In My Heart Pen My Soul

"And you're sure she did this legit? She's mine, no loopholes?" Marcus inquired. He looked at his long time friend across the desk. Andreas flipped through the thick binder of files again.

"Yeah, brother. Jada did this legit, she released all parental custody to you, she included medical records, school information....she even included a bunch of pictures of the little girl from every year and a signed contract with an affidavit stating that she will never try for custody again. And the little girl has a trust from Jada's grandfather, which has been signed to you. She's probably pissed about that."

Marcus' head snapped up."Why?"

"Well, you know Jada better than anyone. Gold diggin' trick only wants money. That trust can't be touched by anyone but the little girl. It's locked from Jada because she wasn't married when Anna was conceived. It'll release to the pequena when she's 17 if she goes to college, 25 if she doesn't." Marcus stood as Andreas closed the binder. His body ached with sleep deprivation and stress. It had been two days since Jada had left Annalynne on his doorstep. He couldn't deny her, she looked just like his mom. As soon as those big light brown eyes looked at him, he'd fallen in love with the little girl. But all he could do, truthfully, was worry. Anna wouldn't talk, wouldn't eat, wouldn't do anything. Her crappy mom didn't even seem to have cared about her. All of the photographs of the girl seemed loveless, as if they were taken to prove a point, or for some sort of evidence.

"Thanks, man. I'll call you soon." He shook hands with Andreas. Andreas Acosta was Marcus' best friend and lawyer. The tall, suave Afro-Brazilian had been there through the entire fiasco with Jada the first time, and now the second.

"Alright, take care of my new little niece. And you should call Makena. She can't possibly blame you for this." As Marcus walked away, his heart sank. Makena had taken the news of Anna pretty well. The first thing Marcus did was call Child Protective Services and Andreas for guidance. After putting on some pants, Makena took the girl to the guest room and made her eat something. Once she fell asleep however, Makena kissed Marcus' cheek and left, with no word of how she felt.

As Marcus got into his car, he sighed.

Screw it, what have I got to lose?

He thought. Before he could lose his nerve, Marcus dialed her number.

"Hello?" her sweet voice called.

"Hey ba—Hey Makena. How are you?" Marcus cursed underneath his breath.

Already fucking up....

He drove to his younger brother's house to pick Annalynne up, waiting for Makena's response.

"I'm fine Marcus, I'm glad you called finally. How's Anna?"

"She's fine, had to leave her with my little brother. But I didn't call to tell you that. Honestly, I called because I missed you, because we needed to talk. Now, I know all of this is really sudden, us and then Anna. But I love her and I really want to spend as much time as I can giving her real family. If you don't want to be apart of that, then we can't be together because—"

"What the hell?" Makena interrupted. "Of course I want to be around, I'm not that shallow Marcus! That little girl is gonna need some feminine guidance. Not to mention you need guidance, for sure!"

Marcus smirked. She was right.

"Look baby. I have 4 nieces and 3 nephews from my brothers. I love kids. And while I'm uncomfortable with the idea because we haven't really figured out 'us' yet, I want to help. Plus, who could deny her big, pretty brown eyes?!"

Makena and Marcus laughed together. Pulling into his brother's driveway, he felt at ease and relieved. "Honey, I have to pick Anna up from my brother's, then take her to get registered for school and all that. Apparently I have a shitload of things to do before school begins and I didn't even know it. We have to get her shots, buy school supplies, that kinda thing. Can I call later tonight?"

"No, you can't."

"What?" he asked confusedly.

"How about I take her school shopping while you do all the boring stuff? We could have a girls' day. Then we could meet up so she can get her shots. What time is her appointment?"

"It's today at 4:30. I had to schedule it as soon as possible. My best friend's sister teaches at a school nearby, and told me I could get her in school if I acted fast. Her kid goes to this pediatrician. She says he's good."

"Meet me at the mall with her school supplies list. I got this!" Makena exclaimed.

Marcus glanced at the clock. It was only 11:30.

"Be there by twelve. Be safe, Love."

Hitting the end button, Marcus walked up to the door.

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"So let me get this straight, " Marcus' younger brother Jacob said, closing the door leading to were Anna and his wife were. "Jada, your ex, the crazy one that told you she aborted the baby before she even told you she was pregnant, has dropped off the supposedly aborted kid, now 4 years old, and taken off? While the girl that I've heard about for the past couple weeks was there, right after she agreed to be your woman? And only 3 weeks before school starts? That, is rich!" Jacob laughed.

Marcus punched his brother in the arm. "Man....kiss my ass."

"Anyways, you have a kid now. You have to change your work, your schedule. You have to change your lifestyle brotha. So you might as well pony up."

Jacob patted his brother on the back. "Now, let's go see my little niece. Y'all wanna take some food for the road? You know you don't cook"

Marcus swung and missed the back of his brother knobby head. "Actually, I'm taking Anna and Makena to dinner. I spoke to her a little while ago and she's offered to help me with Anna and told me she's not goin' anywhere."

"But you still ain't hit it though? Oh, ok"

As they opened the door, the faint sound of a big, knobby head getting smacked could be heard, accompanied with Jacob saying a really bad word.

"Kyra!" Marcus called to his sister-in-law, "Your husband has hit his head somehow! You might wanna check on him!" He walked into the living room, where Anna was sitting on the floor with her thumb in her mouth, watching Dora the Explorer with her two cousins, Jamie and Jazzlyn.

Marcus picked the small girl up. "Come on babygirl, we are gonna get you some new stuff from the store. How does that sound, Honey?"

In response, Annalynne hid her face in his neck, her thumb still secured in her mouth. After saying goodbyes, Marcus strapped Anna into her new purple booster seat and they drove off.

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"Hi Sweetie! You ready to get all your stuff for school?!" Makena took the small girl's hand as Marcus got all her information out of the car. When the girl didn't answer, Makena squatted down, balancing in her cork-heeled wedges. "Look Babygirl, I know it may seem scary, with all these new people and places, but we love you. Your Daddy loves you very much, and he's missed you. We really wanna make you feel happy and comfy, but we can't do that if you won't talk to us Baby, we don't know what's going on. We know you miss mama very much, but everything will be ok. We promise. Okay? You understand?"

Marcus watched as Makena spoke softly to his daughter as she rubbed her back and tummy. They waited with baited breath for the girl's response. Just as Marcus was about to give up, Annalynne through her arms around Makena's neck. "Please don't give me away!" she exclaimed, a few tears running down her face. "Miss Jada said Daddy might give me away! She said she wasn't my mama, I don't have one! Just please don't give me away! I'll talk! I'll be good! I promise!" Makena hugged the girl tightly to her chest.

"Sweetie, Daddy would never give you away, I promise. I wouldn't let him. I'll beat him up if he tries." Annalynne smiled at little at Makena's joke,sniffling.

Marcus kissed her forehead. "Baby if you want to go in the store, you have to stop crying. I know you're sad, and it's ok to be sad. But you have to be a big girl and be strong for Miss Makena and Daddy, ok?" Anna leaned out of Makena's grasp and wrapped her little brown arms around Marcus' neck. "Ok, Daddy."

Marcus hugged her to his chest, leaning over to plant light kisses on Makena's neck as he did. "Thank you, Babe. Thank you so much." He whispered in her ear. Putting Anna down, Marcus hugged Makena and handed her Anna's information. "Alright baby. Makena is gonna take you shopping while I get you registered for school. You have to get everything on this list, some clothes, and if Makena says it's ok, you can get some toys too, ok?"

Anna shook her head. "Are you coming back?" she asked quietly. Marcus squatted down. "Of course I am. I'll be back in four hours." Marcus demonstrated the number with his fingers. "After we go to the doctor, we are gonna get some food. We'll eat where ever you want to." Anna smiled. "Okay!"

Marcus straightened up. He pulled Makena into his arms, giving her a quick peck on the lips. "You are wonderful, thank you for doing this."

Makena's skin darkened with her blush. "Not in front of Anna...." She murmured softly. Taking one arm from around her, Marcus reached into his wallet and got out a credit card. He slipped it into the pocket of Makena's jean jacket.

"This has a $1000 limit on it. Spend whatever you need for Anna, and get whatever you want too. I don't wanna hear it Makena." He said, as she started to protest,"I know how independent you are and all that. But let me take care of you Baby, you've done so much already. This is just one way I'm gonna thank you, ok? Just go in and have fun."

Makena looked in Marcus' eyes. She knew she couldn't say no without offending him.

I could definitely go for some shoes....

She thought. Suddenly, her spidey senses were tingly. Not even looking over, Makena called, "Annalynne Chatham, get your tail away from the street before someone hits you and your Dad goes to jail for murder!" Annalynne quickly trotted back to stand guiltily next to the couple. She had eased her way towards the trunk of the car to play with her Dora doll in the backseat. Marcus took one arm off Makena and looked down at his daughter with a no-nonsense expression.

"Annalynne that was very dangerous. You could've gotten hurt really bad, and Daddy would be very unhappy. You are not to play anywhere near a street or stray away from us, do you hear me?"

"Yes."

"Yes Daddy or yes sir."

"Yes sir. I'm sorry."

Marcus reached down and picked her up. "I'm not mad. But don't do that. You have to be a good girl. Now give Daddy a kiss so he can go."

Anna kissed Marcus' cheek and hugged him. He held both Makena and Annalynne tightly, loving the feeling of holding his two girls. He put Anna down, holding her hand tightly. He turned to Makena. "Now how about a kiss from you too?" he asked. Makena put a chaste kiss on his cheek, then turned her cheek, expecting him to do the same. Marcus kissed Makena's neck instead. She swatted his back and cleared her throat loudly, making him chuckle. Still kissing along Makena's jawline, he whispered, "I promise you won't regret this Baby. Just work with me for now, and I swear it."

Makena gently pushed Marcus away. She inclined her head towards Anna, who was skipping in place and watching them. Makena popped Marcus on hand. "I know I won't. Now go before you're late!"

Giving Anna one last hug, Marcus got into the car and drove away.

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"Ok sweetie, we got your school supplies and your bookbag. Now we just have to get some clothes and some toys, maybe we could go get our nails done. How does that sound?" Makena looked and the sweet little girl walking next to her.

She's so much like me at that age....

she thought. The little girl had picked out all of her school supplies in either pink, yellow or purple shades. They'd even found pencils that said "Anna" on them, a privilege Makena was never privy to as a kid. After putting the bags of supplies in her trunk, the girls walked over to the nail salon. Makena smiled as Anna picked a sparkly purple color for her nails and toes. As they sat in the massage chairs for their pedicures, Makena tried to get the girl excited about school.

"How about we go to the store and get lots of pretty bows for your hair? I'll twist it up really pretty for your first day of school." Annalynne beamed at Makena.

"Yes please! I've never had bows in my hair before! Thank you Miss Makena!" Makena was shocked by the girls' words.

What kind of mother makes her baby call her by her first name, doesn't do her hair and gives her away? She didn't bond with this baby at all. I wonder what else she didn't do....

She thought. Makena was determined to find out how Anna was living with Jada. Looking at Anna again, she smiled.

"You're welcome sweetie."

Once their nails were all done, Makena took Anna back inside the mall for more shopping. According to the papers Marcus gave her, Anna didn't have to wear uniforms, but she had to meet the dress code. Makena bought Anna four pairs of shoes, including some sneakers that lit up with pink lights with Dora on the side. She got the girl dresses, t-shirts and skirts and cute little jeans; Anna loved trying the clothes on for her, twirling around in the dressing room. She even found purple striped Dora socks for the four year old, though they were a little expensive just for footwear.

Who cares? We have just barely crossed the half way mark on Marcus' card, and she wants them.

While the girl picked out Barbie dolls and jump ropes, Makena looked at her phone. They still had an hour and a half to kill. "Ok sweetie, once we're done in here, we can go to the park to wait for Daddy. We can get on the swings and—"

"Not yet, Miss Makena!" the girl interrupted, "Daddy said you have to get stuff for yourself! He told you not to be so impe...indepu..."

"Independent, sweetheart. Independent means that I don't need anyone else to help me because I can get everything accomplished by myself. And it's a good thing. Your Daddy is just trying to spoil us today. But I'll let him, just this once, if you think it's a good idea."

"I do, I do!"

"Ok. We're gonna go to the big girl store and get things for me. Have you picked out what toys you want hun?"

"Yes ma'am! I got two barbies, a bratz doll, jump rope and a house for the dolls to live!"

Makena smiled. She had the same obsession with dolls when she was a kid.

"Ok babygirl, Let's go buy all this stuff."

Once Makena was done with her own shopping, they put the bags in the car. As Makena got Annalynne strapped in, someone came behind her, pressing against her bottom and holding her hips. "Hey beautiful," said a familiar voice.

"Daddy!"

Makena quickly straightened up and turned around. "Behave!" she whispered into Marcus' ear. They got into the car, and drove off.

After all the errands were taken care of and dinner was had, Marcus tucked a very sleepy Anna in his guest bedroom. He then turned off her light and joined Makena in the kitchen.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her as close as possible.

"Stay here tonight, let me thank you Makena."

Marcus began placing soft kisses all over her neck. Sucking gently, her quickly lifted her off of the ground and placed her on the counter top. Makena moaned loudly as he made his way down past her collarbone to his breast, wrapping her thick thighs around his waist tightly. Her large milk chocolate globes were soon covered by his kisses. Marcus untied her wrap shirt, pulling it apart feverishly. Undoing the front snap of her bra, Marcus drew one of her gumdrop nipples into his mouth, nursing on the flesh. His tongue flicked the tip of her bud as he sucked harder and harder. His hands trailed down to her linen covered slit. His fingers rubbed the sensitive area, causing Makena to gasp and pant. She whispered his name softly, sucking on his neck and earlobes. Just as his hands touched the button on the front of them, Makena's phone rang loudly from her purse in the living room.

She snapped out of her reverie and moved to get it, but was held in place by Marcus. "You're mine right now," he mumbled into her breast,"they can wait."

Makena gently pushed Marcus off of her body. Being the gentleman he was, he moved to side with a sigh, allowing her to dash over to her phone. She answered it at the last ring.

"This is Makena?"

"Madame Williams, good evening. It's John, how are you?"

"I've fine John, can I help with something?"

"Yes, actually. You can. I wanted to know if you would like to join me for dinner tonight?"

"Actually, I've already had dinner with my boyfriend. But that shouldn't really be any of your concern, now should it? Look Mr. Francois—"

"John"

"Look Mr. Francois, as I have said before, I really do not fraternize with my employees. I entertained this behavior once because your work is excellent. You never miss deadlines and you have great ideas. But this isn't one of them."

Marcus cleared his throat loudly. He didn't like the way that conversation sounded at all.

Who the fuck is this dude thirsting over

my

Kenzi?

He thought. Making a split second decision, Marcus decided to piss the dude off.

"Come back here Kenzi. I wanna finish what I started." He said loudly, leaning towards her phone. Makena nearly dropped her phone in embarrassment. John, however, sounded unfazed.

"Madame Williams, I understand that you are busy. Please excuse my intrusion. I had no idea you were babysitting. I will see you bright and early tomorrow morning. Goodnight,

Kenzi.

"

Makena held the phone to her ear in shock, well after John had hung up. Then, she lunged at him.

"I can't believe you did that! Where in the hell are your manners?!" she stage whispered, afraid to wake Annalynne.

Marcus picked her up cradling her like a child in his arms, rendering her attack useless. He kisses her forehead and carried her up the stairs, closing the door behind them.

"Chatham I am not joking with you! What the hell?!"

"Baby, calm down. I'm sorry, ok? But I don't like the way that guy sounded. Who the fuck is he anyways?"

"He's my illustrator for the next few months, and I personally don't give a damn if you like the way he sounded or not! And how dare you..."

Marcus put Makena down in the middle of the bed as she ranted. He knew exactly how to get out of trouble with her. He let her fuss while he took off her sexy wedges and began to rub her feet. He planted sweet kisses on the tops of them while he rubbed the soles, arches, and heels of her feet, knowing they must hurt from all the walking in those shoes. Soon, Makena stopped fussing.

"Mmmmmmm, right there...."

Once he was done with her feet, he got on top of her, balancing his weight on his hands. Marcus placed kisses on Makena's neck and lips, knowing exactly where to kiss to get her juices flowing. "Makena, let me thank you properly babe. Let me take care of that aching pussy and this sweet body. Let me help you relax and feel good, please?"

Makena sat up a little, biting her lip. "Not while Anna's asleep in the next room over. At least, not yet. I don't think she's sleeping soundly through the night yet. Besides, we said we didn't want to complicate things with sex before Anna. Wouldn't this make it worse?"

Marcus rolled off Makena slowly, placing his hands behind his head. "Then let's uncomplicated things. Why don't we talk about this, see if we can't make everything make sense. Can I go first?"

Makena nodded, a little surprised Marcus hit her with the "let's talk".

He probably just wants to get his dick wet...

"Makena I want to be with you. I'm not sure if it's too early to say that, but I do. You are so fun and happy and fiery. I love that. I know Anna kinda makes everything difficult, but I still want you around, as my girlfriend. Not to mention what this body does to me," he continued, pulling Makena on top of him, "I could get used to having this beautiful brown body next to me all the time."