Page 90 of Bastard
My attention shifts to Hayden, and as I study him, the ache between my thighs only intensifies. His T-shirt sleeves are rolled up, treating me to a fine display of flexing biceps while he works. He woke me up twice last night. The first time by pulling me across his lap to ride him and the second, with him already halfway inside me from behind.
His eyes lift and connect with mine.
I can’t help but smirk.
He nods slightly, then returns to the business at hand.
I find Mustafa, who’s holding a shovel and is digging the trench. I join the diggers, and Mustafa entertains us by humming song after song.
She waits for her first intermission to elbow me in the side. “Those magpies are singing a fine tune today.”
I roll my eyes. Still, it could be my imagination, but the songs do sound sweeter. Like Hayden and I, in perfect tune with each other.
She teases me while we toil through the morning and into the afternoon. It’s dirty work yet joyous. I can’t imagine being anywhere else or doing anything more important.
“Yes, sir. Five more minutes,” she says as we take a water break.
I swallow the sip of water before replying. “Five minutes for what?”
She whistles. “You will see.”
I glance over at Hayden, who’s busy directing everyone around him. We haven’t spoken all day, though I can’t help stealing peeks at him.
I like him like this. Hands dirty. A fine sheen of sweat coating his body. Bossy, yet the very fact he’s supplied Nmimpi with these materials and has taken charge of assembling it all humbles each and every one of us.
“More boxes arrived today.”
“Condoms? We’ll have to change our distribution schedule to twice a month.”
“Not condoms.” Mustafa leans on her shovel. “Two handsome men carried them into Nmimpi. I did not get their names, but they seemed to know your husband.”
I sit back on my haunches and wipe the back of my hand across my forehead. “I wonder what’s inside.”
Something passes across Mustafa’s face.
“You opened the boxes?”
“Sometimes, in my old age, I get confused.”
I laugh. It comes from deep inside, from a place stored away for what’s been an eternity that now sits somewhere closer to the surface. It bursts out of me, uncontained and pure.
“What’s inside?”
“Food imported from Mexico.”
I drop the small shovel, surprised.
“Food to feed the entire village. I suppose with a little imagination, these hands of mine will understand how to prepare such a feast. Unless my girl knows someone who is familiar with Mexican cooking.”
“That can easily be arranged.” I clap my hands together, sending a cloud of dirt into the air. “Did you find chocolate?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you, Mustafa.” I tug her in for a hug.
“Thank that husband of yours.”
I make a face. Husband? Ex-husband, true. Lover? Also true. I pull back to look at her. “You, with your sweet tooth, are going to love my favorite dish. Chicken smothered in chocolate sauce.”
