Office Hours

29 | the p e a c e

| Z O Y A |

     PIA'S LOUD SINGING traveled from the bathroom.

Yawning, Zoya rolled over. A yelp of surprise escaped her when a strong arm tightened around her waist, preventing her from falling off the bed.

She froze as flashbacks from yesterday hit her. She'd asked Caden to sleepover, not wanting him to travel home by himself that late despite his insistence that he'd be fine. He kissed her to sleep and she had the best sleep she'd had since moving to a different country.

"Morning," came Caden's raspy voice from behind her.

Whew chile, his voice!

Fat ma just a jump so.

Zoya cleared her throat. "Morning."

Pia exited the bathroom, dressed in her usual pink. She eyed them with a smile. "Good morning!" she chirped and grabbed her Bible. "I'll leave you two lovebirds to it," she said and quickly hopped out the room before they could answer.

Zoya tried getting out of bed but Caden's grip tightened. "Caden, I have to pee."

"You already did so much last night," he said.

She wanted to crawl into a hole and die from embarrassment.

Caden had insisted on sleeping at the edge of the bed so if either of them were to fall off the small bed, it'd be him. She'd fallen asleep with half her body on his so he could sleep more comfortably, but when she got up very frequently throughout the night, she felt bad for constantly disrupting his sleep so she slept at the edge. His arm would find her waist whenever she crawled back into bed with him, and she'd fall asleep with a smile.

"Caden," she said more insistently and he released her. She hopped off the bed and ran to the bathroom. She did her morning routine and felt more refreshed to face him.

Thank God him nuh see how mi fava duppy in the morning.

Returning to the room, she saw him standing by the bed with his hands over his crotch. Zoya blushed and looked away.

Caden has morning wood.

He silently stepped past her and into the bathroom. She used the time to straighten the room until he returned.

"Do you want to spend the day?" she shyly asked, not wanting him to go.

"If you're attached to me just say that," he joked.

Zoya playfully scoffed, realizing how much changed since she said those words to him during Spring Break.

"Sure," he said, dragging on his shirt and taking a seat in her chair. "We eating?"

"I'll get you something from the cafeteria. . . What do you eat?"

"I'm not picky."

What a good thing the dorm nav no stove! Mi rather bag mi head then tell him mi cya cook.

She got them something and chatted away while eating. He told her that he was excited for next week's game because Morehouse scouts would be there. She had an unerasable smile, she could barely remember why she'd been so mad yesterday. When she did, bitterness and guilt seeped back into her being.