Page 64 of Free to Fall

The event went smooth—Serenity gave a speech that made her mama cry, then had one of her student groups perform a routine that damn near had the whole room on their feet.

Afterward, we all headed to the Bradshaw estate for dinner. Lenox and Sienna had invited everybody—Royal, Averi, Ari,Brodie, the kids, even Tasha showed up. The house was beautiful, as always, but the vibe was...off.

Even though Lenox and Sienna had agreed to work through their problems, I could feel the space between them. There was no flirting, no touches, they were barely even glancing at each other. Sienna smiled through it, pouring wine and serving food, but it felt like a performance. Lenox was quiet, observant, like he was holding in every word he wanted to say.

We were all halfway through dinner when he cleared his throat and turned to me. “Nasseem, you heard anything else from your brother?”

I set my fork down. “Nah. Shit been real quiet since that blow up at the gym. But I don’t think it’s gon’ stay that way for long.”

Lenox nodded; his jaw tight. “Keep me posted. And keep your head on a swivel. That boy...he desperate. Desperate men do stupid shit.”

“Trust me,” I said, glancing at Egypt, “I ain’t takin’ no chances.”

I stayed close to her the whole night. Touching her knee under the table, whispering in her ear, grabbing her plate and pouring her water before she could ask. I ain’t care who saw—I needed her to know I was in this. All the way.

When we got back home later that night, Egypt kicked off her heels and threw her purse on the kitchen counter. I came up behind her again, wrapping my arms around her just like I did earlier that morning.

“I like this,” I said against her shoulder.

She tilted her head, brows raised. “Like what?”

“Us. Bein’ like this. You...carryin’ my kid. Comin’ home together. Feels like I got a real family.”

She turned in my arms, her expression soft but guarded. “You do have a family, Nas. Me and this baby—we’re yours. Just don’t piss me off again.”

I smirked. “Never again.”

“So, is this living arrangement a permanent thing or is this only temporary?” she asked. I cocked my head to the side, trying to hide the smirk threatening to grace my face.

“What you want it to be E?”

“What do you want it to be Nas?”

“Look, if you want a nigga to move in just say the word and I’ll have my entire condo packed and moved in here.” A wide grin expanded across her face.

“Yeah?”

“Say the word…”

“Move in with me.”

“Nah, I’m good.” I laughed as she tried to get out of my grasp. “Chill, chill, chill… I’m fuckin with you Baby. I’ll make the call in the morning.”

She stared at me for a long moment, then leaned up and kissed me. Slow and deep; like she believed me...or at least wanted to. I held onto that kiss like it was the only thing keeping me alive. And for a while, it really felt like we’d made it. We were home, we were good. But like I told Mr. Bradshaw... silence don’t last forever. And deep down, I knew Nate was somewhere plotting—just waiting for his next move.

***.

Four days later, we had her first OB appointment back in LA. We sat in that waiting room, quiet but connected. My knee bounced the whole time, nerves eating me alive. I’d never been to no appointment like this before. Never gave a fuck enough to show up. But this, this was different.

“Ms. Armstrong?” the nurse called. We stood up together and she grabbed my hand as we made our way to the back.

The exam room was cold. Egypt sat on the table, stomach exposed, breathing slow while the nurse prepped the ultrasoundmachine. Seconds later, there was a quick knock on the door and the doctor walked in with a smile.

“Good afternoon folks, I’m Dr. Early. You must be Ms. Armstrong.”

“Yeah, good to meet you.” Egypt said extending her hand in his direction. “This is my boyfriend Nasseem.”

“It’s nice to meet you Nasseem.” He replied shaking my hand as well. “From what I read in your chart you’re about 12 weeks along. You were getting prenatal care at Memphis Medical?”

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