Taryn snorted through tears. “Girl…girl!”
Zion glanced around, then cleared his throat. “Aight, y’all… uh… it’s late, right? Yeah?” His voice rose.
Taryn nudged him with an elbow. “Come on, baby, help me grab the rest of these egg rolls.”
She side-eyed Simone, who nodded like she was reading her mind. Simone jumped in, voice a little too bright. “Heyyy, Alyssa… listen, why don’t you let us take Micah home with us? The boys are having so much fun, no school tomorrow, they can have another sleepover.”
Alyssa blinked, surprised, and then glanced at me. I nodded once, slowly, still half stuck in a trance. She turned back to Simone. “Um…are you sure?”
Simone was already zipping up backpacks and scooping up Zaria with her free arm. “Girl, please. Them boys would sleep in the driveway if they had to just to hang out longer, it’s all good.”
Raschad appeared behind her, arms full of kid stuff, and grinned at me. “Be good.”
Tre winked at me on the way out, smacking me on my back, whispering, “Don’t break the damn couch, Jules.” Then he shook his head chuckling.
I almost laughed too. Almost.
One by one, they trickled out, carrying plates, shoving each other along, moving like a tiny army on a mission toget out of our way.
By the time the door closed behind Zion and Taryn, the house was silent again. Alyssa stood there, looking shell-shocked, holding a crumpled napkin in her hand like a lifeline. We just stood there, staring at each other, unable to speak.
Finally, she laughed, a tiny shaky sound. “That was…”
I stepped forward, slowly. “Beautiful. That was beautiful,” I told her. “Youare beautiful.”
Her breathing was shallow, eyes wide, and then she did that thing again, the nervous habit of rubbing her lips together. I stepped closer, lifted her chin, and with my thumb, gently pulled just enough to make her release her lips. I bent down and pressed a soft kiss to her closed mouth, then looked at her.
“You were incredible.”
She swallowed. I kept my hand there, thumb brushing her jaw with my heart pounding like a war drum. I leaned in and kissed again, longer this time. There was no rush, no frantic clawing, just a slow, consuming press of lips that carried every ache I was feeling. Her lips parted, and she tasted faintly of the wine she’d nursed. My finger traced along her jawline, mapping every angle, then drifted to the soft skin of her throat where her pulse fluttered so wildly I could feel it under my thumb. She let out a small gasp, and I felt it reverberate through me, down to my bones.
I pulled back, just an inch, and her eyes were glassy, tears welling up but not falling. She didn’t try to blink them away, just nodded, silent and open.
That was it. That was enough.
I kissed her again, deeper, then we broke apart, gasping, eyes locked, too tangled up in each other to look away. I reached for her hand and laced our fingers together.
“Come on.” We moved through my house together, past the living room, where echoes of laughter still lived in the corners. Past the kids’ crayon masterpieces taped on the hallway wall, up the stairs and into my bedroom.
I faced her, pressing my forehead to hers and breathing in the familiar scent of her.
“Do you want this?” I asked.
She nodded. “I’ve never been more sure.”
We stood still for a moment, holding each other. Her hands came to rest on my chest, I felt a faint tremor in her touch. I realized then that she was nervous.
“You know what I’ve been thinking about all week?” I asked as I kissed the corner of her mouth, then her chin, then traced my lips behind her ear.
“What?” she whispered.
“This. Touching you. Feeling you against me. The sounds you made when you came on my lap. How badly I want to hear them again… atfullvolume.”
She shuddered.
“It’s just us, Lyss.” I looked into her eyes. “I’m going to take care of you.”
22/
