42

"Maybe because I didn't push her to the side because of some whore." Daimen said and I saw Christen visibly flinch.

"Katina was my wife." My ex gritted out.

"Katina was a whore that used you for your money. You know what they say Chris: Karma's a bitch." Daimen said with a wicked smile.

"I'm glad you fucked up. I mean, without that, I may've never caught this little beauty's eye." Daimen said pulling me close to him and kissing my neck. My eyes slipped shut as his lips moved upwards and he placed a possessive kiss to my lips. Show-off.

Daimen pulled away with a smirk and I leaned against him. Christen just looked at me with eyes like saucers.

"Fuck you." He told us and it was unsure who exactly he was directing it to.

"Welp, see I was trying not to kick your ass, but now you've pissed me off." Daimen grunted and walked towards him. Christen raised his eyebrows and scoffed.

"Go-to Daimen, always trying to fight." Christen huffed and rolled his eyes.

"No." I said and grabbed Slay's arm. He shot me a look and I tugged against him.

"You always have to get in the way. Move the fuck back." Christen spat at me and I blinked in astonishment.

My body swelled with heat and before I knew it I was lunging at Christen and slapping him in the face.

"You son of a bitch!" I yelled. He stumbled back and I jumped onto him and let my hands land wherever they did.

"Woah! Aye calm down baby. You got him. You-damn! Princess chill." Daimen said and arms wrapped around my waist as he hauled me off of my ex and held me against him. He made sure my feet weren't touching the ground as he carried me away. I struggled against him, feeling my heart pounding.

"Calm down baby." He whispered as he carried me off.

"This is why I don't fuck with black bitches! Your kind always gotta take shit overboard!" Christen snapped and Daimen abruptly stopped walking.

My kind? Anger and hurt rushed through me.

Daimen slowly put me down and huffed, "I'll be right back." Then he swiftly turned to Christen and made his way over.

"Tell me Chris; what is her kind?" Daimen asked darkly in a rhetorical manner. "You know, I didn't think you were the kind of white person that stoops to racial shit when they feel like they're losing, but I guess you never know." He finished and gripped Christen by the collar of his shirt.

"Let me go." Christen spat and blood was already on his face... I did that.

Daimen started to say something but stopped abruptly when Christen did the worst, most disrespectful thing anyone could do in that situation... he spit in Daimen's face.

Daimen froze and blinked rapidly and my stomach churned. Heat rushed through me and my skin crawled. That was disgusting. If someone spit in my face I don't know what I'd do but it wouldn't be pretty.

Daimen snapped back in to reality I suppose because he started punching and managed to get my ex on the ground, where he repeatedly kicked him.

"Black people are fucking awesome. Some of them deal with assholes like you on a daily and guess what? They keep going forward. Grow the fuck up. One of these days, all that racist shits gonna die and you'll be looking like more of a jackass than you already do!" Daimen yelled and gave Christen one last punch.

He marched back over to me huffing slightly and I gave him a long look my eyebrows raised.

"You okay?" I asked him.

"I'm sorry I didn't know what to say and he was pissing me off; he fucking spit on me." Daimen grumbled as he came to stand beside me.

I pulled at my long sleeve before reaching up and wiping his face, grimacing as I did so. "Nasty ass shit." He huffed and though I agreed I couldn't help the smirk fighting to come to my lips.

I shook my head softly, feeling a smile take over my lips before I gripped Daimen's shoulders and kissed him. He grunted in surprise and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Thank you." I breathed around the kiss; he gripped my hips and I felt his lips smile against mine.

"Anything for you... You know, I'm all for you standing up for yourself but warn me next time. You scared me; I thought he was going to hurt you." Daimen sighed as the kiss ended and he hugged me to him.

"I'm fine." I said.

Daimen and I were in his room, him standing by his wall, I by the bed. We were talking about random stuff at first, but somehow we got into a deep conversation.

"I remember the time we found out I was allergic to peanuts. My mom had made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and-" Daimen stopped and a dark, faraway look came to his eyes.

"Long story short we went to the hospital... She threw out everything with nuts when we got home; wouldn't let me in the house until she was done..." Daimen finished with a soft smile and I watched him with a frown. He looked so... lost. His gaze drifted to me and he blinked the look away.

"Daimen--" I began and he huffed as he strolled up to me with heavy steps.

"I'm fine Princess." He said before running a hand through his hair.

I bit my bottom lip nervously and wrapped my arms around his waist. He stood there tense before relaxing and I buried my face in his shirt. His breath was ragged and I hugged him tighter, trying to will all of his broken pieces back together.

"River." He groaned and I just held him even tighter.

"I'm sorry." I sighed.

"For what?" Daimen asked in a raspy whisper and my stomach churned.

"For not letting you stay with me the other night." I gasped and the man paused.

"It's okay. I understand, I guess." Daimen said softly and I shook my head. I pulled away slightly before looking up at him and I was met with shockingly tearful, amber eyes. My heart cracked at the sight.

No, not my Daimen, I said in my mind and without anymore thought reached up and wiped his eyes. He smiled softly and caught my hand with his before kissing it gently and letting it go. I fought back a grin and bit my bottom lip.

"Damn. How is it that, even when I'm a fucking wreck, you still manage to make me smile?" Daimen sighed and I shrugged and looked away from his mesmerizing, amber eyes.

"I don't know." I said feeling my cheeks start to heat up and I inwardly cursed my body's ability to blush. Daimen chuckled quietly and grabbed my hand before pulling me against him and wrapping his arms around me.

"Are you tired?" He asked after a bit and I nodded.

"I need to shower though." I said pulling away and Daimen nodded. I went into the bathroom and started the shower.

It wasn't long before Daimen's arms wrapped around me and hugged me to him. "Quit I've gotta get undressed." I huffed and he chuckled and pulled me closer.

"I'm gonna shower with you. Saves time and water." Slay said and I rolled my eyes.

"You just wanna see me naked." I said.

"Not like I haven't seen it before Princess." He said and kissed the top of my head before letting me go.

I avoided looking at him as I quickly undressed and got in the shower all the time aware of his eyes on me. It wasn't long before he was in as well and I couldn't help tensing as he got behind me.

"Shh." Daimen sighed as he ran a towel down my back.

"Stop." I gasped as his lips brushed my neck. He huffed and backed away.

My stomach churned. We bathed each other which was nice and comforting.

"What the...?" Daimen muttered. His breath suddenly caught and he grabbed me and started looking me over.

"What's wrong?" I asked in confusion.

"You're bleeding." He said sounding frantic and for a moment I was just as shocked as he was.

Then it hit me.

I let out a mortified sigh and mumbled, "Slay, it's just my period." Of course it starts now. The man paused.

He finally let out a chuckle, "I thought-I don't know, I wasn't thinking." He said with a relieved breath. His bright amber eyes met mine and he gave a sigh.

"I thought you cut yourself on something or- Come here." Daimen huffed and pulled me to him before kissing my lips.

I let out a gasp of surprise and he just hugged me against him and deepened the kiss into a full blown make out.

"Daimen." I groaned passed the kiss and he pushed me aggressively against the wall.

"Slay if you make us fall in this shower, I'll kick your ass." I huffed as he kissed my neck. He chuckled softly and pulled back.

"Sorry Princess." He said kissing my lips softly.

Daimen turned off the shower and stepped out. The curtain closed behind him.

"Hey where's your pads and stuff?" Daimen asked and I swallowed.

"The cabinet above the toilet." I said.

I heard the cabinet open followed by the sound of something falling.

"Shit." Daimen cursed.

"What?" I asked stepping out to find him shutting the toilet lid holding a package of pads. A towel was wrapped around his waist.

"It almost went for a swim." He held up another bag of tampons.

"Pads or tampons?" He questioned and I opted for both. He nodded and handed me a pad.

"Light, regular, or super?" He said motioning to the tampons.

"Super." I said and he nodded and handed me the green wrapped tampon, throwing the pink and purple back inside.

"Need any medicine?" He asked and I shook my head.

"Well I'll go get your clothes." He said and kissed my forehead before leaving out of the bathroom.

I smiled softly as he left. I'd put in my tampon before he came back in giving me a large t shirt and some panties. I slipped on the shirt and underwear. He wore black boxers and my favorite shirt.

I put on the pad as well and followed Daimen into the room.

"I know, it makes your hormones go all over the place. Mood swings and stuff like that." Daimen said and I scowled. We were in a heated discussion about menstrual cycles.

"You don't even know." I said and he gave me a long look.

"Wanna bet?" He asked and crossed his arms.

"Sure." I said rolling my eyes.

"Okay if I win, I get to sleep in your bed with you and do whatever I want. If you win, I'll sleep on the floor." Daimen said. I frowned softly then shrugged.

"Deal." I said and he gave a grin.

"You sure you wanna do this?" He asked and I gave a nod.

"Okay Princess, well first of all changing your diet and stuff can help relieve the symptoms of PMS. You could also do aerobic exercise, or start a carbohydrate diet that involves whole grains. It's also good to take vitamin supplements of calcium, magnesium and/or vitamin E, though you don't have to." Daimen said and I looked at him in shock. He chuckled and went on.

"Then again you could eat more fruits and vegetables or just eat less fats, sugars, salt, and watch your caffeine and alcohol intake. Some women have found herbs such as evening primrose oil or chaste-berry helpful to ease the symptoms. But if it gets really bad I've got some, antidepressant drugs-SSRIs- that may be useful. They're mostly for mood swings though. Birth-control pills are sometimes prescribed to treat PMS to increase hormone levels and such, primarily physical symptoms. But there isn't really much fact on that." He paused and seemed to be thinking before he continued.

"Menstrual periods usually last from three to five days, but periods as short as two days or as long as seven may be normal for you. Menstrual flow is usually heaviest in the first two days. Its not unusual for menstrual fluid to contain small clots. But if you're having big clots let me know because that could mean something is wrong."

"Most women have some occasional pain or discomfort during their period. Like cramps, back pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and diarrhea. Cramps are the most common, particularly for younger women. Cramps often occur in the lower abdomen but can also be in the lower back or spread down the legs. The medical term for menstrual cramps is dysmenorrhea."

"Mild menstrual cramps can be treated in a number of ways. A hot water bottle or heating pad on the area where you feel the cramp can help it go away, exercise may increase blood flow and help release natural painkillers, reducing your salt intake, non-prescription painkillers as well as over-the-counter medications specifically for menstrual cramps may help. There are many over-the-counter drugs sold for menstrual cramps. Some women find that non-specific painkillers such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen are just as effective and are cheaper."

"If you have serious cramps then I'll take you to see a doctor. Severe cramps may be a sign of more serious conditions like endometriosis, though it typically starts after you're twenty-five. But better safe than sorry."

"Pads or tampons can be used to capture the menstrual blood. Some women use menstrual sponges, or menstrual cups, which are made of rubber. Both of these products can be inserted like tampons and should be removed and rinsed every four to six hours. Menstrual sponges should be boiled for five to ten minutes between each period of using it. You should use whatever method is most comfortable and convenient."

"Women who use tampons may be at increased risk of a rare but serious illness called toxic shock syndrome, caused by a bacterial infection. If you experience symptoms of toxic shock during your period or in the few days immediately afterward, remove your tampon and visit a doctor or emergency room immediately. The symptoms can be a sudden high fever--102 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches, dizziness, fainting, or near fainting when standing up or a rash that looks like a sunburn. You could also have a burning, itching feeling where you inserted the tampon. You can reduce your risk of toxic shock syndrome by using the lowest absorbency tampon possible, change your tampon every six-eight hours, alternate between pads and tampons and by washing your hands before changing your tampon. That last one should be pretty obvious though." Daimen said with a smirk.

"Are you done?" I asked and he nodded.

"I won." He said smirking and I huffed.

"How the hell did you remember all of that? And how do you even know that?" I asked dumbfounded and he shrugged.

"I read some books on it. Also on pregnancies." Daimen said.

I nodded slowly.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked softly and I shrugged. I have no idea how I was looking at him. He smiled gently and caressed my chin before leaning down and kissing my lips.

"Is that what you wanted?" He asked smirking and I felt my cheeks heat up.

My fingers grasped the faded black shirt and I gave a nod. His eyebrows raised a little before he smirked and pulled me against him. His lips met mine and we kissed each other for a while.

After a bit he pulled away and kissed my forehead before laying his chin on the top of my head and hugging me to him.

"I love you. I know you don't like me saying it-you don't believe me, but I do. I love you so much." Daimen said softly. I couldn't help the feeling of guilt creeping over me.

"Can we sleep now?" I asked softly and Daimen picked me up and carried me effortlessly to the bed.

I laid beside him and ran my hands along the faded skull. It felt nice to touch it but even nicer to feel the man underneath.

"River, keep doing that and we won't be sleeping." Daimen huffed and I snuggled up against him.

"Goodnight." I sighed and he kissed my hair and hugged me to him.

"Goodnight Princess." Daimen whispered.