Page 12 of Counting His heartbeats

Grabbing my receipt from the cashier, I walk in the direction of Zurmani and Dr. No to make my presence known. Zurmani's ass is only supposed to be here giving care to our charge, not moonlighting with a man who isn't me.

"What's good, Mrs. Young? I didn't know our nuptials allowed us to entertain nonfactors. Why are you grinning in my wife's face?" I ask, staring at the light-skinned dude whose face turns red.

"I-I—uh, you didn't say you were married," the doctor says, staring back and forth between Zurmani and me.

Zurmani's face flushes, and she pushes her glasses higher on her blemish-free toffee face.

"Oh, so you mean to tell me that you had our baby, and instead of having your ass up there tending to our son, you're considering your options? What the fuck did I do to hurt you, boo? I told you I would eat your pussy after we took care of our son. Damn, your ass is foul for this shit," I continue.

"Damn. I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't mean to cause any problems. I will be praying for your baby," the doctor says, standing and walking out of the cafeteria without grabbing his drink or food.

"What is wrong with you, fool? We aren't married, nor do we have a baby." Zurmani's eyes tighten while a frown forms, and she stares at me like I shot Bambi.

"How's your day been? Is Little Man straight? I was on my way up to see him," I quiz, taking the empty seat the doctor vacated.

"What the hell? You've got to be fucking kidding me. I know good and go?—"

"Whoa. Slow your roll, Tigress. I don't play that blasphemy shit, and if God is going to be the third cord in our union, I don't need you pissing Him off," I remark, cutting her off while holding my hand up with my back leaning against the chair and my eyes rake over Zurmani lustfully.

Zurmani has the clearest, smoothest toffee skin I have ever had the privilege of seeing. Her full cheeks are cute and put me in the mind of a chipmunk. Her plump lips have me envisioning sucking on them to make them swell even more than they do naturally. Yet, Zurmani's best asset is her almond-shaped dark orbs, which allow me to see the kind woman who gave my heart a jumpstart during our first connection. The glasses covering her eyes are an enhancement that I appreciate despite dating any visually challenged women in the past. I also love Zurmani's full blonde and brown curls that seem to round out her feminine features.

"Who the fuck are you calling a Tigress?"

"Your fake mad ass. I love the blonde and brown in your hair, so I'd say the name is fitting, wouldn't you?"

"You know what... I don't have time for this." Standing up, Zurmani grabs her purse from the neighboring chair and leaves the table.

Mm. Maybe I need to add Zurmani's bountiful ass to my list of favorites. Little mama is working with some heavy artillery from the back.

"Aye, Tigress. Are you gonna meet me upstairs or at home?" I yell to her retreating form before laughing when her left hand comes up, and she flicks me up without slowing her strides or acknowledging me further.

Hm, is she the help you mentioned sending God? If so... I accept your will.

Several DaysLater

"Wait, this man just walked up and interrupted your conversation out of the blue?" Evie asks, laughing.

"Why were you at Shadow Stew Memorial? Is everything okay?" Jamaica probes.

"Stay focused, Jamaica. Yes, he did, Evie. It's crazy that I'm still mad about it days later. The man was a damn doctor and fine as frogs' hair. Despite wanting to date anyone, I might have reconsidered depending on how the conversation went."

Dropping my head on my desk, I jump when it hits harder than I anticipated, and pain radiates across my forehead. I had planned on spending several hours in the NICU after taking the afternoon off from work. My growling stomach led me to the cafeteria instead to provide sustenance to my empty belly. Dr. Maurice Slaughter and I had only exchanged pleasantries before Jawaan's aggy ass decided to forestall our conversation. At first, I thought Jawaan was going to say sike or something, but he kept up the charade, even looking butt hurt as if he'd really caught his wife with another man. I'm not sure which part of his face I wanted to rearrange more the longer he talked, but my mood went to the garbage disposal when Dr. Slaughter damn near ranfrom the table. Livid was an understatement for how I was when only Jawaan stood at my table.

"Stay focused, my ass. Are you all right, Zurmani?" Jamaica asks, cutting into my thoughts.

"Yes. I'm fine." My attitude is on ten because I can't deny how my pearl reacted to Jawaan's interruption.

The hairs on my arms stood up seconds before he made his presence known, and the seat of my panties became moist upon hearing Jawaan's voice. That's the real reason I'm so irritated and talking about the incident with Evie and Jamaica. Neither knows about my volunteering at the hospital, which is another thing I'm not sharing for fear of having to mention the miscarriage. I won't tell them about either thing for now, but I need their female perspective on handling or dealing with Jawaan. I should be recording invoices and adding supporting documentation for my department's accounts receivables. Yet, Jawaan has been occupying my mind, and I need to get him out of my head.

"I'm glad to hear that, but back to this man. How does he look? Can he replace the sexy doctor and become a candidate to eliminate your single status?" Evie asks.

An image of Jawaan pops into my mind, causing warmth to spread through my body and I bite my bottom lip while Jawaan's light brown eyes twinkle with merriment. The casual attire he'd shown up to the hospital and the woodsy aroma from the cologne he wore gave me hood dude with swag vibes. I'm used to dating men in business suits and nine-to-five types, so men like Jawaan are anomalies to me.

Maybe that's the problem. You've been spending too much time with those suits and tie-wearing brothas and might need to consider what lies behind the drawstring of a man dressed in gray sweats wearing socks with slides.

"Zurmani," Evie calls my name, causing me to lift my head from the desk while opening my eyes.

"He looks like a man who can break my heart worse than Aldis ever did," I lowly admit.

---