Brightest Page 14

  “How much for a tamarind ball?”

  “Fifty cent.”

  “How much for the whole thing?”

  “Boy, you crazy?” she cackled, picking it up. There had to have been at least thirty or forty tamarind balls inside. My mouth watered just thinking about their sweet-sour tang.

  I nodded, shrugging. “For my wife. She’s...pregnant.”

  It felt weird saying it out loud, especially since Alina hadn't even confirmed it yet, but I knew it was true.

  The woman broke out in to the biggest smile ever, nodding. “Just gimme twenty.”

  “You sure?”

  She sucked her teeth, thrusting the container at me. “And five for the banana.”

  I handed her thirty and waved. “Thanks. Enjoy the day.”

  “You too, dahlin’.”

  I tried a tamarind ball in the truck, and they were as good as they looked. Nodding to myself, I started the car and drove to town. I called home, just in case.

  Alina answered on the first ring. “Hey. Where’d you go?”

  “I had to get something...I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

  “Oh.”

  “Alina, I'm sorry about today.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “It’s not. But I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Just hurry up and come home.”

  I did. About forty minutes later, I swung in to the driveway and ran inside, barely missing Midnight, who nearly tripped me in his excitement.

  Alina was sitting in bed, looking at something on her laptop. Her hair was wet from her shower, and the room smelled lush, like her shampoo. She looked up at me, watching as I came closer. Her eyes had always done things to me, made me feel like she could see right into me. Taking a deep breath, I handed her a bouquet of flowers and a gift bag.

  “Happy anniversary.”

  Putting her laptop aside, she accepted the flowers with a smile. “Star lilies.” Closing her eyes, she brushed her cheek over the petals. It was a replica of her bridal bouquet. My father had always done this for my mother on their anniversary, and judging by the little smile on Alina’s face, it’d been a good place to start.

  Resting the bouquet on the nightstand, she reached for the bag. Laughing loudly, she pulled the tamarind balls out. “There are like…fifty in here. Are you nuts?”

  “That’s what the lady I got them from asked,” I said, grinning.

  She took a bite of one, then popped it in to her mouth. “You used to get these for me sometimes. Before we started dating.”

  I nodded, licking my lips. My mouth watered just looking at those things.

  “I’ve been craving these lately,” she said quietly.

  My heart thumped.

  Blushing, she put the tamarind balls aside and went back in to the bag, this time pulling out a blue pouch. She slid out the chaney ring I'd gotten her and smiled, sliding it on to her finger right away. It matched the chaney bracelet I'd given her way back, the one she still wore.

  “This is so pretty,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

  I sat down beside her, taking her hand. “And we have reservations for dinner at the Waves.”

  “Our first date,” she said, eyes shining with tears. Good tears, I hoped. “This is all us. You’ve always been so thoughtful like that.”

  “I feel shitty about today.”

  She shrugged. “It doesn't seem like you to forget...but whatever. I love this. All of it.” Plucking another tamarind ball from the container, she took a little bite, closing her eyes. “Mm. I bet you had one of these already, didn’t you?”

  “Maybe.” I leaned forward, kissing her sugary mouth. “We should do it up right today and have mimosas. You want one?”

  She shook her head. “I’m okay.”

  I didn’t really want one either, but I was determined to make her spill. “Why not?” I asked, staring her dead in the eye. “You love mimosas.”

  She blushed again but looked right back at me.

  “When are you gonna tell me, Alina?”

  She covered her face with her hands, and alarmed, I sat back down, putting my arms around her. “What is so bad that you can’t tell me?” I asked, suddenly terrified that there was some crazy complication I hadn’t even considered.

  “I’m pregnant,” she whispered.

  I squeezed her harder. “I know.”

  “It’s so soon. We...” She straightened up and looked at me, her face all splotchy and red. “We were gonna wait a little longer.”

  “Well, we were, but I mean...” I shook my head slowly, slightly confused by her reaction. “Aren’t you happy?”

  “Yes,” she cried. “I am!”

  “Did you think I was going to be upset?” I asked, incredulous. How had we gotten our wires so crossed? We were normally on the same page, even with minor stuff.

  “Not upset,” she said, shaking her head and sniffling. “But I was afraid you’d be disappointed, like it was too soon or something. And I didn’t want to tell you, and have you look anything less than excited, you know? That would’ve broken my heart.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Why would I be anything less than excited?”

  “Because...sometimes when we babysit for Nora and Eli, you’re so relieved when the kids go back home. And you hate changing Silas’ diaper and you were so annoyed when Sydney broke that picture frame by the TV.” She trailed off, eyeing me. “I just always assumed we’d have kids when we were good and ready.”

  “I don't think anyone’s ever good and ready,” I said, clearing off the bed so we could lie down.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Those are other people’s kids. You know? I love Nora and Eli, and their kids are great...but they’re not our kids. Our kids?” I grinned, pulling up her shirt. No belly yet, but I could imagine it. “I can't even begin to describe how that makes me feel.” And I really couldn’t. I was overwhelmed. And in love. With both Alina and the baby she was giving me.

  I kissed her belly, and she ran her fingers through my hair, scratching. Felt so good. “When did you figure it out?”

  “When I came home to Midnight’s bathroom raid. He’d emptied the waste basket again.”

  “Oh, no,” she groaned, her hands pausing. “You saw the tests?”

  “Yup. I've been freaking out about it for two days.” I peered up at her. “Freaking out that you weren’t saying anything, by the way, not that you’re pregnant.”

  “I guess I can give you a pass for forgetting our anniversary,” she said, resuming her scalp massage.

  “And I can forgive you for keeping something this monumental from me,” I said, kissing her belly button over and over until she laughed and pushed my head away, only to pull me up, up to her face so we could kiss.

  “I'm sorry, babe,” she said, pouting.

  “I could never be upset about something like this. I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” she said, rubbing her nose against mine. “I’ve been a mess. Crying and stuff. I think that might be another reason I was so weird and worried. I don’t feel like myself lately.”

  “That’s gotta be normal, right? It's okay,’ I promised. I had no idea what we were getting into, but we’d figure it out. Hopefully.

  “You’re really excited?” she asked, smiling shyly.

  “I’m so excited.”

  “Is that why you got me all those tamarind balls?” she asked, giggling.

  “Yup.”

  We kissed until kissing wasn’t enough and I just had to have her. She pulled my shirt off over my head, and I removed her tank top before tugging off her underwear.

  And then I went down on her, because she liked it, and because getting her that horny and wet really turned me on. I was practically rutting into the mattress when she came, her fingers tightening in my hair before letting go.

  Naked in two point five, and then I was inside her.

  “Feels different,” I moaned.

  “Like how?” she gasped, mouth half
open in a silent cry.

  So warm...slippery. I shuddered, thrusting. “Like you're carrying my baby.”

  “Shut up, you can't feel anything!” She laughed breathlessly, opening a little wider.

  Our eyes locked, and I stilled, deep inside. “It feels different in here,” I said, tapping my heart. And I leaned down to kiss her where hers would be.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks, Andre, and my boys Isaiah and Israel, for allowing me the time to write.

  Thanks Betsy and Denise, for your critical edits, opinions and advice. Thanks to the early readers who gave me great feedback.

  Thanks, Katie H. For being you.

  Genuine thanks to every one of you who asked when this story was going to finish, who encouraged me to get this sequel written and completed.

  Thanks, God, for giving me St. Croix as a birthplace. It was a great place to grow up and I miss it every day. Thanks also for giving me the ability to write.

  About the Author

  Rochelle Allison has been living, and thriving, in her imagination since she was a little girl in the Caribbean. A true lover of words (books! thesauruses!), she can usually be found crafting stories, inspired by people, conversations and the world around her.

  A wife of one and mother of two, Rochelle lives just outside of Atlanta. She’s a lover of hiking and the outdoors, photography and baking.

  She has written four books: For the Win (with AM Lawson), Heavenly Bodies, Starry Eyed Inside, and Brighter.