14
S t e a m s t i l l c l u n g to the air when I stepped out of the bathroom, towel wrapped tight under my arms, heart steadying from the long, hot shower that was damn near spiritual.
Last night was a lot. Emotionally. Physically. Mentally. But standing under that water with him behind me… it didn’t feel heavy. It felt right, like something I didn’t have to keep running from.
Now, music played low from my phone docked on the dresser—SZA’s “Snooze” humming through the speakers while I lotioned my body. Then, I slipped into a sweatsuit and spritzed my neck with my favorite warm vanilla scent. Woods was in the living room. I could still smell the blunt he’d sparked. That and his cologne lingering was a combination that had me walking around falling even deeper.
Pulling my duffle bag onto the bed, I tossed in a couple more things and grabbed my phone to make the call I needed to make before we hit the road. It rang twice before the call connected.
“Golden Chair, this is Kourtni.”
“Hey, Kourt. It’s Autumn.”
“Oh, heyyy girl! You off today?”
“Yeah. Can you transfer me to Rhonda’s office real quick? I need to talk to her for a second.”
“Of course. Hold on.”
A few seconds passed, then I heard Ms. Rhonda’s smooth voice come through. “Hey, Autumn. Everything good, baby?”
“Yes. I just wanted to call and let you know I need to close my books until after the holidays. Something came up, and I’ll be out of town for a little bit. I know this is last-minute, and I hate missing the gift swap too, but…”
“Oh, please,” she said, cutting me off gently. “You been goin’ hard since you came through the door. If anybody deserves a little break, it’s you.”
I smiled, the guilt easing up. “I appreciate that. I’m really gonna miss y’all this year though.”
“Ain’t nothin’ to it. When you get back, we’ll do our own lil’ swap,” she said with a laugh. “Take care of what you need to handle. Enjoy your holidays and text me if you need anything at all.”
“I will. Thank you so much.”
We hung up, and I exhaled, tossing my phone onto the bed and zipping up my bag. I reached for the shopping bags from yesterday’s shopping trip, and I made sure to tuck Woods’ gifts deeper inside as I caught the tail end of his phone conversation.
“Nah, that don’t work for me. If it ain’t there before the 27th, I’m cancelin’ the order. Let’s not play wit’ my time. You hear me?”
Whew.
The way that bass rolled through his throat? That serious tone? I didn’t even know what he was talking about and still felt my damn thighs clench. That man moved like everything he touched had a purpose, including me.
Fifteen minutes later, we were both stepping into boots—his Timbs and my weatherized Uggs—and heading out the door. As we slid into his nice ass truck and buckled up, I turned to him. “I was thinking… I need to schedule an appointment. Like a real one.”
He glanced over, eyes softening just a little. “I was already gon’ bring that up.”
“I don’t even know how far along I am,” I admitted, rubbing my stomach lightly. “A week. Maybe two.”
He reached over, hand landing on my thigh. “We’ll find out. Make the call. I’ll go wit’ you.”
That made my throat tighten again, but I nodded. “Okay.”
“And we gotta start makin’ changes,” he added. “More rest. More food. Less stress. I don’t want you movin’ ‘round too much if you ain’t got to.”
I giggled softly. “You act like I’m eight months already.”
“I don’t care if it’s eight minutes. I said what I said.”
That made me laugh for real. And I was still smiling when I glanced out the window, thinking about how fast everything was moving. I reached for my phone again, unlocking it as Woods pulled onto the main street. “I’m gonna call my dad.” I clicked his name and put it on speaker as it rang. Woods turned the music down a little.
“Hey, baby girl,” my dad’s voice came through, warm and smooth like always.
“Hey, Daddy. You got a second?”
“Always. Just finishing up with a client.”
“So, quick change of plans. Instead of me coming to your house Christmas Eve… would you wanna come up to a cabin instead? Just for the evening?”
“A cabin?” he repeated. “Where at?”
“About two hours from the city. Me and my… uh…” I glanced at Woods, smirking. “My friend set it up.”
Woods side-eyed me immediately. “Your man,” he said, low but clear, voice full of sleep and bass.
I damn near choked trying not to laugh. There was a short pause on the phone, and then my dad chuckled. “Well, alright then. I can appreciate a man who knows the role he plays.”
I turned my face to the window, smiling. “Daddy, this is Quamaine.”
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Woods said, respectful but still sounding like himself.
“Same to you,” my dad replied. “ How long y’all been rocking?”
I answered before Woods could. “It’s… a long story. We’ll talk and catch up tomorrow.”
“Mmhm,” he said like he knew what time it was.
“So you’ll come?”
“I’ll come, baby girl.”
I smiled, warmth blooming in my chest. “Perfect. See you tomorrow. Love you.”
“Love you too. Be safe.”
I ended the call and set the phone in my lap, still smiling when I glanced over at Woods. He was quiet with one hand on the wheel while the other rested on his thigh. We pulled up to a red light, and that’s when he turned his head toward me slightly, his voice low and steady.
“Don’t ever call me your friend again.” His tone wasn’t mad. Just firm with that BDE stamped all over it.
I leaned in, soft smirk playing on my lips as I kissed him slowly, just enough to tease. “Yes, daddy,” I whispered against his mouth.
Woods tilted his head back, gripping his dick through his grey sweatpants. “Autumn, don’t make me pull this muthafucka over.”
I laughed and gently swatted his arm. “Drive, nasty! We got shit to do.” He eased his foot onto the gas when the light turned green, but the smirk tugging at his lips said everything. He was daddy alright. In the passenger seat, I was bouncing to the music, happy as hell.
“You really in here dancin’ over a sandwich, huh?” he asked, glancing my way.
“Don’t do that,” I said. “This isn’t just a sandwich. It’s thee sandwich.”
He chuckled low. “You easy as hell to please.”
“Sometimes. Feed me, and I might act right all the time.”
He looked over. “Might, huh?”
I winked. “Might.”
He shook his head, laughing as we pulled into the drive-through of Gino’s Bagels. “Let me see what this shit hittin’ on.”
“You’ll thank me later. I promise.”
???
T h i r t y m i n u t e s l a t e r, Woods parked right in front of the store, ignoring the “compact cars only” sign like it didn’t apply to his big, black truck. I didn’t even bother saying anything because that’s the thing with Woods—he did whatever he wanted and dared the world to tell him no.
I stepped out, snowflakes catching on my lashes as I adjusted my beanie. I’d given myself a quick wash, blow dry, and somewhat of a silk press earlier, but the way this weather was set up, I wasn’t expecting it to last.
Woods came around the truck, palm automatically finding the small of my back, guiding me toward the grocery entrance. Every little gesture felt natural again, like we hadn’t just spent the last few weeks apart. Like I hadn’t been dodging him and hiding a baby. But anyway…
Inside, the store was packed, and Let It Snow was playing overhead. It smelled like cinnamon, peppermint, and freshly baked cookies. Woods pushed the cart with one hand and held onto me with the other, thick fingers wrapped around mine, thumb rubbing lazy circles across my knuckles.
“Let me check this list,” I said, unlocking my phone and opening the Notes app.
Woods leaned over, taking a peek, lips twitching. “You don’t know how to make no candied yams.”
I smirked. “Who don’t? Boy, please. I told you I can cook. Plus, I’m sure my dad’s bringing his ‘lady friend,’ and I wanna make sure I come correct.”
He chuckled, deep and knowing. “He gon’ be straight. Long as he come correct, I’ll match the energy.”
I raised a brow. “He gotta come correct?”
“Yeah, he’s meetin’ me too.”
That made me laugh. “Well, that’s true.” We hit the produce section first. I handed him a bundle of collard greens, and he held it like it was disrespecting his masculinity.
“So you really got me out here pickin’ greens in public?”
I smiled. “You said you knew what you were doing.”
“I did. I didn’t say I was tryna help wit’ the labor.”
“You’ll survive,” I teased, dropping a pack of smoked turkey in the cart. “You act like you never helped cook before.”
He leaned closer, voice dropping. “I help wit’ the shit I wanna help wit’.”
“Oh yeah?” I looked up at him. “And what’s that exactly?”
“Anything that ends wit’ you moanin’,” he murmured.
My mouth fell open as I smacked his chest with a big ass yam. “Can you behave?!”
“Not really,” he smirked. “You knew that before you brought me up in this muthafucka.”
We went back and forth as we made our way towards the bakery section. I held up a pack of cinnamon rolls with the strawberry cream frosting I liked. He snatched them and tossed two in the cart.
“You eatin’ for two now. My baby gon’ want somethin’ sweet.” Hearing him say that so casually did something to me. It was like we were already a family, and my heart damn near flipped.
We were near the dairy aisle when an older woman paused beside us, smiling widely. “You two are such a beautiful couple,” she said with a hand over her chest. “Y’all look so happy. God bless you.”
Woods stood taller, proud. “‘Ppreciate you, ma’am.”
I blushed and nodded. “Thank you.”
As she walked off, Woods leaned down and kissed my lips. “She’s right, though. We do look good as fuck together.” I bit my lip and looked away, but the butterflies were flapping wildly.
From there, we hit up two more stores for my favorite brand, Egg Nog, and liquor. He made it very clear he would be missing our tequila nights for the next nine months, but it was cool. We were grabbing cups in the final aisle when I heard a voice that made my stomach clench.
“Damn. Two days in a row, huh?”
I turned slowly, already knowing it was Theo. He had a basket in one hand, the other shoved in his coat pocket like he was trying too hard to look unbothered.
I felt Woods’ energy shift beside me. The way he straightened his shoulders, the slight tilt of his head, the unbothered but alert posture. All of it let me know he peeped the switch-up in my body and clocked Theo on sight.
“Hey,” I said coolly, stepping slightly in front of Woods out of instinct. “Didn’t think I’d run into you again this soon.”
Theo’s eyes dragged over to Woods, then back to me. “Yeah… me either.” His tone wasn’t aggressive, but it was laced with regret. Woods didn’t say a word. He just stood there with that confident stance. Theo cleared his throat, trying to act casual. “So this is your…?”
“Her man,” Woods said, voice calm but clear.
Theo blinked like he wasn’t expecting him to answer. “Word. That’s what’s up.” I could see his mind racing behind the fake smile. “Nice seeing you again, Autumn. Glad you… good.”
“Take care,” I said, letting that be the end of it. Theo lingered for a second too long before nodding and heading toward the dairy section. As soon as he was out of earshot, I exhaled.
Woods looked down at me. “Who was that?”
“My ex,” I said, not sugarcoating it. “We ran into each other yesterday while I was Christmas gift shopping. First time we’d talked since it ended.”
Woods raised a brow, his lips twitching like he was holding back a smirk. “At least buddy kept it cool. I ain’t have to put hands on him like you did Yohana at Thanksgiving. Slapped the light skin off shorty.”
“Oh, my God!” I cackled, swatting at his chest.
“Just sayin’,” he smirked, placing a hand on the small of my back. “You violent behind that soft-ass voice.”
I rolled my eyes, still smiling. “Let’s get out of here before the ghost of boyfriends past decides he has more to say.” That cabin and relaxation were calling my name.