22. Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Remi
I f getting her to say yes to the party where there would be another fifty-nine people was this hard, I wasn't sure how Echo would react when I asked her to spend Thanksgiving with the Drakes.
She told me she was thinking of going to Europe for the long Thanksgiving weekend. She'd never been and wanted to explore. She was thinking of London. I would've loved to go with her, show her London where I'd spent a couple of summers with my uncle Austin when I was in high school, and he was working with a band there—but I had to be home for the holidays. I wanted to be with my family, and I wanted Echo to be there as well because she was my family.
She hadn't bought tickets yet, so that was the good news, and now that she'd agreed to come to a party at my parents' place as my date, I felt there was hope.
"You didn't pick her up?" Dad asked me as I stood in a tux, smiling at guests who were going into our home.
"She wouldn't let me. Said she'd Uber." That had pissed me off. But the girl had gumption when she made up her mind; you had to give her that.
"And you think it's wise to spring her as your date on your mother and sister?" he asked after he shook hands with the Mayor and his wife, and a hostess ushered them in.
I had thought about telling Mama and Lani that I was now officially dating Echo but decided that doing it when there were guests around would mean less of a blowout. After , it would be too late.
"I don't know if it's wise, per se," I admitted. "It's me hoping it'll go better. If I told Mama now, she'd probably shut the party down."
My father chuckled. "The Mayor is here, so she won't be doing that."
I knew he didn't like keeping things from Mama, and he hadn't liked keeping what was going on between Echo and me from his wife—but he agreed that I had to do this at my own pace and in my own way. That was the good news. The bad news was that I had no idea what I was doing.
"Dallas, come inside." My mother grabbed Dad's hand and smiled at me. "You look very nice, Remington."
"Thanks, Mama. And you look like a vision." She did, too, in a beautiful black and white dress that had some expensive designer label on it. Mama was always well put together, as was Lani, who was still with Tommy. I think they'd decided that since both of them had cheated on one another, they were good to go. Talk about a marriage not made in heaven.
Most of the guests had arrived, and according to my watch, Echo was late by fifteen minutes. My texts had gone unanswered, though she had read them. Had she decided not to come? That thought made me nervous as hell.
"I think everyone is here, except maybe some stragglers." Mama leaned into Dad. He put his arm around her. They were doing better as a couple, but I still noticed some tension between them.
"We both can't be here. One of us needs to take care of the guests," Mama protested.
Before Dad could say anything, a car stopped, and Echo stepped out. She was in a red and pink chiffon dress that made her look like a Disney princess, an X-rated one cause those curves were fucking delicious.
"What is she doing here?" my mother straightened.
Before I could speak, Echo looked at Dad, a plea in her eyes. "Thank you so much, Dallas, for inviting me."
My father smiled. "You're always welcome here, Echo." He looked at me as if asking what he should do next.
"Mama, Echo is—"
"Dallas was so kind to ask me to join y'all," Echo cut in, fear dripping from her.
My mother smiled tightly. "You clean up nice, girl. Dallas, let's go inside. We have guests." The way she said it made it sound like Echo wasn't one.
My father wiggled his eyebrows at me, silently saying, "Fix this, son," and took his wife into the house.
"Why did you do that? I was about to introduce you to my mother as my date, Echo."
She caught her lower lip between her teeth and her eyes were moist suddenly. "I can't do it."
"Do what?"
"Deal with what will come if people know."
Fuck! I had thought her reticence was about how I'd treated her, and now I was realizing this was about how she'd always been treated by all of us. Just now, my mother had insulted her.
I put an arm around her and kissed her hair. "Baby Doll, I'm not going to let anyone—"
"I'm not ready," she blurted out. "For any of this."
"You look beautiful." I needed to calm her down, I realized. She was nervous as hell.
We went into the house, which had been transformed into party central. Mama knew how to throw one hell of a shindig.
Lani immediately spotted Echo and me, and I felt my girl stiffen. She immediately put some distance between us so that no one would think we were together. I wanted to push the point, but she looked just about ready to throw up, so I didn't.
This was a bad idea. Echo wasn't ready, and my grand gesture of inviting her in front of all of Memphis to tell them what she meant to me was backfiring like a mother fucker.
"Hi, Echo." Lani looked repentant, and I was relieved to see that she had a conscience. She had told me she was sorry for how she talked about Echo and how she treated her. Lani had her own insecurities plaguing her—but unloading those on her friend wasn't the solution. Echo had blocked Lani's number as well, so I knew this was the first time my sister had the opportunity since that day in my club to make amends.
"Lani." Echo stared down at her feet. She wore cute pink sandals. Her toes were painted red. I knew how little Echo did to make herself up, so the fact that she'd bought a new dress and shoes and had a pedicure meant that she'd wanted to look her best for me . It warmed my heart.
"I'm so sorry for how I have treated you," Lani said in an unsteady voice. "I've been a bitch to you, and you've always been a friend. Dad told me how you're such a hotshot scientist and the company is lucky to have you. I'm really ashamed of how I talked about you."
Color me surprised! I never thought a day would come when I'd see my sister say the things she just had.
"Thank you for your apology," Echo mumbled.
Now that I'd gotten to know her better, I knew that Echo didn't throw out platitudes like "it's okay" to make anyone feel better. The way Lani treated her, the way I talked about her, none of that was ever going to be okay.
"Can you forgive me and be my friend again?" Lani asked humbly.
I wanted to give my sister a hug. This display of self-awareness was more than I'd ever seen or imagined from her. In fact, if I hadn't witnessed it myself, I wouldn't have believed it was possible.
"I can forgive you, Lani, but we can't be friends. We haven't been friends since you started to hang out with Marina and her group. You liked to lord upon me that I was the help, and you were doing me a favor. You never treated me like a real friend. We can't be something we never were."
Lani's face fell, and I felt sorry for her, but also proud of Echo. She wasn't being mean or cruel, just politely honest.
Before Lani could say something, Tommy wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, Poopy Pants, looks like you—"
"Quit being ugly, Tommy. You call her that again, and I'm gonna re-arrange your fucking face," I snapped. "Control your fiancé, Lani, or he'll not be invited anywhere Echo and I are."
Lani pushed Tommy away from her, feeling embarrassed. Here she was, trying to make it right with Echo, and her future husband was continuing to be a dick.
"Echo and you?" Tommy, who had no sense of self-preservation, chortled. "Please tell me you're not diddling the—"
I grabbed Tommy by the shoulder and kneed him in the balls. Echo and Lani gasped. I did it in a way that I knew no one noticed. Just two bros hugging. I held Tommy as he wheezed, all but doubling down.
"You show her respect, or I'll cut your balls off," I whispered in his ear. "Nice seein' you, Tommy. Lani, glad you said what you did to Echo. You may as well be the first person to know, she and I are—"
"Can we go," Echo all but screeched.
I sighed. "Yes."
Tommy leaned against Lani, who looked like she wanted the earth to swallow her, but she smiled through it. "I'm glad, Remi, though she probably deserves better."
Echo looked at Lani in shock.
She shrugged. "It was always obvious he had a thing for you. Why do you think Marina was always trying to scratch your eyes out?"
I ushered Echo out of the large living room, decorated for the party, through the café doors into the sprawling garden where festive lights twinkled.
Echo's breathing was shaky. "I can't do this, Remi."
I took her hand in mine. "I know a place. Come with me."
"I don't want to go back inside," she whispered.
"I know. And we won't."
I pulled out my phone and texted my parents' new housekeeper. Lola had replaced Fern several years ago. She was sweet and no-nonsense and indulged me.
"Where are we going?" She looked around. "It's cold."
I took my tuxedo jacket off and wrapped it around her. I knew that the chill of the November evening would be held at bay by the warmth of the heated gazebo by the river. I steered Echo towards it, away from the curious eyes and hushed whispers of the party.
I placed a comforting hand at the small of her back. Her tension radiated through the delicate fabric of her dress.
As we walked, the soft crunch of gravel underfoot seemed to match the erratic beating of her heart. The garden was dimly lit, the path illuminated by lanterns that cast a gentle glow on the pink and red hues of her chiffon dress, making it seem as if she was floating beside me.
We walked slowly as I waited for a response from Lola, who I knew was busy with the party.
"You still cold?" I asked.
"I'm not cold. Just freaked out," she admitted.
It wasn't winter in Memphis yet, but chilly enough that you needed a light jacket. "I used to see you walk around here all the time."
"It was my escape. I know my garden is tiny, but I wanted it because your family's gardens brought me peace when I needed it most."
We came to the edge of a pathway close to the Mississippi River and stood, watching the moonlight dance on the flowing water.
I turned her to face me. "Echo, I want to kiss you. May I?"
She looked around as if worried someone might see us.
"There's no one here," I assured her.
She licked her lips. "Are you angry with me?"
"No. We need to talk so I can understand better what's goin' on inside that pretty head of yours, but I'm not angry. Not at all."
She leaned into me and kissed my jaw. "Yes, Remi, you can kiss me."
I took her hands in mine and brushed my lips on the palms of her hand, one after the other. I wanted to show her she was precious.
"I love your hands," I told her.
She smiled and cupped my cheeks with her hands. She was trembling, and I knew it wasn't because it was cold. We'd made love before, but it had been a while, and it felt new in the best way.
"Kiss me," she whispered.
"How do you want me to?" I asked playfully. "Hard or soft? You want it deep and slow."
"Any way you want."
Her brown eyes were bright with excitement and the previous nervousness was gone.
I bent and first brushed my mouth with hers, and then, when she moaned I let the tip of my tongue stroke hers. She moved closer to me, her mouth seeking mine. I took her lower lip between my teeth and bit her gently, then licked the bite.
I was always in such a rush to taste her, to be inside her, that I'd never indulged in tasting her like this. I coaxed her to open her mouth, and when she did, it felt like a gift. I fit my mouth against hers, touched my tongue to hers, and savored.
As I did, her hips started to move against mine.
Sweet fucking agony!
I pulled away and looked at her. I could watch her beautiful face forever, I thought. And then, because she called to me something fierce, I brushed my lips against hers and, this time, increased the pressure. My fingers eased into her hair; she'd let her soft hair loose, curled delicately, and rubbed her scalp as I tilted her head back so I had more access so I could go deeper inside her.
"Remi," she breathed, and my tongue slid between her teeth again, tasting her.
I wanted to go slow. Take our time. If that's all we'd do tonight, it was enough. I just wanted to feel her close again. Being with her and not touching her had been sheer misery. I missed the easy days when we slid into her bed and stayed there for hours, enjoying each other, being drunk on one another.
I memorized the textures of her mouth with teasing caresses. By the time I lifted my head, she was breathing hard.
"Wow," she sighed, her eyes closed, her lips curved into a smile.
"I love kissing you."
She opened her eyes. "I want you to know that when we were together, we were together. You were loving and caring. I enjoyed the pleasure you gave me and the pleasure you let me give you."
"Sex with you, oh, Echo, it was always mind-blowing. Since that first time. I've never wanted to stay away, never wanted any other woman. It's been just you."
Her eyes filled with tears. "You didn't? No one?"
"No, Doll. I tried. I couldn't. My smart dick only wants you."
"Did you call your penis smart?" she chortled.
"Since it knows my heart better than my brain, yeah." I pushed her hair away from her face. "Come on, let's eat."
I hated the panic that entered her eyes, and she looked toward the house, uncertainty claiming her again.
"No, we won't go in there. Trust me?" I was asking so much of her. I knew that. But I needed something, anything from her to show me that there was hope, that someday, we'd be together.
She gave me a tentative smile. "I'm hungry."
She didn't say she trusted me, but what she did was enough to keep my hopes alive.
Once we reached the gazebo, thanks to Lola, a basket of food was already there, placed discreetly on one side.
Lola had packed mini crab cakes, shrimp cocktails, and chocolate truffles. The cushions and blankets inside looked inviting, a cozy refuge from the grandiosity of the Drake mansion party.
She stared at me in confusion. "How?"
"I have my ways." I winked at her.
Echo exhaled deeply as she stepped into the shelter of the gazebo, her gaze lingering on the calm flow of the Mississippi. She seemed to relax for the first time that evening.
Once we were settled, I handed her a glass of champagne. "You don't have to worry about anything here. It's just us."
She took the glass, her fingers trembling slightly. "It's beautiful here, Remi. I just...I got scared."
"I know." I settled next to her on the cushions, our shoulders brushing. "And I'm sorry for pushing you. I just wanted everyone to see how amazing you are, how lucky I am."
Echo smiled weakly, her eyes meeting mine. "It's just a lot for someone like me, coming from where I have, to being seen as your date."
Someone like me ! Those words stung, reminding me how unfairly she'd been treated. She deserved to be seen as the incredible woman she was, not through the lens of her social status based on uncontrollable things like who gave birth to her.
"Echo, there's no pressure, no timeline," I said gently. "Whenever you're ready, I'll be right here."
She nodded, leaning her head against my shoulder. "Thank you, Remi. For this" — she gestured around the gazebo — "and for understanding."
We spent the next hour talking, nibbling on snacks, and sipping champagne, the distant sounds of music and laughter from the house drifting out to us like echoes of another world. In this secluded, softly lit gazebo, Echo could be herself, and I could be the man who loved her, not a Drake.
As the night drew on, I wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, and we watched the river move silently under the moonlight. It was perfect, this quiet moment away from it all, where we could simply enjoy being together.
Echo needed time. I got that. But I also worried that she was getting too much into her head, letting fear take away her joy.
"Are you going to London for Thanksgiving?" We were nestled against one another, watching the stars, and listening to the muffled music and laughter from the house.
"No. I decided to stay home."
"I can't let you spend Thanksgiving alone, Doll."
I could immediately feel the shift in her. "I don't want to talk about it. Can we just enjoy ourselves, just be?"
I nuzzled her hair and kicked myself in fifty different ways. If only I'd had the better sense to have publicly claimed her that first time around, she wouldn't be so touchy about the whole thing now. But I'd done to her what I did to all women I slept with—made sure they understood my boundaries.
"We'll talk about it later," I conceded.