Throwing her arm over her eyes, Siraj groaned to herself, wishing her headache would just go away. She wasn't even sure where it originated from. The black out curtains in the room were closed, so there wasn't even any light peeking through, and she'd already eaten breakfast this morning.

She was trying to let sleep consume her so badly, but her body wasn't on the same page as her brain. The heating pad on her stomach was helping a little though, making her become even drowsier. Hopefully she could fall asleep soon.

Siraj was currently in her bedroom that was at her parents house since it was the first Sunday of the month, which meant that family dinner was taking place. And by family, that included literally everyone in their immediate circle.

Cornbread, greens, fried chicken, fried catfish, macaroni, candied yams, and beans were all on the menu for tonight. For dessert, peach cobbler pudding and sweet pecan pie. Siraj literally couldn't wait.

She hoped her baby would let her eat tonight because she hadn't been able to in a few days. The fatigue and nausea that prevented her from eating was most likely a result of the four positive pregnancy tests in the bottom of her purse.

"Raj! Come down here and speak to yo' granny, girl!" Her father shouted from downstairs, and she almost ignored him until she heard her grandmother's voice.

Pulling the cover back, she stood from the bed, putting her house slippers on. She pulled her boxer briefs down from between her thighs, masking a yawn as she exited the bedroom. Instead of going down the steps, she decided to ride the elevator.

"Bug come try this real quick," Her mother, Sinatra, called from the kitchen as soon as the elevator doors opened.

"What is it?" Siraj asked, her stomach growling at the scent of food.

"What the hell is Big Mama talking about? Having dreams about fish, Siraj?" Her mother whispered to her, and Siraj frowned because no way was she just tricked into this conversation.

"Mama how I'm 'posed to know? You ain't got no food for me?" She whispered back, laughing once Sinatra smacked her lips.

"You know how you 'posed to know girl. Are you pregnant?" Her hands went to her waist while Siraj internally took a second to think about if she wanted to tell her.

"No, I'm not pregnant ma. Now can I have some food please?" She went against telling the truth, and she knew that her mother could tell that she was lying. Surprisingly, she decided not to say anything, only nodding.

"Okay girl. I'll ask you again tomorrow." Sinatra held up a forkful of greens and turkey meat, letting Siraj take a bite from it.

"You're delusional. That's good though, them turkey necks in there?" She peeked into the pot after laughing, her stomach growling even more when she saw that it was.

She went on to talk with her mother for a few minutes longer, then went out into the large living room area to go and sit with her dad's mom, Aretha, which was her original task.

"Hey bug. You lookin' good girl." Her grandma light pinched her exposed thigh while they hugged, and a smile fell over her face.

She was so glad that she was raised by women who never shamed her for the body she was born with, nor forced her to wear certain clothes when people were over. Both of her grandmothers, her own mom, and her aunties all encouraged her to embrace her body.

That's why she flaunted it as much as she did now. She couldn't believe a baby would possibly be taking over her body in the next few months. This was insane.

"Thank you big mama. How was your trip? I missed you." Siraj gently kissed her cheek, then made herself comfortable on the side of her.

"Oh lord, girl, tell me why.."

Siraj sat in the living room with her grandma for probably an hour, letting her rant all about her trip to the Bahamas that she'd taken with her church sisters for a two week getaway. Apparently, it didn't go as well as they thought.

In the midst of the conversation, Sinatra ended up joining in on the elderly gossip as well. It was just the three of them for a little while, before the men started arriving for the dinner-late, as always.

"Wassup baby," Semaj leaned down to hug his sister, who hugged him tighter since she hadn't seen him in a couple of days.

He chuckled, picking her up from the couch once she refused to let him go. He'd been in Atlanta for like a week or so, and the two of them never went that long without seeing each other. Exodus had also accompanied him on that trip, so she'd been struggling.

"Y'all so fake for leaving me. Like, fake as fuck." She held around his neck as she was hoisted up higher, still in his arms as he hugged their grandma.

"Nobody told you to stay home girl. I told you I was leaving." He put her down a few seconds later while shrugging, and she rolled her eyes at him.

Her attention adverted to the door at the sound of Exodus's voice, currently talking with his dad, both men holding Tupperware containers in their hands. She wanted to hug him so bad, but would wait until he was done with his conversation.

Deciding to go if there was something else that she could eat, she headed for the kitchen where her mom, Exodus's mom, and her grandmother were. Voices filled the house since almost everybody was talking, especially the two older men who were watching football on the large living room TV.

"Aht aht, get yo' ass out my shit Siraj!" Deborah popped her hand just as she reached to grab one of the stuffed bell peppers from a Tupperware container.

"I was just looking, dang." She laughed, low-key upset that she wasn't able to sneak one. She was starving.

"Mhm, sure ya' was. Give me some sugar baby. You looking so cute girl." Deborah outstretched her arms, and Siraj smiled, giving her a hug and of course a kiss on the cheek.

"You and gramma said that. I ain't even dressed or nothing." She chuckled, though very thankful of the compliments.

"You ain't gotta be dressed to be cute. It's in ya', not on ya'."

"Okay!" Sinatra gave her best friend a high five, and Siraj laughed at the two of them while shaking her head.

She decided she should go and put some clothes on, and hoped Exodus would catch the hint and follow her upstairs. She also hoped nobody was paying attention, but everyone seemed to be caught up in their own conversations.

Opening one of her dresser drawers, she looked through her clothes for a few moments, trying to find something casual. She didn't feel like putting on a dress, it was too cold to keep her shorts on, and she damn sure wasn't about to put any jeans on.

Her head picked up when her room door opened, and Exodus chuckled, catching her in his arms as soon as she jumped into them. It seemed like it was straight out of a movie, especially with how effortlessly he was able to hold her as if she was as light as a feather.

"I missed you too fat ma." He smiled as she left kisses all over his face, using her hand to reach over him and close her bedroom door.

"This was the longest week of my life, I swear to god. You can't go nowhere else with him Jacere, I'm serious." She wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers down his cornrows that needed to be redone.

"I w-Siraj, don't start man." He grabbed her neck when she licked his cheek, and she laughed, using her thumb to wipe the wetness away.

"Where yo' clothes at mama," He laid her on her bed, sliding his hands underneath her half shirt, able to feel that she wasn't wearing a bra.

"I was trying to find some before you came in. I missed you." She mumbled, holding his forearms while his hands remained on her breasts, her nipples hardening under his touch.

"I missed you too. I missed yo' mouth. Gimme some." He hovered above her, and a shy smile fell over her face for a few moments, slowly disappearing when he kissed her.

His hand removed from being underneath her shirt, trailing up to wrap around her neck. She loved the way he gripped on her while they kissed as if he needed her. He did it naturally, like his hand belonged there; like she belonged to him.

Siraj felt him suck on her tongue, causing her to moan softly in his mouth, equally missing his kisses the same way he had missed hers. It was crazy how they craved each other's touch.

"Stick it out." His voice rasped, and Siraj did as told, holding her tongue out for him. He let his spit drip out on it, then he sucked it back up before dropping it in her mouth.

"I love you." She basically lost her breath after swallowing, obsessed with the look he had in his low eyes while staring at her.

"I love you too slut." He chuckled as he wiped the side of her mouth, shaking his head at her once she bit her lip.

"I'd let you spit on my face if you wanted to. Not on my lashes though." She wrapped her legs around his body, laughing along with him even though she was deadass serious.

"I'm already knowing. One of these days I'ma slut you out foreal." He smirked, and she smacked her lips, pushing his head away as he continued to laugh.

"You love playing with me. Move, punk." She amusingly rolled her eyes, sitting up in the bed because she still had to find something to put on.

Exodus still had a smile on his face as he watched her stand all the way up, her ass effortlessly sitting up just right in her boxer briefs. The band of them were snug around her waist, showing off her curves.

She wore a random cropped top for a shirt, plus her bonnet. Underneath her bonnet and edge wrap were raw Indian bundles that went past her ass, but she didn't feel like doing anything to them so she'd tied her hair up over two hours ago.

Siraj wasn't wearing any makeup besides her lashes and Vaseline on her plump lips, but was still undeniably the prettiest girl Exodus had ever seen. He felt like telling her that she was so pretty to him wasn't enough. Her beauty was unmatched, without a doubt.

"Raj," He called, making her head turn to look at him. She saw that he was recording her, and she smiled, waving at his camera. He bit his lip once she bent over to show off her ass right in front of him, causing him to grab between her legs.

"You do too much, freak." She laughed, pulling away from him just as the video ended, and all he did was smirk.

Siraj ended up dressing in some black tights and a fitted muscle shirt that she'd found in her drawer, spending a little over five minutes with Exodus. They couldn't be gone for too long or one of their nosy family members would get curious.

So after a few more kisses, Exodus left out of her room first, and she remained inside for another five minutes so that it didn't seem suspicious. While she was in her room, she decided to brush out her bundles to look as if she'd done something with herself.

When she made it back downstairs, she saw that Zara and her boyfriend Zynel, Emari and his daughter Eriah, and Semaj's girlfriend Maiya had all arrived. The house was even louder than it was before from all of the overlapping voices.

The first one to hug her was Zara, and Siraj laughed. For them to see each other as much as they did, Zara was always missing her best friend. They were probably with each other more than they were with anyone else-excluding their boyfriends, of course.

"Move bitch." Emari mushed his little sister out of the way so that he could hug Siraj too, not caring to look at Zara's mouth fall open in shock.

"Bitch I'ma tell my brother on you and he gone kick yo' ass for playing with me." She pulled his hair from behind him, and Siraj laughed again as she listened to him hiss in pain.

"Y'all don't start." Their father, Emmanuel, warned from the couch with Siraj's father, Adonis.

Zara smacked her lips, still walking off to go tell Exodus that Emari had called her out of her name, knowing he didn't play like that. He paid her no mind though, wrapping his arms around Siraj.

She had been with him for the last two days since she didn't want to be by herself and was free from work, but left him last night to spend the night at her parents house. He still missed her though, unsurprisingly. It was obvious who everyone's favorite was.

"What you was doin'?" He asked, referring to the time when she was upstairs; being nosy, as usual.

"Minding the business that pays me."

"So I don't pay you?" He questionably rose his eyebrow, laughing once she smacked her lips.

On the other side of the room, Exodus and Semaj were talking about guy stuff, while Semaj's girlfriend sat in his lap, looking down at her phone to keep herself occupied.

Exodus's eyes trailed over to find Siraj after hearing her laughter, then tried not to make it so obvious that he was watching her. It had nothing to do with her being with his brother, he just liked how beautiful she looked without effort.

The way her white teeth were aligned perfectly and were shown off while she smiled, how her eyes remained naturally furrowed while she spoke, the way she stood, how she smelled. It seemed like whenever she moved, the time stopped. Everything was just so perfect to Exodus.

His eyes traveled to her left hand, seeing the promise ring he'd gotten her on her ring finger. She had rarely took it off since it was put on, besides when she showered. It made her feel good that he felt she was deserving of a promise ring, because at times she didn't feel as if she was a good enough girlfriend.

Exodus couldn't believe that when she'd told him about it either. No matter how many arguments they got into, he didn't want to be with anyone else besides her. He'd have the same argument a billion times before starting over with someone else. She was everything to him.

"Hey baby," Exodus was snapped after his thoughts after Siraj had came over, being greeted by Semaj's on and off girlfriend.

"Hey boo-girl, get on." She laughed when Maiya playfully gripped her ass in her hand, and Exodus chuckled to himself because he would've done the same-and had, plenty of times. Siraj definitely had a wagon on her.

"That shit sitting nice. You ate yet?" Maiya got up from Semaj's lap to go with her, glad that she would no longer be bored.

"Nah, I don't think ma done ye-,"

"Come make y'all plates 'cause I ain't doing eeee muthafuckin' thang'!" Sinatra's voice came over the speakers of the house, and Siraj shook her head at how dramatic her mom was.

Exodus and Semaj followed behind Siraj and Maiya while still conversing with each other; everyone else besides Adonis and Emmanuel-since their plates had been made by their wives-making their way to the kitchen.

The old school RnB music resumed once Sinatra got off of the speakers, now play Mesmerize by Ja Rule and Ashanti throughout the main areas of the house.

Siraj loved when they had family dinners, where everyone got together and just chilled while eating. Her mom always threw down, she loved listening to her dad and uncle yell at the Sunday night football, and enjoyed spending time with her loved ones the most.

"You don't even eat turkey neck, Emari. Get the damn plate." Siraj finished fussing at him after hearing him complain about the plate she'd made for him, and he smacked his lips, knowing that she was right.

"Thank you shordy." He kissed her face, laughing once she waved him off to get out of her space now. She'd only made his plate so that it didn't seem suspicious when she made her man's plate.

She filled his plate up with everything since she knew he could eat plenty of servings and then some, and she even partially cut the meat off of the turkey neck bone in his greens so that he could eat it better.

"You comin' to eat with me?" He asked her where only she could hear him, and she nodded, holding his plate out.

"'Preciate that fat ma." He kissed her forehead instead of her face, and she waved him off too, now making her own plate.

He chuckled, going to go find a spot on the couch where both of them could sit together. Hopefully nobody thought the open spot was available and would try to sit there. Spreading his legs apart, he leaned back on the cushion, waiting for Siraj to come before eating.

A few minutes later her scent invaded his nose, and he looked up from his phone, sliding it in his pocket when she sat on the right side of him against the arm of the couch.

"Where we going after this?" He asked after thanking her for the cold bottle of water she passed over to him.

"It don't matter to me papa." She folded her legs up in the couch, mixing in the hot sauce that she'd poured on her greens.

"You brought yo' car?"

"No, Mari dropped me off over here last night." She told him, and he nodded in response; already aware of that since she'd previously told him about spending a couple of days with his younger brother.

"We can go to my shit 'cause it's closer. Ion feel like driving too far this late." He took a bite out of a piece of fried chicken, holding it over his plate to avoid having crumbs in his lap.

"You tired?" She turned her head to look at him, almost forgetting that he'd just gotten off of a flight not too long ago.

"A lil' bit. I'a stay up and watch some of The 100 with you though." He said, chuckling at his secret of watching it on his own. He'd finished the fifth season already, while Siraj remained seven episodes behind. Of course he wasn't going to tell her that though, and would just pretend as if he'd never seen the episodes before.

The two of them engaged in their own conversation, but was both mostly focused on their food. Their moms could throw down, foreal. Exodus was already ready for next month's dinner. He loved home-cooked meals.

Brown Sugar by D'Angelo was now playing on the speakers, one of Exodus's favorite songs. He was bobbing his head to the beat while eating his food, still enjoying his meal.

"That's when you know that shit good, ain't it Jacere?" His mom, Deborah, laughed at the obvious satisfaction in his actions.

"Brown suga' baby, I gets high off of love, don't know how to behave." He snapped his fingers as he sung off-key, eventually laughing along with Siraj, and both of their fathers.

"Yeah, yeah, do that shit son." His father, Emmanuel, hyped him on once he stood up to slow dance with himself, simultaneously eating his food.

Siraj smiled as she watched her boyfriend, then looked away as soon as his eyes found hers. It still amazed her how nervous he could make her, even after spending so much time with him.

Exodus chuckled to himself, followed by a smile once his sister started singing along to one of the verses on Brown Sugar.

"Yo tail, cut me up some?" Zara looked at Exodus while saying one of the adlibs, and he laughed, realizing that she was cueing him.

"Stick out my tongue and I'm 'bout ready to hit this pretty pretty bitty with persistence. Yo, I don't think y'all hear me. Brown suga' baby," He had his eyes discreetly on Siraj, who was trying not to show what he was doing to her. He was in love beyond belief.

This was such a cute chapter. I guess she's pregnant tho 🫣🤔 or is she..???????? Time jump so we can decide 🫶🏼