Chapter 10
Christian
Iplanned to chill in the house all day and sleep the day away, but Angel invited me over. The twenty-four-hour shift that I just finished was one of the most difficult ones, and I had decided to hide away from the world.
Angel had texted me throughout the day yesterday, and she had seen some of it on the news. She called and invited me over early this morning if I was up to it.
I watched as she moved around the kitchen expertly.
I always loved the way she managed to make everything look so easy as she cooked and cleaned while she went.
It was something most people took for granted, but whenever she and Jeremiah hosted events, she was always busy making sure everyone was taken care of.
I played with Belle in her high chair while feeding her the gourmet baby food that Angel prepared.
“That’s a good baby,” I declared after I pulled the spoon free from her mouth. The roasted carrot and asparagus mixture smelled delicious, and she seemed to like it. Her little chubby cheeks worked up and down as she gummed her food.
I scooped another spoonful and fed her the last little bit as Angel placed my plate before me at the island. “Here you go, babe.”
I turned away from the high chair as Angel cleaned the stove and counters. She sang a few Christmas tunes while she worked, and her beautiful voice soothed my nerves. I tucked into my pecan cinnamon waffles with the baked apple topping as I became lost in my thoughts about my shift.
“Chris? Chris? Chris!”
I pulled my eyes from my plate. I noticed that I had eaten one waffle, and the other one—I was just pushing slices of it around on the plate. “Yeah?”
“I’ve been talking to you and calling your name for the last few seconds. Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Talk to me, babe.”
“No one should have to go through that, Angel. Kids and elderly people are left without homes at Christmas time. All these kids have nothing, let alone any toys, for Christmas Day. Then there’s the elderly and the sick.
What are they supposed to do? It’s too cold out here to be trying to figure it all out. ”
“I’m sure there are resources to help them.”
“There are, but you can’t get back those memories, babe. Not to mention all the red tape.”
“How did it start?”
“Faulty wiring. Apparently, the man whose house it started in had been reporting issues to the landlord for a while, and they promised they would send someone in to check on it, but they never did. Now, because of the landlord’s negligence, that man and thirty other residents are without homes, and people have suffered injuries needlessly. ”
It was hard for me to erase the sad faces from my mind, and the sound of crying children and babies. My last twenty-four hours had been steeped in the hopelessness of those residents.
“Was the man whose house it started in injured badly?” Angel asked, wiping the counter down.
“Luckily, he wasn’t at home at the time.
Someone said that he was away with his daughter and her family for dinner.
The worst part of all that is the little four-year-old boy who suffered bad injuries in the fire.
Angel, this baby was suffering from pain, and all he wanted to know was if his little sister still had all her toys for Christmas. She was just two.”
“Aww, that’s so precious and so heartbreaking. Was she okay?”
“Yeah, she was sleeping in her mother’s bed on the other side of the apartment. His bedroom was closer to the apartment where the fire started. It’s a miracle that he survived. I just pray that he’ll be okay as he goes through countless surgeries.”
She set the dishcloth aside and washed her hands.
“God, that is so devastating. I’ll be praying for them.”
“I swear, I don’t even know why I still do this job sometimes, Angel. It’s hard to do it on a normal day, let alone during the holidays. It doesn’t feel like I’m making a difference.”
Angel sat beside me and swiveled her stool to face me. “Look at me, Chris.” I turned to her, and she grabbed my hands. “You’re making a difference in so many people’s lives. Why did you choose that field, baby?”
“Because my father and uncles were firefighters, and so is Nicholas, and Josh is an ER RN. I wanted to give back, impact the community, and help the victims in a more hands-on approach, so I chose to become a paramedic instead of a firefighter.”
“You are helping people and literally saving lives.” She pointed at Belle asleep in her high chair. “My baby wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”
“I didn’t do all that.”
“Yes, you did,” she emphasized, squeezing my hands. “If you’re not doing your job, that’s one less hero in the world to make it a better place for ordinary people like me.”
I laughed softly, shook my head, and replied, “I’m no one’s hero.”
Angel climbed off her stool, sat on my lap, and wrapped her arms around my neck. “What’s wrong, Chris? You’re my hero, and you will always be my hero. And guess what?”
“What?”
She pointed at Belle and stated, “And you’re that little girl’s hero. Can you imagine how she’ll feel when she grows up and realizes that you’re the reason she’s here?”
I placed my hand over her stomach and replied, “No, you’re the reason she’s here.
You’re the real hero. You didn’t allow your fears or what the world might say stop you from pursuing your dreams. You had no idea what you would be facing and how hard it was to be a single mother, yet you chose to have this little girl in spite of what you might face. I’d say that’s a hero.”
She kissed my lips. “Then she’s one blessed little girl because she’s got two heroes in her life.”
I patted her thigh. “Hop up.”
“Where are you going?”
“To put her in her bed for her morning nap,” I replied as Angel sat back on my chair and watched as I removed a sleeping Belle from her high chair, wiped her face, and carried her to her nursery.
I returned a couple of minutes later and scooped Angel up in my arms, making her giggle.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To claim my hero’s reward.”
“What about me? I thought I was a hero too. Don’t I get a reward?”
“You’re about to get your reward. And rewarding you is my reward.”
She giggled again and kicked her legs as I carried her to her bedroom and undressed her.
“I could do this all day, every day.”
“Let me find out you’re using me for my body, Chris, and there will be hell to pay.”
“Well bring it on because I am. I’m using you for your cooking, your body, your mind, your heart, your brain, and your beauty. Told you, I want it all,” I replied as I covered myself.
I sat on the edge of the bed, and I patted my thighs. “Climb on, facing me, baby.”
“This isn’t going to work.”
“Yes, it will.” I helped her climb onto my lap and slide down my dick. My eyes closed briefly at the feel of her tight heat cloaking me. I held her hands and instructed her. “Lean back and grind, baby. Make it feel good for you and me.”
She leaned back hesitantly at first. “Do you trust me not to let you fall?”
Her wide eyes searched mine before she nodded and replied, “Yes.”
“I got you,” I replied, locking our fingers together. Angel leaned back, hanging off the bed with only her heels planted in the mattress and her fingers locked in mine to secure her. She ground her hips, rocking around my shaft, and making me feel so damn good.
“Aww, baby, that’s it.”
Angel worked her hips and put in the work. I pulled her back close to me, kissed her, and then released her. I set her on the edge of the bed, placed her legs over my shoulders, and plunged inside of her.
“You’re so deep, Chris.”
“Look at me, Angel. Don’t take your eyes off me, baby. I want you to see how you make me feel.”
She nodded, and I rocked deeper into her. I grunted, and she moaned. She groaned, and I growled until she released on me while pushing her hips up. Angel clenched around me, and I chased her orgasm with an aggressive one of my own.
We may have started one way, but I was certain that I wasn’t letting this woman go. And I didn’t give a shit what anyone thought.
When I pulled out of her, I rolled onto the bed and pulled her into my arms.
“You don’t regret us, do you?” I asked after several seconds.
“Not at all. You make me happy, Chris.”
“I’m glad, because you definitely make me happy.”
“Do you feel differently than when you first arrived?”
“You always put things in perspective for me, Angel. I didn’t want to be anywhere else after that shift, but when you invited me over, I knew this was where I needed to be.”
“You should do something for those families. I know there’s not a lot of time until Christmas, but get with your crew and see if you all can do something to help those families, or at least the kids.”
“You’re right, Angel,” I replied, feeling better already. “You make everything all right and chase away the darkness with your beautiful light.”
“You know why I chase away the darkness, Chris?”
“No, why?”
“Because you are my light. It’s the light from within your soul that brightens mine. The way that you look at me, the way that you talk to me, the way that you see me in ways that no one else does, and how you appreciate me, makes me love you, Chris.”
My heart squeezed in my chest, and my jaw clenched.
“Are you saying that because I just put that thang on you, li’l mama?”
She laughed and smacked my chest. “Boy, no. You don’t have to tell me. It’s okay. When you say it, I want you to be sure, the same way that I was sure this morning. Okay?”
“Okay,” I replied. She didn’t look disappointed that I didn’t say I love her back. “Angel, when I’m ready to say that I love you, you won’t have to hear it, because you’ll feel my love, baby.”
I needed to be certain of what I was feeling before I spoke it.