The FIRE in You

Chapter 31: The photo

"Aubrey, are you okay?", Ajax asked while stretching. His voice brought me back to reality. I closed my WhatsApp as quickly as I could, took a couple of breaths then turned to him. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just hate it when Lydia calls me super early in the morning, just to share her schedule. To think that it's a weekend so she would go easy on me. I don't think she has a life outside work", I said with a fake smile.

"I'm sorry about that. I know whatever she had to say disturbed your mood", he said then pulled me in a kiss. It surprised me that he could see past me. I was also happy that he didn't push further. "Do you need to leave now or do we have time for breakfast?" he asked. "I'm not, I think breakfast will suffice", I said making him nod. I pulled him in for a second kiss. I tried to deepen it, it made him smile.

"Okay, okay fine, you don't have to bribe me. I'll make you a nice breakfast before we leave besides, we have until noon. I think if I make breakfast right now, I can squeeze in sex in the bathroom and then I'll put some oil on you, possibly squeeze in a massage too", he teased while pretending to count the activities with his fingers making me laugh lightly.

If only he knew how I was feeling inside, he would have just taken me home. "Okay, I'm going to go prep some breakfast. You stay right here", he said and I did. He got out of bed and disappeared somewhere in the kitchen, leaving me in his room to process what I just found out.

I reached for my phone again, my hands were still trembling as I tried to call Lydia. She picked up on the first ring, "Is it authentic?", was all I could ask.

"Unfortunately, yes. I triple-checked. There's a video too, it seems like the person from the club was paid to record it and also take that picture", she said and it made me feel like someone was choking me. "Aubrey, I'm so sorry", was all she said.

I couldn't reply. I just hung up. I swallowed hard and started some breathing exercises to help me calm down, it helped.

"Okay gorgeous, breakfast is ready are we eating first or are we taking a shower first", Ajax said while wiggling his eyebrows. It made me chuckle. "I think we should take a shower first", was all I said as he pulled me out of bed, and into the bathroom.

I was surprised when we reached the bathroom the only thing he did was wash my body, then his. He didn't try anything funny like I thought he would be based on the impression he gave me before.

I looked at him with a questioning eye, it made him smile. "I know you're going through something and you can't tell me about it yet so, I'm trying my best to behave until you get it sorted out. Don't mistake my discipline for not being hungry for you. Got that gorgeous?", he asked and tried to walk away from me.

I pulled him by the wrist and went on my tiptoes then kissed his amazing lips. "Thank you, Ajax. You're amazing", I said and it made his face light up. We finally went to the kitchen, he had made French toast with bacon.

It was so delicious. After finishing the food, we got dressed. He put on his uniform and I just put on his T-shirt and sweatpants. He looked at me and started laughing then took out his phone and took a picture of me. I posed a couple of times, it was kind of fun then his face turned serious.

"Brey, I was thinking... will it be okay if you bring some of your clothes here? I mean, for when you come over", he said while looking straight into my eyes. I think he was trying to prove that he was being serious. "Will that be okay with you?", I asked him, and he nodded.

"Okay then, I'll do just that but wait... are you saying this because you're tired of me always taking your clothes and not returning them or because you want to return the favour and wear some of my clothes?", I joked which made him laugh.

"Whatever smarty pants. Let's go, some of us have work to get to", he said then kissed my temple as we walked out of the apartment.

The drive to my house was silent. I had a lot on my mind and I guess he did too. All I could think about was, what I was going to say when I saw Maya and Simone. It was Sunday so Simone was home too.

My heart was beating so fast. I didn't know what to do. The whole situation was just too much.

"Here you go gorgeous. I hope you have a good day. I know I will", he just said making me smile. "Thank you for last night and this morning too", I said while looking into his eyes. He furrowed his brows a bit obviously not understanding where I was coming from. I decided to break things down for him.

"What I mean is, you didn't have to put up with Lawrence yesterday but you did. Then I ruined everything this morning with the phone call I got but you made it special either way. I don't know what I've done to deserve you but all I can say is, thank you", I said and he finally smiled after catching on.

"Brey, you know I love you. I love everything about you, the good, the bad, the ugly", he said the last part with a wink making me chuckle.

"Just know that I'm here for you if you need someone to talk to. Besides it's what boyfriends are for", he added a killer smile as he finished making me laugh and pull him in a kiss.

I got out of the truck and waved. I watched him drive away until he disappeared.

I released a breath after knowing, that the moment I was praying not come, had arrived as I walked into the house. I found Jason, Simone, and Maya in the kitchen. Maya was busy talking about the sex she just had and I felt like I was suffocating.

"Oh hey sis, welcome home", Simone said cheerfully. I tried to answer but I couldn't so I settled with what I could do. I opened the photo Lydia sent to me and placed it on the kitchen counter. As usual, Simone was the first one to grab my phone, being the most active one and all.

Her eyes went wide and I knew all hell was about to break loose. "What is it? Let me see, let me see", Maya said cheerfully but all her happiness and cheerfulness went away when she saw that it was a photo of her and Lawrence kissing at the nightclub.