Read No Love 2 Online Free by Cion Lee

“I love you, too.”

Chapter 22

Armias

*Three Weeks Later*

“Hey Te-Te pretty girllll,” Aspen sang through Facetime. She had to go back to BR the day after Alouri was born, but being an hour away allowed her to drive back home and visit. Football season was over and the Dancing Diamonds didn’t dance at basketball games, so her weekends were now free. However, parade season and Mardi Gras was right around the corner and she was obligated to do that. Therefore, she was still busy but that didn’t stop her from Facetiming me or Lourdes multiple times a day to see her niece. She said that was her way of making sure Alouri was familiar with her.

“You sleepy, Louri?” Aneesah cooed. Group Facetimes had become a ritual for us since it had been invented, but now they revolved around Alouri’s existence. After drinking a full bottle, being burped, and pooping she was content and falling asleep. She was lying on my chest with her eyes half closed, but she still gave them a small smile. She was always smiling whenever someone talked directly to her.

“Let us see her whole outfit, Bubby,” Aneesah said. “Cause I know it matches that Hello kitty bow she’s wearing.”

“Man, you need to be heading to class,” I laughed, but I still panned the camera down to Alouri’s pink Hello Kitty onesie, matching jogging pants, and fuzzy socks. Her Auntie was right because her bow headband did match her outfit. Lourdes never took a day off when it came to putting her in a cute outfit.

“Awww, she looks cute! And I still have ten more minutes until lunch is over, thank you,” she sassed. “Ugh, I wish I didn’t have cheer practice. I’d come over right after school to see my boo boo.”

Aneesah had parade season obligations as well since she was a cheerleader for Edna Karr Highschool. In New Orleans we had dance teams, majorettes who swung two batons, flag twirlers, and cheerleaders who performed and marched with bands. My sisters had been marching in parades since they were in middle school and they always loved it. This was the first time I’d heard them complain and it was only because they wanted to spend more time with their niece.

“Boo-hoo, you gotta wait a few hours to see her. It’s me who has to wait until the weekend,” Aspen whined.

“Nobody told you to go all the way to Baton Rouge for school.”

“And you are, too. So what about it?” Aspen sassed. It didn’t come as a surprise that Neese had decided to attend UBR, too. She and Aspen always stuck together. I was content that both of them were going to be close by and together.

We talked for a few more minutes before Aneesah had to get to class. I cradled Alouri in my arms to rock her to sleep because she was getting fussy. The second she had a clear view of my face, she stopped crying. She stared up at me before cracking a big smile. My heart missed a beat. Being a daddy to this beautiful baby girl was a blessing that I didn’t feel worthy of, but I was going to do everything in my power to prove myself. Alouri deserved the best life I could provide her and I planned on giving it to her. I’d started a college fund and a trust fund for her because life was unpredictable and I wanted to ensure she was straight no matter what.

“What’s up, Louri? I know you ready for a nap,” I cooed.

She continued to smile, showing off those deep dimples. Then she stretched her arms and yawned.

“Yea, you tired, mama,” I held her up just to kiss her. She scrunched her little body and yawned again. A few minutes later my baby was knocked out, but I didn’t lay her down. I held onto her while checking my barbershop books and business emails on my phone. I didn’t realize that about forty minutes passed by until the door creaked open and I noticed the time on the Hello Kitty digital clock that sat on Alouri’s white dresser drawer. Lourdes twisted into the nursery and I had to tell my dick to chill. Her pink tank top and boy shorts combo was enough to make me say fuck the six week rule. I thought she looked her best when she was pregnant, but she looked even better postpartum. She wasn’t a fan of the weight she’d gained in her midsection and she claimed she was going to get a gym membership next month. I personally saw nothing wrong with her body and it was unrealistic for her to think she’d go back to looking exactly the same after a few weeks. Maybe some women were that lucky, but I think social media gave people unreasonable expectations. Lourdes was being hard on herself because her friends and family praised how good she looked every time they laid eyes on her. Her stomach wasn’t super flat like it was before, but it wasn’t big either. The weight she’d gained on her lower body towards the end of her pregnancy hadn’t budged, so her proportions were out of this world. With a newborn, she hadn’t gotten done up in a while. During her pregnancy she treated doctors appointments as fashion shows. She’d do her hair, makeup, and slip on something really nice that she could take pictures in. This morning she had a postpartum check up and she slipped on a pink yoga set with pink and black fur boots. Other than lipgloss, she wore no makeup and she still had her brains in, but they were no longer new so she put them in a bun. I held on to Alouri while she got ready, so she had time to do anything she wanted to. She merely chose not to. I wasn’t sure if I should be worried or not, but her lack of effort didn’t affect her appearance because she was drop dead gorgeous naturally. I don’t even think she noticed how many heads she turned today. People were breaking their necks to get a glimpse at her, and I had to mug a few niggas down who were looking too close at her ass.

“You’re going to spoil her, Armias,” she smiled, while twisting towards us. After her doctor’s appointment, we stopped at New Orleans Food & Spirits for take out, and headed back home. After we ate I could see that she was tired, so I told her to go take a nap while I tended to Alouri.

“You could have slept longer, doll baby,” I said, noticing that her eyes were still low.

“You know I can never sleep long,” she replied, before sitting next to me on Alouri’s couch and leaning her head on my shoulder. My baby had the second biggest room in the house and we made use of it. She had a whole sitting area in her Hello Kitty themed nursery room. There’d been many nights where we fell asleep on the small pink sectional in her room while she slept in her crib. It was a struggle because we liked for her to sleep in her own bed, but we also didn’t want to be away from her while she was so small. Half of the time we’d cave and she’d sleep with us in our bed.