Chapter 6
The next few weeks flew by. If I wasn’t fulfilling my duties as an assistant football coach, I was in Skye’s backyard, working on her patio.
I worked on it a few hours each night before the sun went down and it became too dark, and most of the day on Saturdays and Sundays. It was coming along, and I’d be done in the next two weeks.
When I wasn’t in Skye’s backyard, I was in her pussy. I was addicted, and it had quickly become my favorite place on Earth. We’d managed to keep our relationship under wraps, using my work on the patio as our excuse for not being as social.
Initially, I was pissed when Skye suggested we not tell anyone about us. I begrudgingly agreed, but I could honestly say I’d enjoyed getting to know her without pressure from our families. I didn’t know how much longer I’d sneak around, but for now, it was cool.
“It’s been a few weeks. How is it being around Knox every day? I thought for sure you’d crack by now. You know you want that man.”
I’d just come inside after finishing everything I’d planned on the patio today. Skye was on the phone with Nyomi on speaker.
“It’s been fine.”
She looked at me and smiled, so I assumed they weren’t on FaceTime, but discovered I was wrong when I heard Nyomi say, “Girl, who you smiling at like that? Is it Knox? Is he there?”
“Huh? I wasn’t smiling,” Skye responded, trying to play it off.
“Yes the fuck you were, and your eyes were all dreamy.”
“Nyomi, you want Knox and me together so bad that you’re seeing things. I wasn’t smiling, and my eyes were not dreamy.”
She smacked her lips. “Whatever, girl. If I find out y’all been sneaking around behind my back, I’m finding a new best friend.”
“I’m not worried because I’m irreplaceable. I gotta go, though. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”
She pressed her phone screen before tossing it on the couch. I hadn’t moved from near the patio doors, so she came to me, smiling the way Nyomi had just accused her of doing. Her arms went around my neck, and she kissed my lips.
“I’m sweaty,” I told her, not that I needed to because it was apparent.
“I just wanted a kiss. Did you get a lot done today?”
“I got what I wanted done, so I’m satisfied.”
“Good. I ordered a pizza. It should be here by the time you finish showering.”
“Bet. I’m starving.”
“Do you want to watch a movie or play the new game for couples I bought yesterday?”
“Will we end up naked with my face in your pussy after the game?”
“My period came this morning.”
“Oh, shit. How do you feel? Do you need anything? A heating pad, some ibuprofen, some chocolate?”
She giggled. “I’m good, but its sweet of you to offer. There is something I want to talk about, though.”
“Is it serious? Do you want me to shower first?”
“It could be serious, but I don’t want it to be,” she said, her voice filled with concern.
“I’m listening.”
“We should have talked about this when we decided to do this.”
“Talked about what?”
“I’m in great physical health and have no reason to believe I can’t get pregnant or carry a child to term, but I’m almost thirty-eight.
I took birth control pills until my late twenties, then had an IUD for five years.
I haven’t been on any birth control since I had it removed, and as I said, I have no reason to believe conceiving will be a problem. ”
“But . . .”
“Before we go any further, I need to know you’re okay if it is.”
Is having a child more important than spending the rest of my life with a woman who gets me, who I get, who is the yin to my yang, who matches my energy, who I’ve already fallen for, and who has fallen for me?
“This might be hard for you to believe because the whole reason I didn’t pursue you after our first date was because we didn’t have the same desires for our futures.
I waited almost a year to stop thinking about you, to stop wanting you, to stop dreaming about you, and to stop comparing every single woman I dated to you.
The fact that, at the time, you didn’t want what I wanted didn’t matter, because I still couldn’t get you off my mind.
Nothing worked, Skye. I believe you’re my person, and I’ve had visions of what our future looks like.
Children can be a great addition to our lives, but they don’t have to be our lives.
If we aren’t blessed with a child, we are still blessed with each other, and that’s enough.
You are enough. Nothing can change how I feel, so the answer is yes, I’d be fine. ”
A tear fell from one of her eyes, and she quickly wiped it away.
“Why are you crying? Did I say something wrong?”
“I’m not crying. I’m good.”
I chuckled. “I won’t press you, but do you still want to play the game?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. The game it is.”
We kissed before I slipped out of my shoes and headed to her bedroom. As she said, the pizza had arrived, and she’d already put several pieces on a plate for me when I returned to the kitchen after my shower.
“I couldn’t wait for you. I was hungry,” she shouted from the family room.
“It’s cool, baby. Give me ten minutes.”
I sat at the kitchen table and scrolled through my phone while I ate. After finishing, I cleaned up my mess, washed my hands, and joined Skye in the family room.
“You good?” I asked.
She nodded. “I didn’t expect you to say all that, but thank you for answering honestly.”
“I will always be honest with you, baby. Did you read the directions to the game?” I asked.
“I did, and it seems pretty simple.”
“How do I win?” I asked.
I should’ve known that Skye was competitive, considering she was a former Division One athlete, and I had seen glimpses of it when we hung out with Kilo and Nyomi. It wasn’t until two weeks ago, when we played Black Uno, that I really saw her competitive nature.
“There’s no winner or loser, but we both have to answer the questions.”
“Okay.”
We got comfortable on the couch, each of us on opposite ends, and her legs resting between mine. She pulled the first card and read the question out loud.
“What’s your idea of a perfect date that doesn’t involve sex? You go first.”
“Okay. Give me a minute.”
“Don’t say something you think I would like. This is your perfect date,” she said.
When I planned dates, I did so with my date’s enjoyment in mind. If I accomplished that, anything else was a bonus.
“Maybe I’m lame or some shit, but I can’t think of anything specific that would make a date perfect besides the person I’m with. It could be a walk along the beach, hiking, playing video games, getting massages, a private dinner, or playing corny ass games like this.”
She gasped and threw a throw pillow at me. I caught it and put it on the floor next to the couch.
“You think this is a corny game?”
“It’s probably a great way for us to get to know each other, but also kinda corny. It’s your turn to answer the question.”
“My idea of a perfect date depends on my mood and who I’m with because, honestly, I’m down for whatever, depending on the day.”
“Is that really an answer, baby?”
“Yours wasn’t a real answer either.”
We laughed at our inability to answer the question.
“It wasn’t, but it was way more detailed than yours. Next question.”
She reached into the box and retrieved another card.
“What was the last good book you read?”
I almost laughed because the only book I’d read in the past several years was a playbook.
“I don’t read for pleasure, baby.”
She frowned. “Are you serious?”
“I don’t have time. I read our playbook, football-related articles, and scouting reports. Does any of that count?”
“Umm, no. You really need to broaden your horizons.”
“Okay. What was the last book you read?” I asked.
“Brewing in Love by Riley Baxter. It’s so good, and I highly recommend it. I think you’d like it.”
“If that’s a romance story, I’ll pass. You got any non-fiction to recommend?”
“What’s wrong with romance stories?” she questioned.
“Nothing, I guess. It’s just not my thing.”
“You’ve never read a romance book in all your almost forty years?”
“Never even thought about it.”
“Dang. I might need to rethink this whole thing.”
“You can rethink it as much and for as long as you want, as long as the end result doesn’t affect what we’re building. Next question.”
She huffed as she pulled out another card.
“Have you ever had your heart broken?”
“Damn. That escalated quickly. You answer first.”
“I already told you my sob story with Stokely’s father. Your turn.”
I sat quietly for a moment, as my thoughts went to Olivia. We dated during my early thirties. I proposed, and our engagement lasted less than three months.
“I don’t think I was heartbroken, but I was hurt,” I finally said.
“Tell me more.”
“About six years ago, I was engaged for three months. We never made it to the altar.”
“Did you cheat on her?” she asked in an accusatory tone.
“It’s probably second nature to assume the man cheated or did something wrong, but no, I didn’t cheat. She claimed she’d changed her mind about us but married another man a few months after our breakup. I’ve always wondered if she was the one cheating.”
“Wow. That wasn’t what I expected to hear. How did that not break your heart?”
“Like I said, I was hurt like hell, and my ego was bruised like a muthafucka because I’d never been dumped. I don’t think I was heartbroken, though.”
“Damn. I would’ve been—”
The ringing of her doorbell interrupted her. We exchanged a curious look because we weren’t expecting anyone. The doorbell sounded again, followed by a female voice shouting, “Skye, I know you’re in there. Open this damn door before I let myself in.”
“Shit,” slipped from her mouth.
“Is that Nyomi?” I questioned, and she nodded slowly. “I guess the cat’s outta the bag, huh?”
“I guess so, with her nosy ass.”
I got up to answer the door while Skye remained on the couch. As soon as I opened the door, Nyomi was on ten.
“I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I told you they were sneaking around. You owe me a purse from Infinity Beyond, Kilo.”
“You got it, baby. Get a dress, too, because I didn’t see this coming at all,” Kilo said, his voice filled with surprise.
Nyomi continued to gloat as she, Kilo, and I entered the family room. Skye was balled up in the corner of the couch, and I sat beside her, placing my arm over her shoulders and kissing her temple.
She shivered under my touch almost every time my hands made contact with her body, regardless of the reason or situation. When she looked up at me and smiled, I smiled back before kissing her lips.
Nyomi stood in front of us, folding her arms across her chest and wearing an astonished look. Kilo stood next to her, smirking. Skye and I had some explaining to do, but neither of us said a word.
“How long have y’all been sneaking around?” Nyomi finally asked.
“Not long,” Skye responded.
“That’s not an answer, best friend.” She pressed.
“A few weeks.”
She gasped, slapping her hand over her mouth in awe as if Skye had announced some earth-shattering news.
“A few weeks? You kept this from me for a few weeks? How can you call yourself my best friend when you’ve been keeping something so major from me for so long?”
“I call myself your best friend because it’s facts. Now, you can be mad I didn’t tell you, or you can be happy I finally did what you’ve wanted me to do for the past year. Pick one.”
Nyomi and Skye rarely argued, at least not that I’d seen. She narrowed her eyes at Skye, pretending she wanted to be mad, but the smile creeping onto her lips told the truth.
“You know I could never be mad at you. I want all the gritty details about how this happened. C’mon. Let’s go to your room.”
Nyomi grabbed her wrists, pulling Skye to her feet and dragging her to the back of the house. She smiled and waved goodbye to me as she rounded the corner and disappeared from my view.
Kilo sat on the sofa chair across from me. The smirk he wore told me more than enough, but he wouldn’t be my big brother if he didn’t have some slick shit to say.
“I knew something was up with you because your ass been walking around the office like you just hit the lottery,” he finally said.
“I feel like I did.”
“Love will do that to you. How did this shit happen because Skye didn’t really say much?”
“The day I came to look at her backyard, we had an honest conversation, and one thing led to another.”
“When you say honest, how honest? I’m not trying to get into your business, but last I knew, y’all weren’t on the same page.”
“She had a change of heart, if you will.”
“A change of heart where marriage and kids are concerned?”
“Yes, nigga, damn!”
“The fuck you getting mad at me for. I’m just trying to make sure your crybaby ass don’t get your lil feelings hurt.”
“Don’t worry about me. Worry about how you’re gonna convince Nyomi to try for a girl.”
He waved me off. “Man, I know how to communicate with my wife. When the time is right, she won’t hesitate to grant my wish.”
“If you say so.”
Kilo wanted a daughter but was afraid to talk to Nyomi about it. She regularly commented about how happy she was that they had twins because she didn’t need to have another baby for them to have a playmate.
We changed the subject and talked about football until the ladies reappeared.