She shrugged. “I can’t control what Poppa does.”
He snorted. “I bet you can’t. Come on,sons.” I could tell he was trying to be petty by the way he said it. There was also a smug smirk on his face that I was ready to punch off. For some reason, hearing him refer to them as his sons made my blood boil. I felt so protective over them that I knew he didn’t deserve the right, but for their sake, I kept my raging emotions in check.
The boys looked so sad when they stepped around him and into the house. We watched them stand just past the doorway like they’d never stepped foot in there before a day in their life. Shit was sad for real.
“Tell me where I need to drop them off on Sunday,” he directed at Grai.
She shook her head. “No, we will come pick them up.”
He scowled. “Why? Still don’t want me to know where y’all are staying? You got my boys staying in a rat motel or something?”
Grai scoffed, becoming worked up. “Nigga, please. Don’t act like you give a fuck about where we’re staying. If we are at a motel, it’s your fault for kicking your sons and their mother out on the streets so you can play house with your new bitch,” she spat venomously. Glancing at the boys, she said, “I will have my phone on. Call me if you need anything.”
With that, she turned and left Drey standing there with a baffled expression. She wasn’t wrong. The nigga had the nerve to put on the concerned parent act like he wasn’t the reason his sons had to relocate their lives. They were good, though, so it wasn’t a big deal.
We climbed in the car, and Grai slammed the door. Her eyes were locked on the house, and I knew she could use a distraction. “Let’s go take a class,” I suggested.
She slowly turned to look at me. “What kind?” Her words were clipped, her tone harsher than normal, but I knew why.
“The kind that will put a smile on your face.”
And like clockwork, she blessed me with her beautiful smile. “Dancing.”
I nodded. “Dancing.”
Grai was giddybeside me while we waited for the instructor to begin class. She was wearing another one of those fitted bodysuits that made my dick brick up on sight. I struggled not to watch her ass jiggle whenever she moved or obsess over her sculpted back. I could damn near feel myself placing soft kisses down the length of her spine.
“Good evening, class. My name is Jorge, and I will be your instructor tonight.” He pointed to the woman beside him, dressed in traditional ballroom attire. They were both Hispanic and looked like they could dance in their sleep. “This is my partner, Sophia. Tonight, you will be learning the Rumba.”
Grai couldn’t keep still as she hung onto his every word. He gave us a quick rundown on the dance’s history. It was kind of dope to hear origin stories, but I was more excited to get my hands on Grai’s body. I just knew she was going to mold into me like she belonged. This wasn’t our first ballroom dancing class, so technically, I already knew she fit perfectly. She liked to pretend like she didn’t know what was up though.
We took up our positions in front of each other. Following the instructions of Jorge, I placed my hands on her waist, while hers went around my neck. We slowly began to walk through the sensual, controlled steps. The dance we were doing required a lot of closeness. Our eyes were locked on one another’s, and I could admit it was impossible to look away, the deeper she melted into me. When Grai had to press her head against my shoulder, it took everything in me not to start kissing her neck.
I spun her around, and she slammed into my chest with the force of a soulmate. When our gaze crashed again, it was like neither of us could look away as we swayed in place, practically grinding against one another to the slowed version of “Adorn” by Miguel. One by one, everything began to fade away until it was only her, the music, and me. I was in control of nothing as I stared at the most beautiful woman in the world. Only Grai could make my heart do backflips and somersaults when she was around.
“You’re so beautiful,” I complimented her.
She blushed, allowing the most adorable grin to fall on her lips. “Thank you, Poppa.”
This intoxicating aura of light surrounded her body for the rest of the night. It was warm, inviting, and irresistible. Each time she had to sink into my arms, she stole my breath away.
“You two have such perfect chemistry. I can literally taste it,” Jorge complimented us. He winked then added, “It’s sweet, might I add. Very, very sweet.” With that, he left us alone to continue dancing like lovers under the moonlight.
By the end of the night, I knew there was no denying what my heart, mind, body, and soul already knew. Grai was mine. Since I didn’t know what to do with my revelation, I kept quiet. Losing this woman wasn’t an option, so until I knew what her feelings were for me, I was holding my truth close to my chest. Her not reciprocating that love and desire would break a nigga’s heart. I wasn’t too macho to admit that.
Chapter 12
Grai
Ifroze up where I lay on my bed when I heard Poppa’s room door open. I could hear his slippers lightly sliding across the floor, and I balled my hands into fists. For some reason, my heart started to go haywire while I waited on bated breath. I swear I heard him stop walking just outside my door. I couldn’t even inhale as I waited to see what would happen next. Seconds later, he continued to walk down the hall before heading downstairs.
A huge gust of air rushed out of me as I slammed a pillow over my face. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get Lyrix off my mind, especially after last night’s Rumba class. Every time his skin brushed against mine, it set that area on fire. The warmth always spread quickly through every crevice of my body until the raging fire met in my center. I wanted him so fucking bad it hurt to resist what felt natural.
When he looked into my eyes, I was sucked into the vortex of his existence. Literally nothing else mattered in that moment where I felt safe enough to let myself be free, to enjoy the moment. When I submerged myself in its bliss, I saw diamonds covering the surface of everything. No matter where I turned, there was beauty, and then there was Lyrix.
He was strong; his hands on my waist felt like communion, sacred and unsoiled by the troubles of this world. When I was with him, I knew everything would be okay because he would go out of his way to make sure it was. I trusted him wholeheartedly, and that was why I was so afraid to act on what I felt was rapidly coming alive between us.
I’d lost Drey, but I wasn’t falling apart. If I lost Lyrix, . . . I couldn’t even entertain the thought of losing him without my bottom lip trembling. That would truly ruin me, and I would be good for no one, not even my sons. The best thing for all of us was not to blur the lines of our beautiful friendship. It was my anchor. What happened to things that weren’t anchored? They sank, and I couldn’t let that happen to me. I had two beautiful boys depending on me.
