Chapter 428: Stayed Out All Night

The woman scoffed, "What’s there to be nostalgic about? Even if we went back twenty years, you wouldn’t be half as handsome as this young man. I’m not nostalgic at all."

The man shot back, "As if you were ever as pretty as this young lady. If you’re not nostalgic, then neither am I."

"How dare you say I’m not pretty? Are you asking for a beating?"

The couple bantered for a few moments. By the time Zeke Walton had paid, he found himself glancing over at them instinctively.

The man grinned, dodging his wife’s playful punches as he spoke to Zeke.

"Buying so many groceries, are you two cooking together tonight? Who’s the cook, you or her? Young man, why aren’t you buying any alcohol? A little buzz after dinner helps set the mood. It’ll help things... progress more smoothly."

His wife smacked him again. "You dirty old man! What kind of nonsense are you teaching him?"

"I’m just telling it like it is. Look how perfect they are for each other! It’d be a shame if they didn’t get together soon."

The man continued, dodging his wife’s fists while winking suggestively at Zeke.

"And remember to buy a box of condoms. Make your move when the time is right, but you still have to be safe!"

A wave of laughter erupted from the others waiting in line.

Everyone seemed to agree that Zeke and Amina made a perfect couple, and their laughter was good-natured.

Normally, Zeke would have loved being teased about his relationship with Amina. But today, it just made the knot in his stomach tighten.

Back at his place, Amina headed straight for the kitchen and dove into an endless flurry of activity.

She washed vegetables, chopped them, and arranged the ingredients. Zeke, bored of sitting alone in the living room, wandered over to the kitchen doorway and leaned against the frame, watching her.

Amina thought he was hungry. "Are you getting impatient? I’ll make a quick cold dish for you to snack on first."

As she spoke, she quickly tossed a salad and pinched a couple of pieces with her fingers, feeding them to Zeke.

"Have a taste," she said. "How is it? Too salty, not salty enough?"

Her cool fingers accidentally brushed against his lips. Her large, limpid eyes blinked as she watched him. Zeke couldn’t taste the dish at all. All he knew was that his body was betraying him again.

’What is wrong with me? We just finished. Am I just that virile? All that pent-up energy?’

"Well? Is it okay?"

Seeing that he had swallowed without a word, Amina couldn’t help but ask again. That’s when Zeke snapped out of it.

"It’s good. Give it here, I’ll start eating."

Amina, afraid he was starving, brought out a hot dish for him before he had even finished the cold one.

By the time Zeke had eaten his fill, she was still bustling about in the kitchen.

Thinking about how she hadn’t eaten all day either, Zeke couldn’t help but feel a pang of concern.

"That’s enough. Stop fussing around and come eat."

Amina flashed him a smile from over the stove.

"I’m not hungry, I’ll eat later. Could you help me take the finished dishes out to cool?"

They worked together in silence. In the end, Amina had made twelve dishes.

After eating a little herself, she took out five takeaway containers.

"Once these dishes have cooled down, put them in these containers and store them in the fridge. You can just take them out whenever you want to eat. Well, I won’t disturb you any longer. I’ll be going now."

’It’s already past eight at night. The world is quiet, a time when loneliness creeps in. And she wants to leave?’

Zeke wouldn’t have it.

"I don’t feel well. Come upstairs and help me wash my hair."

’Didn’t he already wash his hair when he showered earlier? Why wash it again?’

’Maybe he got too sweaty from all the... physical exertion.’

Thinking he might have caught a chill, Amina reached out and felt his forehead.

No fever.

"Alright. After we’re done washing it, I’ll give you a scalp massage. A good night’s sleep might be all you need."

So they went back to the bedroom.

Zeke stripped off his shirt and went into the bathroom.

Amina followed him in. Just as she was about to reach past him for the shower head, Zeke shut the bathroom door and pulled her against him by the waist.

Before Amina could even ask what he was doing, his mouth was on hers.

And so began another bout of endless entanglement.

Just like that afternoon, their passion carried them from the bathroom to the bedroom. They tussled until they were both drenched in sweat, finally falling into a deep, exhausted sleep.

The next day, Amina was jolted awake by her alarm.

Time for work.

She instinctively reached for her phone, but a heavy arm was draped across her stomach. Only then did she remember she was at Zeke’s house.

’I didn’t go home at all last night.’

’Grandma doesn’t have a phone, nor does she know how to use one. Even if she’s worried, she has no way to call me. She must be frantic.’

At that thought, Amina quickly lifted Zeke’s arm off her, slipped out of bed, and silenced the alarm.

Her phone screen was bare. Aside from the alarm notification, there were no messages. No one would be messaging her; she didn’t have a single friend.

She glanced at the time, turned off the screen, and was about to get her clothes when she turned and met Zeke’s dark, brooding gaze.

He startled her.

"You’re awake? It’s still early. I’ll get going, you can sleep in a little."

Zeke had seen her phone screen.

It was as bare as always. Not a single message, not one missed call.

Amina was leaving, and this time, he was completely out of excuses to make her stay.

The thought of her going back to that stupid, useless man made his anger flare.

"You were gone all night, and your boyfriend didn’t even think to call? Is he that confident in you, or does he just not give a damn?"

Amina...

She offered no explanation, just dressed quickly and efficiently.

"Remember to eat breakfast. I’m leaving."

Watching her back disappear through the doorway without a hint of reluctance, Zeke flopped back onto the bed in frustration.

Amina raced home on her bike, bathed in the faint light of dawn.

’Please let Grandma have slept last night. Please let her still be asleep.’

’She’s so old. If she stayed up all night worrying about me... I can’t even imagine.’

She finally reached the building where she rented her apartment. She tiptoed up the stairs and gently tried the door.

But the door swung open the moment her hand touched the knob. Her grandmother hadn’t locked it.

’She really was up all night!’

Amina’s heart leaped into her throat. She steeled herself to tell her grandmother the truth.

But when she pushed the door open and looked inside, she was shocked to find several people sitting in the room.

Tim Tate, his parents, her grandmother, and that uncle of hers—the one who made her heart pound with dread every time she saw him!

’What are they all doing in my apartment this early in the morning?’

Before Amina could ask, Linden’s mother was the first to speak.

"Well, well. You decided to grace us with your presence. Delivering food all night, Amina? My, you are working hard."

’She was always so polite to me before. Why is she being so snide and sarcastic today?’

Amina wasn’t stupid. She could tell they were here for a reason. But she didn’t care about their business; she only cared about her grandmother.

"I’m sorry, Grandma. I’m back late. Were you up all night? Are you alright?"

Her grandmother looked at Amina with clouded eyes, her expression unreadable.

Amina closed the door and started towards her grandmother, but Linden’s mother shot up from her seat, aggressively blocking her path.