As I woke, I rubbed my hand down my face trying to moving. Once I realize I couldn't. I looked down and saw Bri's leg draped across my abdomen, along with her arm wrapped tightly around my stomach. I shook my head and smiled. She's finally mine and I hope it stays that way.

To be honest, I'm scared as hell. What if she's like K'Mya? What if I'm too much? What if I do something wrong and it results into me being hit? Maybe my dad was right..I'm not ready for a relationship.

I don't know man. I shook my head and rubbed Bri's thigh. She's not like K'Mya and I have nothing to worry about. I just need to cancel out all of the 'what ifs'. Think I just need to talk about this with her. I moved her leg and threw my legs across the bed.

I stood up and adjust my briefs walking into the bathroom. Pulling up the toilet seat, I released my bladder. I made sure I was done by shaking my piece. Wiping the tip, I stuffed myself back in my briefs and turned to the sink—washing my hands.

Returning back to my room, I seen that Bri had rolled over and her backside was peeking from under the cover. I shook my head and bit my lip. Baby got back. Noticing that it was still dark outside, I checked the time on my phone seeing that it was three in the morning. Walking back to the bed, I pulled the cover back in slid back in the bed.

"Amari?" I heard Brielle mumble. I looked over.

"Yes Mama?" She scooted over and wrapped her body back around my torso. I shook my head and kissed her forehead. Slowly go back to sleep.

After the second wave of sleep, I woke up to the smell of food and a empty bed. I heard faint music playing up front. Throwing my legs over, I stood up and walked into the bathroom. I grabbed a small towel and took care of my morning hygiene.

Once I finished brushing my teeth, I walked back into my room and grabbed a fresh pair of shorts sliding them on. Picking up my phone I walked towards the front.

"Goodmorning mama." I greeted Brielle as she stood at the stove. She turned around and smiled walking my way. She stood in front of me as I wrapped my hands around her waist.

"Morning Amari." She cheesed. I licked my lips and pecked her lips twice.

"What you cooking?" She stepped away from me and returned to the stove.

"Strawberry and cream stuffed French toast. Knock on Bari's door and see if he's in there. I made enough."

I nodded my head and turned on my heel walking down the hall. I put my ear up to his door and knocked twice. I didn't get a answer so me being me I twisted the knob and walked in. Shaking my head. I smacked his bare back. "Get the fuck up!"

"The fuck!" He twisted and turn until his eyes landed on me. "Cam! Im going to beat yo ass. Why you hit me?"

I laughed. "Get up. My ol' lady cooked for us. So go brush your yella ass teeth!"

He mugged me and climbed out of his bed. "Boy fuck you. And she said yes?"

"And did!" I did the bankhead bounce all the way out of his room.

"Clown!" He yelled as I made it down the hall.

"Amari?"

I looked up and saw Brielle fixing a plate. "Yes love?"

She looked at me. "You want some meat or no?"

"What we got?" I pulled a stool out and sat down.

"I cooked bacon and sausage patties."

"Bacon." She nodded and grabbed a small plate and piled it with a couple pieces of bacon.

She placed down a plate that was piled with French toast and my mouth watered. "Let me know if it's too much." I shook my head and waved her off. The sweet aroma filled my nose as I took a picture. Babygirl can cook her ass off.

"Who taught yo—." I was cut off by Jabari making his self known. I mugged him.

"Morning Bri."

"Goodmorning Bari. Are you allergic to strawberries?" Brielle questioned him as he took a seat beside me.

"No." He reached over in my plate and grabbed a strawberry. I popped his hand making the strawberry fall.

"Go get your own plate!"

Brielle laughed as she slid a plate across the counter towards him. I looked up and mugged her playfully. "He could've fixed his own plate. He ain't handicapped."

"Boy fuck you." Jabari spoke as he poured the hot syrup over his French toast.

"It's fine." Brielle shook her head laughing. She placed her plate on the counter sitting down.

As she was eating. I just stared at her admiring what's in front of me. I took in her three little beauty marks that were along her cheeks. I noticed that the thickness of her eyebrows. I like how they come into together when she's confused about something or when she's deep in thought. I raked my eyes over her plump pink lips. I shook my head and started eating my food.

"Bri, do yo sisters look like you and can they cook like you too?"

I looked at Jabari and shook my head. He held his hands up. "What? A brother can't ask?"

Brielle was just a laughing mess.

"Jabari I done told you, you're not their type and plus they have men." Brielle spoke getting up. She walked towards the fridge. She returned with two waters and a apple juice.

Jabari smacked his lips and grabbed a water. "How you know I'm not their type?"

"You too pretty." Bri shrugged her shoulders and went back to eating her food.

I laughed and ended up choking on my food. I hit the counter top trying to swallow or cough up what I could.

"That's what you get." Jabari smacked me on my back.

I shrugged him off me and went back to eating. We all had finished eating about twenty minutes later. Bri was getting up and I already knew what she was about to do.

"Aht! Don't even think about it." I stood up grabbing my plate and hers.

"I got it Cameron." She pouted and reached out to grabbed the plates in my hand but I held them up high. Taunting her, I stuck my tongue out and moved side to side. "That's why you can't reach em."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Boy fu—." I cut her off by giving her a look. "What I tell you about cussing?"

She rolled her eyes again and walked off. "Boy fuck you." She mumbled. I placed the plates in the sink and sprinted behind her. Causing her to run down the hall into a laughing fit. She made it to my room and tired to shut the door, but I caught it with my hand.

I pushed it opened causing her to turn around and face me with a innocent look on her face. I chuckled and licked my lips. "What you say?"

"Huh?" She placed a confusing look on her face and scratched her neck in a playful manner. "I don't remember saying anything. I think that was Jabari."

"Uh uh don't put me in that. I ain't say a damn thing!" He shouted from the kitchen.

Brielle gasped and laughed. "How he hear me?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Boy got bionic hearing, but back to you. You got something you wanna say?"

She stomped her feet and started whining causing me to shake my head. Big ass brat. "I ain't say nothing."

I stepped up causing her to step back. "That's not what I heard."

I stepped up again causing her to step back and fall onto the bed. She squealed. I leaned over her and placed my arms on both sides locking her under me. I licked my lips and stared in her facing. Her face broke out into a smile. "So you sure you didn't say anything?"

She shook her head from side to side. "Nope." She said popping the p.

I reached up and rubbed her bottom lip with my thumb. I leaned down and placed a tender kiss on her lips. She leaned up and deepened the kiss bitting down on my bottom lip. I pulled away sucking on her lip. Placing my forehead on hers. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of kissing you."

"I don't want you to." She grinned and rubbed my face. I licked my lips and pulled her up with me.

"I wanna talk to you about something. Let me go wash the dishes and I'll be right back." I pecked her lips and walked out of my room. I ran my hand through my hair and sighed. It's now or never with this conversation.

"You take your medicine?" I jumped and flinched. I turned around seeing Jabari laying down on the couch.

He shook his head. "Never mind. I got my answer. Go take your medicine Cameron or I'm calling auntie."

I smacked my lips. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me if want you and I already washed the dishes. So go ahead and head to the back."

I mugged him and reluctantly turned around. I pushed my door open and saw Brielle laying sideways across the bed on her MacBook. I sighed and started twisting a piece of my hair. It's now or never. Gnawing on my bottom lip. I removed my shorts and slid behind her sitting against the headboard.

Reaching over, I closed her mac and pulled her into me making her straddle me across my lap. She had her glasses on and her bonnet placed on her head. Removing her glasses from her face, I placed them on my night stand. She looked down at me and tilted her head to the side. I rubbed my hands up and down her thighs trying to figure out what I'm going to say.

"You okay Mari?" She looked me in my face trying to read me.

I sighed and shifted so she was sitting directly in my lap. "I was in a abusive relationship for about a two years."

A loud gasp came from her lips and then a pout formed on her face. I shook my head and chuckled. "Crazy right? A six feet, two hundred and thirty pound man getting hit on? Something you don't hear everyday. I often blame myself for what I went through. I blame myself for staying, I blame myself for choosing her, and I blame myself for loving her."

I continued rubbing along her thighs. I looked in her face and noticed it softened. I looked behind her and stared ahead. "I don't even want to say her name, so I'm just going to call her her. I met her my freshman year. I came into college with a set mindset. I said I wasn't going to entertain no females, I was going to focus strictly on my books and football."

"But with me being a number one draft pick straight of high school, that was impossible." I laughed and shook my head.

"Girls flocked from left and right. I turned them down. Yes, I slept around but I put a end to that because I wasn't raised that way. But then I met her."

Brielle shifted on lap and grabbed one of my hands intertwining our fingers together. I brought our hands up to my mouth and kissed her side. "Uh, if I recall correctly, I met her at school function. It was a friendly conversation, and then she became persistent. I said what harm could be done? Little did I know."

Rubbing my thumb across Bri's hand. I looked up into her big brown orbs and licked my lips. "It was okay in the beginning, then every thing went left. At first it was verbal abuse, then it turned to mental abuse. Stuff would be her fault, but then she would manipulate me into apologizing or something of the sort."

I sighed feeling myself about to cry. Licking my lips. I looked over towards the wall. "T-t-then it became physical."

Brielle tried to grabbed my face, but I refused to look at her. I felt the tears glide down my face. I kept talking. "If I had said anything she didn't like or if I fucked her wrong she would hit me. Crazy right? It got so bad to the point I was embarrassed to say anything."

I licked my lips tasting the saltiness from my tears. "But one day I had woke up and said I was tired of the mistreatment. I don't know where the confidence stemmed from but I was glad.

I gave myself a pep talk and called her to my dorm. She arrived and I cut straight to the punch. I said Im breaking up with you and I don't want nothing to do with you."

I chuckled bitterly. "She didn't like that, so she punched me in my face breaking my nose."

"She had a mean right hook." I chuckled.

"She started crying and I almost, almost felt bad." I held my index finger and thumb up. "I was this close to taking my words back but I held my ground. She charged at me and just started swinging on me, so I grabbed her arms and pushed her into a wall."

Laughing. I threw my head back. "What I do that for? I was not prepared for what happened next. She stabbed me. I don't know how or where she got the knife from, but she stabbed me at least six times.

After the last stabbed she stomped me in my ribs and left me chocking on my own blood in the middle of my dorm room. If Jabari didn't come back when he did, I don't think I'll be here today. I quit football and withdrew from school.

I finally turned around and faced Bri. My heart broke. "I didn't mean to make you cry mama. I'm sorry." I reached up and wiped her face, but the tears just kept coming.

"C'mere baby." I pulled her down into my chest and wrapped my arms around her. "I swear I wasn't trying to make you sad. I'm telling you all this because my family is very skeptical about me getting into another relationship. Honestly, I'm scared as hell. I have ptsd."

Brielle pulled from my embrace. Damn she's about to leave. I dropped my head. I felt her moving around until she sat back in my lap. She grabbed me by my beard, gripping my face. She repeatedly pecked my lips.

"I can assure you that you will never and I mean never have to worry about me causing you any bodily harm. I swear to you. My God, you're strong my love. So strong." She wiped away a stray tear with the pad of her thumb. She smiled and placed her forehead against mine.

"Thank you for sharing your story with me."

I reached up and cuffed her cheek in my hand. I rubbed my hand along it. I kissed her and pulled back. "Thank you for listening. Uh I gotta take my medicine, and it makes me sleepy. Take a nap with me? Then we can get up and cook dinner later?"

She nodded her head. "Sounds like a plan."

I smiled as she rolled off me. I threw my legs over the bed and shuffled into the bathroom. Grabbing the infamous bottle, I popped it open and poured one into my hand. I place the bottle back in its rightful place and returned to my room. I grabbed a bottle of water off my dresser and threw the pill back. I closed the blinds and turned my light off climbing back into the bed. Brielle instantly scooted under me.