Starlight 4
Summary: Amani is an orphaned heiress who’s spent most of her life raising her younger sister. T’Challa is a widowed King and Father. Neither of them is expecting much from their night at the Lotus. But the coming months have many milestones in store for these young adults. Will becoming a family be one of them?
1 || 2 || 3 || 4
“Sis, you are killing my dating life,” Madiyson whined as she and Amani cleaned the glasses at the bar. “I’m killing your dating life? It has to exist for me to kill it.” Amani murmured.
“Haha.” Madiyson threw her rag at the other waitress. “Look, you go to all these fancy parties, with rich eligible men, and you never invite me. Girl, you’re holding me back from my husband.”
“Trust me, you don’t want to go to those parties. All the men are old and boring, and they all want something from you.” Amani sighed and began hanging the wine glasses on the rack. “Yeah, some good lovin’.” Madiyson shimmied her way around the bar laughing.
“Oh my god.”
“So you’ve never met any young attractive guy at these parties?”
“Well….”
“Well?”
“Well, He’s the exception to the rule.” Amani sassed.
“See, I’m just asking for one chance. One party.”
“Fine fine,” Amani placed the last glass on the shelf. “Amare won’t be home for another month so you can go to the next party.”
“She’s not coming home for spring break?” Madiyson frowned.
“Nope, engineering conference with her school. In France.” Amani pouted.
“Yeah, I’d choose France over you too.” Madiyson teased.
“Shut up,” Amani pushed her. “This isn’t how you get the invite to this gala.”
“Now, you know I’m just messing with you girlie.” Madiyson hugged her friend.
“I know, but sometimes it just feels like she doesn’t need me anymore.”
“That’s a good thing! You’re not her mother, and you’re young. One day you’ll have kids and get to go through it all again. Except they’ll be infants this time and you won’t be in college.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Amani smiled.
“Aren’t I always? Now, tell me all about this exception to the rule guy.”
“What do you want to know?” It’d been three months since Amani had heard from T’Challa. Not even a text or letter. “Tell me anything,” Madiyson shrugged. “Well, he was attending our yearly investor gallery. He saved me from a boring conversation and we sat out on the balcony and talked all night.”
“That’s it.”
“That’s it.” Amani turned back to putting the dishes away. “There’s something you’re not telling me,” Madiyson accused.
“No, I told you everything that happened,” she fought to hold back a smile. “At the party at least,” Amani added. “Okay, so what happened after the party?” Madiyson prodded. “Well, before the party-”
“Before the party!” Madiyson exclaimed moving closer to her friend as a couple of guests looked over at the outburst. “Yes, before the party. You remember that table I handled for you when I got into work?”
“The one with the father? He’s the dude from the party?!”
“Yeah, his name is T’Challa.” Amani blushed. “Did he recognize you?” Madiyson bubbled, pulling Amani to sit in the break room with her. “Yes, and his daughter asked that I hang out with him the next day.”
“So y’all spent the day together?”
“And they both stayed the night.” Amani blushed. “Sis-” Madiyson started. “Then me and his daughter made breakfast and we went to the park.Then he asked me on a date, and they spent the night again.”
Madiyson stared open mouthed, “This was all a few months ago and you didn’t tell us?”
“Tell us what?” Sakura interjected as she walked into the breakroom from finishing her last table. “That she has a boyfriend who spent the night.” Madiyson smirked.
“He’s not my boyfriend, and his daughter was there too.” Sakura raised an eyebrow at Amani’s rebuttal. “Besides, there’s nothing to tell, I haven’t heard from him since they left.”
Sakura frowned, “They left?”
“They went back home, out of the country.” Amani explained. “That’s good news, he may just not know how to get intouch with you from his home country.” Madiyson offered. “I guess, but he still could have sent a letter or something.”
“Just give him a chance to explain himself,” Sakura encouraged. “Yeah, I just wish I knew something,” Amani sighed. “If you never hear from him again that’s his loss sis,” Madiyson hugged Amani.
After hustling through the rest of her shift, Amani finished cleaning her tables, hugged Madiyson and Sakura goodbye, and headed to pick up some dinner from her favorite burger joint. She hopped in line and placed her order. She had just pulled out her phone to pass time when a familiar voice invaded her senses. “Is that the heiress I see?” The king chuckled.
“Your majesty,” Amani bowed smiling in return, “You're back stateside.”
“Yep, Ada and I got in earlier this morning.” The king smiled. “Cool,” Amani smiled back before turning back to the pick up counter. “I also had a special someone that I promised to take out on a date.”
Amani raised an eyebrow, “She must be real special.” T’Challa smiled oblivious to her sarcasm, “You could say that.”
“I wonder if you called her like you didn’t call me,” Amani sassed. “T’Challa’s mouth dropped open slightly. Just as he went to respond one of the worker’s called Amani’s name. She walked away from him to grab her food. The king hurried after her, “Amani, I didn’t realize until we got home that I didn’t know how to reach you from out of the country.”
“And you couldn’t write a letter? Or call someone at the company that I own and ask for it?”Amani deadpanned as she walked towards the door, not stopping until T’Challa gently grabbed her wrist. “Amani, I am sorry. I didn’t think and that is obviously not an excuse, but I would still like to hang out with you.” Amani calmed slightly as she heard the sincerity coating his voice. “Please? Let me make it up to you?”
Amani nodded in response. “Great, are you free friday? At 8:00?”
The heiress smiled, “Yeah, I am.” T’Challa beamed, “I’ll pick you up?”
“Sounds like a date,” Amani winked, “I should let you get back to Ada.” The king glanced at the bag of food in his hands. “Why, don’t you join us for dinner tonight? She’s asked about you.”
“Oh, um..” Amani tried to quiet the leaping of her heart. T’Challa grabbed her hand, “We would both really enjoy your company Amani,” the king’s thumb traced soft circles on her wrist. “I’d love to,” Amani smiled back, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks, grateful that it wasn’t too noticeable on her skin. “Great, I can give you a ride or?”
“Oh, no I drove my own car. If you give me the address, I’m pretty sure I can find my way there.” Amani smiled, pulling out her phone. T’Challa gave her the address and they hurried off to their cars. Amani smiled as she noticed what hotel they were staying at. “St. Regis huh,” Amani chuckled as she pulled off. Along the way she stopped to grab something to drink, and a box of cookies from her favorite bakery, she text T’Challa that she was on her way before beginning the drive to the hotel. Within 25 minutes, She pulled up to the valet counter and handed over her keys. Amani walked into the lobby juggling her food, the cookies and a drink. She walked towards the elevator before realizing she didn’t know where she was going. Amani sighed and gingerly reached for her phone in her pocket. Just as she went to dial the king’s number, his name flashed across her screen. ROOM 1009. She chuckled knowing he’d read her mind.
Amani used the edge of her iphone to call for the elevator and began her ascent to the 10th floor. She hummed lightly to herself and prayed that she had read the room number right. The door dinged open and she walked out into the carpeted hallway. Her sneakers padded along the floor as she read the door numbers, relieved that she had gotten off at the right floor. She made her way down to the ninth and final door. She knocked and smiled to herself when she heard the rapid pattering of feet approach the door. T’Challa laughed, “Well, are you going to let me open the door for Ms. Amani or not princess?”
“Sorry baba,” Ada replied, her bouncing feet still audible through the door. The door handle clicked and Amani was welcomed into their penthouse suite. “I brought cookies!” The older sister grinned. The former prince shook his head as his daughter cheered beside him. T’Challa grabbed the cookie box from her hand and Amani followed them into the kitchen.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take her home with me if she’s too hyper,” Amani jokes slightly. “T’Challa smiled before grabbing her a plate from the cabinet. “Where’s my hug princess Ada,” Amani grinned scooping the little girl in her arms. “Hi, Mani!” the little girl squealed.
“How are you?” Amani asked, placing the little girl back on her feet. “I’m good, I missed you.”
“I missed you too princess,” Amani reached for her own food. “I’ll warm it up for you.” T’Challa offered. “Thanks.” The two adults smiled at each other before Ada pulled Amani into the living room.
T’Challa’s heart melted at the sight in his living room. In just a few seconds Ada had pulled out all of her dolls for Amani to see. Amani sat on the floor in front of the couch greeting the doll princess Tiana. T’Challa cleared his throat, “I hope your royal highnesses do not mind my interruption, but I think that Ms. Okeke would like to eat her dinner.” Amani thanked the king as he handed her a plate with her burger and her drink.
“It’s okay baba, we were just going dress shopping for the ball,” Ada explained “The ball?” The king grinned, bending down to his daughter’s eye level. “Yeah, like the one we went to with Auntie Shuri and umakhulu.” Ada nodded excitedly. “Okay then,” the father sat back into the couch, “have fun.”
Amani took a bite out of her burger as the little girl collected her dolls and ran off. “Her first royal ball huh?”
The king nodded and sighed, “She grew up so fast. She got tired of being left out of ‘all the fun’.” Amani finished chewing before pulling herself up to sit on the couch. “You got any pictures?” The waitress finished her burger while the king scrolled through his phone. He held the phone up to her face once she was done.
“She looks adorable!” Amani squealed. “Her dress is so pretty!” On the phone, Ada was standing next to her father a smile stretching across her face. She and the king were matching in their black and gold. She wore a black halter-neck ball gown. The black silk was covered in delicate gold brocade and embellishments. Her hair was braided around the crown of her head, with a large gold halo tucked into her braids. “She’s so precious!”
“I know, she looks just like her mother,” the king smiled, Amani squeezed his hand. “You look pretty good too,” Amani playfully nudged his shoulder. “Thank you,” the king smiled putting away his phone.
“You want a cookie?” the heiress asked getting up from the soft couch. “Sure,” the king followed her into the kitchen. Amani popped open the box grabbing two chocolate chip cookies before popping the box in the oven.
“Did you work today?” The king bit into the warm cookie. “Yeah, unfortunately,”Amani groaned.
“You don’t like the work?” The king frowned. “I mean, the people are great, it's just tiring like anything.” Amani explained, finishing off her cookie. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you work? I am assuming your parent’s set you up well enough to thrive without a job?”
The king watched as Amani grabbed the cardboard box of cookies out of the oven once more. “They did, but I’ve always been independent. I used the money to pay off bills for the foreseeable future. We already owned the house here in Atlanta and I kept our vacation homes in South Carolina,Florida, Savannah, New Orleans, and LA. Used the money to continue paying the staff’s salary and put away money for Amare to go to school and start a life. Then I got a job to pay for youtubing equipment, travel, my car, and clothes.” Amani took all but four cookies out of the box and placed them on one of the white plates from the cabinet.
The king nodded, “You don’t have a passion job you’d like to start? Instead of waitressing at a job you don’t really like.”
“I mean, I’ve thought about starting my own luxury event planning company. You know, weddings, gala’s, balls, birthday parties, sleepovers, any event you can think of really.”
“What’s stopping you?” The king stole another cookie from the plate. “Nothing hypothetically, but I enjoy doing that stuff for fun. I think I’d want to throw my own event first. Kind of build up my own brand and relationship with contractors instead of just popping up out of the blue like that.”
“I think you should go for it. Get a job as an event planner for a company, work your way up or start as an independent contractor.” The king smiled. Amani tapped her fingers on the white marble countertops. “You’ve got this all figured out don’t you?”
“That is what the king does, solve problems.”
“What about you? Aren’t you very busy as a king?”
“I am,” the father replied, finishing off his cookie. “Isn’t it a little hard taking care of Ada and going about kingly duties? Doesn’t she have to have like a tutor and a nanny or something?”
“I only bring her on trips when I know I can take her with me to meetings. Not all of the kingly duties are boring. Like the ball, or charity appearances. That is most of my work this trip and she was on spring break, I believe it is called here.” T’Challa explained. “Oh, she’s in school?”
“Yes, she attends a very prestigious boarding school back in Wakanda.”
Amani looked up “ You send her away for school? Isn’t she just barely 5?”
“It is how things must be, her mother is no longer here to take care of her.”
Amani frowned, I think the nanny is a better option, don’t you think she misses her father while she is at school? A school with all these strangers?”
“She is fine Amani-”
“Have you ever asked her if she is fine, or if she likes it?”
“No, why should I have to. I am her father!”
“Because I was her T’Challa. My parents shipped me off to boarding school as soon as I was old enough to leave. Then they sent Amare right behind me!” I spent less that 5 years of time with my parents face to face before they died. Now they are gone.” Amani confessed, tears brewing in her eyes.
“I- I am sorry. I did not know that,” the king started. “I know you didn’t. I apologize for getting upset with you. I am not her parent, but as someone who grew up in that life, talk to her, come and see her. Make sure there isn’t another way for her to stay home. It would truly be for the best.” Amani sighed.
Silence choked the room, “I think I should go,” Amani stood up from the counter. “It is getting late, we have an extra guest room. You should spend the night here.” T’Challa offered.
“It’s only ten o’clock your majesty, I think I will make it home alright.” Amani teased. “Very well, at least, let me walk you downstairs. I’ll put Ada to sleep and come back out.”
Amani nodded her consent before taking a seat on the couch. Her phone lit up as T’Challa headed into Ada’s room. She pulled out the device and saw a new message from Madiyson.
Madiyson: Whatever you’re about to say no to, say yes sis!
Madiyson: Just thought you might need to hear that.
Amani: How’d you know I was making a decision?
Madiyson: Ohh so I was right?
Madiyson: What’s going on? Don’t keep me out of the loop!
Amani: I’ll tell you in the morning.
Madiyson: In the morning!
Madiyson: Girl who you gon be with in the morning!
Madiyson: You’re finally letting someone love you down!
Madiyson: Ohh sis! Tell me!
Amani smiled and put away her purse and set off down the hall to where T’Challa had gone. She peeked into a doorway where she found the king, conversing with his daughter. Amani stepped closer to the door and inadvertently pushed it open. Ada’s eyes shot up and a grin took over her face. “Mani! Baba is trying to make me go to bed but I’m not sleepy.” T’Challa looked up in surprise at her figure. “Well princess, if you don’t go to sleep, tomorrow won’t come and then we can’t hangout more.” Amani pouted. “Really?” Ada sighed.
“Really princess. Sleep makes the clock go faster and faster and speeds everything up so that tomorrow can come earlier.”
Ada looked to her father for confirmation. The king nodded his head and she sighed. “Okay. Thank you Mani.”
“No problem princess, just count backwards from the biggest number you can think of.”
“Goodnight Ada Ade,” T’Challa pressed a kiss to his daughter's forehead. “Good night baba,” the young princess smiled back. As the king led Amani out of the room Ada called out once more, “Good night Mani.”
“Good night princess.”
The king led Amani out of the room gently before shutting the door behind them. “I hope you don’t mind me staying, I-”
“I am glad you decided to stay,”The king reassured her. “Good, I figured I couldn’t really get to know you if one of us is always having to leave,” Amani chuckled, “even after an awkward conversation… I want to apologize again for what I said, I had no right to criticize how you choose to raise your daughter.”
“Please, do not apologize. I am glad you said what you said. People are normally too afraid to criticize any personal decisions I make. I am glad you stood up for what you thought was in her best interest and I will definitely be giving the matter more consideration.” The king promised.
“Oh, good.”
“Well, the night is still young. Would you like to watch a movie or something?” The king offered, clearing his throat and moving closer to the heiress. “Umm sure, I should probably run home and grab some clothes for tomorrow. I’m just a few minutes away.”
“Okay. I will set up a movie and order some more cookies or something,” the king replied.
“Cool,” Amani jogged down the hall and to the couch, “I’ll be right back,” she smiled before heading out the door.
Taglist: @almostpurelysmut @blackbypurpose @nyneebee @hutchj @tchoking @sisterwifeudaku @wikiwakanda @royallyprincesslilly @90sinspiredgirl @strictlyashley @afraiddreamingandloving @thedelightfulone @autumn242 @purple-apricots @kumkaniudaku @queertrex @kaciidubs @halfrican-heat @skysynclair19 @dramaqueenamby @gorjiss @leahnicole1219 @kreolemami @mzbritt @yoyolovesbucky @derangedcupcake @builtalongthewayside @ilcb7 @chaneajoyyy @lalapalooza718 @ororowrites @leahnicole1219 @dopegalkk @sarcastic-sunshines @sarahboseman @shesakillerkween @waitingonafriend @faatassbitch @lady-love-and-glitter-roses @cxnismajcr