Maverick
I walked through the door of our home still reeling from…everything. My brain was overloaded, my body wrecked in the best way, and my soul… surprisingly at peace. I wasn’t sure which bombshell to drop first, so I did what I always do: headed for the kitchen and played it by ear.
"Hey, babe," she called, voice low and honeyed.
"Y’all gone wanna sit down for this, because I got some shit to unload and at least one of them might make you choke on your coffee."
Knox raised a brow. “Shitttt, say less,” Knox joked as he took a seat. “Proceed.”
I tossed my bag down and sat on the stool at the island, rubbing the back of my neck. “So… first up. Group therapy with the family was actually good. Tense as hell at times, but good.”
Ajaih perked up, “You okay?”
“Better than I expected. My mom dropped a bomb. Turns out my bio dad didn’t just walk out; his rich-ass family threatened to cut him off if he didn’t leave us, and he decided he’d rather be a rich deadbeat than a working-class father and partner.
She didn’t want me used like a political pawn, so she shut it all down. ”
“Damn,” Knox muttered, whistling low.
“You’ll never guess who my biological father is, though,” I muttered, still in disbelief.
Bother Knox and Ajaih had their brows raised as Ajaih anxiously asked, “Who?”
“Senator Malcolm fucking Everett.”
Shocked registered on their faces in tandem, “This shit is like a Tyler Perry movie. ‘Can’t keep it in his pants, Everett’ is your pops? Gahdamn,” Knox chortled, making me and Ja laugh.
“Apparently so,” I nodded, “But the real shocker? My parents and JJ are moving here. Like to Winston Hills.”
Ajaih gasped, “Wait, what?”
“Deadass. JJ took an engineering job here, and my parents said being close was the first step in showing they actually give a damn. I cried like a bitch in the therapist’s office. Ugly tears, nose running, voice quivering, and everything.”
Knox smiled and leaned over to kiss my cheek, “Proud of you, babe.”
Ajaih hopped off the counter, coming to where I was, and jumped into my lap, cupping my face gently, kissing my lips as I rubbed her soft thighs. “That’s big, Mav. I’m proud of them for honoring you and taking the steps to heal what they broke. You deserve to heal and feel whole.”
“Thanks, y’all,” I mumbled against her lips, “But uh… speaking of big things…”
Ajaih narrowed her eyes, “Uh oh.”
Knox sipped his coffee like a shady housewife on Bravo, “Here we go…”
“I ran into Yanna last night during the shift I was covering. She had an emergency surgery, and we ended up grabbing something to eat on our break.”
Their heads snapped toward me in unison.
“And?” Ajaih asked slowly.
“Andddd, we had an amazing convo. She talked about being offered Chief of Staff. I talked about maybe going back to school to become a cardiologist.”
“You’re gonna do it?” Knox asked, excited, Ajaih’s face shining with pride, “I’m thinking hard on it. And she’s down to help me through it all.”
“That’s dope,” Ajaih smiled, “But I feel like there’s more…”
I exhaled dramatically, “So the whole time we’re talking, I’m staring at her like a puppy who just wants to sniff her and lay in her lap.
We’re flirting back and forth and I tell her if she keeps playing with me, I was gone fuck her in my truck.
Her fine ass tells me to make her a believer, so… after I paid the tab… in my truck…”
Knox straightened like he’d been electrocuted. “Don’t you fucking say it.”
“Oh, I’m saying it. I let Dr. Layanna Black give me the ride of my fucking life in the backseat like I was in a damn scene from Fast it was one of the reasons I was head over heels in love with her. She saw me at all times in all ways.
She leaned in, voice low, sultry, and probing. “What’s got my baby so… tense?” Her eyes lowered to my erection.
I glanced at her, my breath hitching just from the heat in her eyes. “Just remembered that trip we took to Adam and Eve.”
Her lips curled into a slow smile. “When we tested strap harnesses in that private backroom?”
“Mmhmm,” I nodded slowly, eyes roaming her full lips, “You in that red leather one, asking the associate if the O-ring could handle your stroke game.”
Ajaih hummed, her breath hot against my ear, “You got hard remembering that, didn’t you?”
“Maybe.”
She kissed the corner of my mouth and whispered, “Good. Because I may or may not have it in my suitcase, and I may or may not be planning to use it in Bora Bora. Just make sure you’re ready for me when it’s time for me to break it and you in,” her breath against my ear as she alluded to giving me every inch of her new toy.
I groaned low in my throat as she leaned back, smug and seductive. Knox caught my eye and gave me a knowing look, clearly aware of everything being said. I just smiled. This was going to be one hell of a trip.