Been all over the world
Done a little bit of everything
Little bit of everywhere
With a little bit of everyone
But all the girls I've been with
Things I've seen and it takes much to impress
But sho nuff you blow it makes your soul stand out from the rest
I can be in love
But I just don't know (don't know girl)
Baby one thing is for certain
Whatever you do it's working
Other girls don't matter
In your presence can't do what you do
There's a million girls around
But I don't see no one but you
Girl you're so one in a million
You are
Baby you're the best I ever had
Best I ever had
And I'm certain that
There ain't nothing better
No there ain't nothing better than this
: One In A Million by Neyo
~Malik~
"Camryn what are you doing?" I asked. Karma was fast asleep still, but Camryn was in the bathroom doing GOD knows what. She's been in there for an hour already.
"Camryn!" I called again. I didn't want to wake Karma up, but she's not answering me and we have to leave. I got up and knocked on the bathroom door. She didn't answer. I opened the door and she was just sitting on the toilet looking.
"You heard me calling you," I knelt down beside her. She took my hand into hers.
"I'm 18," she said.
"Yeah you are," I replied.
"I don't feel any different," she looked at me.
"Nothing changed but your age Camryn."
"But everybody said 18 is the age when your life begins. They say when you 18, you grown. I don't feel grown," she explained.
"When did you start feeling like you weren't a child anymore?" I asked.
"When I realized I was pregnant," she whispered.
"So do you think being pregnant made you grown?" I asked.
"No. I mean. When I realized I was pregnant. I got a job and I moved into a motel. But then I got an apartment and started paying bills," she explained.
"So technically you were grown at 17. Or were you 16?" I asked.
"17," she said.
"You went through your pregnancy alone?" She stared at me looking uncertain of what to say.
"I do a lot of things alone," she whispered.
"Camryn. Get dressed. We're going out," I squeezed her hand.
"What's your deal with Jordyn? You saw her and your mood instantly changed," she blurted.
"I saw my mama yesterday," I changed the subject.
"You don't wanna talk about Jordyn?" She asked.
"You haven't been an open book either," I replied.
"Are you in love with her?" She asked.
I shrugged. "Maybe."
"Well maybe you should be with her," she said rubbing her arm.
"I'm fine where I'm at," I replied rubbing her knee. She frowned.
"Why do you do that?" She asked.
"Do what?" I asked.
"Stay? Every time I try to push you away, you come right back in. You pull me right back in," she whispered.
"Because I love you," I replied. "I love you so much. I love you Camryn."
"You love me like a brother loves his sister," she shook her head.
"I love you like a man loves his woman," I said. She looked at me and then I kissed her lips caressing her face. She was still. I started to pull away, but she pulled me back in.
"I'm scared," she whispered. "I'm scared of being loved by you." I smiled.
"Do you feel something for me? Anything?" I asked.
"I feel. I um. I-"
"Wahhhhhhhh!" Karma squealed.
"I have to get my baby," she explained getting up. She pushed past me and I just knelt there feeling foolish.
"Malik!" Camryn called. I got up and exited the bathroom.
"Wassup?" I asked.
"Can you feed her while I get dressed?" She asked hesitantly.
"Of course," I shrugged. Then my phone rang. She looked at me. "Go ahead." She went into the bathroom. I got Karma situated, then answered my phone.
"Wassup Christian?" I asked.
"Are you with Camryn?" She cooed.
"What do you want Mrs. Blaire?" I asked.
"Fine. Mr. Lamar, well. You will um have a temporary um. What's my job again? Yes Financial Manager. Yeah I have to um lightly put take some time off for other things," she said.
"What other things?" I asked.
"I'm having another baby," she mumbled.
"What? Congratulations!" I exclaimed.
"No. Hush ain't no congratulations," she shushed me.
"What's wrong Christian?" I asked.
"I don't want another baby," she suddenly sobbed. "The first two are demon seeds. I want an Angel!" She wailed.
"Christian are you serious?" I laughed.
"Malik, Tristan and Cayden are so damn bad. They're horrible. All I want is a child that looks like me and listens."
"Christian this might be that child. And Tristian and Cayden are not that bad," I shook my head.
"They're evil spawns of Satan," she replied. "And my husband is Satan."
"Christian who are you talking to?" Her husband asked.
"Uhh. Uhh my boss," she replied. "Malik I gotta go." I just shook my head.
"Bye Mrs. Blair," I said, then hung up. Camryn came out of the bathroom.
"Well you look cute," I told her. She smiled.
"And you look handsome as always," she pinched my cheek.
"Don't do that," I groaned.
"Fine Malikey, weeky," she teased.
"Aite now you're pushing it," I mugged her. She smiled coyly. I took Karma's bottle out of her mouth and laid her over my shoulder so she could burp.
"I would love to see you with a pre-schooler. I can imagine you arguing with a 5 year old now," she smirked.
"Why would I argue with a five year old?" I asked her.
"Because they would be so spoiled and you would be trying to unspoil them," she replied.
"Whatever," I muttered as Karma burped. That might be true. I have a soft spot for children. I guess it's because of what I went through growing up. Karma squirmed in my arms, so I laid her on the bed. She cooed pointing at the ceiling.
"Malik I don't mean to push you away and I appreciate you a lot. I just don't know how to express my feelings. I don't even know what I'm feeling. I just know that when I first saw you, I already knew that there was something special about you. And now I look at you looking at me and some emotion just overwhelms me," she explained. She placed her knee on my leg and her hands on my shoulder. Then she kissed me. Not just a peck, but a full-blown kiss.
I held her waist steadying her. She gripped my face biting my lip. Then she pulled away. "Baby you're my every thing."
"Fuck, you all I ever wanted."
"We can do it real big."
"Bigger than you ever done it."
"You be up on everything."
"Them other folks ain't never on it. I want this forever I swear I could spend whatever on it," I smirked leaning back with her in my arms.
"We gotta go," she giggled.
"I guess birthday girl," I shrugged. She got up and scooped Karma up along with her. She placed Karma in her carseat and grabbed her bag. I picked up Karma and we headed out if the house. We got in the car and I buckled Karma in.
"So where are we going?" She asked.
"First we're going to Cracker Barrel to eat breakfast. The rest you will see," I replied.
"Will I like it?" She asked.
"Its not hard to please you, so hopefully this exceeds your expectations," I told her.
"Well sugar, I hope it does. You gotta work hard for my love," she teased.
"Don't I know it?" I smirked. She looked out of the window realizing her slip up.
"I didn't mean-"
"It's fine Camryn relax. Just giggle at the joke and go with the flow," I told her.
"Sorry. I just. I overthink everything. But you know that too," she mumbled.
"Look. Today just forget about all of that. Its all about you and you only. No overthinking, no apologizing, just you enjoying yourself."
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~Camryn~
"Are you full?" He asked me. I shrugged.
"You look like you're still hungry," he teased me.
I cut my eyes at him turning to Karma. She was in her car seat trying to sit up. I smiled feeding her some pancake.
"You know I catch the glances you sneak at me," he started.
"You never say anything," I replied.
"You don't supposed to say anything. You're supposed to appreciate it," he replied.
"I don't ever catch you sneaking glances at me," I told him.
"I'm more discrete than most," he replied.
"Nah you just openly stare," I teased.
"Sometimes I do," he replied. I blushed. I don't know how we ended up here. Openly flirting, kissing. It was all happening too fast for me.
"And sometimes you walk around with baby drool on your face," I said in an exasperated sigh pretending to be annoyed.
"Thought we had gotten past that," he chuckled.
"Well you thought wrong," I replied kissing Karma's cheeks. He stuck his tongue out at me.
"Let me see her," he reached out for her. I handed her over. My baby girl was five months today.
After we finished eating, we headed to the spa. "What are you and Karma going to do while I'm back there?" I asked.
"We'll find something to do. Go get pampered," he said. Then kissed my cheek. I headed into the back where they gave me a robe to change into. After changing, they washed and conditioned my hair. Then I went into the sauna with a glass of sparkling apple cider. It felt good to be relaxing, but I'd rather be relaxing with Karma and Malik.
"You look a little tense," the woman next to stated. I chuckled.
"I guess that's why I was brought here," I shrugged.
"Brought here?"
"It's my birthday," I explained. She nodded.
"This is actually one of the most expensive spas in the state. Either this person really loves you or they own this place because I can't even get a trip here on my anniversary," she told me. I smiled.
"So what's the occasion?" I asked her.
"My father passed away," she chuckled.
"Sorry to hear that."
"I'm not. So who brought you here if you don't mind my asking."
"A close friend of mine. He and my daughter are waiting on me," I replied.
"Well. That's nice to hear. Are you and this close friend just friends or more than that?" She asked.
"I love him," I told her. She smiled widely. I can't believe I just admitted that. "But for some reason I can't tell him that. Its like like the words just won't come out around him. And we haven't really known each other long at all, but it's like he saw through everything I was trying to hide. I told him things I thought I'd never tell anyone. You probably think I'm crazy," I looked up at the woman.
"Of course not honey. You're in love," she smiled. "I know a thing or two about it."
"Love. Thought I'd never experience it."
"Well. All love ain't good and I found out the hard way. My father never loved me, so I went looking for love in the wrong place. My oldest son's father was nothing short of a fucking mistake," she chuckled. "But my husband. He's amazing. He loves me and our two children. That's good love. I hate it cost me my relationship with my oldest son Malik though. Or maybe it wasn't the love. Maybe it was me."
"Malik. Malik Lamar?" I asked. She nodded.
"That's my son," she nodded. "My mom raised him when I went away."
"At least you found love. The good kind," I changed the subject.
"Cheers to good love," she smiled and we clanked our glasses together.
"We're ready for you Mrs. Lamar," the masseuse stated.
"Me?" I asked. She nodded. I stood up. "It was nice meeting you." Then I was escorted into a room and instructed to lay down on the table.
I met his mom. I actually met his mom. Never mind the fact that it was accidental. Should I tell him I met her? Soon I felt my shoulders being carressed and a light airy smell of mango filled the air.
Soothing ocean sounds played in the background. Eventually I fell asleep.
"Is that my baby girl Karma?"
"What are you doing here Tasty?" I asked.
"I brought you some friends," he smirked. I frowned. He moved to the side as Julian, DayDay, Rod, and Sumajaye stepped up.
"Mommy. Who are these men?" Karma asked.
"We're here for you baby girl," Julian smirked.
"What? Tasty," I started. Julian grabbed Karma.
"No!" I screamed. "No!"
I jumped up and the masseuse tried to calm me down. "Mrs. Lamar are you okay?"
"Can you get my husband?" I asked her. "And my daughter please." She left the room and I sat up. About five minutes later Malik walked in with Karma. I pulled my robe back on once I was realized I was completely naked.
"Are you okay?" He asked walking over to me.
"I wanna leave," I said with tears in my eyes. "I wanna leave now." He wrapped his arms around my waist helping me down.
"Do you wanna go back-" I shook my head no.
"I just wanna be with you," I hugged him. He smiled. I tied up my robe and the lady brought my clothes to me. Malik turned around distracting Karma while I changed. He took my hand leading me out of here.
He didn't ask me any questions. We just left. Neither of us spoke for a while, until I apologized. "I'm sorry," I told him.
"I told you no apologizing," he smirked.
"I know. But your mom said that spa was one of the most expensive in the state and I wasted your money," I shrugged.
"My mom?" He asked.
"She said your grandad died," I continued.
"Oh. Umm. Are you sure it was my mom? She never knew her dad," he explained.
"She said her oldest son is Malik Lamar and she's married with two more kids. And she said that she didn't have a relationship with her oldest child and her mom raised him," I explained.
"What did she look like?" He asked.
"Chocolate skin. Brown curly hair. Brown eyes and she was a petite woman," I explained.
"What did you tell her?" He questioned.
'That I love you.'
"Nothing important," I replied.
"Did you tell her you knew me?" He asked.
"Well no. But when she said Malik. I asked if she was talking about Malik Lamar, then I changed the subject. But the masseuse came in and called me Mrs. Lamar, so she might've guessed," I explained.
"Well. That's. I don't know how to feel about that," he told me.
"Did I just make things awkward?" I asked. "I'm so-"
"No apologizing," he cut me off.
"I didn't mean to. Umm. Where are we going now?" I asked.
"I think we should go in for a while," he said. I nodded as he drove the car in the direction of the motel, which was surrounded by police cars.
Could this day get any worse? "Stay here. I'll check it out," he told me.
"I think I should considering the fact I stay here and you don't," I shrugged.
"We'll both go," he said. "I'll get Karma." I got out of the car.
"Are you an occupant of this motel?" He asked. I nodded.
"Yes. I'm residing in 154," I replied.
"You need to get your things and leave. This hotel is being evacuated due to being part of a drug operation," the officer explained.
"What!?" I exclaimed. He couldn't be serious.
"We'll escort you and your husband to get your things now. Let's go," a different officer said. He is not my damn husband. I followed them in shock. This was literally the only motel I could afford daily that was convenient for my commute to work and Karma's daycare.
"This is great. Just fucking great," I sighed. Malik was silent as I packed my things. He got most of Karma's stuff.
We got the little stuff we did have in his trunk and we left. I laid my head against the dashboard. Why is life so hard for me? GOD must don't like me or something? What I do to deserve this? Where am I gonna go?
"You can just take me to the nearest motel for now," I told Malik.
"No," he said.
"What?" I looked up at him.
"I said no. I'm tired of wondering if my family is safe or not at night. Y'all are moving in with me."
"Malik. I can find another place to stay. I just need somewhere to go tonight," I explained.
"Camryn. You and Karma can stay with me. I want y'all at home with me where I know y'all are safe," he told me. I never had a home before.
"Are you sure? We don't wanna impose on your life," I explained.
"Camryn. I only go there to sleep. When I'm not at work or my old house, I'm with you. Having you there would make it feel like a home again," he explained.
"How will I get to work and Karma to daycare?" I asked.
"I'll hire a chauffeur and he can drive you in any car of your choice. Unless you know how to drive," he shrugged.
"I took driver's education at school, but I don't have my licence."
"Then it's settled, you're moving in with me and you'll have a personal driver until you take your driver's test," he replied.
"Malik I-I, I l- I love what you're doing for us. I appreciate you. Thank you."
"My pleasure. Would you like to enjoy the rest of your birthday out on the town?" He asked. I shook my head no.
"I wanna lay down."
"Then home we go."
Home. I have a home.
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Dope_Ahh_Cam
YOU ARE READING
Four Seasons Of Loneliness
RomanceMalik came from a struggling family. He didn't grow up as privileged as others around. There were times he had to go without lights, water, and food. He knew that the only way he could make it out was education. So he went to school every day and gr...
