Amaija
One month ago
“We’ve been looking for a month. I don’t know why you’re so picky with picking a donor when you aren’t that picky with who you sleep with.” Brin says. I roll my eyes as we pull into the parking lot of the latest bank.
“I am making a human, not just getting myself off. I have to pick the perfect man,” I say.
“There is no such thing as the perfect man,” Zara says as we all exit the car.
“Trouble in booty call paradise?” I ask, amused since she’s been singing a different tune for the last couple of weeks.
“Your brother is an asshole. Can you believe he wants to sleep with other women?”Zar says.
“He’s my brother, so yeah, I can believe it. He’s a great son and an even better brother, but a good boyfriend he is not. You knew this when you went in, though.”I say.
“I know, but I tho
Eriq I catch the woman as she falls, and we tumble to the floor. She’s on top of me but quickly gets up. Amaija What damages? Are you trying to extort me, you piece of shit? Did you plan this after you found out who my family was? I clench my fist as my anger builds the never of this woman. "Last night, you tried to sexually harass me." "Sexually harass?" She says, furrowing her brows. "Yes, first you called me your baby daddy, then you tried to kiss me. Then you fainted; I could not find anyone who knows you, which means I had to leave work early and let me tell you, something woman, I need all the money I can get." "I…" "I’m not done talking. So after
Amaija In the three weeks since my insemination and subsequent run-in with my donor, I have been unable to forget him. I can’t forget his chiseled jawline, his deep hazel eyes, or his chestnut hair. He’s gorgeous and is the father of my child if I am indeed pregnant. For the third time today, I stare at the pregnancy test on the countertop. I have been putting it off because I am too scared to know for certain if I am pregnant or not. Assuming I am pregnant, then I’ll be a single parent, which is scary, but if I am not pregnant, I’ll be disappointed. The day has finally come to find out either way because I finally worked up the courage to take a pregnancy test. The only thing left to do is take it. I reach for the box slowly as my heart beats fast. Ding, Dong. I catch myself at the sound of the doorbell. Who could it be? I wasn’t expecting anyone. My eyes glance back and forth
Amaija “Ami,” he says my name, making my heart thunder while my insides melt. He knows it’s me. How does he know it’s me even though I’m wearing a mask? What should I say? I didn’t plan on speaking to him when Gwen asked me where I wanted to go. I didn’t even know if he was still working here, but I hoped he was and I hope I would see him again just one more time so I could always remember the father of my child. But the minute I saw him when I walked through the door, I know seeing him alone wouldn’t satisfy my curiosity, so I bought out the VIP and got him to be our server. Now, seeing him up close, I don’t know what to say. My heart feels like it is going to explode out of my chest. "Ami?" He says again, pulling me from my thoughts. My eyes shift to his. We stare at each other in silence for a moment before Gwen breaks it. “Amaija, you didn’t tell me you know such a sexy bartender,” Gwen says while giving him bedroom eyes. I push the bitter fee
Eriq I expected her to push me away or slap me, but she melts right into my arms. Her soft lips move against mine, and I feel my heart pounding in my chest. I want her in a way I never wanted anyone. I was afraid to admit that before seeing her tonight. Afraid to admit it because life never gives me what I want, but the moment I saw her, it didn’t matter that I was poor and worthy of her. I knew I had to have her. My hands find her waist, and I pull her closer to me as our kiss deepens. She moves her hand down my chest to my pecs, to the top of my boxers. No, I can’t do that with her. Not her, not like this. I grab her hand and break the kiss. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. You kissed me and I..” she mumbles. She is so cute when she is nervous. I take her hand and kiss it. “You have nothing to apologize for. I just want to ta
AmiI’m on the couch with a pillow on my stomach and a laptop resting on it as I work on my latest video game design. While video chatting with Vector, our other game developer.“V, we should move the launch date. Looking at where we are currently. The game should be ready in a month.”“I think we should keep it the same. In case of any bugs, we need to fix.”“We can fix them during testing.”“Not if there’s a major problem.”I purse my lips and think for a moment. I want to launch this game as soon as possible. It’s a first-person shooting game I designed for women who like guns. They can upload images of their cheating boyfriends and shoot them. You know, get out the anger without jail time. It was inspired by my last cheating ex and then him, who dumped me without an explanation, but I don’t have any pictures of him I
EriqI hop out of my car and grab the art supplies that I just bought. Today is my only day off from work and I want to get some painting done. Although I have only been painting one person whenever I sit down to paint. It’s been three months and I still can’t get her out of my head. Even though I told her the kiss and my asking her out were mistakes, I regret not seeing it through. I was just in shock when I found out she was pregnant. But I should have talked to her. I should have asked what it all means. Instead, I shut down and pushed her away.“What are you thinking about?” I jerk my head to see my cousin Flavio standing by the door.“Flav, I don’t have time for you today.” He grins as I head up the stairs.“Long time no see.”“Not long enough,” I mumble under my breath as I climb the staircase with him following me.“I heard you’re lining your dick in a gay c
ERIQ“The apartment he bought was that one.” she trails off, leaving me stunned.“What?” I jump to my feet. “This is that apartment?” She nods.“But you’ve been here before. Didn’t you recognize it?”“I’ve never seen it. I was always too busy to come when we were together and after we broke up, I didn’t want to see my ex’s love nest.”“Oh,” I mumble. I can’t imagine how she must feel being here in the apartment he shared with another woman and, worse, after finding me here, the guy who dumped her. I glance at her, trying to read her, but she refuses to look at me.“Are you okay?” The words slip out of my mouth before I can stop myself. She lifts her gaze to meet mine. She stares at me for a momen
Amaija.I glance at him from the corner of my eyes. How weird is this, to keep meeting the man whose baby I’m carrying? I didn’t expect to see him again after that night, but here he is in the flesh, sitting right next to me. I knew this place looked familiar when Jaden pulled up, but him being here isn’t that too much of a coincidence? It’s like the universe or someone is trying to push us together, but we keep messing it up. Now I’m kicking the father of my child out on the street. I sigh, great so much for any future we may have. If he didn’t hate me before, he probably hates me now. Well, maybe I dodged a bullet. If he ran when he found out I was pregnant, imagine what he would do if he knew he was the father.“So where’s the father?” my eyes open wide. Can he read my thoughts?“Huh?”
EriqI can’t keep myself from smiling as I peel the potatoes. Her mother likes me. I have one ally in my goal to win over Ami.“Mom!” Jaden runs into the kitchen, snatches the potato peeler from me, and glares at me.What’s wrong with him? He’s acting like the first time I met him. “Mom, why didn’t you tell me you need help? Why did you ask him?”He says, his eyes still shooting daggers at me.“I didn’t ask him. He offered to help. You can help if you want to, but he’s already doing the potatoes. Why don’t you make the dough for the fried dumplings?”“Okay, mom.” He throws the peeler down, walks over to her, and kisses her cheeks.I shake my head, confused, before resuming what I was doing. We all work together in mostly silence for a while.“Are you two done?” Mrs.Klein asks after a while.“Almost,” I say as I look down at the potatoes and see only three left. “Do you want anything else done?”“I’m almost done, mom. You can have me do it instead.” Jaden comes running towards us, his h
Eriq I glance back at Ami, and sure enough, she looks worried. Our eyes meet, and I smile to reassure her before her mother pulls me away. Judging by her mother’s attitude toward me, I don’t think it will be as bad as she does, but I know she is worried for my sake. Which means I have some place in her heart even if she doesn’t love me yet. It gives me hope that maybe someday soon, I can tell her I love her. I have been holding back for the last few weeks and feel I’m suffocating without saying those three words. “I bet he’s Asian.” someone says as we draw closer to the family room. “No, this one is white,” Jaden says. “White, that’s new. How old is he?” “I don’t know,” Jaden says. “I bet two hundred and fifty thou he’s twenty-four.” “I’ll take that action,” “No, you’ve already met him. So both you and Zara are excluded.” I chuckle, amused by their banter. They remind me of my family. I guess all families are the same no matter how much money you have. “So 250, who’s in…” “Ah
AmiI pull my pants on, then my shirt, and grab my shoes. We’re getting ready to leave for Jamaica soon. I frown. Two weeks with my , overbearing family is not my idea of a good time. Especially since I’m still a little miffed, that Mom felt the need to blackmail me into going. She can be so annoying, but I can’t be too upset since Eriq is right. The entire family changed their schedules so that I could go. I mean, even if is overbearing, it is sweet.I feel the corner of my belly stretching, pulling me from my thoughts. I smile as I reach down and touch my stomach. Every time I feel them move, it makes me so happy. Our baby.“Daddy and I can’t wait to meet you.” I sigh, my heart feeling troubled as I remember I haven’t told Eriq it’s his baby. I was going to tell him, but his father for sick, and then mom changed the date of the trip, so it didn’t feel like the right time. I can’t drop this news on him and two weeks with my family at the same time. I’ll just wait until we get back fr
Eriq I inhale, trying to calm myself as I stare at the arrogant shit smirking at me. I want to punch in Flavio’s teeth for what he pulled today. However, they outnumber me and are probably all armed. I glance at the three men in the room, one by the door I recognize from the picture and two other men behind him. “Welcome to the family business.” “The family business is an auto shop, Flav. What the fuck was that today?” “This is the new family business. Your little friend will be untouched if you comply.” Anger burns through my body. I clench my jaw, trying to resist the urge to lunge at him. “I already told you I’m not interested in whatever bullshit you have going on. This is not the life I want to live.” “Are you living the life now? I see that pretty little thing you’re with. What will happen when she needs money to do her hair or her nails but her boyfriend is broke?” I chuckle at the thought of Ami needing money from me. “You won’t find it funny when she leaves you for ano
EriqMy heart almost stops. I immediately sprint out of the room, ignoring Glen’s calls as I head for the door. What if Flavio kidnaps her? I have never seen him harm someone, but he set my apartment on fire to get what he wanted. What else is he willing to do? I should have known better than bringing her here. I should have suspected he may have been watching Glen. I should have moved out to keep her safe, but I selfishly stayed because I wanted her. Now she’s in danger and all because I couldn’t stay away from her. I swear if he touches her; I grit my teeth as I run down the last flight of steps out of the building. I run to the car. She’s not there. I look around. She’s nowhere in sight. I grab my phone and dial his number. After a second ring, he picks up.“Where the fuck is she?”“So, she is important to you?”“I swear if you lay a finger on her, I’ll bury you six feet deep.” My voice trembles with anger and fear at the same time. “Finally. I like that. Who knew it would take a w
Amaija “She did what? How do you know it’s broken?” Eriq asks. “Well, I’m in the middle of something. I’ll let you know.” He removes the phone from his ears as his friend screams. “What’s wrong? Is it an emergency? We can cut our date short.” “It’s…” He pauses and presses the speaker. “Are you seriously going to leave me here?!” Glen shouts. “Yes, call your parents,” Eriq says. “I don’t want my parents to see me like this.” “Call the ambulance. I’m busy. I told you to stop picking up random women.” I furrow my brows. What does a random woman have to do with this? “She was really hot and you know that our health insurance is shit. I can’t afford the emergency room fee. Especially after getting robbed.” “A woman robbed him?” I ask, stunned. “Yes, and she also, according to him, broke his Ummm…” He trails off. “Broke what?” “His—his—uh, the thing you painted today.” The thing I painted. I furrow my brows, confused. I painted his thing; I blush, recalling the picture. It makes
EriqFinally, we’re going on a date. It’s a bit late considering all the things we have done, but it’s better late than never. I just hope she likes it. She is used to the best of the best and I’m sure this won’t compare to some dates she has been on, but I hope it’s good enough because she deserves nothing but the best. My smart, loving, tough cookie with a heart of gold. My little weirdo. The memory of her crawling in my room on all fours makes me chuckle. I couldn’t believe she was the one nabbing my shirts, but knowing my smell makes her feel better is the best feeling in the world because it means she’s attached to me. And maybe this thing we’re doing will be more than a fling. Well, it already is more than that for me, but I can’t read her. I know she likes me, but I don’t know how much. I want to ask, but I’m afraid of the answer. I shake my head, Stop thinking of the future and just live in the present. Let’s just focus on tonight. I take one last look, grab my watch, and put
Amaija “Ami, I’m going to take a shower!” Eriq says.“Okay!!” I shout from the couch, pretending I’m reading as I watch him disappear. After five minutes pass, I drop my iPad and sneak up the stairs to his room. I tiptoe to his door and press my ears against it, listening to see if he’s still in the room. Hearing nothing, I slowly open the door and hurry across the room to his closet. I’ve been sneaking in to steal his shirts for the last couple of days. Okay, it may sound weird, but I promise it’s not what it seems. His smell makes me feel better. No, not in a weird way. I had no morning sickness at the beginning of my pregnancy and thought I would make it to the end without ever getting sick. But two weeks it arrived with vengeance. I’ve been suffering from morning sickness the last two weeks, more like all-day sickness since it doesn’t just happen in the morning. It does stop when I’m sleeping, but otherwise, I’m by the toilet.Before the shirts, I tried everything. Mom even r
EriqAfter checking a couple of Ami’s emails, I head downstairs to find them when I hear them talking.“Come on, tell me. You were having sex with that guy, your new assistant, right?” I guess they are having girl talk. Should I go in? No, it will probably be awkward if I enter now. I stand back and wait for the conversation to turn to something neutral so I can enter.“Shh, he might hear you.”“So that’s exactly what you were doing. How was it? Give me all the details. You know it’s been four years since I’ve gotten any….” Four years, wow that’s a long time.“Shhh… he’s my assistant. And you’re choosing not to have sex. You can have any man you want.” Ami says.“The dating pool has urine in it. Girl, you know. They are all either cheaters, users, or gays.” Ami chuckles her cute little laugh.“There are some good ones left,” Ami says.I smile, hoping she’s thinking of me.“I guess he must be something special for you to have that stupid grin on your face.”“What grin?”“That stupid gr