Continued...
Marcus
"Bruh get the fuck out of here." I kissed my teeth as I saw that the flames were coming from my shop when I pulled around. I quickly parked and hopped out of the car. I went and helped Alani out before we sped walked over the first officer I spotted.
"Sir, you can't go behind this tape." He said as I approached him.
"That's my shop. What's going on?" I said as I saw the firefighters hosing the building down.
"From what I was told by your employees, somebody knocked a few candles over and didn't pay attention until they smelled smoke and realized that a fire had started." He explained. I shook my head, that story doesn't even make no damn sense.
"That story doesn't even make sense." I said as I looked over towards the ambulance and saw that Serena was getting checked out by a paramedic. We walked over to her and her eyes widened when she saw me.
"Marcus, I'm so sorry. I tried my hardest to put the flames out but it was too late when I realized what had happened." Serena cried as I approached her.
"Its okay, Serena. As long as you guys are all OK, it'll be fine. That's why I have insurance." I said. "What the fuck happened though?" I asked her as I squeezed Alani's hand and she stepped closer to me.
"I was up front straightening up and cleaning up because I was getting ready to close up and then I started to smell smoke. So I went and checked all of the booths and as I approached Hakeem's booth I saw smoke coming from inside. I quickly ran and grabbed the fire extinguisher, but by the time I got back the smoke had completely filled the air and the flames were too big for me to handle so I ran out. Somebody had already dialed 911 because by the time I got outside and dialed the number they were already pulling into the parking lot. I was going to call you but they wanted to check me out to make sure that I was fine." She cried. "I don't even know when everyone else left because when I got outside I saw them all standing around with wide eyes." She finished. I nodded as I sighed.
"As long as you guys are all fine, then I'm good." I said. "I know how stubborn you are so if they tell you that they think you should go to the hospital, then go." I said to her. She laughed before coughing.
"I will. I'm sorry again, boss." She said. I waved her off.
"It's fine." I said. I sighed as I ran my hand down my face. "I have to stay here and figure out what's next. Do you mind waiting for me?" I asked Alani as I looked down at her. She shook her head.
"Not at all. Handle your business." She said. "Is there anything I can do? I mean I can't do much, but I can help you out as best as I can." She said. I laughed.
"It's okay mama. I just need to go talk to the officer and my other employees." I said. She nodded.
"I'll wait right here." She said. I nodded as she stepped off to the side and I walked away.
Alani
That story about the candles falling over doesn't even make sense. If someone knew there was a candle around and they accidentally bumped into the table or whatever the candle was on, why wouldn't you look back to make sure that it didn't fall over? Better yet, how didn't you hear the glass break from the candle falling on the ground? I shook my head as I pulled my phone out of my purse. I opened my text messages and saw a text from Delilah.
Sis you lucked up in the baby daddy department. Not only is he fine as fuck, but he takes good care of you and my babies, and he's so attentive and caring when it comes to you. Eventually we'll be saying "Mia who?" Lmao. Anyways I hope you guys have a great night and I'll talk to you tomorrow. Let me know if you need anything. I love youuuuu!! - Bestie Boo 🤞🏽🩷
I laughed as I shook my head.
I really did, he's super caring, active and attentive. I'm glad he's the father because I don't even know how this pregnancy would go if Kendrick was the father. But I love you more, have a good night. 😘🩷 - Me
"Are you guys dating?" I heard somebody ask me. I looked up and saw the receptionist, I think her name is Serena or Selena, looking at me.
"No, we're not. Not that that's any of your business though." I said to her. She laughed.
"Girl relax." She said as she rolled her eyes. "I'm just trying to be friendly and spark a conversation since it seems like you're going to be around us." She said.
"You don't even know me and you're trying to be in my business. You could have easily asked me my name and that alone would have sparked a conversation between us." I said. I don't even care to have a conversation with her at this point. Before she could say anything I heard Mia's voice from behind us.
"What the fuck is going on?" Mia shouted. I turned around and rolled my eyes as I saw her jogging over to the scene. She was wearing a pajama short set with a robe and her house shoes. "Marcus baby, are you alright?" She asked him as she ran to him. He scrunched his face up as he looked at her.
"I'm good Mia. The fuck are you doing here?" He asked her. I looked back down at my phone and I felt Marcus look at me.
"Hakeem called me because he couldn't get in touch with you. You did tell your employees to call me if it's an emergency and they can't reach you." She said.
"I forgot but thanks for reminding me, I need to change my emergency contact." He said. I choked on my spit as I held my laugh in. "Mia, go home. You don't need to be here. Ain't shit you can do anyways." He said.
"I'm sure I could help out somewhere." She said. "What is that home wrecker doing here?" I heard her ask. I looked up from my phone and saw her looking back and forth between me and Marcus.
"First of all, she's not a home wrecker. You did that, not Alani. Second of all, that's none of your goddamn business why she's here." Marcus said as he looked at her. "Go home, Mia. You're not needed here." He said.
"Why aren't you telling her to leave? I'm your wife, not her!" She exclaimed as she pointed at me.
"Not for fucking long, Mia. Go the fuck home man." He snapped. She bit her lip and nodded as she pouted.
"Fine. Will you call me when you get home so that I can make sure you're good?" She asked.
"No." He said before he turned around and walked away. She frowned as she walked over to the paramedic truck where the receptionist was still sitting. They talked in hushed tones before Mia finally left. I smirked as I made a mental note to tell Marcus about how close Mia and his receptionist is, and how he should be careful with how much of his business he talks about while in the shop.
After about thirty minutes Marcus walked back over to me. "I'm so sorry mama. I know you're probably tired, but I didn't want you going home by yourself since you were having a bad feeling earlier. But I'm finished now." He said as he rubbed my stomach. I nodded as I yawned.
"It's fine. I've been keeping myself occupied on my phone." I said. "You ready to go though?" I asked him. He nodded.
"Yeah, let's get out of here. There isn't anything I can do so we may as well leave." He said. I nodded as he walked me to my car and he helped me inside before he walked over to his Jeep. I pulled off and I saw his Jeep right behind me.
Once we got to my house we parked in my driveway before going inside. "I'm gonna warm up some of this food when I get out of the shower. Do you want any?" I asked Marcus as we walked inside my house. I turned the lights on and made my way to the kitchen.
"Yes please. Those ribs were so damn good." He laughed. I laughed as I nodded and sat the bags of food on the table.
"Okay I got you." I said. "You know where the shower is, so I'll see you when we get out." I said as we walked up the stairs. He nodded as he went into the guest bathroom while I went to my bathroom.
"How long have your parents been together?" Marcus asked me. We were currently sitting on the couch and we had just finished eating so we were watching Family Feud to pass the time.
"35 years. They met in high school." I said.
"That's wassup. What's the age gap between you and your brothers? How old are your parents?" He asked.
"So Lance is the oldest and he's 31. Adrian is 29, and you know I just turned 27. My mom is 52 and my dad is 53." I explained. "We're a pretty tight knit family. They get on my nerves majority of the time, but I wouldn't trade them for the world." I laughed. He laughed as he nodded.
"That's wassup. My parents were married for about eight years before they divorced. I don't ever recall a time when they argued in front of us or even loud enough for us to hear if we were at home, but I do know that they had an amicable split. They've both remarried, but they're all good friends and they take vacations together and everything." He said. I nodded.
"That's so mature of them. I think it's dope that they still have a friendship with each other and now with each others spouses even though you and your brother are both grown." I said to him. He nodded.
"Yeah, I admire them for that. But I could never be that mature. Once I divorce Mia, I don't ever want to hear from her again. I would be content with not ever seeing her again too." He said. I laughed as I nodded. Before I could reply, banging on my front door made us both jump. I held my hand across my chest as he stood up and made his way to my door. I quickly got up and followed behind him. He held his hand out telling me to stay back and I stopped in my tracks. He looked out the peephole as the banging continued and he turned to look at me. "It's your ex." He said. I rolled my eyes as he unlocked the the locks and took the latch off before opening my door.
"Alani, baby I-" Kendrick slurred his words before abruptly stopping. He frowned as he looked up at Marcus. "What the fuck are you doing here?" He slurred as he wobbled side to side.
"Nigga what the fuck are you doing here? Didn't Alani tell you more than one time to stay the fuck from over here?" Marcus asked him. Kendrick rolled his eyes before his eyes landed on me.
"Baby come here." He said as he tried to walk into my house before Marcus pushed him back and he tripped over his feet. I laughed as he groaned. I grabbed my phone and called 911 and asked the dispatcher to send an officer over here. I already know that I'm going to get a restraining order tomorrow because now Kendrick is taking it too far. It took all of two minutes for two police officers to pull up at my house. They cuffed him and took him away and told me to make sure I go get a no trespassing and restraining order against him as soon as possible.
"Damn, how did you know something was going to happen tonight?" Marcus asked me as we locked up downstairs and cleaned our mess up before going up to my room.
"I don't know. It's been a while since he came around and started some shit. I mean I know he approached me at the mall earlier but he couldn't do too much in public because there were too many people around and on top of that, his apparent wife was in the same vicinity." I said. "I just knew something was bound to happen either tonight or sometime soon." I said as we laid down. He nodded as he rubbed my belly.
"I'm glad you spoke up on it. I don't know what I would have done if something happened to you and our babies because of him." He said.
"I would never forgive myself if something happened to us because of him. I mean I know it would be out of my control, but I would blame myself forever." I responded as I closed my eyes. "When do you move into your apartment?" I asked him.
"I'm already moved in. I just have a few more items that I have to go and get from the house and then I'll be out of there for good. I just need to make sure I go when Mia isn't there so I can be in and out." He said. I laughed as I nodded.
"She's a piece of work. How did you stay married to her?" I asked him as I opened my eyes and looked at him. He laughed.
"A lot of patience and prayer. She wasn't always like this. She was actually good people to be around, but that all changed once she started working where you guys work and she started hanging out with this new friend that she met. I don't want to go into too much detail because I'm in the process of trying to make her a thing of the past, but let's just say she's easily influenced so there's that." He explained. I nodded.
"Yeah, Shaniece is not one I would want to hang around with if I was married or in a relationship. I love her, that's my girl. But she's such a bad influence." I laughed as I thought about my coworker. "She is very down to earth and so sweet though. You just have to be able to stand your ground with her because she can be very persuasive." I said.
"Yeah, Mia's air headed ass can't think for herself." He said. I laughed as I slapped his chest.
"Alright I'm done talking about her now." I giggled. "Do you have any names in mind?" I asked him.
"I don't. I've been struggling to think of some." He admitted with a laugh. "What about you?" He asked. I nodded with a smile.
"I thought of one but I don't know how you're going to like it. It's so unique though, I couldn't help but to fall in love with it." I said as I cleared my throat. "So I was thinking Empress Milani for one of them." I said nervously.
"Damn. I'm really fucking with that one, that's dope and unique as fuck mama." He smiled at me.
"Well that one is settled." I laughed softly. "What do you think about the names Yasmine, Ayana and Jayla?" I asked him.
"I like Ayana and Jayla." He said. "What about Ayana Neveah or Jayla Isabelle?" He asked.
"Hmm. So I like the name Neveah better than Jayla and Ayana." I laughed. "What about Neveah Isabelle?" I asked him.
For the rest of the night we continued to go through potential names for baby number two before we dozed off.
I woke up the next day to the smell of food being cooked. I sat up and stretched as I yawned before getting out of the bed. I went to my bathroom and handled my business before washing my hands, brushing my teeth and washing my face. I then made my way downstairs to see what Marcus was cooking. "Good morning." I said as I walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning mama. How are you and my babies?" He asked as he came over and kissed my stomach. I always laugh every time he kisses my stomach because his beard always tickles me.
"We're good. How are you feeling today?" I asked him as I sat on one of my barstools.
"I'm good, can't complain." He said. "I made Turkey bacon, pancakes, and omelets with chicken breast, green and red bell peppers, onions and spinach in them. If you want toast instead of pancakes, I can make that for you." He said. I smiled as I laughed softly.
"I'm a pancake girl, so I'll take those. Thank you for cooking though, you didn't have to. We could have went out for breakfast or something." I said as I stood up and went to wash my hands.
"I don't mind mama. It was something light, no big deal." He said as he sat my plate down. "Orange juice or apple juice?" He asked me.
"Orange juice. But can you put it in a cup with some ice?" I asked him as I sat back down. He nodded as he sat his plate next to me before fixing my drink and grabbing two bottles of water for the both of us. "Thanks so much. This smells so good." I said as we closed our eyes and prayed before digging in. "And it tastes so damn good." I moaned slightly. He laughed.
"Appreciate it mama. What do you have planned for the day?" He asked.
"Sundays are usually my self care days. It's been a few weeks since I've gotten my nails and feet done so I'm going to go and do that, and then probably do a little shopping for myself for once and not these kids." I said. He laughed as he nodded. "What about you?" I asked him.
"I'll probably just go back by the house today and get the rest of my stuff and then I'm going to head over to the shop to see the damage, and call the insurance company and start the claim process. Later on today my kids come back from their moms house so I'll have a little bit of time to chill after I do all of that before they come back home." He said. I nodded.
"Speaking of the shop." I said. "Once you guys are back in the shop or you're back in another shop, you might want to watch how much of your business you talk about and who you talk around." I said to him.
"Why do you say that?" He asked. I wiped my mouth and pushed my plate away since I was finished.
"Last night after you told bird brain for the millionth time to go home, she stopped and talked to the receptionist for a few minutes before she left. But they were whispering and talking in hushed voices." I said. "I'm willing to bet she's the one who told Mia that I was at your shop that one night." I voiced my opinion. He nodded.
"Now that you mention that they were talking to each other last night, I wouldn't doubt it because Mia had never come by the shop wanting to talk. She usually texts or calls me, even before you ever came by she always called or texted." He said. "But thank you for the heads up. I lowkey might fire her ass though because why are you bringing drama to my place of business? That had nothing to do with her or Mia if I'm being honest." He said. I nodded.
"I definitely agree. And I'm sorry, but I don't believe that story about the candle that the cop told you last night. That story ran through my head the whole time I was waiting for you last night. It doesn't make sense at all." I said. He nodded as he finished eating.
"Nah, I agree. I didn't believe it either when he said it. Common sense tells you that if you bump into something that's holding a candle or if you accidentally elbow a candle or something, a lit candle at that, you're supposed to make sure it didn't fall. That reminds me that I need to call the security company and have them review the footage to see what exactly happened." He said. "How much does your nails and feet usually cost?" He asked me.
"It depends on what I get. Why?" I asked him. He pulled his phone out of his pocket before answering.
"I'm gonna pay for your stuff today." He said as he did something on his phone before putting it down and looking at me. "I just sent you $500 on Apple Pay. Just use that for your nails, feet, shopping and whatever else you plan on doing today. I know you're going to have to take time off once the babies are born so I want you to start saving your money as much and as best as you can. Today is my treat." He said. I smiled as I shook my head.
"I appreciate that, but I'm good on money. I'm going to se-" I started to tell him I was going to send it back before he cut me off.
"Alani, just take the money. I know you're independent and you have your own money but it's my treat mama. Just go and enjoy yourself." He said. I licked my lips as I smirked.
"Fine. Thank you." I said as I looked at him.
"You're welcome beautiful. I'll clean the kitchen while you go and get ready." He said. I laughed as I shook my head.
"I'll help you." I said. "And before you say no, it's okay. You cooked breakfast and you're treating me to whatever I want and need today, the least I can do is help you clean up my kitchen." I said before he could say anything. He laughed as he shook his head.
"Alright, fine." He said as we stood up and started cleaning up.
A few weeks later
December 20, 2022
"Alright, Ms. Harris. Both babies heartbeats sound good and strong. You just made 29 weeks today, and your babies are each the size of a pineapple. They weigh roughly two pounds, 11 to 12 ounces each. They're growing perfectly." My doctor said as she wiped the gel off of my stomach. "Do you two have any questions for me?" She asked me and Marcus. Ever since he found out that I was pregnant, he's been making sure he comes to every single appointment, even if they only last five to ten minutes.
"No, I'm good. Do you have any questions?" I asked Marcus. He shook his head. "No, we're both good." I said to her. She nodded as she finished typing before standing up.
"Alright. Well I will see you next time. You already have all of your appointments pre scheduled, so you guys enjoy the rest of your day." She said as we walked out of the room. I nodded with a smile.
"Thank you." I said as we walked out of the office. Marcus placed his hand on my lower back as we walked to his car. "I know I keep telling you thank you every time we leave my appointments, but I can't help it. So thank you." I said with a laugh. He laughed as he nodded.
"I keep telling you that you don't have to thank me. They're my babies too, mama." He said. I nodded as I turned to look at him as we made it to his car.
"I know. I can't help it though." I laughed. He shook his head and smirked as he wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed me.
Over the past month or so, Marcus and I have been spending a lot more time together and we've also become very flirtatious with each other. I feel like it's a recipe for disaster, but I'm not reading into it too much. I know for me, I'm not about to be out here kissing and fucking on another man while I'm pregnant by somebody else. I don't know what it is for him, but I'm not complaining.
"Are you hungry?" He asked me as I snapped out of my thoughts. I nodded as my stomach growled.
"Very. Can we go to Texas Roadhouse?" I asked him. He nodded as he opened the passenger door on his Jeep.
"Wherever you wanna go mama." He said as he helped me climb in before going around to the driver side. I put my seatbelt on and pulled my phone out of my purse. "What do you want for Christmas?" He asked me as he put his hand on my thigh. I shrugged.
"Nothing to be honest." I said. "What about you?" I asked him.
"Shit nothing. But you really don't want anything? Like you haven't been eyeing anything in the mall?" He asked. I laughed as I shook my head.
"Nope. I'm one of those people that buys things for myself as soon as I see it. I'm definitely the hardest person to shop for." I said. He shook his head.
"I'll figure something out to get you." He said. I rolled my eyes and laughed.
"Hey, Marcus right?" We heard somebody say as they walked up to our table. We looked up and saw a short Hispanic girl standing by our table, and she was very much pregnant.
"That's not my baby, we never slept together. I don't even know you." Marcus said to her as he pointed at her stomach. I coughed to hide my laugh as the girl frowned.
"No, no. I recognized you while I was coming back from the bathroom. You're Jason's best friend. We met at one of the game nights that your friend Mikey had earlier this year." She said. He nodded skeptically as he eyed her.
"I am. Who are you?" He asked her.
"I'm Karina. Jason and I messed around for a while before he cut me off. I've been trying to get in contact with him to tell him that I'm pregnant, but he blocked me." She said. "He blocked my number and blocked me on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok. I was wondering if you could give him my number and have him call me?" She asked as she wrote her number on a piece of paper before holding it out to him.
"Uh sure. I'll let him know." He said. She nodded with a smile.
"Thank you so much." She said before turning to me. "And I'm so sorry for being so rude, I didn't mean to interrupt your lunch. I just don't know how to else to get in contact with him and when I saw Marcus I knew that I had to ask for his help." She said to me with an apologetic smile.
"It's fine, I understand." I said with a small smile.
"Thank you again. You guys enjoy your lunch." She said before walking away.
"Jason is so trifling." I laughed. He laughed as he nodded.
"That's my best friend, but even I can admit that." He laughed. Before we could say anything else our waitress walked over with our food.
"Thank you for coming with me today and for lunch, and for everything else." I said to Marcus as we walked in my house. We had just got home from the movies and getting ice cream. We decided to go see the new Black Panther movie. I'm not a Marvel fan by any means necessary, but that movie was actually really good.
"You're welcome mama." He said as he gave me a hug. "I'm gonna get out of here though. I'm meeting up with my brother, he has a building that he wants to show me to see if I like it for a new tattoo shop location." He said. I nodded as I hugged him back.
"Okay, be safe. And thanks again." I smiled at him. He nodded as he rubbed my stomach and said a prayer before kissing it and standing up. He grabbed my chin and leaned down to kiss me gently. I moaned softly as my kitty started throbbing. "I know you have to go, so I suggest you leave now before you don't make it out of here at all tonight." I said as I pulled back. He laughed as he nodded and pecked my lips and kissed my forehead before stepping back.
"I'll be back tonight." He said. I nodded as I walked him to the door.
"I might be sleeping when you get here, but still call or text me just in case I am up." I said to him. He nodded as he opened the door.
"I got you mama. See you later." He said as he walked down the steps on my porch. I smiled as I closed the door and locked it before making my way upstairs.
After Marcus left I ended up showering and eating the rest of my food from Texas Roadhouse before going to lay down. I went to Hulu and put on Everybody Hates Chris. I wasn't even laying down for ten minutes before I dozed off.
"Alani." I heard someone calling my name while shaking me. I groaned as I swatted their hand away from me while pulling the cover over my head.
"Go away." I mumbled.
"Come on mama, get up. I brought you some churros." I heard. My eyes flew open and I sat up and saw Marcus holding a white paper bag.
"Really?" I mumbled with a smile. He laughed as he nodded.
"Yeah. I remembered you mentioned it earlier that you wanted some but we couldn't find any in the area. So I got you some while I was out with my brother." He said. I smiled as I grabbed the bag from him.
"Thank you." I said as I put the bag on my nightstand. "Let me go use the bathroom really quick." I said. He nodded as he went to put his phone and keys on my dresser. I quickly used the bathroom before washing my hands and walking back out to my room. "I appreciate you." I said to him as he grabbed a towel to go shower.
"You're welcome. I'll be right back." He said.
"You can go shower in my bathroom if you want." I said. He nodded as he made his way to the bathroom while I pressed play on the tv remote.
"How are you feeling?" Marcus asked me once he got out of the shower and came back in my room.
"Honestly just tired. We did a lot today and it sucked the energy right out of me." I laughed softly. He laughed as nodded. He folded his dirty clothes in a pile and put it in his duffle bag by my door before coming to get in my bed. "Thank you again for my churros, they were so good." I said as I laid down and snuggled close to him. He laughed as he nodded while wrapping his arms around me.
"You're welcome mama. I'm glad you were able to enjoy them." He said.
"Did you like the building?" I asked him as I closed my eyes while he lazily ran his hand up and down my back.
"He actually had three for me to look at. One of them was a little too small, and the second and third one needed too much work done to it. I did find one online that I want to look at but I haven't heard back from the agent who has it listed for rent yet." He said. I nodded as a yawn escaped my mouth.
"If you want me to help you look for some just let me know. I have a lot of free time at work and after work so I don't mind." I said.
"I would appreciate that. Thank you mama." He said as he leaned down to kiss my forehead.
"You're welcome." I said as I yawned again. "I'm so sleepy though, I'm about to doze back off." I said. I felt him nod as he laughed.
"No problem. Get you some rest mama, good night." He said. I heard the tv go from Everybody Hates Chris to ESPN.
"Good night Marcus." I mumbled before dozing back off.
Hey yalll. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, it was fairly long. What do you guys think about Alani & Marcus? Do you guys want to see them together or nahhhh? 👀👀👀
Let me know your predictions for the next chapter!
I love you allll 😘🩷🤞🏽
- Bri 💋✨