Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Dirty

A calmness washed over when I stirred awake. I floated peacefully through the remnants of my slumber, stretching my arms and legs as far as I could, my toes curling at the relief. As I stretched, my fingers grazed against a rock-hard surface, sending tingles up my arm. My breath caught in my throat when I turned to look at him, his face a flawless, peaceful painting. I gently traced the little crease in between his eyebrows, brushing his hair from his forehead so I could marvel his thick eyebrows. My man.

My heart almost jumped out of my chest when he hummed, the sound rough with sleep. His eyes were still closed, but his features were twitching, the beginning stages of a lazy smile. I traced the rest of his face, starting with both of his luscious eyebrows. It's not fair, he doesn't deserve these. I circled his eyes, rubbing the sleep away, and down the bridge of his slim nose. The corners of his lips curved, finally giving into the smile as I traced his pouty lips. His eyes fluttered open. Emeralds gems, clear and bright twinkled as they settled on me, making my heart flutter. My smile was shy and modest, as I realized that we had shared a bed.

"I wish I could wake up to that smile every day for the rest of my life." He said, his voice thick with sleep. I blushed sheepishly and was about to say something witty when he put his hand on my waist, pulled me closer and planted a chaste kiss on my lips, swallowing my insecurities over my morning breath.

"Morning beautiful." His chest vibrated as he spoke, the sound resonating in me.

"Morning." I said shyly. My cheeks burned when I felt his body pressed against mine, yesterday's events swimming in my head while he stroked my cheek lovingly.

"Last night was ..." he paused, looking for the words, "last night was amazing."

"You're amazing." I whispered into his chest. He kissed the top of my head in response.

Last night truly was amazing. I got to dress up, take my man out to his favourite restaurant, and go on a midnight boat ride. It was magical. Kevin and I talked. A lot. I somehow mustered the courage to tell him what happened, although I still hadn't told him who my dad's friend is. It was harder than I expected. I had a panic attack halfway through the story, remembering the feel of his hands on me. But Kevin made me comfortable enough to tell him. He held my hand the entire time, stroking my knuckles over the band-aid that covered the cut from my assault on Jackass. I didn't tell him that either. It would be too hard to explain. He wiped my tears as they fell and affirmed me when I balked.

In the end I cried. Not because of reliving that day, but for his love for me. And in that moment, I was overwhelmed by my love for him. It felt good to let him in, to have him comfort me. For the first time, I felt like I could go to him about anything, that our relationship was not just for show. For a short while, I had forgotten that love existed in other men.

I was filled with so much hurt. I felt betrayed by people who were supposed to protect me. For a moment, I wanted to drown in my tears. I needed people around me to feel my pain, to get angry with me, otherwise I felt alone. I lost faith in humanity, in love and joy. I thought those were things God gave us to taunt us, not to make us happy. I don't know if I am fully convinced yet, but it's a thought I have been willing to entertain. And as I laid on the luscious king bed, chest to chest with my boyfriend, I knew that I would be okay. I knew that whatever obstacle obstructed me in the future, would not live to tell the story.

That was the thing about Kevin; he was always teaching me things about myself, never mind whether it was intentional or not. I knew what I liked and what I didn't like, because of him. I knew how to find my voice and when to bury it. And it made me a better version of myself. And I loved him even more for that. We didn't even need to have sex to take our relationship to the next level. The amount of respect I had for this boy was enough to flood all 54 countries that made up the African continent. I don't know what I ever did to deserve a man like him, but I'm glad I did whatever it was to make him mine. I was more determined than ever to never let him go, to always be faithful to him no matter the temptations.

The door to Kevin's bedroom burst open and we both jumped from the noise. Kristie ran in wearing a Sophia the First night gown with her blonde curls looking like it had been caught in a fan, but she still looked adorable enough to eat. Her green eyes were wide as she looked at the two of us, and she clutched her ladybug stuffed toy closer to her.

"Kevi, what is Nia doing in your bed?" she asked in her sweet adorable 5-year-old voice.

"She slept here." Kevin answered simply and rolled onto his side so he could place his weight on his elbow and looked at his little sister.

"Why?" came the voice of the little terrorist.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." He replied petulantly. Kristie's eyes grew as wide as saucers before she squeaked,

"Did you two do the dirty?" she asked in utter disbelief and I couldn't stop the giggle that escaped my mouth.

"How do you know about the dirty?" her brother asked incredulously. "You didn't deny it." the 5-year-old pointed out. This kid was too smart for her age.

"Answer my question first." Kevin argued, only to get an eyebrow raised from his little sister.

"Why are you avoiding my question Kevi? You did do the dirty didn't you?" she asked, her tone accusatory.

"I am not avoiding the question Kristie; we didn't do the dirty. Now how do you know about the dirty?" he was growing impatient with her, his shoulders tense.

"You're lying!" she squealed before she ran out of the door and yelled, "Mom! Kevi and Nia did the dirty on his bed!"

"WE DID NOT DO THE DIRTY!" my boyfriend yelled as he scrambled to sit up. I could hear Justin's laugh from somewhere in the house and his dad telling them to shut up.

"What's the dirty?" Kristian, Kristie's twin brother asked, appearing in the doorway wearing George of the Jungle pyjamas. Is that show still on? I used to love the theme song. George, George, George of the jungle, friends with you and me-

My subconscious singing was cut off by Kevin saying, "rolling in mud" the same time Kristie said, "rocking the bed".

Kristian suddenly yelled, "Mom, Jackie and Nia were rocking his bed!" in a tell-tale voice. Justin's laughter boomed through the house again when Kevin yelled again, "WE DID NOT ROCK THE BED! WHO TEACHES YOU THESE THINGS? I'M GOING TO WASH YOUR MOUTH WITH SOAP YOUNG LADY! AND YOU," he pointed to his little brother, "DON'T CALL ME JACKIE!"

"IT'S 7AM IN THE MORNING FOR CORN'S SAKE, SHUT UP!" that was Kevin's twin sister, Kylie who had just gotten back from boarding school since they were on break.

"I WILL NOT SHUT UP BECAUSE WE DID NOT DO THE DIRTY!" he yelled back, there was a lot of yelling in this house.

"NAAAAAAIL IN THE COFFIN!" Justin sang from the top of his voice and broke out in fits of laughter afterwards, Kylie and the twins joining in.

"OH, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD, WE DID NOT DO THE DIRTY!" my flustered boyfriend yelled into the hallway, which caused his siblings to laugh even harder.

"KEVIN JACKSON LOCKHART!" everyone's laughter and shouts seized when their mother's voice rang around the house.

I could hear the strings of "oh oh"s and "busted" that escaped the twins' mouths.

"MOM, I SWEAR WE DID NOT DO THE DIRTY!" he yelled in desperation, and this time I joined in on the laughter that rang through the house.

"Good job son!" his dad said as he appeared in Kevin's doorway, his angry mother in tow. "Why do I even bother?" Kevin mumbled as he flopped down on the bed next to me.

"Morning Azania." His dad said with the hugest grin on his face, making my face heat up from embarrassment.

"Morning Mr Lockhart." I responded shyly. His whole family had gathered around his doorway by then, and they barely fit through the double doors of Kevin's bedroom.

"You've been dating my son for 3 years now cupcake, you can call me Chris now. Or daddy if you want." He said with an even bigger grin. Kevin groaned and buried his face in his pillow. "Don't call her cupcake, you'll chase her away from me!" he whined.

Justin laughed and put his hand on his father's shoulder. "Oh, I don't think she'll be running away from you after you have marked her brother." He said with a chuckle. I scowled at him. "Because they did the dirty!" the twins chanted and everybody laughed, including his mother, who was suddenly not angry anymore.

"You guys sure know how to make a girl feel embarrassed. Sheesh." I mumbled as the taunts and laughs became too much for me.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of sweetie. It was bound to happen soon. I mean, you're an attractive girl, he's a handsome boy. You've been together for 3 years. The sexual tension between you guys must have been too much to bear. We understand." His mom said, and I felt the heat spread from my face to my ears and down my neck. This is mortifying.

"What's sexual tension?" Kristian asked with a curious expression.

"Oh, it's when a male and a female have the urge to rip each other's clothes off and mate." Kristie explained to her brother who nodded his head, processing the information.

"Who told you that?" Kevin's da- I mean, Chris asked her. She pointed at Justin, who shrugged his shoulders and brought the attention back to us, ignoring the disapproving scowl his dad shot him. "So, how was it?" I swear this is the weirdest family I have ever met.

"WE DID NOT DO THE DIRTY!" Kyle and I yelled at the same time. "Riiiiight." Was the response from his family before everyone laughed.