Chapter 7
A fter installing all of the cameras around their home, Andres began his first roleplaying session with Dior.
He wanted to make sure that Layla could not only keep up with their progress but trust that her daughter was always safe with him if she couldn’t be around for their sessions.
Typically, Andres used roleplaying sessions to help his kids of all ages prepare for encounters with others of any kind.
For Dior specifically, they were focusing on roleplaying making friends.
When they were done, they talked about all the different animals Dior could name and why she liked each one, which led to her going through her collection of stuffed animals.
He found himself laughing at the names she’d chosen with her mother because they didn’t fit the animals at all.
For instance, her stuffed whale was called fish and the giraffe was kitty.
It reminded him of his mother’s weird way of naming their dogs over the years.
They started talking about the huskies he’d temporarily become the guardian of while he was staying with his parents and if Dior wanted any pets of her own.
Andres was confident, just off the few times he’d worked with Dior, that she was fully capable of living an independent life when she became of age.
His biggest thing from now until the day he stopped working with her was making sure she understood who to and who not to associate with.
He didn’t want anyone trying to take advantage of her.
Not just because of her uniqueness but because he’d felt protective of her and her mother since meeting them both.
Once they were done talking about animals, they began to draw.
Andres had his music going on his phone, and Dior surprisingly struck up a conversation about wanting to learn how to dance.
That was all Andres needed to hear.
He quickly did a search for the clean versions of songs that featured some of the most popular dances by black influencers on Tik Tok.
As they tried to learn the dances, Dior kept falling into a fit of giggles.
It wasn’t long before Layla was coming in with a wide grin to see what they were up to.
After taking a few pictures and videos of them, she started trying to learn the dances too.
Dior ended up learning them the quickest, and by the time Andres had learned one, he was tired as hell.
A short time after their impromptu dance session, it was time for Dior to start winding down.
She loved doing things in order and with reason, and Andres admired that.
As he prepared to leave for the evening, Layla asked, “Do you have time for a glass of wine?”
“Yeah, that’s cool. I don’t like that fruity shit, though.”
Layla smiled as she led him to her dining room, and Andres couldn’t resist zeroing in on her pear shaped ass.
It wasn’t big but it had a little bounce to it.
He loved how natural her frame was.
The past couple of nights, Andres found himself dreaming about the body that was hidden underneath her colorful outfits.
It didn’t matter how low her energy felt, Layla was always dressed in bright colors.
Today, it was yellow.
And…
it was the first time she seemed lighter and more at ease.
“Is Chardonnay okay? It’s the only thing I have that isn’t super sweet.”
Andres chuckled with a nod.
“Yeah, that’s cool.”
“Good.” Her smile was sweet as she grabbed two glasses from the cabinet.
“I just wanted to thank you before you left. Today is the first day in a long, long, long time that I’ve had hands on help with Dior. There were several points this evening that I didn’t know what the hell to do with myself.” Her breath came out shaky before she chuckled softly.
“I opened my Kindle app for the first time in forever and started on a new book.” As she handed him his glass, her eyes watered.
“Thank you, Andres.”
As he accepted the glass, Andres allowed his fingers to brush over hers.
He wanted to say it was his job, but really, Andres would have wanted to be around them even if it wasn’t.
Because of his sister, there was a huge hole in his heart for children with Autism, and he’d always been a softie when it came to kids.
On top of that, there was something about Layla that had been drawing him closer and closer every time they were in each other’s presence.
“What do you like to read?”
Her smile widened.
“Romance. Any sub-genre, just as long as it has a good love story. Do you like to read?”
“Yeah, but mostly mystery, paranormal, and thriller.”
“Ooh spicy.” Her eyes lit up.
“What was your latest read?”
Andres chuckled.
“Don’t laugh.”
Immediately her grin widened.
“You can’t tell me not to laugh because that’s going to make me laugh.”
“‘Billy Summers’ by Stephen King is my most recent download, but I paused it to read the “Harry Potter” series.
”
Her eyes widened and she released a quick cackle before covering her mouth, making him chuckle and shake his head.
“Harry Potter, Dre? Seriously?”
At the sound of her calling him Dre, a smile settled on his lips after he licked them.
For a few seconds, all he could do was stare into her dark, hypnotic eyes.
If she didn’t watch that shit, he was going to have her in positions that let him hear how good her sultry voice sounded moaning his name.
“The shit is interesting, aight?”
She giggled.
“I tried to watch the series but couldn’t get into it. Same thing with Twilight . Maybe I would enjoy the books better.”
“Come on.” Andres took her hand into his and led her into the living room.
“What are we about to do?” she asked sweetly.
“We’re going to read the first book together. If you like it, we’ll start the movies.”
“Really?”
They sat so close on the couch their legs touched one another.
“Yeah. Unless you got something else to do?”
She stared at him for a few seconds before shaking her head.
“There’s nothing else I’d rather do.”
Biting back his smile, Andres nodded.
“Cool. I hope you don’t read slow either…”