Page 34 of A Minute Past Midnight

I shrugged. “Because I like waking up knowing you’re close.”

Her expression changed, softened.

Something moved behind her eyes as I walked closer. “And because tomorrow morning, I want to make you breakfast.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Boy, you cannot cook.” She laughed.

I sucked my teeth. “Here you go.”

She laughed. “What are you making?”

“Whatever you want.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“I can handle it.”

She stared at me for a second before finally nodding. “Okay.”

I smiled. “Okay?”

“Okay. I’ll stay.”

Something inside me relaxed. I reached for her hand and led her toward the couch. She tucked her legs beneath herself after kicking off her sandals while I sat beside her.

For a few minutes, neither of us said anything. Then Juliana looked down at her stomach.

“So . . .”

“So?”

“Since I'm keeping the baby, we should start thinking about names.”

I leaned back. “Already?”

“Yes, already.”

“Damn. The baby probably the size of a grape right now.”

She smirked. “Don’t talk about our child like that.”

I laughed. “I’m just saying.”

“Well, we need names.”

“A’ight.”

She turned toward me. “What do you like?”

I thought for a moment. “For a boy?” She nodded. “Boris.”

Her face immediately twisted. “No.”

“Damn.”

“That’s ugly.”

“It’s not ugly.”