The morning sun tickles my nostrils and makes me sneeze. Before I open my eyes, I realise how cold and empty my bed is. It was noticeably more crowded when I last closed my eyes. Which had been a few hours after Rashid and I made each other “feel nice”. I smile into my pillow. It had felt really nice. What started as “only a handjob” quickly turned into something a lot messier that left us both sweating, panting and quite spent.

I know Rashid and I have only been intimate for less than two weeks, but every time I’m that close to him, it’s like my whole body sings, like I was made for this. We’re still learning each other’s bodies – slowly, tenderly – and that newness makes everything feel electric. Last night, I found a spot on his neck – below his jaw, tucked beneath his left ear – that drives him absolutely wild when I kiss it. Naturally, I took my time there: nipping, sucking, licking, savoring every sound he made. Pretty sure I left a hickey. Maybe two.

Rashid is so calm and collected in his everyday, professional life, and it took me forever to make a crack in his shell until he allowed me a first glimpse of a more vulnerable side of him. I remember our early days where I was basically tempted to do jumping jacks in front of him, only to see a reaction on his face. Any reaction. That shell is open now, but I know he still holds back when we’re in bed. I think it’s because he focuses on me so much to make sure I am comfortable. With him I am.

Unless my stupid brain plays tricks on me. Which it sometimes does. That didn’t change in only ten days, but being with Rashid helps. Whatever I need, he is there for me. I trust him completely, and I know with him I can let myself fall and simply be. I want to do the same for him. So whenever I can get him to loosen up a little, it’s pure magic. Tonight? Mission accomplished and I do feel a little smug about it.

I’m still in a state of endorphin-induced bliss when I feel Rashid softly nudging my shoulder. “You wouldn’t have anything to clean up by chance?”

I roll over to check the top drawer of my nightstand in search of some old tissues, and I can’t help but laugh at the sight that greets me.

“What?” Rashid asks, and I hold up a bottle of lube, a pack of condoms and a package of wet wipes to him. He snorts with laughter.

“Your sister is a very thoughtful hostess.” He grabs the wet wipes and methodically deals with the aftermath, starting with me, like the true gentleman that he is.

As I’m drifting off in Rashid’s arms, he climbs over me to get out of bed – jostling me awake in the process. I think maybe he only needs to piss, but a moment later, soft fabric hits my face and the door to my room is unlocked. Then the stupid grown-ass man scrambles over me again, and I groan in grumpy protest. I can hear a chuckle, and my cheek is showered with kisses.

“Sorry, sleepyhead. I just thought we should at least look half decent in case the little princess grants us a nightly audience.”

I turn around, so I’m face-to-face with Rashid. “Are you sure you don’t mind? If we keep the door locked, she’ll go to her mom instead. And her mom will send her back to her own bed.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” Rashid replies with another kiss on my cheek. “Sweet dreams, Lell.”

I roll my eyes and briefly wonder what I’ll have to do to stop him from using Soso’s nickname for me. Probably shouldn’t have called him “Rashi”. I slip into my underwear and then back into my place in my boyfriend’s arms.

Soon enough, I can feel a much smaller hand rocking my shoulder. It is still pitch dark inside my room when I open my eyes. I turn around to see Soso standing by my bed, clutching her doll. It’s still Bijou, also known as Boo Boo, the doll I bought her with the first money Louis gave me for taking my blood.

“There’s a monster under my bed, Lell.” Soso sniffles. It’s a rehearsed act, I know. Claiming to be afraid of something in the dark increases her chances that her mom won’t kick her out of the bedroom. She doesn’t need any made-up stories with me – I’d never turn her away. I’ve always loved when she came to me for her daytime naps or during the night, loved feeling her warm, soft body pressed against mine. She was always my comfort and my warmth. Tonight is the first night where I’m starting to see why my sister might not always be so welcoming to Soso’s presence in her bed.

“Shhh,” I tell her. I lift the blanket for her while trying to wriggle back as far as I possibly can without squashing the big man behind me against the wall. Two adult men and a six-year-old are going to be a challenge in my small bed, but we’ll manage somehow. “Don’t wake Rashid.”

Soso peeks curiously over my shoulder while kneeling on the edge of my bed, a slight frown furrowing her brow. “Why is Rashi sleeping in your bed, Lell? Doesn’t he have his own bed?”

I can’t help but giggle. “He does have his own bed, but it is very, very far away. And he’s my boyfriend, so we like sleeping in one bed. Besides, you have your own bed, missy, and you’re trying to squeeze into mine just now.” Tonight my bed seems to be the place to be.

Soso looks at me quizzically. “Is he afraid of monsters under his bed, too?”

I’m laughing. The idea that a Talamasca agent could be afraid of monsters in the dark is too damn funny. “No, princess. Rashid is the bravest man on earth. He’s the one the monsters are afraid of.”

She hums while processing the information but makes no effort to actually lie down.

“Lift her up and put her between us,” I can hear Rashid say behind me. So we did wake him up. My laughter probably didn’t help. “We’ll both protect you from the monsters, shona. Your Uncle Lell and I.”

I do as he says, and Soso wiggles herself in the small space between Rashid and me, still clutching Boo Boo to her chest. She demands goodnight kisses from me and Rashid. Boo Boo gets goodnight kisses too, and then my princess is fast asleep again.

I reach across her in search of Rashid’s hand and squeeze it when I find it. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” I can hear the smile in his voice. He manages to lean over without squishing my niece to give me my very own special goodnight kiss. Then he settles himself in the limited space between the wall and the other people occupying my bed. It doesn’t take long for his breathing to tell me he’s gone back to sleep, one of his hands resting lightly on my hip and the other folded up underneath his face. I’m wide awake. I don’t care that I’m basically on the edge of my own bed, in danger of being evicted from it with any tiny movement. This is perfect.

---

I decide to go looking for my former bed companions and head downstairs. When I enter the kitchen, I am greeted by the most domestic scene you can imagine. Josie is at the kitchen counter cutting up fruit and vegetables for a vegan breakfast. Gawd, I love her! Baby Ezra is in his baby bouncer next to her, giggling and trying to grab the plush tiger dangling from a toy bar in front of his face. I’m a terrible uncle: I only know for sure it’s Ezra because it says so on his onesie. I recognise the theme song from “Princess Sophia” blaring from the living room, and through the open door I can see Soso on the couch, bouncing her feet over the edge with a bowl of cereal on her lap.

And to my left is the most glorious sight: my boyfriend sitting on the bench, my nephew Theo on his lap, half sitting, half lying against Rashid’s chest. The twins are five months old now, but they were born slightly premature, so they’re still catching up in their development. They’re healthy and thriving, which is all that matters. Rashid has one arm draped around the small body and Theo is drinking noisily from his bottle that Rashid holds up for him with his free hand. Whatever you heard about the combination of men and babies being hot… multiply it by… a lot. If I had ovaries, they’d be a’poppin’ for sure. 

When he sees me coming in, Rashid turns to me and flashes me the biggest smile. I slide onto the bench beside him.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” Rashid says and kisses me. “Soso and I decided to let you snooze a little longer. You looked like you needed it.”

He grins at me, and I’ve never been more jealous of a baby because I ridiculously miss his arms around me right now. Since there’s not much I can do about it, I settle for leaning against his shoulder.

Rashid chuckles. “Still sleepy?”

I murmur something about missing my morning cuddles.

“Sorry, you’re currently upstaged by your nephew.” He rests his forehead against mine for a moment. Then he nods towards a coffee mug on the table in front of him.

“Help yourself. It’s with almond milk.” I couldn’t love him more if I tried and wrap my hands around the mug containing the elixir of life in all its non-dairy glory. I love people who give me coffee.

Josie watches us from the other side of the kitchen. I forgot we are still under scrutiny.

“And a good morning to you too, baby bro.”

I frown. I wished her a good morning when I came in, didn’t I? Oops. I might have forgotten, being distracted by hot boyfriend and cute baby.

“Sorry. Morning, sis.” I give her my best apologetic, sheepish smile. I take a sip from Rashid’s coffee before I lay my head against his shoulder again, inhaling his unique spicy-honey scent mixed this morning with odeur de baby, sweet, milky and a faint dash of diaper blowout. I think I also get an intoxicating whiff that betrays our nightly activities. Maybe I only imagine it, but it still makes me smile. I close my eyes and enjoy the moment.

I can hear Theo gurgling and blowing bubbles. He’s clearly had enough of his breakfast. I crack one eyelid open a fraction to take in the sight in front of me. Rashid puts the baby bottle on the table and shifts Theo around so he’s facing us. Belly against Rashid’s chest lifting his head to look around with his big brown eyes.

“Can you watch Ezra for a moment?” Rashid and I both nod in unison before Josie leaves the kitchen. I sigh happily and bury my face deeper into Rashid’s shoulder when I can feel a tiny hand pat me on the head.

“Oy, kiddo, I’m not a drum.” I protest when suddenly Theo’s hand curls into a fist clutching a strand of my hair and yanking with the surprising force only a five-month-old can muster.

“Ow! Let go! Theo! That’s attached, buddy!” I’m trying to gently pry the baby’s fingers loose but Theo only grips tighter and the pain actually sends tears to my eyes, my scalp on fire.

Theo responds with a soft little heh-heh-heh – barely a laugh, more like a series of breathy giggles, but it’s full of glee. His eyes crinkle, his whole body wriggles against Rashid’s chest, and he lets out a hiccup-laugh like this is the funniest thing he’s ever witnessed. It probably is.

“Okay, relax, Baby Joker. You win.”

Rashid, unhelpfully, starts laughing, too. He could at least pretend to be sympathetic while Theo tries to tear my hair out by the root.

Theo lets out another giggle-snort, then hiccups – a wobbly joy-bubble that sends us completely over the edge. The three of us are reduced to a heap of laughter: two grown men and one giddy baby, tangled up together, breathless and completely unable to calm down.

Theo finally releases his grip with a triumphant coo. I lean back with my hair and dignity mostly intact, still shaking with laughter, gasping for air and tears streaming down my face. Josie chooses this moment to walk back into the kitchen and looks at us with an odd expression. Shock? Disapproval? Jay-zuhs, sis, can’t I have a bit of fun for a change? Before I can frown at her, she quickly turns away, facing the counter and busies herself with breakfast preparations again. Rashid parks Theo on his other shoulder, shielding me from the little fiend, and leans toward me.

“You okay?” His voice is still vibrating with laughter.

I’m still recovering, and I’m slightly irritated with Josie, but when I feel Rashid’s lips on mine, it all melts away. His kiss is soft and tender at first, but then his tongue flicks across my skin, and it sets off a different kind of sparks. I press against him, open my mouth to invite him in and deepen the kiss, my tongue swiping against his, tasting him. Gawd, I missed this. If you believe some backward theories, that kiss, presented to baby in such proximity, should have turned Theo gay on the spot. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

I can hear clattering as Josie drops her cutting board and knife into the sink, maybe with a little too much force. Before we can get into even more trouble, Rashid and I break apart reluctantly. Theo takes the cue to finally let out a tiny burp, spitting up a bit of milk onto his chin, down his onesie and onto Rashid’s shirt.

Completely unfazed, Rashid stands up, smiling. “I better clean this one up and put him down for his nap.” He takes Theo to the downstairs bathroom but quickly turns around and throws me a wicked little wink and mouths, ‘Later!’ – and I know exactly what kind of later he means.

“Rosalie was totally not wrong about needing a hose around you two.” Josie comments, leaning her hip against the kitchen counter.

“Oh yeah? Gossiping behind my back, are you?” I’m starting to get annoyed. “And how many times did I walk in on you and Mal eating each other’s faces?” I down the last bit of coffee from Rashid’s mug and dump it into the dishwasher.

I can feel Josie’s hand on my arm, giving it a tiny squeeze. She’s trying to get back on my good side, but I’m still simmering in indignation. I watch as Rashid returns to the living room and sets Theo down on the soft quilt inside the twins’ playpen before he plonks himself down on the couch next to Soso with a sigh of contentment.

“He came down maybe half an hour before you did.” Josie says. “Mal was already at the store. He wanted to be there early before Black Friday mayhem starts. I usually can handle three kids alone in the morning, but today they were all in rare form. Soso was cranky – she’s not a morning person. Surprisingly not unlike her uncle before he had his first coffee.” I huff and roll my eyes. Whoever she’s talking about. “The twins were causing a ruckus. And then your Rashid stepped in like a knight in shining armour. He just knew what to do. Sat Soso down with her cereal and helped entertain the boys while I got their milk warmed up.”

“Told you, he’s a keeper,” I say, watching said keeper get into a playful argument with my niece about something that’s happening on TV. He fits in like a glove with my family, and it lifts a huge weight off my shoulders. One I didn’t even realise I was carrying.

“Does he have any nieces or nephews, do you know?” Josie asks. “He’s so good with kids.”

“Nope. He’s an only child.” I frown trying to remember something Rashid told me during one of our first dates. “He’s got friends with children. Maybe he got some practice with them.”

Josie hums in response, and something in her tone makes me finally turn around and look at her. Her eyes are suspiciously bright, and when she sees my gaze, she quickly wipes her hands across her face.

“Sorry…”

“Josie, what…?” I’m stunned.

“I…. um…” she takes a deep breath that turns out to be a little shaky. “I just can’t remember the last time I saw you laugh so much.”

“And that’s a bad thing… how?” I frown at her. “I’m not Ol’ Misery all the time, you know.”

“It’s not a bad thing… Jay-zuhs, of course it’s not.” She shakes her head. “I know you laugh, but I haven’t seen you so happy and carefree like now in a long, long time. Not since you were Mama’s little Biscuit I think…”

She cups my face and runs a thumb across my cheek. “I think you got yourself a very sweet man there.” She leans in a little closer to me and whispers in my ear, “Just next time remember: squeaky bed, thin walls.”

She laughs and gives my cheek a playful pat. The tips of my ears warm up a bit, and I don’t know if it is from embarrassment or the wave of relief that washes over me. Because there it finally is: the Dupree stamp of approval.