Page 95 of Taeja

Zain scoffed. “That was weak.” He inhaled a big breath and released a louder belch.

Taeja scowled. “Unu sick mi stomach!”

“Only when we’re not in it,” Zain said, smirking as her eyes widened. “Try it.”

“I can’t belch…” she confessed.

Damon gasped. “How can you not belch?”

Taeja shrugged. “It never happens to me.”

“She probably farts a lot,” Zain stated, and Damon hummed.

Taeja’s mouth dropped. “I—”

“Zain’s right?” Damon asked, but she shifted her focus to the movie, pretending to be intrigued by the finishing credits. Damon paused the show. “We used to have fart competitions—”

“Yu know wa? Me a go mi bed.” Taeja jumped to her feet and grabbed the smallstack of plates and glasses. Heading to the kitchen, she heard Damon whisper something that made Zain erupt into loud laughter. She scowled as the laughs turned into belches. “Mi nuh know weh Kacian get them from.”

Wanting to hurry back to them, Taeja opted to load the dishwasher instead of hand washing, then returned to the living room. She smiled as they stopped belching to look at her. “I’m going to bed.”

Damon nodded and stood. He walked toward her and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and imprinted his scent — a slight trace of dark coffee beneath his cologne — into her memory.

“Goodnight,” Damon said as they pulled apart. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Her brows furrowed. “You’re not staying?” she asked, and Damon shook his head. “Why not?”

“Zain doesn’t like sleeping in the same bed, remember?”

Taeja sighed. “I don’t want you to go. It’s late. Zain has a guest—”

“It’s fine,” Zain’s voice came from behind them. “Damon can get the bed. I’ll sleep in the guestroom.”

“Can you stay until I fall asleep?” she asked and Zain nodded, making her smile.

They went to the bedroom and brushed their teeth before lying on the bed — Damon behind her with his arm thrown over her waist, and Zain before her.

“Thanks for staying,” she mumbled through a yawn, and Zain nodded. Then, she felt a kiss. From behind or in front of her? She’d never know. Her eyes had closed already.

17

“Stop sulking,” Zain saidfrom behind her.

Taeja glared at him through the mirror before them. “I don’t want a spotter.”

Zain stepped backward. “Go ahead.”

“Thank you.” She rolled her shoulders before looking at the weight below her. The most she ever lifted was about seventy-five pounds, but she wanted to see if she could do more. Eighty should be good enough. Seeing Zain bench press two hundred and say that was nothing because he could press more gave her motivation to try exercising again. Inhaling a deep breath, she grabbed the bar.

“Don’t hurt yourself because Damon will kill me,” Zain said.

Taeja chuckled. “Bury my body before he comes from work.”

“Burying bodies is too risky. I’d prefer to use acid—”

Taeja’s head snapped up, her mouth agape as she watched him smirk. “That was a little too specific, Zain.”

He chuckled. “Relax, the last thing on my mind is hurting you. It’s not on my mind at all.”

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