Chapter 26
Chapter
Twenty-Six
PHOENIX
“Ms. Thompson, this meal is amazing; I can tell Kendrix didn’t bother to learn your skills.” I stuck my tongue out at Kendrix; he threw a piece of fruit at my face.
She gave us both the motherly look to stop wasting our food. “Now, didn’t I tell you to call me Sabrina? Ms. Thompson died a long time ago. Tell me how you are feeling.” Sabrina invited us all over to spend the holidays with her; we technically missed Christmas because of Kendrix’s time in the hospital and my sudden kidnapping. We decided to make up for lost time; Travis was playing with some of Kendrix’s younger cousins that he just met.
When we walked inside, it was a welcome home party for both of us. Sabrina invited all of her existing family over, and to say Kendrix was overwhelmed was an understatement. Everyone else left after dinner, and we stayed for some alone time with her.
Sabrina is a light source of strength and beauty; her hair was cut short and close to the scalp, and silver waves splashed along her nape. The golden-brown skin that was a shade darker than her son’s glowed underneath the lit candles on the table. She laughed loud and freely without a care in the world; her soul was happy. Kendrix preened under her praise, and I saw a lightness in him that was usually reflected with just him and me in a room. He needed his mother back in his life, and it made me a bit sad that even after 15 years of imprisonment, their relationship never swayed. While mine, on the other hand, was leftover in the ashes of the fire, my mother ignited with her schemes. Back in the cabin, I knew it would be ridiculous to think that she could walk out of there scotch-free. She was a danger to society, a danger to me.
I made my peace with God before I aimed the knife at her neck. Granny Lucy told me that in life, we would have to make decisions that we would never think to make. What daughter would willingly kill her mother? Now, my father called to curse me for taking the love of his life away. Kendrix threatened him, and he told him never to contact me again unless he wanted to join his wife .
Kendrix rubbed my hand underneath the table. “I’m sorry I was lost in my thoughts. I feel happy and free for the first time, and most of that is thanks to your son. You raised an incredible man; you showed him what it means to sacrifice and when you should take hold of everything you want. I am sorry for the circumstance that brought him to my family, but I am thankful each day that we met.” Sabrina wiped a tear from her eye.
She reached across the table for my other hand, “My baby boy has been through a whirlwind of pain, but do you want to know when I knew he was going to be ok?” I nodded.
Sabrina’s smile softly formed, and the twinkle in her eye was bright with love and pride. “One day, he asked me a question; I have never forgotten this moment. He said to me, ‘Mama, how do you know when you like a girl? I have been trying to figure it out on my own, but I can’t. The internet says that your chest feels funny, and your brain won’t stop thinking about that person. But what do you think?’
“Of course, I told him if he has to ask himself that question, it means he is already there. He went on to tell me about every interaction you two had moving forward, oh baby, it was Phoenix this and Phoenix that. I couldn’t get him to talk about anything else.” My heart thumped in my chest, and I turned to look at him. His cheeks were flushed, but he never denied a word she said.
“What can I say, I told you the moment you touched my hand; my life was changed forever.” He leaned his forehead on mine and mumbled those three words I would never grow tired of hearing.
“I love you.”
KENDRIX
A knock on the door caught my attention, but I already knew who it was. The key turned, and in walked Brian.
“What was the point of knocking if you were going to use your key anyway?” I loaded my suitcase by the door.
“I don’t need to walk in on you two doing things I would have to burn my retinas for. You ready for this?” He dapped me up and sat on the couch, waiting for me.
I exhaled a huge breath because I needed this vacation just as much as Phoenix did. “Yes, I am. We will be gone for seven days, so don’t start crying about missing us and all that.”
“Yeah, you just wait until it’s our turn for a vacation, you better be the first one signing up to keep your Goddaughter. It’s bad enough she awarded herself as a cockblocker, but with Travis there, she never wants to sleep.” The life of a father.
“You know I love my baby and will take her any time, any place.” We joked around for a few minutes and went over the itinerary one last time. He was nervous about our travel but I had it all planned out.
“Welcome to Venice, Italy, Mr. Thompson. Please put on your seatbelts and get ready for landing,” the pilot announced over the intercom.
“Venice?! What are we doing here? Are you sure you packed everything for me? I should have double-checked behind you.” I left her in the dark about our trip and made everyone else swear to secrecy.
“Jewel, do you not trust me to ensure you always have everything you need?” She pouted those luscious lips of hers.
“Why you gotta get so serious on me, of course I trust you. Now I understand how Makayla felt all those times I helped Brian surprise her, wait did she know?! She dodged all of my questions earlier too.” I kissed the back of her hand, licked across her wrist, and nibbled on the crook of her elbow.
A throaty moan escaped, “That is the only sound I want to hear coming from you for the next seven days. We have had enough drama last us an entire lifetime, so take this time to worry about nothing but orgasms and filling your belly up with all the cultural foods.” Her dimpled smile replaced the pout .
“Ok, baby.”
“That’s my good girl.”
We got off the plane, and our private driver took us to the port where the ship that would be our home away from home awaited us.
“Are we going on a cruise ship? I always wanted to do that!” Phoenix changed into this white dress that lifted every time the breeze blew by. Lucky for her, we were the only ones here.
“Yes, but it’ll be different in a sense; you will see soon enough. It’s time for a check-in; how are you feeling right now?” She stopped to think about my question for a moment.
“I feel free. Free to enjoy this time with you without anything or anyone trying to break up our happiness. We’ve been cultivating this love for 15 years; it’s time for us to enjoy it. Don’t you agree?”
That hazel eye sparkled in the sun, and that’s all I ever wanted her. To be on the other end of that wanton smile. To feel worthy enough to receive, to never let a decision I make be the reason why her eyes aren’t luminescent anymore, with or without the sun.
“Yes, ma’am.”
We boarded the ship in thirty minutes. Phoenix looked around, amazed, but I knew she had questions.
“Where is everyone else, Kendrix? We can’t be the only ones on this ship.” The room steward took our bags to the suite.
“That’s because we are not on a cruise ship; it is a 600- sq foot yacht with our crew here to cater to your every need this week. There is a private theater, two jacuzzis, one pool, and a club. We are cruising the Mediterranean Sea; there will be stops in Croatia, Greece, Malta, France, and Italy. I brought you here because I remembered our conversation when we were two college kids with the world at our fingertips. You wanted to travel and study to infuse different cultures into your cooking; the stars in your eyes made me promise to myself that I would make that happen. After the year you had, this doesn’t come close to what you deserve.”
“Oh my goodness baby, I don’t know what to say except thank you. You do realize that it has been way too long since we’ve been intimate.”
She stepped into my space, and the box braids Makayla told her to get in preparation for this trip cascaded down her back. My dick has been hard for the past couple of weeks, but I was waiting for her to give me a sign that she was ready.
Phoenix cuffed the hardened steel of flesh through my basketball shorts; my entire body came alive, and her hand went up and down on my shaft. I should feel ashamed for how quickly my release came to the surface .
“Baby stop.” What the fuck are you saying? My dick screamed at me.
“Are you sure you want me to stop?” Gripping her chin, I punished her mouth. I was nibbling, twirling, and teasing her as she was doing me.
A throat clearing broke our embrace. “Hi, it’s so nice to meet you two love birds. Let me escort you to your suite, and we will leave you to it.”
Phoenix wiped the corners of her mouth and followed behind without a backward glance at me, but the switch in her hips teased me. That’s okay. I had some things planned for her; there would be no more interruptions.