Moment of Weakness

Alijah was seated on one of the lounge chairs beside the pool. She was dressed in a primarily coral two-piece swimsuit, while Layla was sitting beside her in a one-piece. It was purple, and she had on a matching sun hat. Alijah and Layla had become close over the past month since meeting at Corey's party on Labor Day. She had become close with Gale as well.

Layla decided she wanted to throw a small get-together one last time poolside since the weather was getting cooler. Small being about fifty people. It was the middle of October and relatively warm, but a brisk wind would blow every so often.

"I have to admit, Alijah. That Kieran is a fine specimen of a man." Layla stated.

Alijah turned to look at her and found her looking off into the corner. She turned to see what she was looking at and saw that it was Kieran. He was off in the corner talking to two other men. He was clad in a pair of black Burberry swim trunks. He was shirtless, and Alijah definitely agreed with Layla.

"If I were to bat for his team, he would be my type,” she stated. She then turned her head and looked over to where her girlfriend was seated, talking to a few of their friends. "But I don't think any person could separate me from that woman. Well, maybe one,” she finished, turning her head and winking at Alijah.

Alijah shook her head, laughing. She'd learned over the past month that Layla was a flirt, but she had seen the way she was with Gemma and knew that she was the only woman Layla honestly had eyes for. Alijah continued looking around the pool. The party had been in full effect for a little over an hour, and she had met a few new people.

After a few more moments, Alijah got up, informing Layla that she was going to get a drink, and asked her if she wanted anything. After taking the other woman's request, Alijah headed over to the bar. She ordered a Sex on the Beach for herself and a Slow Screw for Layla.

When their drinks were ready, she grabbed them and headed back to where she'd been sitting. She handed Layla's drink to her before retaking her seat.

"Are you and Kieran going to the vineyard party for Halloween?" Layla questioned after they'd been sitting in silence for a few minutes.

"I thought about it, but Kieran's birthday is November first, and I plan on bringing it in the right way with him," Alijah told her after taking a sip of her drink.

"Freaky ass." Layla laughed. "Well, if that's the case, my birthday is in December. You can help me bring it in right."

Alijah shook her head as she began laughing. Layla was just too much. As she took another sip of her drink, she saw Gemma coming their way. She sat down in Layla's lap, turning her attention to Alijah.

"Is my woman over her flirting with you again, Alijah?"

"Shamelessly," Alijah responded with a nod.

"Snitch," Layla stated before sticking her tongue out.

For the next fifteen minutes, the three women talked. Alijah liked Layla and Gemma. Before meeting Layla and Gale, she didn't have any girlfriends in the city. If she was honest, the only friend she had was Lawrence. So, it felt good to have other women to hang out with and talk to.

"Your eye candy is coming over," Layla stated, nodding her head past Alijah.

Alijah turned and saw Kieran was coming her way. He took the seat beside her after speaking to the other two ladies. Kieran took her drink from her hand and took a sip of it, raising his eyebrow at the fruity taste before giving it back to her.

"Swim with me,” he stated after a moment.

Alijah looked over at the large pool, where a few others were swimming. Placing her cup down, she nodded before standing and making her way to the pool. She could feel Kieran's eyes on her ass the entire time. Alijah put a little extra sway in her hips, knowing that he would give her some when they got back to the condo.

Shooting off of the couch, Alijah ran into the hall half-bath. Lifting the toilet seat, she emptied the contents of her stomach. She hadn't known that Kieran had followed her into the bathroom until she felt his hands pulling her hair away from her face.

When she finished, she reached up and flushed the toilet. Getting up, she headed to the bedroom and into the bathroom. Grabbing her toothbrush, she went about brushing her teeth. She could see Kieran looking at her through the mirror as he stood leaning against the door frame.

"Are you alright?" He questioned.

Alijah nodded as she continued to brush her teeth. She rinsed her mouth out when she was done and placed the toothbrush away.

"I'm fine,” she reassured him. "Let's finish our movie."

Alijah took Kieran's hand and led him back to the living room where they had been watching Split. She waited for him to settle down on the couch again before sitting between his legs and laying her head on his shoulder. She started the movie back, placing her hands over his when he wrapped his arms around her.

"That's it," Kieran stated after she'd just jumped off the couch for the third time to empty her stomach. "We're going to the emergency room."

Alijah wasn't a big fan of hospitals, but she felt inclined to agree with him this time. She felt awful after throwing up the first time. The following two came shortly after. Rising to her feet, she went into the bedroom to brush her teeth again before putting on her shoes and meeting Kieran at the door, where he stood with his keys.

When they got into the car, she lay her head against the window as Kieran began to drive them towards the hospital. It didn't take them long to get there, and once inside, they checked in at the emergency room desk.

While waiting, she had gone and emptied her stomach, which at this point had nothing left, two more times. It was almost two hours before she was called back. A nurse took her vitals before placing her in a room, where she waited nearly another half hour before a doctor came in.

"Hello, Ms. Douglas. I'm Doctor Raymond." He came in, introducing himself. "I see here that it says you've been experiencing some nausea."

"Yes," Alijah responded with a nod.

"Any other symptoms?"

"I had a little bit of dizziness in the waiting room and slight abdominal pain, but nothing other than that."

Dr. Raymond nodded as he wrote some notes. "When was the last time you had your menstrual cycle?"

Alijah thought about it for a moment as she tried to remember.

"Almost two months.” She heard Kieran answer. She turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

She watched Dr. Raymond look between her and Kieran before asking, "Is that true?"

Alijah nodded. "It sounds about right."

The doctor nodded. "I'm going to have a nurse come in and draw some blood. I want to do some labs and a pregnancy test." With that, he left out of the room.

Alijah let out a slow breath as she tried to quell the nausea she was feeling. If the doctor had waited a moment, she could have told him not to bother with a pregnancy test. Due to the type of birth control she took, she only had four periods a year. So, it wasn't unusual that she hadn't had one in almost two months. Speaking of which, she turned her attention to Kieran.

"How did you know when I last had my cycle?"

"Because I'm the man giving you dick." Was his simple reply.

A moment later, a nurse came in and took some blood, informing them that she would take it down to the lab to have the pregnancy test and other labs run. When she left, the room was quiet until Kieran broke it.

"Have you been taking your pill?" He questioned.

Alijah turned to look at him, and for a moment, she wondered if he thought that she had stopped. That maybe she was trying to trap him. Even though they hadn't had sex without a condom since her birthday, they both knew they weren't one hundred percent fail-proof, and that was where her birth control came in. However, Alijah shook the thought from her head.

"Yes."

Kieran didn't say anything for a while as he looked at her. Then finally responded simply with, "Okay." Making Alijah revert back to her previous thought.

After a while, the doctor came in, and Alijah was more than happy. She was ready to leave. They had been there for hours.

"Well, Ms. Douglas, you aren't pregnant. Unfortunately, it looks like you have food poisoning. The best way to treat it is to stay hydrated and let it run its course."

Alijah nodded. "Thank you, Doctor."

He smiled at her. "Not a problem. Head back to the front, and they will get you all taken care of. You two have a good night."

After finishing up at the front desk, they headed towards the door, and Alijah began to feel a little dizzy, causing her to sway. Kieran reached out and steadied her.

"Are you okay?" He questioned.

"Yes. Just a bit dizzy."

Before she knew it, she'd been lifted off of her feet and into Kieran's arms. He carried her to the car and placed her in the passenger side before getting in himself.

Alijah thought about how she could have gotten food poisoning. She hadn't eaten anything at Layla's. So, it had to have been the little Mediterranean spot they stopped at on the way back to the condo.

"I'll have them shut down," Kieran stated, and Alijah turned to look at him.

"What?" She questioned.

"The restaurant we stopped at. That had to be where you got it. I'm going to have them shut down."

"Don't do that,” she stated, turning to look back out of her window.

"Who knows how many other people they've poisoned. I'd be doing Denver a favor." Kieran responded.

Alijah didn't say anything. She just kept quiet. A moment later, she felt herself drifting off to sleep.

Kieran parked the car and looked over at Alijah as she slept. Getting out of the car, he went around to her side and picked her up. She mumbled a little in her sleep as he nudged the door closed. Getting on the elevator, Kieran shifted her, releasing her legs, slowly repositioning her to where he could hold her up with one arm under her butt, her head laying on his shoulder. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his wallet, removed his access card, and placed it in.

Once the elevator made it to the top floor, he walked into the condo and carried Alijah to his bedroom. Laying her on the bed, he pulled her shoes and shorts off before heading back down the hall and grabbing a couple of bottles of water. When he made it back to the bedroom, he placed them on the bedside table next to her.

It was after two in the morning, but Kieran wasn't tired. Going into the bathroom, he turned on the shower before taking his phone out of his back pocket and setting it on the counter. He then proceeded to strip out of his clothes. Kieran was just about to step into the shower when his phone rang.

Grabbing it, he silenced it before ever looking at the screen. Kieran looked into the bedroom to make sure it hadn't woken Alijah up before looking at the screen to see who it was. Rebecca.

Sighing, Kieran put the phone down and stepped into the shower. He allowed the hot water to rain down on him as he stood directly under the spray.

What happened tonight with Alijah had worried him. He'd never been with a woman who had ever been sick around him before. Or if they were, he didn't ever remember caring, worrying how he had when he was taking Alijah to the hospital or when they were waiting on her blood work results.

Then the doctor had told her he would run a pregnancy test. Kieran hadn't known how to take that. He was positive Alijah wasn't pregnant. They were careful, but he'd asked her if she was still taking her pill for some stupid reason. He didn't miss the look in her eyes when she had looked at him. She tried to hide it, but he had still seen it. It was hurt.

His question had hurt her, and he realized that asking it made it sound as if he thought she had stopped taking it, that she was purposely trying to get pregnant. He felt like an ass, but if he were honest at that moment, he thought she might have.

Kieran groaned. There was no need for him to think that way. Alijah wouldn't do that to him. Of all the women that he had dated, she was the least impressed by his money. Hell, she complained every time he bought something for her. No matter how small the amount of money he spent on it.

The other women he dated would have been all for him finding a way to shut down the restaurant that had given them food poisoning if he had cared enough with them to do it. Alijah, however, didn't want him to. She was a contrast in every way compared to them. From the way she held herself to the way she looked.

Most of the women from his past would deal with his mood swings and attitude. They would tiptoe around him just to please him. Not Alijah, she always came at him, and she never walked on eggshells with him.

Again, Kieran groaned. This time, beginning to wash his body. He had to stop comparing her to other women from his past. Even if it was to show how much more superior she was to them in his eyes.

Kieran finished his shower and stepped out, wrapping a towel around his waist. He placed his palms on the countertop. Kieran was about to walk out of the bathroom when his phone rang again. He picked it up, glancing at the screen before answering it quickly.

"Stop calling me, Rebecca," Kieran stated lowly, glancing out of the bedroom door at a sleeping Alijah.

"Well, I wouldn't have to constantly call you if you would just set a date with me for us to go see the insemination doctor. Unless you want to do this the old fashion way,” she responded, and Kieran didn't miss the tone in her voice that told him she was smiling.

"Rebecca, we are not having a fucking child together,” he told her through gritted teeth.

"Well, not with that attitude, we're not. You need to do better, Kieran."

Taking the phone away from his ear, Kieran looked at it. This bitch was seven types of crazy. She had to be. There was no other explanation for why she couldn't; no wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Don't call me anymore, Rebecca. I gave you my answer." Kieran was about to hang up when her following words stopped him.

"So, you would rather that little girl you're sleeping with spring a baby on you? Get pregnant to sink her hooks in, than have a planned child with me?"

Kieran shook his head. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I know. That's all she wants, for you to get her pregnant so that you'll be paying for it the rest of your life. Supporting a lavish lifestyle for her and a child she had on purpose." Rebecca paused for a moment before continuing. "I mean, think about it, Kieran. She's in her early twenties. You're at least ten years older than her. I mean, of course, you're attractive, but she's going to want someone her age eventually. Someone who can always keep up with her."

"Don't call me again," Kieran stated before hanging up the phone. He then went to her contact and blocked her number.

Tossing the phone back on the counter, it slid slightly before stopping just a few inches from Alijah's birth control container. Kieran stared at it. Rebecca's words were echoing in his ears. He knew he was stupid for believing anything she had to say. The woman would lie to get her way. But damn it, if his curiosity didn't get the better of him.

Picking up the container, Kieran opened it. It was a three-month pack. The first package was empty. Taking a breath, he flipped to the next one and saw that it had about two weeks left in it. Which corresponded with the day of the month they were on.

Closing the container, he placed it back down before scrubbing a hand down his face. Again, he felt like an ass. He had no reason to doubt Alijah and definitely shouldn't have let anything Rebecca said affect that. However, with the situation they had gone through at the hospital being fresh on his mind, her words had just drilled it in deeper.

Grabbing his phone, he walked out of the bathroom, turning off the light. Placing the phone on his bedside table, he dressed in a pair of boxers. He turned the lights off and slid into bed, pulling Alijah to him. He felt guilty for having a moment of weakness and not trusting her.

Kieran had been lying there for a while with her in his arms when he looked over at the clock and saw that it was almost five in the morning. It looked like that guilt wasn't going to allow him to sleep.