Chapter 5 #2
“We were adults when we made that pact. I was twenty-one, a legal adult, and you were nineteen, with full voting privileges.”
“Are you serious?”
“I am. You have always meant the world to me.”
“As your best friend.”
“Li’l bit, I wanted so much more with you.”
“Then why didn’t you say that?” I cried out.
“Because I wasn’t good enough for you at the time. If I could protect you from the world, then I was damn sure going to protect you from me. Having you the way that I wanted you, Kalliope, knowing that I was ruined, would have destroyed you. I wouldn’t—couldn’t do that to you.”
A tear fell down my face, and he reached out and wiped it away. I turned my face and pressed my cheek against the palm of his hand, and then I turned it further, and I lightly pressed a kiss to his palm. Andrès leaned forward and kissed the top of my head.
When he pulled back, the copper in his russet brown eyes shone brightly.
Warm, tender fingers stroked the curves of my cheekbones as he spoke.
“I want you to be Mrs. Jones. Kalli, you were always the calm in my storm. When the world didn’t make sense to me, you made it make sense.
When I was angry, you brought me peace. When I was hurting, you were the balm to my soul.
You were the only one who could get through to me whenever I fell into a space that blocked the world out.
“When my dad moved to California, and I started acting out, you were the only one who got me. You would hang out in the treehouse with me when you were tired, cold, and hungry; sneak out of your window at night to lay underneath the stars; and listen to me complain for hours on end about my mom, Leon, my stepmother, Tora, and my dad. Not once did you complain or tell me to get over myself; you were just there. Sometimes, I wouldn’t even talk because I would be just that upset.
You sat with me in those angry silences, and you knew what had upset me, even when my mother couldn’t figure it out.
You celebrated my first job by baking a cake. ”
I laughed so hard. “Still feel bad about those eggshells.”
He chuckled and leaned over and kissed the top of my head. “It was the thought that counted. You cheered me on and encouraged me to save enough to buy my car.”
“What happened to it, anyway?”
“In storage.”
“Damn.”
“You were the one person who got me, whose goals aligned with mine, and we were going to be that power couple. You were my best friend, Kalli, and so much more. I always did love you, not just as my best friend, but as a woman who I could see myself building a future with. You never judged me or ridiculed my dreams. You encouraged them, and you inspired me to be a better version of myself.”
“How?”
“By being yourself, beautiful,” he explained, turning sideways to wipe my tears.
“I always loved you, Drè. I just didn’t realize that you felt the same.
You treated me like your kid sister. If I had known your feelings, I never would have become involved with Remy.
I held on all these years because he was the only thing that made sense in my life.
He was comfortable and familiar, and I couldn’t afford to lose anyone else that close to me.
Honestly, I held on because I couldn’t let go after losing you.
He was the only one who knew me other than you.
What about you? I heard you were on the brink of marriage. ”
“Never.”
“Mercedes, I believe her name was.”
He sighed. “That was a waste of time. She was married all that time, and I never knew it. She lived with me, lied to me, and remained in a relationship with me for three years before she broke things off because her husband was coming home from prison.”
“Damn, I’m sorry. That had to be hard for you.”
“I was more pissed than I was hurt, but I never planned to marry her. I never planned to marry anyone but you.”
I thought about the ring in my purse. When he first placed it on my finger, it had amazed me that it was a perfect fit. “You really want to marry me?”
“You’re the reason I came home, Kalli, the only reason. I’m not going anywhere.”
“I still can’t believe you’re back. It feels so surreal,” I whispered.
He leaned closer and kissed my forehead. “Believe it, baby girl. I’m here to stay.”
“I like the dreads; they look good on you.”
His naturally curly hair was faded on the sides, and his long dreads were no longer in a bun, but they hung down to the middle of his back.
When he reached up and touched his hair, I admired the tattoos that decorated his arms and neck. I recalled that he had a tattoo on his chest when we were teens, but he had added many more tats over the years. “Don’t even know what made me decide to get them.”
“Probably some girl telling you that you’d look good in them.”
“You’re probably right.”
“I’m jealous.”
“You shouldn’t be.”
“Why not?”
He laughed. “I remember exactly why I got these dreads. You were that girl who had told me once that they would look good on me. You were the reason I’d started them right after I left home.
Aside from the gold heart, I thought it might be something to remember you by, as if I could ever forget you.
I missed you,” he whispered softly before he pressed his thumb against my lips.
I parted them and exhaled softly, before my eyes fluttered closed. When he pressed his lips against mine, it was like a dream, and I leaned into it. His breath was sweet and peppery, and his tongue was cool and sweet.
Andrès gripped the base of my neck, and he lightly squeezed as his tongue penetrated my mouth, but I offered no complaints. I welcomed the kiss, loving the heat that trickled from my face to my toes and grew as fiery as a furnace as he continued.
When he pulled back, I exhaled deeply and stared into his eyes. I felt all warm inside. “You weren’t ever any good. You would have ruined me, still could.”
“I won’t ruin you, sweetheart. I will always protect you, and don’t say I wasn’t any good. Baby, I was the best. Least that’s what the girls said.”
“Ugh. Still insufferable. I’m still angry as hell at you, Drè. You were my best friend, and you just walked out. I’m still struggling with that. It’s why it took so long for me to return your calls.”
“I know, but we’ve got time to make up. I’m here, and I’m not leaving. You can find me here at this hotel until my house is built.”
“What if I don’t want to find you? What if I’m still angry and hurting about your abrupt disappearance and subsequent abandonment?”
“How about we work on forgiveness and moving forward into a beautiful future? Because a nigga like me has been missing his best friend.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have left her behind,” I stated, staring into his beautiful, russet-brown eyes.
“I kept my promise and returned. All I want is to heal our past and implement our vows, Mrs. Jones.”
I scoffed. “I don’t recall accepting your proposal.”
He leaned in and brushed his lips against mine. “I don’t recall you giving that ring back, and it looked so damn good on your finger when I placed it on there,” he muttered against my lips.
My heart sped up triple time, and my panties grew wet.
“So full of yourself.”
“No, but you will be soon.”
He captured my lips with his full heart-shaped ones. They were just as soft as I remembered, and they had the power to make me forget about the missing ten years and all the pain in between. I wanted exactly what Andrès was offering.