Chapter 10
ten
LARISSA
“Okay, Rissa! Come through!”
I stepped into the sunroom at his mother’s house. The family was there, kids running at full speed around the play structure, Papa Stew putting balls into the yard. Asa was at the play structure, pushing Ezra on the little baby swing.
“I’ll let Asa know you’re here,” Bliss said, rolling her eyes at her twin.
I stopped her. “No need to do that. Ezra looks happy out there.”
After I left Jax, I spent a little time with my niece and nephew. Then, X drove me to the airport the next morning. While I was waiting for my flight to board, I received a call from Joyce Batchelor.
Apparently, Jax had spoken with her at length about me and she wanted to touch base as soon as possible. When I informed her of my plan to move to the area, she invited me to visit the Batchelor Corp offices in Downtown Detroit. Tomorrow.
Tyn handed me a tall glass of lemonade. Mama Vicki had a small procedure on her foot, so she was in town helping out. “Have a seat, sis.”
I took a sip of the juice. “Yum.” I eyed the peach cobbler on the table and pointed at it. “Did you make this?”
My bestfran knew how to throw down in that kitchen and I loved eating her cooking. Back in the day, we’d lived together for a short stint when she was interning at a nonprofit near me. I nearly ate myself into a coma on her peach cobbler.
“Yeah, girl.” Blake carved out a huge scoop and dropped it on her plate. “This shit slaps.”
“How many pieces of that are you going to eat?” Dallas asked, licking her spoon.
Demi giggled. “She’s already had two.”
“She made it for me,” Blake said.
“I made it for Mom.” Tyn cut me a piece and handed it to me. “You’re just greedy, Sissy.”
“Whatever,” Blake groaned. “Before you leave Michigan, I need one of them for my house.”
I laughed at their antics. They had always been a vibe, and solid. “Y’all are crazy.”
Blake snorted. “Y’all? I’m not the one who hid a whole ass relationship for two years.”
I paused, fork midair. Setting my plate on the table, I sat back in the chair. “Alright, let’s hear it. How long have you known?
“I promise I didn’t tell them,” Bliss chimed in.
Dallas smirked. “Girl, we been knew.”
Tyn shook her head. “No, you didn’t. You just found out.”
“Exactly,” Blake agreed.
I wasn’t surprised. After all, it was the worst kept secret. “Who told you?” I asked
“Demi.”
My friend sank in her chair. “Sorry, sis,” Demi said. “It just came out.”
Now that did surprise me. Usually, Demi stayed out of other people’s business. “I can’t believe you carried the bone.” I chuckled. “That’s not even like you.”
“In case you haven’t realized, Dallas is a witch. She conjures up ways to figure shit out. I stepped in it last month when she was talking about Bliss acting weird on the phone while she was at Asa’s house.”
Bliss frowned. “Don’t put that on me. I didn’t tell Dallas anything.”
“Whatever,” Demi said with a hard eye roll. “She caught me slippin’.”
Dallas cracked up. “And did.”
“Who told you, Demi?” I pressed.
Blake shrugged. “You know that was some pillow talk shit. Somehow, Duke found out and they were spilling their guts after an orgasm. Or two.”
“Or three, chile,”—Dallas gave Blake a high-five—“that shit will have you losing all your composure.”
We all burst out in a fit of giggles.
“Seriously, though,” Tyn said. “You’re good, sis.”
I looked at all of them. “Just so you know, I did break your brother’s heart.” I rushed on before Blake could get a word out. “But I’m here to fix it.”
Dallas shared an amused glance with her sister. “I was gonna say . . .”
“You know how we get down,” Blake added. “I would hate to have to fight you, Rissa. I love you.”
Bliss giggled. “Sissy, I wonder when your violent streak is going to end? I mean, you’re still ready to fight and you’re having consistent sex. And you love your man. And you’re a mother.”
“Oop,” Dallas said. “I guess she told you, Blake.”
Blake rolled her eyes. “Please. I love you, sista, but you need to go find a dick to sit on.”
I barked out a laugh. “Oh my God, you are so wrong for that.”
“Shut the hell up, Blake,” Bliss grumbled.
“I’m so serious.” Blake finished her cobbler. “Just because you don’t have anyone to hakuna-your-ta-tas doesn’t mean everyone else has to suffer. And my son won’t stop me from tearing some shit up. Neither will Lennox.”
Bliss folded her arms over her chest. “I can’t just sit on a random. I’m not a heaux by nature.”
“Since you don’t have anyone else to match in the family, maybe it’s time for you to get your razzle dazzle on,” Dallas suggested. “And not with a mediocre dick either.”
“Uh oh,” Demi muttered. “Y’all better stop talking about dicks. Dad is coming.”
Papa Stew reached the porch with a wide smile on his face. “Rissa, what are you doing here?”
I gave him a hug. “Came to see Asa.”
He nodded, glancing over his shoulder at the kids and Asa. “You better go get him. Ezra likes to be out there all day.”
Peeking around him, I spotted Asa chasing Bliss’s daughter around the swing set. He caught her easily and tossed her into the air. The little girl screamed in delight when he spun her around before he set her back on her feet.
Tyn bumped my leg. “You better go get your man, sis.”
I made a face at my bestie. “Shut up.”
Papa Stew chuckled. “It’s okay, Rissa. I already talked to Jax.”
“O-kay?”
“You have my blessing,” he added, squeezing my shoulder before excusing himself.
Sucking in a deep breath, I headed toward the play area. Before I could step in the grass, Asa spotted me and met me halfway. It felt like a sign. “Hi,” I said.
He brushed his thumb over my cheek. “Hi.” He placed a gentle kiss on my lips. “I missed you.”
“I love you,” I blurted, nearly choking around the emotion clogging my throat.
A smirk formed on his lips. “Was it that hard to say?”
My shoulders fell. “Not hard, just . . . true. I love you so much, Asa. You’re not just my lil light thang. You’re my everything.”
His eyes fluttered closed and he rested his forehead against mine. “It feels so good to hear you say that,” he whispered.
“I’ll say it anytime you need to hear it, with no hesitation.” I kissed his brow. “Until I can’t talk anymore and you have to wheel me around in a chair and change my adult diapers.”
He barked out a laugh.
“And I love your son. I want every day with you. I want nights. I want dinners. I want fried cauliflower.”
“You can keep that shit.” His gaze softened. “I love you, too.”
“The last few months were hard for you, for all of us,” I continued.
“But you have been a bright spot in my life. Even during some of my darkest days. And that didn’t start a few weeks ago, a few months ago, or even a year ago.
It started the night you slid up to the bar to shoot your shot, told me you wanted to do a lil one-two with me. ”
The corners of his mouth quirked up. “And a three-four.”
I giggled, resting my head on his chest. I felt his lips on my forehead, his hands sliding to my ass.
Peering up at him, I said, “Everything changed that night. And everything that happened after it brought me here. To you.” I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“So I guess I said all that to say . . . I wanna be where you are. I will even run on that treadmill if it means I get to be near you. I want to teach Ezra everything I know. I want to see all his firsts, go to every sports match, and every graduation.” I didn’t realize I was crying until he brushed the tears off my cheeks.
“I just want us to be a family. I want you.”
Asa lifted me into his arms and pressed his mouth against mine in a searing kiss. “I would love that. Forever.”
ASA
Three months later
“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Chunk Chunk! Happy birthday to you!”
The room erupted into loud cheers and applause as Ezra grabbed a handful of cake and smashed it into his face.
Rissa moved to Michigan yesterday.
And my son turned one year old today.
If someone told me six months ago that this would be my life, I would’ve told them they were crazy as hell.
When Gemma died, my world tilted on its axis. I didn’t think I could ever be this happy again. Not without my best friend. Not without my sister.
But . . .
She’d come to me in a dream last night. She was beautiful .
. . healthy, happy, restored. We peered up at the sky, talked about Ezra, about how big he was and how I showed him pictures of us as kids.
I hung a framed picture of her in his bedroom and told him stories about our childhood.
He didn’t understand that shit, but I promised to never stop sharing his mother with him.
We laughed when I told her his first word.
Ma.
It felt like a sign that I was doing something right.
Then she hugged me, kissed my cheek, and before she disappeared into a cloud, she said, “Take care of our son. And propose to Rissa.”
This morning, I bought a ring. It wasn’t fancy, just something I could bring home today. We would switch it out later.
“Hey.” Rissa wrapped her arms around my waist. “Are you okay?”
I swallowed hard. “Perfect.”
She beamed up at me. “Good. There’s cake everywhere, though.”
Gripping her throat, I pulled her into a kiss. In front of everybody and our mamas. “Which means he’ll be cake wasted later.”
A slow smile spread over her lips. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Then, someone called her name, effectively bursting our little bubble. And she glided across the room to play hostess.
Tristan approached me, a beer in hand and a smile on his face. “I like that look on you, baby brotha.”
I glanced at him. “What look?”
“Peace.”
“I’m glad I can feel it.”
“Did you get the ring?” he asked.
“It’s in my pocket.”
“Just don’t do it here. Ma’s going to cry. Dad will give you advice. And Dallas’s ass will ask too many questions.”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” I assured him.
“Do it in private. You know . . . Just you and her. Like I did with Sasha.”
I frowned. “Wait, what? You’re engaged?”
It was just like my brother to not mention that he’d asked his girlfriend to marry him. But I wasn’t mad at him. He did things on his own time, in his own way. And he’d shown me that it was okay for me to do the same.
“A couple of months ago,” he explained. “It’s been a hard year.”
Curious, I asked, “You good?”
“I’ll tell you everything.” He chuckled. “One day.”
Waving a dismissive hand, I grumbled, “Man, you gotta stop that chuckling. It feels wrong.”
Then, he barked out a laugh.
“And what the hell was that?” I asked, unable to hide my own smile. “Now you’re laughing and shit?”
He shoved me. “Get the fuck out of here, man.”
I clasped a hand on his shoulder. “I swear, you’re getting soft in your old age.”
“Shut the hell up.” He cracked a small smile. “But Dad always told me one day I would find a woman who would make me want to give her all my money. Shit, I spent a mint on that ring.”
“Hey, if that’s what you had to do . . . I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks,” he said. “Let me know when it’s done. So I can get out of that group chat. Dallas keeps adding me back in.”
My gaze followed Rissa’s movements, the sway of her hips as she grabbed cups, poured drinks, cut cake, and laughed with Zara. The urge to be alone with her propelled me to go to her.
As our family celebrated our son, I pulled my girlfriend into the wine closet situated on the back of the house.
“What are you doing?” she asked, a confused look in her eyes.
I perched her up on the counter and kissed her. “Getting ready to fuck you in this wine closet.”
She gasped, then her eyes widened. “No.” She pushed me away from her, but I wouldn’t be deterred. “We can’t do that here. Not now.”
“Just be quiet.”
I dropped to my knees, slid my hands under her skirt, and brushed her clit with my thumb.
Her head fell back on a sigh. “Hurry up,” she whispered.
Pulling her closer, I tugged her panties off and slid my tongue over her slit.
“Oh shit,” she groaned.
“Shhh,” I murmured against her pussy. “My mom has robot ears.”
“You’re killing me.”
I coaxed her with my tongue, licking and sucking her until she came against my mouth with a low whimper. Standing to my full height, I unbuttoned my jeans and pushed my pants down. Then, I was inside of her.
“I love you,” I whispered, setting a slow pace.
“Love you, too.” She sucked my bottom lip. “Now, go ahead and make love to me.”
“As you wish.”
“Be gentle,” she added. “Last night I think I sprained something.”
Smiling, I said, “That was your fault. Nobody told you to do an extra set of lunges.”
“Shut up.” She kissed me. “I was trying to keep up with you.”
“You never have to do that.”
“Whatever.”
We made slow love, eyes locked on each other, our mouths pressed together. As we raced to completion, all I could see was her. And all I wanted to see for the rest of my life was her.
“Oh shit, I’m coming,” she announced.
And right before she fell over, I whispered, “Marry me.”
Her eyes popped open, and then she came, whispering yes over and over again. And then I followed her over.
Once our breathing slowed, I kissed her. “Doesn’t have to be this year or even next year. I just want you to be my wife.”
“I’m good with this year,” she said, a smile forming on her beautiful lips. “Love you.”
I rested my forehead on hers, closing my eyes when she placed a kiss there. “Love you, too.”
Sweet BLISS is next! Subscribe to my Newsletter to be the first to know about Young Family news!
Young in Love Series
Her Little Secret (Prelude)
It’s Not Me, It’s You
It’s Not Love, It’s Business
It’s Not the Hookup, It’s the Chase
It’s Not Them, It’s Only Her
It’s Not Forever, It’s For Now
It’s Not the Baby, It’s His Daddy
In the meantime… Keep reading for an excerpt from The Secrets We Hate. Knox Young is a relative.