Dare You To Love Me

«38» forever starts here

Yaseerah caught her lower lip between her teeth, cradling a cup of hot cocoa as memories of the previous night danced through her mind. A rosy hue colored both her cheeks, failing to contain her smile, as she recalled the intimate moments she had shared with Fou’ad.

“Are there others?” he had asked, his thumb brushing gently against her neck, where the offensive purple and blue bruising existed.

“Can I see?” he’d asked again, his tone gentle, taking her silence as an affirmation for his question.

“Why?” Yaseerah had purred–having no idea where the inner seductress had come from–infusing a hint of teasing and cockiness in her voice as she stared at him with heavy-lidded eye. “Do you want to kiss them better?”

Fou’ad had hummed, his lips lifting into a self-assured smile, as he leaned in and whispered into her ears, enjoying the shiver that wracked her entire frame. “If I said yes, would you let me?”

Oh, and she did let him, with only a slight hesitation, baring herself open to his gaze.

And he kissed her like he promised he would, his feverish lips finding every single bruise on her body in the dim lighting, showing her without words just how much he loved her.

“Whatever it is that has you turning red despite the makeup you have on, I don’t want to know.”

Amina’s words broke into her reverie, causing Yaseerah to blush even more– if that was even possible.

She cleared her throat, setting her cup down on the coffee table before turning to face Amina, who was eying her with a degree of amusement and a devilish smirk.

“Atta girl!” she hooted loudly, causing Yaseerah to groan, and drop her head against the table loudly, earning another loud chuckle from Amina.

“I mean, I’m not complaining. I’m happy you’re taking what you want without reservations. Just promise next time we have a sleepover and you decide to sneak off to your husband’s room, let a girl know? So I don’t have to wonder whether you’d been kidnapped by your father in the middle of the night or something.”

“Amina,” Yaseerah called in that neutral tone of hers that grated on her cousin’s nerves.

“I thought I told you we don’t do that anymore,” Amina accused, wagging her pointer finger at Yaseerah, a small frown tugging at the corners of her lips.

Yaseerah could only roll her eyes, as she turned back to her hot cocoa, and took a huge sip, hoping to rearrange her thoughts.

“The girls?” she asked, tipping her head up to gaze at her cousin who had circled the table and was now staring back at her with a narrowed glare, hands on her hips.

“Gone.”

Amina’s one word reply had Yaseerah sighing, as she drained the rest of her beverage.

“I know, I know,” Yaseerah sighed again, shaking her head slightly. “I didn’t plan for it to happen. It just... did.“

Amina raised an eyebrow, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. “Oh, it just did, huh? You couldn’t resist the allure of your husband’s bedroom? Or is it the man you were after?”

Yaseerah blushed, her cheeks burning brightly, as she thought about how brazenly she had kissed said man, repeatedly. “It’s not like that, Amina.”

Amina leaned back, crossing her arms across her chest, as she stared down at her cousin with morbid curiosity and a hint of disbelief. “Uh-huh, sure. And how did that go? Any regrets?”