“Look, I don’t care what you’ve done these last four years. It’s our last semester and I’m not going to let you mess up my nearly perfect GPA. We need to develop a plan for this final project. I’ve written out a schedule to track our progress—”
“Really? Already? Today was the first day of class.”
I blinked and tilted my head. “And?”
He didn’t respond, not directly, anyway. He chuckled.
Swallowing, I had to avert my eyes as anger and something unfamiliar bubbled up in my chest at the sound.
“Don’t worry, princess. I wouldn’t dream of destroying your precious grade point average. But I have another class to get to. We’ll have to meet some other time.” He tilted his head, winked at me, and then sauntered off, leaving me fuming.
Why I was so angry, I didn’t know, nor did I care to actually explore. I had another class to get to as well, and it was halfway across campus. I was grateful to have a reason not to just stand there and watch Robert as he walked away. Despite my gratitude, however, I couldn’t help my eyes from staring at his back as he strutted off as if he owned the entire campus. Loathe as I was to admit, I’d observed him from afar over the past four years, although I’d done everything to avoid Robert Townsend and the snooty group he socialized with.
All I needed to do was get through the next sixteen weeks of the semester and I’d never have to see, speak of, or think about Robert Townsend again.
“Good riddance,” I murmured as I turned and headed in the direction of my next class.
****
Present
I inhaled his signature scent prior to feeling his embrace, just before those thick arms of his wrapped themselves around my waist from behind. I didn’t bother to look over my shoulder, preferring to continue staring out the window viewing the construction of the playground on the property we were in, as I leaned back against my husband’s hard chest.
“You know, I hated you at first.”
I grinned as my eyes fluttered shut when Robert lowered, the small hairs of the short beard he’d recently let grow out brushing against the sensitive skin of my neck, as he pressed a kiss there. I sighed, again becoming enveloped by the smell of lavender and nutmeg from his L’Occitane Eau De Toilettecologne. The only fragrance he’d worn since I first bought it for him as a Christmas present years ago.
“You didn’t hate me.” He pressed another kiss to my neck, causing me to shiver. Even after all of these years he still had that effect on me. He braced my shoulders with his large hands, turning me to face him.
I stared up into his dark eyes.
“You couldn’t stand how I made youfeel.”
And because, naturally, he was correct, I angled my head, lifting my chin. He lowered his head, our lips meeting in the middle. I was expecting a short, sweet kiss, but nothing was short or simple with Robert Townsend. His lips parted as he used his tongue to separate my lips, deepening the kiss. Luckily, before we got too carried away, I pulled back.
“You thought you knew me,” I stated, returning to our original dialogue.
His pink lips parted on a smirk. The same cocky grin he’d given me after that World Mythologies class, decades earlier.
“I did know you, maybe not every detail, but from the first moment you parted those sleek thighs and let me slip inside of you, you’ve been mine. Every. Single. Part. Of. You.”
“Aw, c’mon! We don’t need to hear that shit!”
I laughed as Robert’s eyes narrowed and he spun around to face our third youngest son, Joshua. I giggled even harder seeing the disgusted expression on Joshua’s face as his green eyes shifted between his father and I.
“Leave them alone, Josh. It’s so adorable how in love they still are after all of these years.”
That was one of my daughters-in-law, Kayla, Joshua’s wife.
I watched as Joshua shifted his gaze from us, down to his wife at his side, and his eyes softened. My heart shifted in my chest. Just like his father, Joshua wore his love for his wife on his sleeve. All of my boys did.
“Destiny’s on the phone finding out the delivery time for the computers,” Carter, our oldest son, chimed in, pushing his way past Joshua, as he entered the conference room we’d been standing in.
The room was mostly empty, save for a few office chairs and lots of empty cardboard boxes.
My stomach grumbled as soon as the scent of the pizzas Carter carried hit my nose.
“Lunch is served,” he stated, setting the three boxes of pizza on the one desk in the room.
