ʜᴇʀ ᴀꜱꜱɪꜱᴛᴀɴᴛ | ᴛᴀʀᴀꜱɪᴀ

ꜰᴏʀᴛʏ ꜱᴇᴠᴇɴ

ꜰᴀɴᴛᴀꜱɪᴀ ʙᴀʀʀɪɴᴏ
ꜱᴇᴘᴛᴇᴍʙᴇʀ 14, 2020

i woke up slowly my body was aching in places i didn't even know could ache, but not in a bad way. in a reminder kind of way. i sat up a little, still wrapped in the silky robe she put over me sometime during the night. my scarf was halfway on. lips swollen. eyes barely open.

then she walked in with a tray in her hands. wide smile with nothing but her briefs and tank on, her curls pulled back into a loose puff. she looked like heaven. but different than last night. more softer.

"good morning, mama" she grinned, setting the tray down gently. "you hungry?"

i blinked at her like i hadn't just watched her change my whole life. "i am."

"great because i took damn near everything they had down there incase you didn't want one thing"

i laughed, reaching for her hand. "you're a mess."

"and still yours." she leaned in and kissed me. "forever, if you'll have me."

my chest did that thing again. she sat beside me, then pulled the tray closer. there was pancakes, eggs, fruit, bacon, orange juice, and cereal. even one of those little white roses tucked into a folded napkin.

i stared at it all for a second. then up at her.

"you okay?" she asked, searching my face.

i nodded, then hesitated. "i just..... i still feel kind of floaty. like it was a dream."

she reached up, cupping my face gently.

"last night was real, fantasia. you were real. very brave. beautiful. everything i ever hoped for."

i swallowed hard. "i just didn't wanna mess it up."

"you didn't," she said without hesitation. "you gave me your trust. your body. your first... and you gave it with love as i said lastnight. i'll never take that lightly. ever."

my eyes stung. she leaned her forehead to mine again.

"i'm proud of you," she whispered. "and i hope you're proud of yourself, too."

i nodded slowly, whispering, "i am."

we sat like that for a while. just quiet. just us. then taraji grabbed the phone on the nightstand.

"wanna call our girl?"

i smiled softly. "yeah. i miss her already."

she grabbed it, unlocked it, and tapped speaker. then laila's face appeared on the screen. i smiled big as i took a bite from the bacon.

"mamaaaa! tai tai!"

"hey, sunshine" i laughed, heart swelling at her little voice.

"hey baby." taraji smiled. "you feeling okay? where's tabi?"

"tabi is right here." the came panned over to tab who waved and spoke. she had glasses on and a laptop in front of her.

"looks like somebody had fun lastnight." tab smirked. we had no words, only huge smiles that said everything our mouths couldn't.

"any problems tab?" taraji asked.

"her pressure went down a bit, but i gave her something sweet and she was better than ever. i kept an eye out all night."

taraji smiled softly. "thank you again, tab."

"you know it's whatever for you guys always."

"are you guys coming now?" laila asked sighing dramatically. "tabi said you guys needed a very long nap."