Solace II: The Final Cut (Solace #2)

Chapter 1

one

. . .

Six months later.

Cassidy

From the tall fir tree decorated with bright white lights and a mixture of black and gold ornaments, to the Santa red stockings for Hendrix and I hanging from the mantel over my gas fireplace, my 1,200 square-foot apartment was almost ready for Christmas, and it was only a week after Thanksgiving.

TLC’s Sleigh Ride blasted throughout the apartment as I sat in the lotus position with my knees spread butterfly-style on the living room carpet, finger-fucking myself to Hendrix via FaceTime.

“Oh shit. That’s it right there, baby. Yessss,” I moaned, pleasuring myself faster and harder.

I pushed the pads of my feet together while tightening and releasing my pelvis and putting pressure on my G-spot. My fingers experimented with different patterns and rhythms as he talked his shit.

“Mmm, gush all over those fingers for daddy. Get ‘em nice and wet for me.”

He’d been coaching me through one mind blowing muscle contraction after the other for the past sixteen minutes and forty-two seconds, and he showed no signs of stopping.

I squirmed, tossing my head back against the plush couch as my next orgasm washed over me. “Ooooh shiiiiiiiittttttt!”

“Soak that shit up, baby,” Hendrix’s baritone voice hummed through the other side of the phone.

I slowly opened my eyes to take in the views of the mountain through my floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, while trying to bring my heartrate down to a resting level. “Mmm, shit. I squirted,” I announced, tears fogging my vision.

“You know I’m gon’ break that back when I see you again, right?” he confirmed.

I ducked my chin in agreement. “Yes, baby. I can’t wait.”

The moment we stepped off the island, photos of us surfaced when we arrived at the airport hand-in-hand.

Suddenly, I’d gone from a fly on the wall to bloggers wanting to know each and everything about me.

So naturally, I resisted him, hard. Within ninety days, I’d gone from fighting Hendrix tooth and nail on all the laundry list of reasons why a long-distance relationship would never work, to giving him the spare key to my apartment for when he’d fly in to visit and break me off.

We’d been going strong ever since. Falling head over heels with the creature with the whiskey-colored eyes and MVD (most valuable dick) was never part of the plan.

Yet, it was safe to say Hendrix and I were more than just an interlude.

He’d awakened something inside me. Something I’d never felt before with any other man I’d dated, let alone fucked.

For the past six months, we’d been splitting our time between my condo in San Jose and his spot in Kansas City.

He stayed true to his word and let me decide how fast or slow I wanted things to go between us.

Not once had he pressured me to permanently close the gap and come to him, and I appreciated it more than he knew.

I loved my place, and I enjoyed my space.

There was something about stepping into my sacred space and closing out the world for however long I needed to that I craved.

I enjoyed walking downtown to restaurants or visiting the farmer’s market on early Saturday mornings.

I had no intentions on giving up the heated pool and world-class gym I paid for every month to move halfway across the country and fold my life into his anytime soon.

I ran my fingertips along the back of the couch as I made my way back to my bedroom to finish getting dressed.

Hendrix had lucked-up that he’d caught me fresh out of the shower with a towel on when we decided to have a little virtual afternoon quickie, but I had moves to make and people to see.

I pressed the button to close the retractable drapes across the floor-to-ceiling windows inside my bedroom, closing out the view of the city and the garland and white Christmas lights wrapped around the railing on my private balcony.

I grinned to myself, momentarily hypnotized by the twinkling lights until the annoying hum of the air conditioning brought me right back down to earth.

“Ugh,” I groaned before dropping my towel on the floor.

“What’s wrong?”

“Baby, it’s December, and it’s like sixty degrees outside. I don’t want to spend another Christmas like this. For the first time in maybe ever, I actually want a fun, old-fashioned Christmas, okay?”

“And what exactly is an ‘old fashioned Christmas’?” he asked, while bending his fingers in air quotes.

“You know, a Christmas where the heat kicks on inside the house instead of the A/C. Or dare I say even a white Christmas?”

“Sounds like you need to move out here with me then. I know for sure they gotta get snow out this mothafucka. I got a hoodie on right now and it’s the beginning of December.”

My shoulders shrugged. “Maybe I do,” I said as my feet swept across the wide-plank wood floors from my bedroom to the kitchen.

Natural light flooded through my entire condo as I fished through the bowl of leftover Halloween candy on the quartz countertop. My eyes continued downward, zeroing in on the strawberry-flavored Fruit by the Foot as my lips danced around a smile.

“What are you cheesing about over there?”

“Oh, you saw that?” I asked, momentarily forgetting we were still on FaceTime.

“Yeah, I did.”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” I said, changing the subject. “I have to get ready to meet Lauryn so we can do some more shopping for decorations for her baby shower. It’s less than a month away, and she wants to buy up the damn store.”

“Yeah, Mark was telling me about that. It’s a little girl, right?”

“Yeah. You know her and Donovan just bought that house in Oakland. I told her I’d come over and help her unpack her decorations and make the house a home before we go shopping since she’s all big and pregnant and not wanting to do shit.”

“So you gon’ go save the day, huh?”

I swiped my purse, keys, and box of decorations off the island and headed for the door. “You know me. But listen, I’m already late and you know how traffic can be, so I really gotta split.”

“Okay, I’ll let you go.”

“Never let me go,” I said, feeling myself turn to mush as the words fell past my lips.

“I’ll never do no crazy shit like that,” he confirmed before his killer smile sprang across his face.

I giggled. “Good. Bye, bae.”

“Bye,” he replied before ending the call.

One Ashanti Essentials Apple Music playlist, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and a grocery run later, I pulled up to Lauryn and Donovan’s two-story home bearing gifts.

“Merry Christmas!” I beamed as soon as Lauryn swung open the door.

“It’s not Christmas yet, Cass. Calm your holly jolly ass down.” She chuckled.

“Well, ho-ho-ho to you too, bitch.” I ushered a few steps into the foyer and gave the place a once-over. “Wow… where is your Christmas cheer? There’s practically nothing in here.”

“Did you forget we just moved here like a month ago? You were the one telling me that you were gonna come over, help me unpack, and sprinkle your little elf magic everywhere.”

“Yeah, and trust me, I will. We can get you some stockings hung over your fireplace for you, Donovan, and even one for the little baby boo on the way. We can get you some holiday throw pillows for the couch and get you some lights and some more decorations for the tree for us to decorate.”

Lauryn’s face switched to a frown. I loved my girl, but I had the feeling that out of the two of us, I was the only one hype about the holidays. “Fuck Christmas, Cass. All I wanna know is did you bring what I told you to bring?” she fussed.

I held up the grocery bag with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Netflix and Chilled ice cream and a fresh bottle of Pinot Grigio for me. “Yes, damn.”

“Good. You may proceed to enter the rest of the house,” she pinged back, turning to lead us to the kitchen.

“Why thank you. Now, let me see this tree,” I suggested, charging forward to the living room. When my eyes landed on the skinny, artificial tree tilted to its left side, I frowned. “This is it?”

She smacked her bow-shaped lips. “Shit, you lucky we got a damn fake-ass tree for you to decorate. With the stress of this move and having to pee every five seconds, I am not in the Christmas spirit.”

“Oh, you ain’t got to tell me. I can see it all on your grill. But don’t worry, I got some decorations in the car, and I’m about to bless you with my Christmas magic. Let me go back out to the car and get the box of decorations.”

I spun on my heels and walked back out to get the plastic, green tub of decorations filled with garland, ornaments, stockings, holiday knick-knacks, and more. Lauryn took one look inside the tub and shook her head.

“You don’t think you’re overdoing it?” she asked.

“No, why?”

“Can I be honest?”

I huffed before sitting the tub down. “Yeah, sure.”

“I love you with every beat of my heart, but your obsession with Christmas is too damn much. You’re like a little holiday whore with a nice ass.”

I cracked a half-smile before looking back at my booty. “I know, right.”

“I already know your ass got a Christmas tree in the living room by the window and another tabletop one in the kitchen. You probably got one in your bedroom too!”

I rolled my eyes to the sky. “And don’t forget the big wreath on the outside of my door and the countdown calendar on my kitchen island that counts down the days ‘til Christmas, and the garland on top of all my kitchen cabinets! It ain’t no secret that Christmas is my favorite holiday! I’m loud and proud with mine!”

The two of us stalked over to the bare tree, and I started putting up ornaments and stringing lights while she sat Indian style on the couch with her ice cream in hand.

Lauryn wore a half-smile as she indulged in the sweet treat, but I’d known her too long not to be able to see through the bullshit.

Pregnant or not, she was eating her feelings.

There was something on her heart that she wasn’t talking about, and I wasn’t going to stop until I found out what it was.