guess it’s back home for me.”

“Yeah, with me in tow. You heard what the nurse said before she took us back to the phlebotomist.”

“I’ll be fine, Micaiah.”

“I don’t want to take any chances. She said that the risks could include bruising, pain, bleeding, infection, and fainting.”

“At the injection site,” Myraj argued.

“Not the fainting. Besides, we’re not taking chances leaving you alone to figure it out. You need someone watching over you for the next twenty-four hours, at least.”

“Don’t you think that you’re making this into a bigger thing than it is?” she asked as I opened the car door for her.

“Nah, not even. That fainting shit might be a real thing. You’ve already been hospitalized for dehydration; I’m not taking a risk on this too.”

“You guys won’t let me live this down—you, Mama, Symone, Daddy, or my brothers.”

“We’re just concerned is all.”

I closed the door on any further arguments and hopped in the car. I drove to her place in silence. Both of us were lost in our thoughts, and I was glad. Malachi was at my parents’ house for the night because I hadn’t planned to take him with me, nor did I plan to return home tonight. I wasn’t ready for Myraj to meet him yet, not until I knew the results for certain. While I didn’t doubt that the baby was mine, I still wanted indisputable proof. The type of father I was demanded that I protect Malachi. I never let anyone meet him unless I was certain they would be in my life, and I didn’t have that reassurance about Myraj yet.

I was feeling her from the moment that we met, but she had been firm about not wanting to take what we were doing beyond that weekend. I respected her views, and while I hadn’t expected her to pop back up, she had, and I wanted to be cautious about how we moved forward.

When we pulled up to her house, I caught a slight wince on her face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, turning the ignition off.

“Nothing.”

“Myraj, how can I help if you’re not keeping it real with me?”

She rubbed her belly. “Nothing but a little hunger pain.”

I stared at her for several seconds. “Did you eat breakfast this morning?”

“I wasn’t hungry.”

“Myraj.” She flinched at my stern voice.

“What? I can’t force myself to eat if I don’t have an appetite. Besides, I wasn’t thinking about anything but needles being injected in me.”

I chuckled before I climbed out of the car. I headed around to her side, opened her door, and unbuckled her seat belt. “Let’s get you inside and get you fed. I wish that I had known that before; we could have stopped somewhere.”

“I can DoorDash a meal.”

“Nah, I’m about to cook for you.”

She reared back and smiled as we walked up the steps to her brownstone. “You can cook, sir?”

“Yeah. I can do a little something-something.”