Page 51 of Desire

“Baby, there hasn’t been a time I’ve laid my eyes on you that you haven’t made my heart skip several beats.”

“You’re such a charmer.”

“I may be, but I’m not a liar.”

“Whatever. How’s your campaign going?”

“I didn’t bring you here to talk about work, but we’re still in the beginning stages, and it’s going well. Actually, there’s a fundraiser I want you to attend with me next weekend. You down?”

“Of course, but I need to find something to wear. I can’t be looking like the unemployed teacher I am in front of all those rich, uppity people. You know those bougie-ass women will have a million questions.”

“You may be unemployed, but your husband ain’t no broke nigga, and he’s the mayor. Whatever I got, you got, and I got a lot.”

“I know, but what am I supposed to say I do for a living?”

“First of all, none of their asses have jobs, so you ain’t gotta say shit. Secondly, if they gotta know something, tell them you keep the mayor of this city fed and properly fucked.”

“Baby!” she exclaimed.

“What? That’ll teach their nosy asses to stop asking so many damn questions.”

“You’re a mess, but I’ll happily attend the fundraiser with you. It’ll be our first big event as husband and wife.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Can you get some discount tickets for my sister and their husbands?”

“Of course. I’ll add them to my guest list. They can attend for free. My whole family will be there, too.”

“Oh, nice. Thank you, baby. I’m excited now. I’ll tell them as soon as we get home.”

“I’ll do anything to keep that smile on your face.”

“You do, and you prove to me how serious you are about it every day. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

We continued to talk while finishing our lunch. Azaria had been eyeing the swings since we arrived and eventually talked me into taking her over there. I wasn’t dressed for the occasion, but there wasn’t much my baby girl couldn’t convince me to do.

“We’ll be back in a few minutes. Will you be good here?”

I leaned forward and kissed her lips before she could answer.

“I’ll be fine. Go push my baby on the swings, but not too high,” she warned.

I kissed her again, appreciating her protectiveness over my daughter. It was just one of the many reasons why I fell in love with her so quickly.

I remained on the blanket and watched the father and daughter duo from afar, snapping pictures of them between scrolling through Flikstagram. A notification appeared indicating I had a message. I pressed it and sighed when I saw who’d sent it.

A few hours after Aziel and I exchanged vows, I received the first message and received a few every week since then. I blocked each profile but assumed they were from the same person because each message had the same sentiment: Aziel Harris was no good for me and would eventually break my heart. The profile was empty, followed no one, and had no followers.

The identity of the person or people responsible for the messages was a mystery, but if I had to guess, I’d say it was someone Aziel used to deal with. I hadn’t responded to any of the messages and figured they would eventually get tired of being ignored and leave me alone.

However, today’s message was different. When I saw the pictures, my heart stopped. Your little fairytale will soon come to an end. Sitting up, I looked around, and only a few mothers and their children were in the park. Someone was watching us and was bold enough to take pictures and send them to me. The thought gave me chills and made me feel sick.

I have to tell Aziel.

Azaria’s giggle stole my attention as she ran toward me. I dropped my phone on the blanket and caught her just before she tackled me. Aziel was several feet behind her, but I heard him chuckle at his daughter’s actions.

---