"Girl like for real. You pretty as fuck. I can't get over it. You know how bad you gotta be to be bare face with no wig and still killing bitches? How you let a nigga like Zay get you?" Jamell's wife, Shaniece, complimented Namiko for the hundredth time, and she fell out into laughter at all the curse words she used just to call her pretty.

"Oh my goodness. Why is everyone saying that? He's really handsome! He could practically have any girl that he wants." She was honestly surprised that he wanted to date her. His face belonged in a magazine.

"Yeah but that's it. All he got is face and money. That nigga is the meanest nigga I ever met and he be so uptight sometimes. You so outgoing and loud—in a good way. Y'all are polar opposites."

"He's never mean to me. That's my honey bun. He tried to be but I didn't let it last long; maybe a day or so. He's really soft when it's just us—he's not like, well, that." She gestured to where he stood with a group of his friends with a frown on his face that could shoot a bird out of the sky.

"I love that for y'all. Straight out of a Sister Souljah book." Shaniece chuckled, grabbing her strawberry margarita can from the table.

They were currently at Jamell's home where he was throwing a Super Bowl party. There were a little over forty people there so it wasn't a super big gathering. They were barbecuing outside and cooking in the kitchen, too. A big flat screen TV was mounted outside and in the living room, both playing this years ending football game.

At first Namiko didn't understand what a Super Bowl was, but Shaniece broke it down to her in girl terms. It was basically just a championship game that men went crazy over because their only interest usually had something to do with sports. Apparently, Super Bowl parties were a common occurrence.

She and Shaniece sat in lawn chairs near the hot tub to absorb the heat, and Naia was currently sleeping in Isaiah's arms near the grill. He was her new favorite person and Namiko loved that because she felt the same way about him. He was so accepting of her daughter, too. She could tell that he missed having one of his own.

"Lookin' at yo' man in daddy mode, huh? I know that look." Shaniece smirked at her, causing Namiko to look away from the two of them.

"What?" She smiled.

"That's exactly how my man trapped me with our twins. You look like you ready to take his ass down. You biting your lip and shit, just ready to fuck." Shaniece laughed at the shocked expression on Namiko's face once she understood what she meant.

"Oh my goodness. Why can you tell? That's so embarrassing!" Namiko covered her face as if that'd make her disappear, making Shaniece laugh harder. She'd been making Shaniece laugh since they started talking.

"Girl don't have no shame in yo' game. You a bad bitch and you wanna fuck. Niggas love that."

"Ugh. He's just so—him. And he's always rubbing on me and kissing me and stuff. It's like, how can I not? But I'm so afraid. Ughhhh. Why would you point it out?" Namiko then frowned at her but it didn't last long before the two women laughed together.

"What the hell you scared of?"

"Doing it wrong. Or not doing it well enough. And I don't know how to do it at all. I barely understand what the sex is." Namiko groaned in annoyance with herself.

"Niggas really do most of the work. And it's basically instinct to pick up where they slack off, like, you'll learn as you go. Oh, and when you fuckin', talk to him. Ask him if he like what you doing or if he want you to do something else. That drive my nigga crazy 'cause most time all I'm doing is moaning. I never talk."

"Let me school you real quick girl." Shaniece pulled out her phone and pulled Namiko's chair closer so that she could see as well.

"Oh my goodness. There's so many." She stared at the picture showing a bunch of different bedroom positions.

"And this not even half of 'em. I be seeing mad new ones on Twitter." She let Namiko hold the phone to scroll through the pictures on Google.

"Now it's three kinds of sex—that I know of. Vaginal, which is where he's in your coochie. Oral; that's when his mouth is on your coochie or your mouth is on his dick. And anal sex is in the butt. I stay farrrr away from that." Shaniece explained, pointing to the different diagrams on her phone.

"There's fingering and hand or blowjobs too. Fingering is when either you or him use fingers inside of you. That's not one of my favs, honestly. It just wastes time to me, but it works well for other people. It all depends on you, to be honest."

"A hand job is when you got yo' nigga dick like this and you use your hand to stroke it. Blow jobs is the same thing, just add spit and your mouth—it's another word for the oral sex." Namiko watched as Shaniece stroked the air to show her, moving her hand in a half circular motion.

Then, Shaniece pulled up a picture of a real dick on her phone and that made Namiko's eyes widen. She still hadn't seen Isaiah's so this was her first time seeing one.

"This the tip of the dick. This the most sensitive spot so if you giving him head, focus mainly on this. You can squeeze it real gently or rub the hole—that lil' hole make them damn near have a seizure girl. Trust me. I got four kids so I gotta know." She pointed to her children that were playing in the grass together.

"Wow. Do they all look like this?" Namiko asked, looking at the picture of a white man's penis.

"Oh nah. Black men shit be so pretty, no shade to the whites but—whew. I don't wanna show you one though 'cause Zay ass might kill me. You'll just have to ask to see his or something."

"And my main tip for you 'cause I'm realizing how literal you are—when that nigga start that 'daddy' shit, he doesn't mean like an actual dad. It's the same when you call him baby, you don't mean that you're his parent. Calling him daddy is basically telling him that you're submitting to him because of his dominance. You're telling him that he's in charge."

"Hm. Is it like when he calls me mama? Because I like it and he never even explained what it meant. I just sorta accepted it." She chuckled, gesturing with her hands.

"Yup. Speaking of the devil, here he comes. Act normal." Shaniece turned her phone off, then burst out laughing as Namiko quickly crossed her legs, pushed her hair over her shoulders and made a smoldering look with her face to look 'normal'.

"What? I'm trying!" She genuinely exclaimed, making Shaniece laugh harder. Namiko joined in a few seconds later.

"What you over here telling her? How to get away wit' murder?" Jamell gave his wife a kiss while sitting down beside her, and Shaniece nodded her head with a smile on her face.

"Raise up mama." Isaiah said to her after laying Naia down in the cushioned pool chair next to them. Namiko stood up with a small frown of confusion, then it disappeared when he took her place and pulled her down in his lap.

"What you think about the game Nami? Who you goin' for?" Jamell asked her, lighting a blunt that was previously behind his ear.

"I hope it's a draw. I don't like all the pushing and shoving. It looks dangerous. I don't know how you all enjoy it." She said with a shrug, and Isaiah tuned them out as Jamell began to tell her why that was the fun part.

The original version of If Only You Knew by Patti LaBelle played from the speakers in the backyard, and Namiko's skin glowed from the string lights, but he liked to think it was because of how happy she'd been lately. It looked good on her. He wished he could see her smile 25/8 and every second that he dreamed.

He'd always hated relationships because of the type of man he was; he fell fast and hard. Why did it feel like he had love for her already? Maybe it was more of an infatuation that just tricked him into thinking it was love. The feeling of love in two and a half weeks was close to impossible.

This was the reason he stayed out of relationships. The only reason he started dating Aubrey three years ago was because the sex was good and he thought he was too old to still be single. Their relationship was more of a distant friendship with occasional sex and it was solely Isaiah's fault. She'd always wanted more from him but he couldn't bring himself to be all in for her, which is how she ended up cheating two years ago.

Love just wasn't for him; or so he thought.

He found himself thinking of Namiko as soon as he opened his eyes in the morning and right before he closed them to go to sleep at night. He constantly worried about making sure that she was safe because he knew that her curiosity was a dangerous thing if she came across the wrong person alone.

In fact, he was starting to care more for her than he did himself. What did that mean? It was too soon for this. He hated how fast he was moving but he honestly couldn't help it. He feared that it could come off as love bombing and Namiko might push him away because of it.

What he didn't know was, Namiko loved it. She loved every part of his infatuation with her. The girl didn't even know what love bombing was, but if this was it, why was it considered a bad thing?

Namiko flattened the duvet cover over Naia's back, making sure that the top of her shoulders could still be seen. One of her biggest fears was the blanket somehow smothering her while she slept so she always made sure to only cover her up halfway.

"Mommy loves you so much. Goodnight my baby." She kissed her cheek, turned out the light and left the door cracked open on her way out of the guest room.

She took the baby monitor with her to the kitchen because she wanted a snack before bed. Since living in the States, she'd developed a terrible sweet tooth. She always wanted a candy or a baked sweet like a cupcake.

Since staying over Isaiah's house, Little Debbie snacks were her new favorite. Zebra cakes, honey buns, nutty buddys, swiss rolls, cosmic brownies, etc. etc. The oatmeal crème pies and strawberry shortcake rolls were her first picks though.

After eating a strawberry shortcake roll, she tossed the wrapper in the trash bin and took a cold water bottle back to Isaiah's bedroom. She took a swig of it before sitting it down on the nightstand with the baby monitor.

"Zeno you can't do that! Jesus." Namiko clutched her chest in fear once he barked out loud at nothing in particular. He was the most dramatic, unnecessarily large dog she'd ever met. That was saying something because she grew up with four teacup yorkies who swore they were Great Danes in disguise.

"Go. Go lay down." She shooed him out of the room, watching him happily trot towards the living room where his bedding was. She swore he picked on her on purpose.

Namiko pulled off her oversized shit and laid down in the bed, grabbing Isaiah's iPad off the charger. The next device she bought would definitely be one of these. She had no real use for it but wanted one of her own anyways. Plus, they came in pink! The yellow color that Isaiah had was really tempting though. She loved bright colors.

She puckered her lips out to pose in the camera, coincidentally snapping a picture at the same time that Isaiah photobombed on the way out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

The kissy pose changed to a growing smile when he climbed in the bed with her, leaving a kiss on the back of her thigh, the cuff of her butt, her back, and the side of her face.

"You be lookin' so pretty even when you doin' nothin'." He chuckled, kissing her cheek again before he raised back up.

"Thank you honey. The pictures on the iPad always come out so nice." She put it back on the nightstand and then turned around to face him while he pulled out a pair of boxers from his top drawer.

"Isaiah?" She called, and he hummed in response to let her know that he was listening.

"Can I s—can I see your—dick?" She asked, remembering what Shaniece called it. He immediately turned around to face her again with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Who taught you that word?" He knew it wasn't him because he made sure not to say that and 'pussy' around her.

"Shaniece. She's really nice." She said as if he hadn't known Shaniece for the last fifteen years.

"Why you wanna see it? What she tell you?"

"Does it matter? Will you show me or not?" She asked again, tilting her head to the side.

Isaiah stared at her for a few more seconds before untucking his towel to reveal his dick that was hard from kissing her. That was why she asked to see it. She could feel it growing when he was on top of her a second ago.

"Oh, it's—wow. Did I make it do that?" She wondered aloud.

"Yes."

"Ok. It looks pretty baby. Does it do that every time I kiss you?"

"Yes." He said as it grew harder, raising back up to a full erection.

"You satisfied?" He chuckled, noticing that she seemed kind of starstruck now. All she did was nod her head. She was at a loss for words but definitely satisfied.

"I want to do the sex now..please." She looked up to meet his gaze, and he stared at her again with his thick eyebrows furrowed into a frown.

"No."

"No?"

"No." He confirmed.

"Ok. Why not?" She frowned as well, mostly confused.

"You not ready. You only want to do it because Niecy told you 'bout it."

"That is so not true." Her frown deepened, and he sarcastically cut his eyes at her. "Ok it is but I still want to do it. I have someone that I trust and feel safe and comfortable with, I like you a lot, and now I also know what the sex is. What else do I need to do to be ready?"

"Go to sleep."

"Just say that you don't want to do it with me. It's fine if you don't but don't try to put your hesitance on me." She pointed to herself after watching him close the towel.

"Fine." She rolled her eyes at him when he didn't respond, getting up from the bed to walk out of the room. He grabbed her arm to stop her before she could pass him and then wrapped his hand around her neck.

"Stop playing with me." He lowered his head for a kiss that was much more aggressive than any other time they'd kissed, and Namiko moaned softly in his mouth.

"I want to do it, please?" She pouted at him as the grip around her neck tightened, and he groaned at her sucking his bottom lip into her mouth again.

"Namiko—," He pulled his head back from her, and her pout became more prominent once he let her neck go as well.

"What is it? I thought you liked the sex. You said it yourself. So why don't you want to do it with me?"

"Because I know that you don't really understand what it is and I want you to learn first." He grabbed his dick over the towel to soothe his erection, groaning lowly to himself.

"Fine. You don't want me? I don't even care anymore." She got back in the bed since clearly he didn't want her to leave, pulling the covers up to her shoulders. She made sure to face the wall, too.

"Namiko don't be like t—,"

"I want you to stop talking to me now, please." She closed her eyes in hope that pretending to be asleep would make her go to sleep faster.

A few minutes of the requested silence passed, then the lights turned out and the bed dipped as Isaiah joined her underneath the covers. When he pulled her towards him to cuddle, she tried desperately to push his arms off of her torso but he was way stronger than she was.

"Quit pushing me. I ain't goin' nowhere." He grabbed her face with his free hand, and his hard expression softened when he realized that she was crying.

"Why are you crying Namiko?" He asked with slight confusion.

"I don't want you to hold me. Can you please let me g—,"

"No. What are you crying for?" He asked again.

"I don't know." She sniffed, laying her head down on his chest to hide her face. The sudden arousal and tears led him to believe that her cycle would be starting soon, but he wanted to give her his real explanation anyway.

"Look at me Nami." He tilted her head back, giving her no choice but to do as told.

"I don't want to have sex with you right now because there's still a lot that you don't know about and I don't wanna feel like I'm taking advantage of you being unaware. I do want you, aight? I just need you to understand everything that happens before we have sex. That's all it is." He thoroughly explained to her while the tension left his eyebrows.

"Ok. I'm sorry." She mumbled quietly.

"What you apologizing for?"

"I was being a pest after you said no the first time. I thought it was because you didn't like me in that way; like maybe I wasn't pretty e—,"

"C'mon now mama. I tell you how pretty you are every day. Don't be thinking like that. It ain't a you thing." He leaned his head down for another kiss, and her hand gently cradled the side of his face as she returned it.

"You so pretty to me. Every part of you. You understand me?" He spoke against her lips, and she nodded her head while her eyes fluttered open.

"Give me a few more days to explain it all to you and then I'll give you what you want. That work?" He watched her nod again, and she wrapped her arms around him after he kissed her forehead.

"You are the best. Thank you." She rubbed down the side of his torso before letting her hand rest at his waist.

"You welcome doll face."

I actually wrote an entire sex scene in this chapter but then deleted it cause it's just not time chi