Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74123 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74123 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
A warmth filled Amina’s heart. “That’s good to know. I appreciate your support.”
By the time they finished their meals, Amina was ready to head home. They parted ways with a hug and a promise to get together again soon.
Chapter
Thirteen
Later that night after putting away all the items she purchased and taking a hot shower, Amina slid in bed and saw that she had texts messages from Ethan, Paisley and Mark. While she was in the shower, it appeared that Mark had called her several times.
She hadn’t spoken to him since he’d come to her house the last time. There was a time when she would be the one to contact him first when he felt that she’d done something wrong. And she normally would.
Amina wouldn’t be able to put him off for much longer, not unless she wanted him to show up.
She checked the texts in the order she received them with Paisley’s being first.
Had a great time today. Let’s do it again soon. See you on Monday.
Ethan was next.
Thinking of you. Hope you had a good day with Paisley. Call me when you get a chance. I miss hearing that sexy voice.
Her body grew warm all over and she squirmed thinking about their passionate night. This past week at the office they didn’t have much time together because he had a couple of surgeries that week and was barely in the office. But when he was, they had tried to keep things as professional as possible but it was difficult. When he stopped by her office to check in on her, Amina wanted nothing more than for him to throw her on the desk and fuck her silly.
It took every bit of her concentration to get through the week.
Unfortunately, she had to check Mark’s text next.
I don’t know what game you’re playing but you need to get your act together. Call me.
Amina didn’t get a chance to process the curt message before her phone rang.
It was Mark.
She wanted to ignore the call, but she had a feeling he would keep calling until she answered, or worse yet, he’d come over.
“Hello?” she answered, not bothering to hide the wariness or the tiredness from her voice.
“Where the hell have you been? Why didn’t you answer my calls or text? He demanded without so much as a greeting.
“Clearly, I wasn’t available. And when you called I was in the shower.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line before he finally spoke. “First of all, watch your tone.”
“Or what? You’re going to beat me up?” Amina wasn’t sure if this burst of bravery was because he wasn’t there to physically intimidate her or because she didn’t want him to ruin an otherwise perfect day.
There was another long pause. “Don’t be ridiculous Amina, I don’t hit women and I resent the implication that I would.”
She snorted with derision, as she remembered all the times, he’d choked, punched, and kicked her. He’d even spit in her face a few times. In the beginning he’d apologize but after a while he didn’t bother to. “So, what did you want, that you called me five times while I was in the shower.”
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you Amina but I’m not a fan of this new attitude of yours. I stopped by your house earlier, but you weren’t home.”
He’d come by? She was relieved that she’d missed him. “Why did you come by?”
“That’s all you can say? No explanation of where you’ve been?”
“I was out with a friend.”
“What friend? You don’t have any.”
Amina sighed. “Mark, I’ve had a long day and I’m really tired. I don’t have the energy to debate with you about whether I have friends or not. If you don’t have anything important to tell me, I’m going to hang up and go to bed.”
“Don’t hang up on me!” he yelled.
Amina held the phone away from her ear. A bit of the old fear reared its head but she took a deep breath and pushed it away. “You’re raising your voice, and I don’t like it or deserve it, Mark. As I said before, I’m going to bed.”
“Wait! Amina, I’m sorry.”
This was something new. Mark never apologized. “What exactly are you sorry for, Mark? Yelling at me? Telling me I have no friends? Fo threatening me the last time we saw each other?”
“I didn’t threaten you. I may have misspoken but you have to know I’d never hurt you, Amina.”
She nearly burst out laughing. Was he kidding? She knew what kind of monster he was capable of being. “So, you say.”
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but you’ve been acting really stank lately.”
“Well, you can always break up with me.”
“I’ve invested way too much time in you to walk away.”
“Geez how romantic.”
“You’re not making this easy for me, Amina. I love you. And I believed we were working toward building a life together.”