Chapter 22
Lyrix
Leaning over, I placed a kiss on Loh’s forehead.
He was lightly snoring, already fast asleep.
Walking over to Ace’s bed, I whispered, “Don’t stay up too late,” because I knew he was about to pull his phone out to look at comics.
It was our little secret, so long as he didn’t stay up so late that he was dragging in the mornings.
“Promise,” he whispered back. I smiled, quietly closing their bedroom door behind me.
It was crazy to think a day would come soon when they didn’t want or need us to tuck them into bed.
Like Grai, I was enjoying these fleeting moments, but a part of me yearned to feel it again.
I couldn’t describe the joy I got from helping raise my boys, but I did know it was a feeling I craved a little more every day that passed.
I jogged down the steps, headed for the front door to make sure it was locked.
After alarming the security system, I walked to the kitchen, where Grai was wiping down the counters.
While I got the boys ready for bed, she opted to clean up the mess from dinner.
Tonight, she’d made seared salmon with a honey garlic lemon glaze, loaded mashed potatoes, broccoli, and corn for Loh.
He sighed in relief when she set his broccoli-free plate in front of him.
When he said, “Thanks, Broccoli Head,” we all spent a good five minutes laughing.
My mother called herself having a little boyfriend that she was hiding from me.
She wasn’t here as much, so the four of us developed our own routine.
We ate dinner together, then we’d either do a family activity, or everyone chose to unwind in whatever way they wanted.
I always loved ending nights curled up on the couch with Grai tucked into my side.
I should’ve known it was her all along. No woman made me feel the way she did by simply existing.
I swear, Grai didn’t have to do anything but exhale too hard, and I was looking for a way to make it better.
I didn’t realize my love for her could grow roots any deeper, but they had.
Drey kicking them out of the house was the best gift he could’ve ever given any of us.
No one had seen or heard from him in months.
Grai and I were praying it stayed that way.
We had conversations about me officially adopting them too.
The boys never asked for him, and honestly, they were way better off.
As far as I was concerned, I was Solace and Shiloh’s father.
I wrapped my arms around the love of my life, instantly feeling grounded. I placed a kiss in the crook of her neck. Inhaling her amber scent was one of my favorite things to do. It smelled just like home. “Wassup, Bubbles?”
I knew she was smiling without having to look at her. I could just feel that shit, and it always made me smile too. This woman turned me into a fucking simp, but crazily enough, I didn’t care. I’d be the simpiest nigga to walk this earth about my woman.
“Hey, baby. The boys good?”
“Always. You ready to head out?” I’d promised to help her take down her weave so she could have a new one installed tomorrow.
Grai had beautiful, thick hair that she faithfully kept tucked away.
She said her natural hair was too much of a hassle, and it was easier to keep it in protective styles.
It wasn’t like I could really argue with her about it or cared to.
She looked amazing in whatever hairstyle she wore, in my opinion.
Taking the dish towel from her hand, I slammed it down, then pulled her behind me. “Oh, wait. Let me get some wine.”
“Aight, hurry up.” I missed her ass already, and she only took two steps in the opposite direction.
I headed out back to get ready. Going into the hidden compartment in the table, I pulled out the rolling tray, jar of buds, and cigarillos tucked inside.
Grai came out seconds later with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
She placed them down, then put pillows on the ground to support her butt.
After pouring glasses for us, she took the tray and began to roll us a blunt.
“Brielle, play music for me and bae!” I hollered to my virtual assistant system.
The system chimed before her voice filled the speakers.
“Now playing you and bae’s favorites.” Jay-Z’s “Part II (On The Run)” began to play.
“Brielle, lower and isolate to backyard.” She lowered the volume of the music and made sure only the speakers in the backyard were active.
I didn’t want to disturb the boys sleeping upstairs.
Turning my attention to the back of Grai’s head, I leaned around the side of her to kiss her neck. She giggled while deflating at the same time. I loved that she could keep her guard down around me. She was and always would be safe with me.
I picked up the scissors I hadn’t first noticed her set down beside me.
Very carefully, I began to cut the thread, keeping her bundles secured to her big head.
She sat in front of me, rolling up a fat blunt that I couldn’t wait to spark up.
I’d gotten some moon rocks on my last run to Vegas and had been waiting to put one in the air with my baby.
She hummed along to the song while I worked.
This wasn’t my first time taking her hair down for her, so I moved pretty fast. I had a rhythm that worked well for me.
I followed the trail of the thread first, then pulled off the tracks as I went.
A huge pile of hair began to pile up on the cushion beside me until all that was left were her jailhouse braids.
Even though she was giving Cleo, I would still get on my knees and devour her pussy.
Nothing about Grai turned me off, because she was perfect as fuck.
A thick cloud of smoke curled into the air after she sparked the tip of the blunt and inhaled deeply.
I waited for the coughing fit to follow.
I smiled with a shake of my head. She was always chiefing the blunt, only to regret it seconds later.
The music continued to shuffle through songs that had us both singing along.
Grai turned slightly to place the blunt between my lips. I drew in a mouthful of smoke, inhaled it, then did a dragon exhale. She rolled her eyes and turned around with an attitude. She lifted the blunt for me to take. “Show-off,” she mumbled.
I accepted it and leaned back in my seat.
My eyes drifted to the diamond-littered sky.
The land I’d bought was perfect for sky lovers.
I could spot all the constellations out here and could even see the planets when I pulled out my telescope.
The longer I stared into space, the more I began to think about my father.
I hadn’t truly gotten the chance to know him.
One thing I could say about my mother was that she was a realist. She had no problem letting it be known that my father was a good man, but he wasn’t perfect.
His mistakes ultimately cost him his life, and that broke her.
She wanted more for our family, but she played the hand she was dealt and never complained about the weight.
It was the reason I never thought twice to provide for her.
A lot of the time, she didn’t even have to ask.
I was always aware of her needs and worked my ass off to take care of her the way she took care of me.
There was a moment when I wasn’t sure where my choices would lead me.
I’d gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd, given my mama a few grey hairs and heart attacks, but I figured it out.
Sometimes, I liked to think that it was my father in me. He’d caught himself before he went too far off in the deep end, like to that point of no return. Unfortunately for him, he’d fucked with the wrong bitch.
I got my shit together by using the illegal money I made from scamming to buy my way into CDL school and purchase my first eighteen-wheeler. Shit was only up from there. Being on the road was good for me because once I started to get a taste of life outside of Solaire, I began to desire more.
When I came home, those same crowds no longer interested me.
Grai was pregnant with Ace, so I devoted my free time to her.
I used to love those random moments when she got excited because he’d be kicking.
Nothing ever compared to the way my heart melted when I felt those little kicks against my hand.
Even in the womb, Solace was my ace boon coon, and that was how he got his nickname.
“What’s on your mind?” Grai asked when I passed the blunt back to her.
I sat up and went back to loosening her braids.
“I was thinking about my father.” She didn’t press me to say anything more—something I loved about Grai.
She could sense what I needed from moment to moment, sometimes even before I did.
“Wondering if I’m anything like him. He never really got to be a father to me. ”
She glanced at me over her shoulder. “I’m sure you are the best parts of him.”
“How do you figure that?” I teased her, trying to lighten the mood.
Grai looked at me with a sincere, slackened expression.
Suddenly, my mouth was dry, and my breathing slowed.
“Because you’re an amazing father to Solace and Shiloh without having a blueprint.
” She stabbed my chest with her manicured fingernail.
“You are the blueprint, Poppa, and I think that’s because he lives in you.
He got robbed of that chance, but you didn’t. You fulfilled the role and then some.”
A big smile curled the corners of her mouth.
I couldn’t help but smile, too, as I leaned forward, pecking her lips a few times.
Since I’d been thinking about her being pregnant, I decided to gauge her thoughts on the topic.
“Bubbles, I want you to give me a baby,” I admitted, staring deeply into her eyes.
There was a sparkle in her eyes when her head snapped back.
She spun around so that she was on her knees between my legs.
I chuckled at the way half of her hair was standing on top of her head like she’d been electrocuted.
“Really?” She leaned closer until we were nearly face-to-face.
I could smell the mixture of weed and wine on her breath, but it didn’t bother me.
I brushed my nose along the curve of her chin.
“Yes, really.” Her breath was tickling my skin, but I didn’t mind.
It was comforting and a reminder that she was not only real, but she was mine.
Of course, I wanted to put a baby in her fine ass.
“You’re an amazing mother, Bubbles. Ace and Loh are my sons and have my whole heart without a doubt.
But I wouldn’t mind a third that’s part me, part you. So, like half on a baby, or nah?”
She giggled and palmed my face. I couldn’t be sure what she was thinking, but her closeness made me feel like she was open to it.
Out of nowhere, she stood, pushed me back, and straddled my lap.
I couldn’t stop my hands from wrapping around her.
As I looked up at her, all I saw was her beauty radiating around her like a halo.
“Honestly, I would love to give you a baby, Poppa. You are a dream come true, and my baby would be so lucky to have you. Literally the best parts of my first two pregnancies include you. It would be an honor to continue your lineage.”
I didn’t expect her words to slam into me like a freight train.
Tears I didn’t know I could produce sprouted from my eyes.
I shook my head, trying to understand how I got so lucky.
But I knew I never would, because this was grace.
Shit like that couldn’t be explained, but lived in, so I snatched my woman closer to me and planted the most passionate kiss on her.
She was damn near cumming in my lap by the time I released her. “So, I’m giving you a junior?” she questioned before tucking her face into my neck. I laughed when she began sniffing me like a lunatic.
I massaged her hair and kissed her cheek. “That would be tough, but honestly, I want a baby girl.”
She pouted. “Damn, you’re already trying to replace me. If we have a daughter, y’all are going to kick me to the curb. It’s literally a tale as old as time.”
I allowed my lips to trail her earlobe before I sucked on it. “Don’t worry, baby. Daddy will always make time for you. You’re my world, Bubbles. I can’t have a baby girl without your beautiful ass.”
She smirked. “That’s true. A daughter would be so fun. I’m tired of Boyville. It’s gross over there.”
I mushed her with a laugh. “Aight, not too much, Broccoli Head.”
She began fake fighting me, which had me too tickled.
I lifted her in my arms, then spun her around before placing her on her feet.
Her laugh was music to my ears and an answer to a prayer.
I cuffed the back of her head. Whatever doubts I had disappeared as she floated into my arms. When she looked at me, I realized this was the only way our story could end.
I was made for her, and she was made for me.
The Isley Brothers’ “Make Me Say It Again Girl” began to croon from the speakers. “Dance with me, baby.” I held out a hand that she accepted. Her body melted into mine as we took up our rumba positions.
Slowly, we began to sway around the back patio under a blanket of stars, and it felt like destiny.
Nothing mattered but the music and how the lyrics wrapped around us like a kaleidoscope.
With the love of my life pressed against my chest, allowing me the pleasure of feeling her steady heartbeat, I made a promise to learn one thing from my mother.
And that was to never risk what I had at home.
This was enough for me. Grai and my boys were enough for me until my last breath.
All I could do was sing the song because I knew my happily ever after was a chocolate, five-foot-five firecracker I planned to spend my life showering in the love she deserved.