C H A P T E R F I F T E E N
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Normani was perched on Keith's bed, with her legs spread out in front of her in nothing but her underwear and an under shirt. Keith was up on his feet, folding articles of clothing into his suitcase.

She watched him carefully and noted the smile that threatened to emerge from his mouth. She couldn't understand the way in which this man's mind worked.

He was packing for their two-day trip to Houston for Thanksgiving. Keith would be meeting Normani's parents for the first time and instead of being worked up and nervous about it, he was ecstatic.

Normani's mother had 'suggested' that Normani bring her boyfriend over for the holiday when she heard that he had no plans.

After all, Nigerians didn't celebrate Thanksgiving so he'd planned to get some extra work done.

Normani had been a bit reluctant to tell Keith about it, unsure as to how he'd react. Although her mother had given him an open invitation, Normani had been able to read in between the lines: her parents were itching to meet him.

They'd been dating for a solid eight months by November but Normani felt as though she still wasn't ready to introduce him.

Granted, Arabella had met her parents within their fourth month. She was more careful this time because she couldn't bear the idea of her parents meeting another person who might break her heart again.

In her mind, if they didn't meet him, then it would lessen the chances of the same heart break occurring again...

It was stupid and irrational but she couldn't help it. She hadn't shared those feelings with anyone though and had opted to leave her mother with a 'I'll speak to him about it and get back to you, soon.'

Arabella had been a nervous wreck about meeting her parents. Normani clearly remembered the way the Colombian girl had paced the living room of Normani's shared apartment with Anika.

'Amor, what if they hate me? I have tattoos on my fingers like little scribbles. I barely passed high school. I come from a drug infested country. I'm a poster child for delinquency.'

At that time, Normani had simply kissed her lips and told her, 'all will be fine baby, you worry too much.' And she'd been right.

Her parents had loved Arabella. It had taken her mother a long time to come to terms with Normani's bisexuality from the time she'd come out to her in her junior year of high school but as soon as she'd met Ara, the woman was all for their relationship.

Keith however had lit up like a neon sign when she'd spoken to him about just a week ago.

'My parents want to meet you this Thanksgiving. They've invited us to Houston. You don't have to come with me because I know it's sudden and I know how intense parents can be, you know but I just thought I should inform you.'

Keith had been tapping away on his work laptop when she'd perched beside him and mumbled the words as quickly as she could. She half hoped he hadn't heard her.

Instead, the man had looked up from his computer, reading glasses still framing his godly face and had said, "Mani that is amazing. I would love to meet your parents."

They were set to leave for Houston the next day and Normani had already packed her things and had spent majority of her day with her boyfriend. Keith would drop her off at her place as soon as he finished packing.

She watched him walk to his dresser and pull the doors open. Keith then bent down and Normani admired the view from behind with her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. He stood up and in his hands he held the ugliest sweater she had ever seen.

"Aha, this is my good luck sweater," he said and strode to his bag.

"Woah, hey, hold up there for a moment cassanova, what the hell is that?"

The sweater was woollen, made with navy and had an alarming amount of coloured squares patched onto it - green, yellow, brown, red, orange, purple and maroon. It was so busy that it made her feel a bit dizzy. It looked old too.

"I always wear this sweater when I do something important. It got passed down to me from my father and he got it from his father and his father got it from their father and so it goes on. Four generations of Ikande men have held on to this memento and it has worked in our favour. My great grandfather Abaeze bought this with his last money while he struggled in the streets of Lagos and wore this when he left home to find work in Ibadan. My grandfather wore this when he taught as a substitute teacher in Ibadan, too and was later offered a permanent spot. My father wore this when he went to the bank to ask for a loan to start Ikande Tech Corp. I wore this for my interview for MIT. I promise baby, your parents will see me in this and they will be enamoured of me."

Although the sweater obviously held great value for Keith, it was still ugly but she she didn't have the heart to fight him on it anymore.

"Okay baby," she said with a soft smile, "take your good luck sweater. I see it means a lot to you."

"Thank you," Keith said with a triumphant smile and paused what he was doing for a moment to lean over to kiss his girlfriend's lips.

"I hope you didn't craft that incredibly touching story to soften me about that sweater," Normani mumbled in between the kiss.

Keith smiled against her, "no. All of it is true."

×

The uber reached her apartment complex at 09:30 on the dot like Keith had promised. They were sharing the ride to the airport. Keith helped Normani load her bags in the boot and they sat together in the back seat. When the uber driver had asked who wanted the aux chord, Keith and Normani had had an intense staring match, trying to gauge who'd reach for it first.

It was an ongoing bicker that they always had. It was never serious though, because Keith always let Normani have the aux cable but it was fun to poke his buttons.

"Have it," Keith said with a faux look of irritation on his face.

"Thank you." Normani's smile was smug as she bent over to reach for the cable and connected her phone.

She wanted to surprise her boyfriend this time though so she scrolled through her Spotify playlists for the one she'd recently compiled.

She pressed play and the soothing tune of Mystro's "Ife"came on and Normani began to sing along.

Keith was smiling. This was his kind of music. She'd taken the time to look into the Nigerian music that he liked and discovered that she too really liked artists like Mystro, Simi, Adekunle Gold and Runtown.

"I like this song," Keith said.

"Mhmm, me too," Normani said. The look in her eyes was tender as she sang along, 'it's almost like you cast a crazy spell on me. I didn't fall in love, love fell on me."

Keith just watched her like she was his universe which, in her own ethereal, godly way, she was.

                          X O

After a three hour and twenty-one minute flight, they were finally in Houston. The sun bathed the streets with a feint yellow glow but it did little to ward of the chill that had settled on the city. Normani was in her coat and mittens and Keith was dressed in a similar fashion, his ugly sweater was just underneath his thick coat.

It took forty minutes from the airport to Normani's childhood home. The rental pulled up onto the Hamilton single driveway and as soon as Keith put the car on park, he and Normani got out. They got their luggage and trekked to her oakwood front door.

She hooked her arm with his, "are you nervous yet?" she asked.

"A little. I'm not a superhuman you know? But I'm alright," Keith replied and bent down to kiss the side of her head.

"Well, here goes nothing," she said reached into her coat pocket for her house key.

They entered the modest two-storey home. The passageway was empty but the house was warm from the central heating and the smell of roast chicken wafted through the passage.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" Normani said and not long after, her mother came out from the kitchen. She had an apron tied to her waist but wore neat clothes underneath.

She was every bit a southern belle, clean, washed and proper for dinner and with a receptive smile. Normani's father emerged from the living room too and he too was dressed for dinner.

"Hi Baby," her mother said and enveloped her daughter into a warm hug.

"I've missed you, it's good to see you," Normani said.

Her mother kissed her cheek and they disentangled from the embrace.

"Ma, this is my boyfriend, Keith. Keith, this is my mother Andrea Hamilton."

Keith extended a hand to the older woman, "pleased to meet your acquaintance ma'am."

Normani could tell from the tiny flicker of curiosity that had passed though her mother's face that she was most curious about his sweater.

"Pleased to meet you too, my you are very tall," she said.

Normani focused on her father who watched her with an endeared smile.

"Hey Dad," she said.

"Baby girl," he replied and swept her into an all encompassing hug. It had been far too long since she'd last seen him so she revelled in the contact for a little longer.

"You're looking well, baby," her father said.

"So do you. I see Ma has you matching with her again."

"We've been doing it far longer than you've been alive baby, it's not going anywhere any time soon," her father replied.

Her parents wore matching red sweaters. Her mother wore a black skirt that rested below her knee and her father wore black slacks. It was a tradition that they'd been doing for years. Normani found it cute.

"Dad, this is Keith, Keith this is my father Derrick Hamilton,"

Normani's dad only nodded at him before accepting his handshake. His eyes lingered on his colourful sweater too.

"Dinner is almost ready, you can make yourselves comfortable in the living room," Andrea said and went back into the kitchen.

With her hand in his, Normani and Keith walked into the living room where Derrick was already sitting on the couch focused on a football game.

The two men had a conversation about which team was better for over ten minutes, both of them liked the same team until Andrea called them into the dining room for dinner.

Normani helped her mother move the plates and containers from the kitchen to the adjoining dining room and helped her set the table. Once everyone was seated, Normani said grace and they ate.

Normani's mother had gone for the full soul food menu - honey baked ham, corn bread dressing, giblet gravy, collard greens, black-eyed peas and for desert, she'd prepared sweet potato pie and red velvet cake all washed down with red wine.

"So Keith," her father said as they were a quarter way into their meal.

"Normani told us you work at a technical corporation?"

"Yes sir," Keith replied, "I am the CEO of my father's company Ikande Tech Corp - well for the American branch."

"Ah, so it's a family business, I see. Well did you have to major in anything to get the position? Any college education?"

"Oh yes, definitely sir, I graduated cum laude last year. I was a double major in Business Management and Computer Science at MIT."

"That's impressive," Normani's mother said with a nod.

"How long have you lived in the United States?" her father asked.

"I've lived here for close to six years. I lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts for my undergrad schooling years and moved to New York last year."

"How are you finding it?" Andrea asked.

"It's certainly... different from home. The people here do things differently but it's been a great learning experience. I've been exposed to many different people from different backgrounds. The United States has a great diaspora that Nigeria does not so it's been very educational."

"Fair enough," she replied.

"What do your parents work as?" Derrick asked.

"My father owns Ikande Tech Corp and so far there's a branch in Abuja and Ibadan in Nigeria and he is also  a minister for the National Bureau of Statistics. My mother is a home maker."

"Wow," Normani's mother said with a nod, "any siblings?"

Keith nodded and smiled, "I have two younger siblings - nineteen year old brother named Joseph and a fourteen year old sister named Matilda. They're all in Abuja."

"How long have you and my daughter been together?" Derrick asked.

Normani couldn't really gauge his overall mood towards Keith. His questions were very to the point without any condescension nor approval.

"Eight months," Keith replied proudly.
"What are your intentions with my daughter?"

"To take care of her," Keith said confidently.

"My daughter is a twenty-first century girl. She doesn't need a man to take care of her."

Her father said the statement so calmly but Normani felt something in her chest pound at his words. Although he was absolutely right, the way his tone had changed made her a bit nervous.

Keith faltered, "yes, of course sir, I am very well aware of Normani's competency. I just meant that I am willing to be a pillar of support for her as she chases her dreams and ensure that she never feels alone. I plan to encourage her in her walk with God..."

Normani felt a blush sting her cheeks and she smiled behind her fork-full of rice.

Derrick nodded, "We are a God-fearing family. It's a known fact that a man who does know God won't know the first thing about being with a woman. I won't be able sleep at night if my daughter ends up with a heathen. How committed to the Lord are you?"

"I feel the same too. One cannot know what it means to be a man if he is not a man of God. I've believed since I was a young boy. I come from a strong Christian home, I go to church as often as I can and I pray."

"Mhmm, there's nothing more powerful than prayer. You keep with that, especially with my baby girl. Pray for my baby."

"I pray for her more than I pray for myself, Mrs Hamilton."

×

It was clear by the end of that night that Normani's parents approved. It felt like a large burden had been lifted from their shoulders. It was midnight when they were finally in the same bed.

Andrea had not so subtly stated that Keith was to sleep in the guest bedroom, basically stating that she did not want them in the same room. Although the idea of having sex under her parent's roof mortified her, she didn't want to sleep alone.

Keith had waited an hour until he migrated from the guest bedroom and into Normani's childhood room. They were currently spooned under the blankets. Keith's chin rested on her shoulder.

"They like you," Normani murmured.

"I told you the sweater would work."

"Whatever," Normani murmured with a dry chuckle. "Thanks for being so charming tonight though. You hit all of the jackpots: well educated, respectful and God-fearing. I think that one really drove them home."

Keith's hand wandered down her abdomen to rest on her leg.

"But it was all true, it's not like I lied."

"Yes, you didn't lie but you were so well spoken tonight. It was so sexy to watch, you're so sexy."

"Wow," Keith said, "I love you so much, you know that?"

"Mhmm, you tell me all the time. I love you too."

Keith and Normani had tiptoed around the big Love Confession for months. The day that they'd finally admitted it showed them that they'd been so worried for nothing. Keith had casually mentioned it one October night while they were watching something on TV.

It felt like the largest burden had been lifted off her shoulders. It had been so easy then to just smile and say, 'I love you too, babe' and that had been the end of it.

Fireworks hadn't gone off when they'd confessed but it felt real and genuine and the love they'd made that night was testament to it.

Now it had become a part of their daily dialogue and Normani swore her love for him grew with each day.

She turned around to face him so she could kiss him. He tasted like the red velvet cake her mother had made. The kiss deepened and Keith's hand travelled to the tops of her thighs and fiddled with her cotton panties.

"Babe, not here," she mumbled half-heartedly. Her heart was already pounding and her thighs heated up in anticipation.

"Why not?"

His voice had dropped a few octaves, sending a chill down her spine. His hands traced her hip bone. Normani actually couldn't breathe.

"My parents are like, right across the hall," she mumbled weakly.

"We'll be quiet," he replied just as he pushed her underwear aside and his fingers came into contact with her wet heat.

"Keith-" Normani tried to protest, but the words left her brain when he began to touch her in the places that set her core on fire.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked.

Normani shook her head and knew she'd lost the battle. She latched her lips onto his and kissed him deeply.

With her legs hooked around his waist and her nails scratching at his back, Normani swore she could hear angels singing down at them as he entered and ventured to depths that only he knew.

She'd always marvelled at how perfectly they fit together and as he made her see stars, she tried to not make a sound and settled on biting down on his shoulder and breathing through her nose.

When their climaxes ended, Normani had never felt more complete.

yo i know that it has been a hot minute since i updated. i was busy with a new writing project for the entire month of april for camp nanowrimo and dedicated all of my time to that but nano is over now and i met my goal of 25k words in less than 24 days 🍾 so i can go back to updating regularly again.

i am so utterly astounded that in my absence this book garnered even more reads despite the lack of updates- thanks for 5&6 K reads guys whoo 💓.

as usual leave me all of your thoughts on this chapter and if you liked it give me your stars.

-dzangie💖