A pregnant woman could be a miserable woman, especially when it came down to relieving her bladder. It had only been five minutes since Levi and Yasmine left his house and she was already complaining that she needed to use the bathroom again. Levi swung into the parking lot of a gas station and turned his incredulous gaze in Yasmine’s direction.
“How is it possible,” he asked her, “that you are ready to go again? This is your third time in twenty minutes. We keep this up, baby girl and we’ll never make it to the JP in time.”
Yasmine pouted her lips, the first signs of swelling showing in her nose. “You see? This is what I was trying to warn you about.”
“What’s this about now? All I said was –”
“Don’t worry about it, Levi. Forget I said it.”
“Come on, now. Whatever happened to the promise of being open with each other? Just tell me what’s bothering you.” When Yasmine didn’t respond, Levi touched her arm in a comforting manner. “What is it?”
“I knew you would soon get tired of me and this baby, but you are too much of a gentlemen to say so.” She turned away from him. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to get married – at least not today…you’re not ready.”
“Where’s this coming from? Of course I’m ready…and we are getting married today –”
“I don’t think so, Levi.”
“I’m not taking no for an answer,” Levi insisted.
“Don’t treat me as if I don’t have a choice in the matter.”
“Please tell me that you’re not upset because I made a joke about you going to the bathroom too often.”
Yasmine suddenly gripped the area between her legs as if Levi had reminded her of the reason why they’d taken a detour. “I’m about to pee a river on your car seat,” she told him. “Hold that thought until I get back.”
She frantically pushed open the passenger door and hobbled quickly through a glass entrance. Levi couldn’t help the grin that pulled his full lips to the side. This whimsical part of Yasmine’s personality was something one either loved or hated. She mistrusted her feelings too much, especially about his level of interest in her. Granted, a woman who’d been abused repeatedly by her stepfather since she was fourteen and then ended up getting pregnant by him would naturally question the true intention of any man who wished to marry her. But Levi thought after almost four months of showing Yasmine that he hadn’t any qualms about raising another man’s child as his own, she would have gotten over her reservations by now.
Levi got that it wasn’t normal for the average guy to accept a ‘readymade’ package that came with its own unique set of instructions, but what Yasmine didn’t understand was that he wasn’t the average guy. He took chances when it came down to his happiness. The fact that Yasmine had saved him from a life of regrets, and from longing for a married woman who had made it clear that she intended to stay with her husband, made Yasmine a fine catch in Levi’s eyes. He appreciated the fact that Yasmine was okay with his fleeting nostalgia of Sasha and its crippling effects which Levi had yet to fully empty out of his soul. But more importantly, Yasmine understood his plight and gave him space to deal with his messed up emotions.
But apart from that, Levi was genuinely fond of Yasmine. He felt comfortable sharing his deepest secrets with her and not having to worry about her taking things out of context. The circumstances of her life mirrored his own in so many ways that Levi was convinced that those similarities were the catalyst that had brought them together. In any event, there was real chemistry between them and Levi felt that it was the starting block to building a long and healthy marriage. If only he could get Yasmine to fully believe that he was the right man for her and that she was the right woman for him.
Levi relaxed his head against the headrest, his gaze casually resting on his chocolate-covered skin. A dark, smooth texture that brought to mind the witticism between him and Sasha during the months before her marriage to Drake. He remembered telling Sasha that Hersey’s chocolate had gotten its name from observing his complexion. She tried to hide her smile with her hands, but Levi could see that Sasha was impressed with his ability to make her laugh, but even more importantly, she could be herself around him. That statement, however corny it seemed now, was one of his best pickup lines to date, and it still elicited a smirk whenever the scene replayed in his head.
Soon, Levi’s thoughts continued in a direction he’d tried to avoid all morning and before he knew it, he was thinking strongly about the reason why Sasha was trying to reach him. At first, ignoring her calls felt good, as it served as a form of revenge for the pain she’d caused him these past months. However, the feeling was short lived. He was actually starting to feel worried, because he knew Sasha would not have called him so many times back to back if it wasn’t important. So against his better judgment, Levi pulled out his cell phone and punched in Sasha’s phone number. But he hung up almost immediately, deciding to send a text instead. Hearing her voice may cause a relapse in his emotions.
“For you to call me this many times, it has to be important,” he texted. “What do you want?”
Levi stared at the phone, waiting for Sasha to respond. She did, but not in the way Levi was expecting.
“You are such a selfish prick,” she typed. “How dare you resign when you know those boys are depending on you to take them to the national championship? And I would have you to know that I’m being blackmailed by one of those little rugrats.”
“Do you expect me to take you seriously, after all the games you’ve played with my heart? You don’t have any say in how I live my life. And if you’re being blackmailed, you probably deserve it.”
“Oh really? I bet you won’t be saying that nonsense once you’ve watched this…”
There was a pause and then Levi’s phone suddenly buzzed with a message. It was a video attachment from Sasha. Levi clicked on it and an intense scene with him and Sasha making out in the boys’ locker room came into view. The pleasure on their faces was authentic and any casual observer could see that they were deeply enamored with each other. The ultimate betrayal, which was even greater than actually going through with the entire sexual act.
“Where’d you get this?”
Sasha responded to Levi’s question by calling his phone. Levi didn’t hesitate in answering it, as his heart was pounding at the bottom of his feet.
“I am on a house tour with my husband,” she spat in hushed tones after locking herself in a bathroom. “Which means I don’t have time to explain anything to you, except to tell you to call Mrs. O’Grady and tell her that you want your job back.”
“Are you kidding me? I’m not calling anyone.”
“What is wrong with you, Levi? You can’t help making a mess everywhere you go.”
“So this is my mess now?”
“Of course it is!”
“You followed me into the boy’s locker room,” Levi reminded Sasha.
“And you forced yourself on me,” Sasha retorted.
Levi bristled at the statement. “That’s what you hoped would happen, but the clip clearly shows that you wanted me just as much as I wanted you. No way for you to wiggle your way out of this one, Sasha and leave me to fend for myself – like you always do.”
There was a pause on Sasha’s end, as it seemed as if Levi’s words had struck a chord.
“With or without your help,” she said, breaking the pause, “I intend to tell Drake the truth. But the least you could do is accompany those boys to the national championship. Why did you resign at a time when they needed you the most?”
“I’m not obligated to tell you the reasons why I resigned,” Levi said. “But I will tell you that I have spoken to my former basketball coach who agreed to accompany the team. He should be bringing Mrs. O’Grady up to speed as we speak, letting her know that he will fill in until the school finds another instructor. The man is as good as they come.”
“And you think that will take care of the problem?” Sasha lashed out. “Myles Deveron wants you as his coach, not some old fart who he doesn’t know or who he hasn’t trained with the last two years of his life! Why do you think he’s blackmailing me? And I know it’s him because he believes I’m responsible for your resignation.”
“Now wait a minute. What does Myles have to do with any of this?”
Levi was so caught up in his conversation with Sasha that he barely noticed when Yasmine unexpectedly opened the passenger door and sat down next to him. Even if Levi wanted to pretend as if he were talking to someone else, it was too late. He was yelling out Sasha’s name and arguing with her as if she was indeed his wife.
“Listen to me,” Sasha demanded.
“No, you listen to me, Sasha! Don’t you go pinning this foolishness on that boy,” Levi warned. “He has his entire career before him…that email could have come from anyone…hello? Hello!” With the connection brutally cut, Levi threw his phone on the dashboard and struck the steering wheel. “I hate that woman with everything inside of me!”
Yasmine stared straight ahead, not knowing how to respond to this man she was supposed to marry in less than an hour. It was not that she couldn’t tolerate Levi’s erratic mood swings or his inability to resist the urge of contacting Sasha, because she too (Yasmine) was trying to empty her soul of the past hurts and disappointments in her life. But ever since her near death experience in Tampa, being locked up in the trunk of a car, she craved some form of stability for her future. And the gallant way in which Levi had come to her rescue, Yasmine was almost sold on the idea that Levi could actually provide what she needed. That was a month ago, but now Yasmine wasn’t so sure.
“You don’t hate her,” she finally said, turning her gaze to Levi. “You’re in love with her…and she is in love with you. The world seems to stop whenever you two talk to each other – no matter if you’re arguing or not…I can’t contend with that. You are only deluding yourself if you think this kind of love is going away anytime soon.”
Levi didn’t agree – at least he wanted to believe that Yasmine was wrong – for the sake of his heart and for the sake of his future. “Sasha has made her choice and so have I,” he said. “I intend to marry you.”
“And end up hating me for the rest of your life? I don’t think so. You will wake up one day and realize that you’ve made a mistake.”
“But I do care about you…I care about you a whole lot. I know things look a little hazy at the moment, but we have been given a fresh start to make each other happy.”
Yasmine rubbed Levi’s arm in a supportive manner. “I don’t doubt that I could be happy with you. You are a loving and caring man who is even willing to raise someone else’s child as your own. I always tell you that Sasha is a fool to have let you slip through her fingers. Men like you are very rare and I thank God for the day you came into my life. But I can’t marry you, Levi. It wouldn’t be fair to you, to me or to this baby I’m carrying.”
Levi turned away, fearing if he responded at that moment, he would say something that could push Yasmine away for good. He released his foot from the brake and allowed the car to roll forward into the street. Before the detour, they were on their way to the Justice of the Peace to get married and he still intended to steer the course of their destination. Whether Yasmine married him today or not, he wasn’t going to allow her to give up on them that easily.