A Kiss of Color: A BWWM Interracial Pregnancy Romance (Book 2)
Read A Kiss of Color: A BWWM Interracial Pregnancy Romance (Book 2) Online
Authors: Cristina Grenier
Tags: #BWWM Interracial Pregnancy Romance
Chapter Three: What Will Never Be
Chapter Four: Irreconcilable Differences
Chapter Seven: The Last Stage of Grief
A Kiss of Color
Book 2
Complete
By: Cristina Grenier
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Prologue
He had written his first program.
In awe, Xavier stared at the screen before him, still shocked that the code he put together actually worked. Of course, it was highly rudimentary - a simple little ditty that helped people track the amount of sleep they got over several months. But, he had written it.
And it worked
.
Grinning in triumph, the teen ran the program again and again. Of course, his own sleep statistics were pretty poor. In between all of the classes his parents had signed him up for – piano, soccer, ballroom dancing, and language – it was hard for him to find time for his own pursuits. Both his mother and father were under the impression that he was too young to know what he wanted. But at age thirteen, Xavier had been teaching himself coding for the past two years, and was fascinated with what he had learned.
He knew that he wanted to do something with computers when he grew up. He didn’t like soccer, would never be any good at piano, and though he enjoyed language, he didn’t want to make a career out of it. All Xavier really wanted was to do what was important to him – and try as he might, he couldn’t get his parents to fathom that.
Which explained why he was in his room at the moment.
He was being punished.
Of course, he was still expected to make it to all of his classes in the next week, but otherwise, he’d been banished to his bedroom for arguing with his parents over dropping all of his ridiculous extracurricular activities. He had ducked his caregiver – who, at age thirteen, was redundant anyway- and snuck off to a nearby library to bury himself in coding books all day. This, of course, had earned him a lecture on how much money he was wasting his parents. When he’d told them that he didn’t care about money – that he’d be happier without it – they’d locked him in his room.
Which was where he’d been for the last forty eight hours. Of course, with his computer to occupy him, he’d decided to use the time to see just how much of what he had gleaned from those books he could put to use – and just like that, he was in love.
Why couldn’t they understand that?
The sentiment made his grin fade. Was he going to have to keep hiding his personal hobbies from his parents for the rest of his life? Living two lives while they dictated what he was supposed to do and how he should feel?
When his friends from school talked about their families, they seemed perfectly content. Sure. Parents could be infuriating sometimes, but in the end, they made up for it by showering their children with love and affection – at least, that’s the way it was supposed to work, according to his friends.
In Xavier’s household, there was no “making up for things”. His parents’ word was law, and going against it meant inevitable punishment. It seemed like they only came home from whatever social event they were attending to make his life miserable. The young boy tried to tell himself that his parents loved him – that they cared for him no matter what, because that was what parents did. But, it was hard when they rarely ever showed him affection – when they hardly took the time out to tell him they were proud of him.
His younger sister Emily was only four years old, and she was looked after by a nanny instead of her own mother. Xavier knew that he wasn’t her parent, but if he were, he’d look after her. He’d keep her close. She was so small and pink and fragile…and he loved her.
Xavier had noticed that not even Brandy, his older sister, liked to be home for very long. She’d just gotten married, and her wedding had been a gigantic affair. He’d watched her run around like a chicken with her head cut off as their mother sent her to various shops all over the state, mandating what she had to have at the celebration. While, in front of their parents, Brandy smiled and laughed and seemed to enjoy herself, his sister had secretly confided in him that all she wanted was a small ceremony in their backyard. She didn’t want a thousand guests, a ballroom, or a dress with a train four yards long.
All she wanted to do was be with the man she loved.
Xavier was a bit young to understand the concept of love, but he knew that Brandy was happier when she was with Hank, and that was all that mattered.
Happiness. Family
should
mean happiness.
Just then, there came a knock on his door.
Whirling, the thin boy switched off his computer quickly, racing to jump onto his bed as he grabbed a book. When anyone came to check on him, he tried his hardest to look like he was studying – as his grades were another source of contention between him and his parents.
“Come in!”
When the door creaked open, it wasn’t his mother, father, or his caregiver that entered. Instead, it was the tall, slim figure of his older sister, with a chubby, grinning Emily in tow. Smiling, Xavier sat up in bed, snapping his book shut.
“Brandy!”
He hadn’t even known his sister was going to be in town. She was busy establishing the law practice his parents funded in upstate New York and his parents had told him, very firmly, not to expect her until the holidays.
“Hey, Xav.”
As always, Brandy’s smile was kind and genuine as she stepped into the room, letting go of Emily’s hand. The four year old shouted his name, sprinting across the room to throw herself into his lap. Xavier grunted at her weight, rearranging her on his lap so she could bounce away without doing any harm.
“I heard you were in the doghouse.”
He shrugged. “It’s always something. Sometimes I think punishing me just means they don’t have to spend time with me.”
“Oh, Xav.”
Frowning, Brandy crossed the room to sit next to him on the bed. Emily immediately reached out to begin to toy with the young woman’s hair happily as her elder sister ran a hand through Xavier’s unruly dark locks. “Mom and Dad
love
you.”
“Do they?” The adolescent replied bitterly. “Sometimes, I’m not so sure.”
“Xavier, you’re young. Far too young to be concerning yourself with such heavy subjects.”
Brandy plucked her sister from his lap, making a funny face as she pressed her nose to Emily’s briefly. Xavier smiled at the sight. Not once did he think he’d ever seen their mother do such a thing. She was ready to hand Emily off to the Nanny at any given moment and rush off after her husband to their most recent vacation destination.
“I’m not
that
young.” He grumbled lowly, glaring at Brandy.
In response, the young woman only grinned. “You’re thirteen. Hardly old enough to know everything.”
Xavier opened his mouth before hesitating. He wanted to tell his sister about his triumph in creating his first program, but his parents had so encouraged him to hide his talents that he wasn’t sure if he should mention anything programming-related.
He trusted Brandy with
anything
…with everything.
“Brandy?” He tried tentatively.
“Mmm?” She replied, busy trying to get Emily to pronounce her name the right way. The toddler called her older sister ‘Bandy’ instead of Brandy.
“Brandy…I did something really cool today.”
“Really?” The dark-haired woman turned to him, her eye lighting with interest. “What?”
Slowly, Xavier left the bed to retrieve his computer from his desk. When he opened it, he set about explaining to his sister the program he had constructed in a mere thirty six hours. He knew that she wasn’t the biggest computer buff, so he tried to keep it simple. His voice came out hushed – excited even – as Emily peeked over their shoulders in an attempt to understand what was going on.
When he had finished, the teen waited with bated breath. His sister peered at the program for a moment before leaning forward to type in her information. When his creation spat out a figure, her lips curved upwards in delight. “Xav, this is amazing!”
His heart leapt. “You did this all by yourself?” He nodded proudly, his eyes gleaming. “That’s impressive!”
“Don’t indulge him, Brandy.”
Xavier jumped, whirling to see his father standing in the open doorway. Immediately, he felt his chest tighten in apprehension. Garret Thompson’s mouth was turned down into a deep frown of disapproval. Silently, he strode across the room to snap Xavier’s computer shut, tucking it under his arm. “I said that you could say hello to your brother, not dally with him.”
Brandy’s face reddened slightly. “Daddy, he was just-”
“Don’t tell me what he was doing. I know what he was doing. Now, take your sister and leave.”
Apologetically, Brandy caught Xavier’s eye. She looked just as upset, the young man realized, as she had when their mother had told her that the vision she had for her wedding simply would not do, and had proceeded to bowl right over her. Without a word, the young woman lifted Emily onto her hip and made her way to the door.
“I’ll see you, Xav.”
She reluctantly followed their father from the room, casting one last glance back at her younger brother before she shut the door behind them, leaving him alone – without his computer or his sister’s companionship.
Feeling hollow inside, Xavier laid back down on the bed, fighting tears that he knew weren’t appropriate. He was thirteen. Who, at thirteen, cried when their things were taken away?
But somehow…it wasn’t just because his father had taken his computer. The man had taken much more than that.
And Xavier didn’t know if he would ever get it back.
Chapter One:
As They Are
He wanted to wake her- really, he did- but Xavier just couldn’t bring himself to do it. He knew how hard she’d worked the previous night, pulling the late shift for her internship– which she had just started. He himself had been barely awake when she’d stumbled in at three am, unable to do much more than shower and get to bed.
Helena had set her alarm clock for eight am, citing that she wanted to get some errands done on her day off – but the time came and went. The alarm blared, and the exhausted young woman slept right through it.
And he let her sleep.
Why not?
She was absolutely gorgeous, her face lax in slumber, her dark, mussed hair spread out on the pillow like a halo around her. She was warm in his arms, nestled against him, as her breath fell softly against his collarbone.
And she was absolutely nude. The thought made Xavier groan softly, low in his throat. He knew that she needed her rest, and so he wouldn’t wake her; but he cared less about her errands and more about the torturous slide of her bare body against his own. Lowering his head, he brushed his lips across her cheek lightly.