Chapter 205: Princess And Her Game Room
Since it was Friday, meaning the club was busy, I passed through the other side of the building. I used the private door that led straight to our room, wanting to avoid the noise and the crowd. The moment I opened the door, the room was empty. No sign of Princess. She wasn’t properly in the clubhouse or down in the underground areas where the midnight race was going to happen later on.
Since she was running the whole show, she probably had to be out there somewhere, keeping things in check.
I was a bit bored. The silence of the room felt heavy compared to the muffled thumping of the bass coming through the walls. I couldn’t go to the kitchen because I would have to pass a lot of clubbers, and the thought of navigating through sweaty bodies and smelling spilled gin made my stomach turn. All I had to do was wait. I lay on the bed, the mattress soft beneath me, playing with my phone.
I used games to pass the time, my thumbs moving fast across the screen just trying not to think about food or anything that would make me leave the safety of the room. I would love to join the club, feel the music and dance, but a pregnant girl in the club? Nah. All eyes were going to be on me, judging or staring, and I wasn’t in the mood for it.
I had a little regret. I should have bought chips on my way here, something salty to crunch on, but it didn’t cross my mind while I was walking back from Uncle PP’s.
While playing games on my phone, my eyes drifted away from the screen. They landed on Princess’s former gaming room, the one that was going to become the nursery for the pups. I felt something off, a strange pull like there was something behind that door I needed to see.
I stood up from the bed, my joints feeling a bit stiff, and walked into the gaming room. The air in there smelled like fresh chemicals and excitement. I noticed the room was mostly empty now, the floor cleared of the usual clutter. There was only a single table and chair left, with a laptop and a controller sitting on it. Someone had been playing a game on the laptop, and the screen was frozen on a pause menu, the colors glowing in the dim light.
I took a look around and realized painting was being done. It wasn’t fully finished yet, but the walls were being designed with strips of lights and intricate drawings that looked like stars and clouds.
Had Princess been in here all day?
I thought so because her pheromones were still fresh. Her scent, lingered around the room, making my heart flutter. There were also unopened boxes stacked in one corner, piling up like a mountain. They were mostly for the pups: cribs waiting to be built, rolled-up mattresses, fancy toys that made crinkling sounds when I touched them, feeding bottles, and more.
The last time I entered here, there were only a few things and Princess’s gaming equipment taking up space.
Wow, she really was working fast. It was like she was trying to build a whole world in here before they arrived.
My hands touched a few things, my fingers sliding over the smooth plastic of the packaging. I started checking the diaper brands, seeing that she had gone for the top-tier organic stuff. She had really bought a lot of diapers; they were stacked up in a corner in giant towers. The room was big enough to fit all the materials around the different sections, even with the painting gear spread out.
While I was checking what was around, leaning over a box of plushies, I heard the door open behind me.
And not just that, I smelled food. It hit me like a physical wave, making my mouth water instantly.
Chinese food.
I turned around to see Princess standing in the doorway. I tried to ignore the fact that she looked a mess, but a hot mess. She was wearing a jean overall stained with different colors of paint, splatters of blue, pink white, and gold, even on her face and the tip of her nose. Her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, a few strands sticking to her forehead.
My eyes darted straight to what she was holding in her hands. Chinese food.
Judging by the steam rising from the bags, she had just ordered them. I could smell the oily richness of Chinese fried rice, the savory scent of dumplings, and the sweet aroma of steamed buns.
My stomach let out a quiet growl that I hoped she didn’t hear.
"Hey babe, you’re home..." she said, her voice a bit raspy. She walked to the corner where the paint cans were before gently placing the package on the ground, wiping her hands on a rag.
"Yes, I just got back from work... I thought you would be in the club since it’s friday today..." I said. I was trying to make an excuse for being in the nursery while avoiding staring too hard at the food sitting right there in my presence.
"Beam and Kiara are taking care of it. I’m busy with the room. I need to paint and design every corner before placing the other things... I want it to be perfect," she said, her eyes scanning the walls. She knelt down, opening her package with a crinkle of paper. "Just went out to grab my order and continue... I’m starving."
She was about to eat one of the steaming dumplings, her fingers steady as she dipped it into the dark sauce, when her eyes landed on me. She paused, noticing how I had been staring at her food with a look of pure desperation instead of listening to her talk about paint.
"You want some?" she asked, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.
I would have immediately said yes. I would have started eating before she even finished the sentence, but my pride was still standing in the way.
"No, I just had dinner with my boss and Henry like 30 minutes ago... so... I’m totally full," I said, swallowing my saliva hard.
"Okay... but it still looks like you’re in your independent era situation," she said. She took a bite of the dumpling, slowly chewing it while watching me, her eyes full of amusement.
Oh, she just had to remind me. She just had to bring it up.
When she caught me eating leftover pizza from the fridge at 3 in the morning, she had asked what happened and why I didn’t wake her up to get what I was craving. I told her then that I wanted to be independent, rely on myself and not on her all the time for every little thing.
I told her to go back to sleep instead of worrying about me.
Ever since then, she had been teasing me about my independent era every chance she got.
"Well, well, well..." I said, my voice trailing off.
I didn’t even realize when my feet started moving, but I ended up right in front of her. My knees hit the floor as I sat on the ground beside her, the smell of the fried rice becoming irresistible.
I reached out and grabbed the chopsticks right out of her hand. It felt like I was being controlled by some magical remote, my body moving on its own.
I immediately stuffed two hot dumplings into my mouth, the savory juice bursting on my tongue. It was so good I almost wanted to cry.
"Wow, Miss Independent..." she said, leaning back on her heels and staring at me with a teasing face.
"I’m still independent and at the same time your girlfriend. It’s your responsibility to feed me...," I said, talking through a mouthful of dough and meat. "I’m also carrying your pups, so technically, they’re the ones who are hungry. I’m just the middleman."
Princess just smiled, the kind of smile that made me feel warm all over. She reached into the bag and took out another pair of chopsticks, starting to eat with me. Looking at the sheer amount of food she bought, the extra large portions and the variety, it almost felt like she already knew. It felt like she knew I was going to be sitting here eating dinner with her tonight, and she had ordered exactly what she knew I liked. I didn’t care about the independence thing anymore. The food was hot, the room was quiet, and for the first time in days, everything felt exactly right.
