His eyebrows stitched together with worry, but then he nodded. “Got it.”
“Good,” she said, then pecked a kiss to his lips once more before going into the bathroom. She peed into one of the small plastic cups that Troy had stashed under the sink with the tests, then held the stick in it for 5 seconds.
The box said it could take up to 10 minutes for the test to calculate, but her answer came up almost instantly. Pregnant. Positive. There was a baby in her.
“Troy!” She shouted. “Troy, come here!” She emptied the cup and threw it into the trash by the toilet just as he burst into the room, showing the whites of his eyes. She held up the test. His breath caught in his throat.
Troy
He expected it. He knew it was a possibility.
It still scared the ever loving shit out of him. “Should you take the other two?” He asked. “Can't they have false positives?”
“It came up immediately,” she answered. He held back a curse. “Which means the test is 100% sure. I'm pregnant. Even though it was unexpected, I'm kind of excited!”
He stared at the test that she was still holding up. It undoubtedly did say that she was pregnant.
I'm not ready to be a dad. I'm not ready for any of this. I'm not even ready to be a husband. What the hell am I supposed to do now?
“Troy?” She asked, setting the test down on the counter. “You look upset.”
Shit, I have to hide this. She's happy, and I love her, right? If she's happy, I should be happy. But babies change everything. They change absolutely everything, and I don't even know if she loves me. She didn't say she did when I confessed my love to her. She just accepted it.
“Hey. Earth to Troy! You're stuck in your head. What's wrong?” She asked, taking his hand. When he didn't answer, her eyes widened. “You don't want the baby, do you?”
His despair turned easily to rage. “Of course I want it, Ashanti! I goddamn love you, and I hope you'll love me too, one day. I'm just scare,” he admitted. His face scrunched up. “I'm so fucking scared that I'm not cut out to be a dad.”
“Troy, with the way you've handled me, with patience that I never deserved, I think you'll be a great dad.” She smiled reassuringly.
“I've never even held a baby before,” he admitted. “I never babysat or had a sibling.”
She nodded. “Well, a lot of dads haven't. You'll figure it out.” She sighed and touched her hand to her chest. “I'm so glad you didn't ask me to, you know. Get an...”
“I would never,” he cut her off, aghast.
“Well, I was worried for a second. Thank you.” She wraps a hand around the back of his neck and pulls him down for a kiss. “And by the way, I love you already.”
It felt like a weight had lifted off of his shoulders. “Really?” He asked. She nodded and kissed him again, which once again made his package stir in his pants. “Quit that. We have to leave soon.” As if on cue, the alarm he set on his phone went off. “See? Time to go.”
Knowing that his child was on the line if anything went wrong set Troy on edge. According to Ashanti's plan, he would lay in hiding while they talked, and would only come out if Elliot tried to make a move. That plan sucked, in Troy's opinion, but he knew she wouldn't accept anything else.
He drove Ashanti to the Chamber of Commerce on the back of his bike, then they both looked around. They were there early enough for Troy to hide himself, and his bike, in some nearby bushes. There were no lamps or other lights that hit the spot where he was hiding.
After Troy settled in, Ashanti stood in the parking lot under the one light that didn't flicker. He watched her, intently, and guessed how long it would take for him to be by her side at that distance. Too long, in his opinion. Too damn long.
“Hello, Ashanti,” he heard the voice before the body materialized out of the dark. He had short blond hair and a mean grin. “It's good to see you, with clothes on, again.”
“Elliot,” Ashanti said. Troy was proud that her voice did not waver, though she was obviously afraid. “Why are you back? I thought you left.”
“Oh, I'm just taking a year off of school. To relax and rejuvenate myself before I graduate, you know.” He stepped closer, and Troy's body tensed to prepare to pounce. “And I knew that I just had to catch up with my favorite slut. How are you? I hear you got married. I wonder how you managed that, when you're not even good enough to masturbate to. Those nudes you sent me are so disgusting, you know. They revolt me.” His horrid grin grew. “You revolt me.”
“Why?” She asked, her voice trembling then. “Why are you doing this? I haven't done anything to you. Nothing to deserve this punishment.”
“Oh, you know. I saw the news about you getting married, and then I heard through the grapevine that you had come into a lot of money.”
“What news?”
“Didn't you know?” He asked, shrugging and shaking his head like she was an idiot. “Your wedding was in the newspaper. Since I heard about your inheritance, I thought I would come to you to help me pay down my student loans. So what do you say? You did bring the money, didn't you?”
He stepped forward, holding out his hand.
“Hang on,” Ashanti said. Troy couldn't figure out why she was stalling.
“Oh? Did you have something else you wanted to discuss?”
Ashanti stumbled over her words, mumbling. It was like she wanted to insult him, but didn't want to make the situation worse. Troy wished he could step in, then, but knew she would be angry if he acted too soon.
“You seem so unsure of yourself, but I think I know what you want. You want me to use you before I take your money. Well, we're all alone out here, aren't we? Why don't you strip down. Let me take a few more photos before I cum in your mouth.” She gasped, and the sound made him laugh. “I know! I've never let you touch me before, but I'm feeling charitable today.”
Elliot moved closer to her, touched her face. Ashanti stood completely still, but Troy had had enough. He couldn't touch her, he couldn't speak to her that way. Not without getting his ass handed to him.
Letting his anger take over, Troy decided that whatever happened to Elliot, he fully deserved. If that upset Ashanti, then let her be upset. He couldn't let that scum make her feel like shit anymore.
He lunged forward, his left fist ready to make contact with Elliot's face. It did.
Chapter 14
Ashanti
A rageful scream drowned out Ashanti's own shout, an attempt to get Troy to still himself. Troy was the one shouting over her as he ran towards Elliot, anger like she had never seen before on his face.
The shout seemed to paralyze Elliot, who would have normally be able to avoid the blow before it connected with his face. It snapped his nose into grotesquerie, blood falling freely from it down Elliot's face and into his mouth.
Troy got another punch in, close to the temple, before he backed off.
“Troy, please stop!” She cried. “I told you to wait!”
He spun on her, the venom in his eyes turning to pleading. “He was about to attack you. Can't you see that?”
“No, he wasn't...” she tried to protest.
“Wake up, Ashanti! Not everyone has goodness in them. This piece of shit? Deserves to feel some pain. After all he's done to you, after all he's put you through, he deserves some pain. He'll be fine once his nose heals.”
Ashanti hadn't seen Elliot stand back up, but she saw the sudden gush of pain across Troy's face as a fist connected with the back of his neck.
“You brought your husband? I warned you, Ashanti,” he clucked, watching Troy crumple to the ground. Ashanti fell with him, searching him for permanent damage, but she couldn't tell. She just couldn't tell. “Now I'm going to have to send those photos to your grandmother. You're such a whore that I bet you were hoping for that. You get off on humiliation, don't you?” He sneered, taking out his phone.
Troy grabbed Elliot's foot and pulled him to the ground, hitting first his chest and then his face again. Elli
ot struggled against him, trying to kick away from him, but his movements were too slow.
Ashanti watched in horror as Troy brought his fist to Elliot's face yet again, with a loud cry. "Fuck, you have a hard head!" Troy yelled, shaking his hand.
Elliot tried again to break free, but with a deft grip and twist, Troy flipped him over. "Ashanti, take the rope out of my coat pocket."
"What?" She asked.
He sighed. "Take the rope. It's in my right pocket. I can't reach it right now, because I have to hold onto his hands or he's going to cause more trouble for us."
Unsure, she moved forward. Elliot tried to kick out from under Troy, but Troy was the heavier one, and certainly more skilled in fighting.
Trapping Elliot's hands to his side and then dragging them together, Troy took the rope from Ashanti and tied her harasser's hands together behind his back.
Elliot let out a mighty cry, which Troy mocked and ignored. Then he looked up at Ashanti, still straddled on top of Elliot. "You okay?"
"Yeah, fights are just scary. Are you?"
"Fine. Might need to see a chiropractor about being hit in the neck like that, though," he said with a grin. He looked around, as if he was looking for something, and then he spotted it.
Elliot's phone.
Taking it, he stood and kicked Elliot onto his back. "So you're a fan of blackmail, huh?" Troy asked him. Elliot had started crying, snot flowing down his face.
Troy opened Elliot's phone (which conveniently, or stupidly, had no lock) and snapped photos. "Stop! What are you doing?" Elliot asked.
Troy ignored him, switching Elliot's phone for his own and snapping more photos. "Answer me, damn it!"
"It should be pretty clear what I'm doing. I see you have some Harvard numbers in here. Is that where you go to school? Oh wow, and info on a frat... very interesting. I'm going to keep these numbers," he said, entering them into his own phone. "If we ever hear from you again, for any reason, these photos go to everyone you know. From Dad to whoever Kimberley is. And we'll make sure they know what you did to Ashanti. We'll get the photos in the paper. We'll put them online. We'll ruin your life."
Troy crouched down next to Elliot, then, and gave him a hideous smile. "Do you understand, Elliot?"
Elliot whimpered, sobbed, but he nodded.
"Say it out loud."
"I'll leave you both alone. I promise."
"Good," Troy said. "Now, apologize to Ashanti for putting her through so much."
Ashanti shook her head. "It's fine."
"No, Ashanti, it isn't. Go on."
Elliot gritted his teeth, rolling his eyes. "Sorry."
"For?"
"Sorry for using those naked photos against you."
Troy nodded, then stood and messed with Elliot's phone some more. "Good. Well, I've taken all traces of Ashanti's photos off the phone, but I'm sure you have backups somewhere. You're going to go home and delete them. If you don't, and we find out about it? Well, you already know what we'll do."
Troy stepped up to Ashanti, throwing Elliot's phone at the tied up man. Offering her his arm, he guided her towards the bushes.
She cast an unsure glance behind them. "Are we just going to leave him?" He asked.
"Nah. I'm going to text his dad to come pick him up once we leave." He was looking woozy, his footing unsure.
"Okay," she agreed, and he slumped over. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I guess that blow to my neck messed with me more than I thought. I'm not good to drive my motorcycle back."
"Oh no. What are we going to do?"
"Call your grandma."
Ashanti gasped, pressing a hand to her chest. "I can't do that!"
"Ashanti, you either call her or we walk home. Which do you prefer?"
Grumbling, she took out her phone and dialed her grandmother. Grandma Rosa was, as always, understand and aghast, ready to nag them for getting stranded at such an ungodly hour. “Get ready, she's in full grandma mode,” she said, sitting next to Troy on the ground. Glancing back at Elliot, she saw that he was trying to sit up. “Thank you,” she said.
“Of course,” Troy answered. “I will always be there to protect you.”
She smiled, warmth filling her. “So what are we going to do about your bike?”
“I guess we'll leave it until tomorrow morning. I could probably get Sam to bring me back out here if I'm feeling up to it, or we could get it towed.”
“That makes sense,” she said, leaning into him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
The ride with Grandma Rosa was long, and involved explaining the whole story. All of it. It was an extremely cringe worthy situation, but Ashanti had no reason to worry about losing her inheritance over something stupid she did as a teenager.
“Oh my, I sent my fair share of racy photos to your grandfather! I think everyone does,” Grandma Rosa said.
Only one thing was still nagging at Ashanti. One last secret she was keeping from her grandmother. “Grandma, I have something to tell you.”
Troy
Once Ashanti said she had something to tell her grandmother, she immediately regretted it. Troy had no clue what she was holding back, and he wondered if it would be news to him.
“What is it?” Grandma Rosa asked.
“Never mind. Sorry.” Ashanti sounded guilty as she looked out the front passenger window at the starless night sky.
Grandma Rosa shook her head. “Oh no, you know that isn't going to work on me, dear. You tell me.”
Ashanti's face remained emotionless. Troy watched her intently, observing her for anything that would give away what she was about to reveal. “I'm pregnant,” she said.
His shoulders relaxed. Of course that was it.
“What!” Grandma Rosa shouts. “When?! How?!”
Ashanti chuckled. Troy laughed, too. “I think the how is pretty obvious,” Troy answered. Ashanti glanced at him through the rear view mirror, their eyes connecting.
“Yes, I suppose so,” Grandma Rosa said, giving him a wink in the mirror. “I'm so happy for you! When did you find out?”
“Earlier today, so it's still really early on. Please don't go talking about this until we're out of the woods.”
“What do you mean?” Troy asked. “What's wrong?”
“Geez, did you not get sex ed as a kid?” Ashanti asked, then reached back to hold his hand. “In the early weeks, the chance of miscarriage is really high.”
“Should I be worried?” He asked. Ashanti shook her head, and so he relaxed. He had to trust that she knew what she was talking about.
“I have so much to learn,” he admitted. “I don't know anything.”
Grandma Rosa blabbered on, offering advice and asking how Ashanti intended to announce the pregnancy. Ashanti, thankfully, kept her grandmother entertained so that Troy could think.
He let his mind wander to thoughts about the future. Where they might be in the next year. In a few months they would (probably) have a child. A few months after that, their one year would be up.
When they pulled up to the house, Grandma Rose took Ashanti's hand. “If you need any help, at any time, tell me. And if anymore boys like that Elliot comes to mess with you, I'll make sure they pay.”
“Okay, Grandma,” Ashanti said with a laugh. The both got out of the car and waved as Grandma Rosa drove away, then they went inside.
Troy felt thoroughly tired, down to his bones. Exhausted. He just wanted to fall into bed and sleep for a long time, but Ashanti pulled him in for a hug. Feeling her close to him was enough to awaken at least some parts of him. “Thank you for saving me again. I don't know where I would be if I hadn't met you.”
“Here, still, and with a lot less trouble in your life.”
She laughed, then nodded. “I guess you're right. But I wouldn't trade a boring life for this. Not at all.” Raising up onto her tippy toes, she plucked his lips with hers. His head swam with her scent.
Ashanti took his hand and led him up the stairs, then pushed
him onto the bed. He tried to pull her down with him, but she pulled away. “Let me do something for you,” she requested. “Something nice.”
“Ooh,” he said. “This sounds exciting.”
She shook her head in amusement. “Well, remember this will be my first time, so if it sucks… I don't want to know. Got it?”
He saluted her, then put his hands behind his head. “Got it.”
Climbing atop him, she showered his head and face with kisses, even his eyes. Slowly, she moved lower, from his chin to his neck, then to his collarbone and chest. Pulling off his shirt, she pressed her lips to his nipples, then softly fluttered kisses on his abdomen. He groaned in appreciation as she again moved lower, to his Adonis Belt. She paid special attention to that spot, driving him wild with her soft, warm lips.
Reaching down, he touched her face. Ashanti grabbed his hand and kissed his fingers, one by one, then set to work undoing his pants. First, the button, and then the zipper. When she tugged on the top of his pants and boxers, he lifted himself so that they would pull away from him more easily.
He was already hard and hot for her. Wrapping her hand around him, she kissed all over his package, then licked it up and down. Then she opened her mouth, and her full lips pressed down and then pulled back up. She took as much into her mouth a she could, then pulled up again. What she couldn't fit into her mouth, she stroked with her hand, moving it in time with the bobbing of her head.
She pleasured him like that until he was close to losing it, but Troy didn't want to end the night with a blowjob. He forced himself to hold off his orgasm, clenching his abdomen when he got too close, and then touching her face. “Stop,” he commanded, and then in a second he was up and upon her, flipping her onto the bed.
She laughed, surprised, and instinctively opened herself to him. He pulled off her pants in an instant, throwing them to the side. As he came back up to her, his tongue skimmed her inner thigh. Then, cupping her ass, he lifted her.
Reluctantly Married Page 11
