“Aurora.”
“Bradley.”
“It’s nice to meet y’all,” Spelman said. “I was just about to order something to eat and drink some wine. Y’all good with that?”
“Yep,” they answered in unison.
“Bye, Yale,” Spelman said, looking at me as Bradley and Aurora went to the living room. I was going to follow them, but she stepped in front of me and shook her head. “You wanted us to meet and get to know each other, so we are. You don’t need to be here for that. We are grown.” She kissed my forehead, then turned to join them in the living room.
Instead of following behind her like I wanted, I went to look for Amethyst. He’d been quiet and locked in his office since we got back from the hospital earlier. The office, gym, kitchen, and pool were empty. I made my way to my room, thinking that he’d left, but was surprised to see him sitting on the floor in front of the bed.
The blackout curtains blocked damn near all the light coming from outside, but I could see enough to know that he was lost in his own thoughts. I closed the door and joined him on the floor.
“Y’all playing matchmaker with the sisters now?” he chuckled lowly.
“Blame Xoey,” I said, shrugging. “She said they needed each other.”
“They probably do,” he yawned. “Plus Twelve probably sees something we don’t.”
“Probably.” I tugged at the bottom of my shirt and relaxed against the bed. “Why are you on the floor?”
“You promise not to laugh?” I felt his eyes on me, so I looked over at him and nodded. “Nah, Sunshine, I gotta hear your voice.”
“I promise.”
Amethyst licked his lips and then nodded. “I’m used to sitting under you when we are together. I’ve been doing that shit for years. Well, I didn’t realize how bad it was until you were gone. When you were here, and I couldn’t sleep, I’d call you and listen to you snore or come get you. You’d give me hell for coming, but shit, I only got good sleep when I was lying under you.”
“First off, I don’t snore,” I corrected him, and he smirked. “And second, when is the last time you’ve slept for more than a few hours?” Amethyst’s insomnia was so bad at times that he wouldn’t sleep for days. If he slept for more than four hours at a time, we counted it as a win.
“I don’t know,” he answered, then yawned. “I take what I can get when I can get it at this point.”
I got up from the floor and stared down at him. He looked so damn tired. His eyes were puffy, and his hair was pulled into a messy ponytail on the top of his head. “Get up, Amethyst,” I sighed. He shook his head, and I pulled my hand back and put them on my hips. “Amethyst Stone, if you don’t get your ass up. I am tired and don’t feel like arguing with you right now. I’m going to take a nap and--”
“I’ll be quiet down here,” he said.
“No, you won’t,” I sighed. “Now get up.”
“Sunshine.”
“Amethyst, please get up.” I put my hand out for him to take, and he stared at it. “You are going to get into that bed with me and take a damn nap, or I’m going to call your daddy and tell him you aren’t listening again.” Reluctantly, he got up, and we got into bed.
“You gonna stop using my daddy against me,” he mumbled as he wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head on my lap. “I’m a grown ass man.”
“You got your ass in this bed though, didn’t you?” I laughed as I ran my hand over his hair. “Now shut up and go to sleep.”
“I just need a few minutes, Sunshine,” he mumbled. His voice was already heavy with sleep after a few minutes, and I knew he was fighting a losing battle. “When I get up, I’ll make you dinner, and we can watch a movie.”
“Just go to sleep,” I said, shaking my head. “You’re worried about things that aren’t even a concern right now.”
“I’m always thinking of ways to take care of you, Sunshine,” he mumbled. “It’s all I ever wanted to do. Take care of you, love you, be with you.”
I don’t know how much time passed, but the sound of Amethyst snoring filled the room while I worked on my iPad.
“Come on,” I said, knowing that Amethyst wouldn’t wake up, but I was still mindful of him sleeping. Spelman came into the room. When she saw Amethyst, she smiled and shook her head. Spelman was the only person who never gave me shit about my relationship with Amethyst. She always said she couldn’t because she didn’t know what it was like to love a man the way I loved Amethyst. She let me vent, yell, and cry over the shit he did, but she never spoke about it.
“Thank you for that,” she said, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe. “They were nice.”
“They’re gone already?” I asked, surprised. I looked at the time and realized it had been nearly six hours. “Damn, I didn’t realize we’d been up here this long.”
