This upcoming year will be your best year yet. Happy New Year.
I love you, and never forget that everything I am, I poured into you.
Love always,
Your Aunt Addy
“Good morning,” Lamar groaned sexily as he stretched his arms out above his head. Seeming to notice my tearstained face, he jolted. “What’s wrong?”
I looked down at the letter, careful not to get tears on the pages as I folded it and returned it to the envelope.
He pushed himself into a sitting position. “Is this about the tenth thing on your list? Because my offer still stands.”
I lifted the letter. “It’s from Aunt Addy.”
His face fell and sadness creased his eyes. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“I do, but…” I shook my head and swiped the last tear from my eye. “It’s not the letter. It’s her. I miss her.”
Wearing only his boxer briefs, he climbed out of bed and padded across the room to me. Wrapping me in his arms, he kissed the top of my head. Moving my locs, he kissed my forehead as well. “What do you need? What can I do?”
I hugged him tight, allowing myself to melt into him. “This.”
I got a daily reminder of Aunt Addy every time I looked at my tattoo, and I missed her every single day. But reading that letter had been a reminder of what I was missing without her here on Earth with me: the advice, the encouragement, the support, the love. That letter allowed me to experience that type of love from her in a way that I would never be able to experience again.
“This was the last letter,” I cried into Lamar’s chest. “There’s no more to look forward to. This is it.”
“I’m sorry, baby,” he whispered, hugging me tighter. Allowing me a few minutes to cry, he gently rocked me back and forth until I got myself together.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, pulling out of the hug. “Get back in bed. You should be resting. You shouldn’t be standing.”
“Don’t worry about that. If you need a hug, I’m giving you a hug.” He used his thumb to caress my cheek as my watery eyes allowed two fat tears to drop. “Anything you want, anything you need,” he reminded me gently.
Pushing up on my toes, I pressed my lips against his. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Taking a deep, shaky breath, I stepped back. “Get in bed and rest your ankle,” I demanded.
Lamar had tweaked his ankle during Sunday’s game. Because the upcoming week was the final game before the playoffs, he was allowed to rest New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. But he was back to practice on Friday.
Once he was laying down, I grabbed two throw pillows and elevated his foot. “What do you want for breakfast?”
With a wolfish grin, he looked me up and down.
Laughing, I rolled my eyes. “Lamar! I’m being serious.”
“I’m good with eggs and bacon.”
I knew he was going to say that. With a smile, I leaned down and kissed him. “Coming right up.”
While on winter break, I’d been spending most of my time at his place. But we came back to mine because of the New Year’s Eve party in Richland, and most importantly, because I needed to open Aunt Addy’s final letter.
I’d loved being able to go to the back-to-back away games the last couple of weeks. I loved being able to cheer for him, be there for him, encourage him, and do it all from some of the best seats in the house. But when the Hawks offensive line realized they were no match for the Monarchs, a low block resulted in Lamar rolling his ankle. When he went down, I shot out of my seat. I gasped anddidn’t breathe again until he was back on his feet, hobbling off the field. Since it was toward the end of the game, they kept him out. Although it ended up being nothing serious, he was still supposed to be taking it easy.
“It’s going to be breakfast in bed,” I yelled when I heard him moving around.
He chuckled. “I’m just going to the bathroom, baby.”
