She sighed. “Mix it.”
I kissed her forehead and turned the taps. Steam was already fogging the mirror when I poured in her bath oils, that thick sweet scent lifting into the air. I checked the water. Hot as hell. Just how she liked it. I turned back and found her leaning against the doorframe while I worked. She was sleepy,but pretending she wasn’t two breaths from shutting down. I helped her in, watched her melt into it.
“Relax,” I told her. “I’m gonna handle dinner. Then we’ll watch a movie while you pretend you’re not sleeping in the first ten minutes.”
She pushed me, but she was smiling before she sank deeper into the water.
“Vinny, I’m very lucky to have you.”
I leaned down and kissed her on the nose before heading out to let her relax.
By the time she made it downstairs, dinner was done. Fried chicken sliders, extra pickles, truffle fries, fried crispy, just as she preferred. She loved it when I cooked dinner. I loved it when she made breakfast. Her red velvet waffles were reason enough to keep her around forever.
This was twin-flame shit. Loud and quiet at the same time.
“What we watching tonight?” I asked, setting her plate down in front of her.
“Blade.”
“Blade? Nah, come on now.”
She frowned without looking away from the screen. “It’s my turn to pick. I didn’t say anything when you had us watchingDon't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. That’s one ghetto ass movie, but I respected it because it’s for the culture. So, I don’t want to hear your mouth about Blade.”
I smirked and leaned against the back of the couch. “But you weren’t saying that when you had your hot sauce-covered toes in my mouth Dashiki. Sounded real grateful then.”
She sucked her teeth, trying not to smile. “Eat your food, Ashtray, you didn’t have to bring that up.”
I did, but most of my attention was on her. Her legs were tucked under her, hair tied up, wearing one of her sexy ass nighties. The kind she put on when she wanted me to have easy access. The kind that made it hard as hell to focus on Wesley Snipes doing unnecessary backflips in leather and sunglasses.
I was trying to focus on the movie, but she kept shifting her foot like it was bothering her. She wouldn’t say it out loud. Halo hated admitting when she was hurting, but I saw it.
“Give me your foot.”
She didn’t look away from the movie. “For what?”
“You know for what. Stop playing.”
She sighed, dramatic as hell, but the leg came out anyway. I warmed the balm between my palms and worked her arch until she relaxed into the couch.
She didn’t say thank you. Didn’t have to. Her breath slipping out told me everything.
Her eyes stayed on the screen, but that tension in her shoulders dropped. The house got quiet the way it only did when she felt safe.
I watched her settle deeper into the couch, completely relaxed. She chewed her food slowly, focused on the movie, unaware she was sitting in the middle of everything I’d been trying to build.
“Why you staring at me?” she mumbled, still not looking away from the screen.
“Because I can.”
She rolled her eyes, but the smile still tried to break through. That little tell was my favorite.
“You love me?” I asked straight up.
She sucked her teeth. “Is that a serious question, or are you being a big baby?”
She eased her foot out of my hand, dropped her plate on the table, and closed the space between us. Then she leaned in, open, no walls in sight.
“Yes, I love you, DaVinci Bryns. You are my favorite part of waking up. I’d go to war for you.”
