Sunday

13. Cedar

Cedar

“ R oll over, baby.”

“Hmm?” she muttered sleepily.

“Roll over.”

“CJ, I’m tired,” she whined.

She’d been up late last night marinating the meats and preparing the side dishes for the cookout we were hosting later today. Memorial Day was tomorrow, and I planned to entertain today and chill out tomorrow before we returned to work Tuesday.

I had offered to help her with the food last night, but she swore that she had it.

She said that I’d be on the grill all day, so she wanted to do her work beforehand.

I had gone to the living room and watched a baseball game.

The entire time she was in the kitchen, she had been on the phone with someone.

Every time I walked in there to grab a snack or a beer, she would stop talking.

It reminded me of that shit she said her mama did to her whenever her daddy walked into the room.

She just didn’t hang up the phone like her mama did.

I gently rolled her onto her back and shoved her nightgown up around her waist.

“Li’l horny ass. Why you ain’t wearing no panties with ya tired ass?” I teased, running my finger through her slit.

“I was hot last night,” she mumbled, working her hips in lazy circles.

“Mm-hmm. Hot in the ass. You didn’t get rid of the gown.”

She moaned when I slid my finger through her flesh. My thumb pressed against her clitoris, and I shoved two fingers inside of her. Sunday’s fingers grabbed the edge of her nightgown and pulled it up to her breasts until they were borne to the cool temperatures of the room.

I slid another finger inside of her as she rubbed her thumbs across her nipples.

“You want me to eat this pussy, baby?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Tell me you want me to eat it,” I ordered as I blew over her clit.

“Ohhh, shit. Please eat my pussy, CJ.”

“Ain’t ya li’l ass too tired for that?”

Sunday spread her legs wider and pumped her pussy into my face. I chuckled before I sucked her clit. She arched her back and moaned hoarsely.

“Please, more,” she begged.

I slid my fingers out, pulled her lips apart, and slid my tongue inside of her. I loved the way that Sunday tasted and how she always saturated my beard, lips, and mustache with her juices.

I loved eating her pussy so much I never washed my face or brushed my teeth right away.

I loved smelling her scent. What I loved even more was how she reacted to my mouth on her or my dick and fingers inside of her.

Knowing that I could bring that type of pleasure to her that had her speaking another language and losing complete control of the elegant poise she exhibited at work pleased me.

Sunday was still young and impressionable, and I always wanted to be cautious with her.

I was careful not to manipulate her or try to control her in any way.

I wanted her to be free to express her opinions and make her own decisions.

That was not some shit I would ever have thought of until her daddy said that shit to me.

Although I’d been pissed at the time he accused me of preying on his daughter, later, I’d gone back to consider his accusation.

I knew that I’d never done anything that could be considered predatorial.

But now it had me being extremely cautious with her at all times.

The downfall of that was that I wondered if I was priming myself to be taken advantage of again.

“I can’t contain it,” she whimpered.

I chuckled. She often said little shit like that instead of “I gotta cum.”

I slid a finger inside of her, along with my tongue, and she snatched the pillow from underneath her head. Pressing it over her face, she screamed as she erupted in my mouth.

Her sweet nectar was all I needed. I pulled back after I cleaned her with my mouth and tongue. Sunday curled up into a ball, and I swatted her on the ass.

“Go back to sleep and finish resting up.”

“I can’t go back now.”

“A’ight. Get dressed and join me downstairs. I’m getting ready to make Sunday brunch.”

“Okay.”

I spent the next two hours cooking and preparing our brunch. Sunday still hadn’t come down by the time that I plated our meal of strawberry crepes, lemon curd, country ham, and a spinach quiche.

I poured juice for both of us and set the plates at the little table at the breakfast nook. Our window overlooked the main street, which looked out on shops, across the street, and other townhomes like ours up and down the street.

“Okay, her ass couldn’t fall back to sleep,” I muttered with a chuckle as I headed upstairs to wake her up. Sunday had moved into the bedroom with me, and we were in the process of changing her former bedroom into our baby’s nursery.

We’d placed her queen-sized bed in storage until we brought a bigger place. My king-sized bed was more than enough room for the two of us. Just before I reached our bedroom door, I heard her voice on the phone. It wasn’t that she was loud, but I could hear her talking.

She must have gotten caught up on the phone with Janae or Celine and forgot all about brunch. That was surprising because her greedy ass never got enough of eating these days.

I pushed the door open and noticed she had the covers over her head.

“No, it’s not a good time.” The covers muffled her voice, but I could hear her clearly.

I cleared my throat as I leaned against the doorframe. I wasn’t a sneaky nigga, and I wasn’t about to be creeping around my house eavesdropping. She needed to know that I was there. Her eyes were wide when she threw the covers back and stared at me.

“Hey, uhm, . . . let me call you back later. I need to go eat.”

She ended the call without waiting for whoever was on the other line to respond.

“What’s up?”

“That’s what I wanna know.”

“What’re you talking about, Cedar?” she asked, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

“You were late coming down for brunch. You never miss brunch, and you’re always down there before I finish cooking. Matter of fact, you’re usually down there while I’m cooking. What’s up?”

She shrugged but didn’t meet my gaze. I watched as she shuffled across the room and grabbed her robe. Sunday placed it on, slid into her slippers, and headed into the bathroom.

“Nothing,” she finally commented in a cheerful voice.

She closed the door behind her, and I glanced at her phone that lay on the bed, tempting me.

Sunday didn’t keep a lock on her phone, and it would be easy to go inside and figure out who she was talking with.

But I didn’t want to snoop on her like that.

The last time I did that shit, I’d been destroyed.

I needed to trust her, and I needed her to be honest with me.

But I wouldn’t lie. I was getting suspicious as a muthafucka.

She was behaving very oddly lately, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

On the one hand, she kept assuring me that she was fine and we were good.

On the other hand, she was acting out of character.

I was a firm believer that actions spoke louder than words.

I listened as the toilet flushed, and then the water turned on in the sink as she washed her hands. It took her a little longer than I expected, and I figured she was probably washing her face too. When she stepped out of the bathroom, I wiggled my fingers at her.

I grabbed her hand when she walked up to me. I led her down the steps and to the breakfast nook for us to have brunch. We sat down and held hands, and I prayed over our meal.

She ate in silence as I carefully watched her throughout the meal. We were halfway through before she finally spoke up.

“You’re gonna keep staring at me?”

“Are you gonna keep secrets from me?”

“I’m not keeping secrets from you, Cedar.”

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but I’m feeling the strain of something, and I don’t like it, Sunday.”

She blew out a breath. “What do you want from me, CJ? I reassure you that I’m not cheating on you. I love you and want no one else but you.”

“But your moods don’t match your words.”

She scratched the back of her neck and said, “Forgive me. I’m a pregnant woman with severe mood swings. I haven’t adjusted to this, CJ. I’m not used to being up one minute and down the next. What do you want from me?”

Her eyes welled with tears, and I couldn’t help but wonder where the hell this was coming from.

Maybe she was right. Maybe it was just pregnancy hormones.

After all, I hadn’t been around enough pregnant women to call it, and I damn sure wasn’t an expert on this shit.

But my gut kept telling me it was something more.

“Who were you on the phone with?”

I couldn’t get caught up in her emotions. As much as I wanted to protect Sunday, I needed her to protect me, and it didn’t feel like she was doing that at the moment.

“Layla.”

“Who’s Layla?”

“My high school friend.”

“Same person you met at the hotel?”

“We weren’t at the hotel. I wish you’d quit saying it that way,” she mumbled as she cut a piece of her crepe with her fork. She pushed it around the plate, but she didn’t eat it.

“What else am I supposed to say?”

“I told you that we met at the restaurant.”

“You also told me she was an old friend who just happened to be in town.”

“She is.”

“You made it sound like it was a one-time thing.”

“She wants to stay in contact. That’s all.”

“Then how come I’m just hearing about her?”

“She’s no one important. Like I said, she reached out because she knew I lived here now. We were just catching up on each other’s lives. We just chat on the phone from time to time. End of story.”

She stared at me for several long seconds before she breathed out a long exhale.

“I know what you’re thinking, baby.” Sunday reached across the table and grabbed my hands to comfort and reassure me.

“I don’t think you do.”

“I do. You’re thinking about Taylor and the lies she told.

You’re thinking about how badly she hurt you and how you don’t want to go down that road again.

I get it. But, baby, trust me. I promise that I won’t cheat on you.

You’re a good man, CJ, and I love you with all my heart.

I look forward to raising our son with you. Why would I mess up a good thing?”

“I don’t know, Sunny. Why would you?”

“I wouldn’t, baby.”

“Same thing that I thought about Taylor.”

Sunday shook my hands and stared into my eyes. “Listen to me and look at me, please. I’m not Taylor, and I would never do the things that she did to you. I love you, and you mean the world to me. I want what we have, Cedar. That’s all I want.”

“We have a baby involved in this thing, Sunday. When I walked away from Taylor, it impacted no one but me and her. I’m not playing that game with my seed.

I told you I’m possessive and protective about what’s mine, and that includes you.

But I can’t force you to want to be with me or do right by me.

What I won’t do is get a child caught up in some bullshit.

So, if this is the end of us, if you want something different, then tell me now before we go further. ”

Sunday’s face scrunched up, and she looked as if she might cry for a moment.

“I hate that you hurt as badly as you do. I truly do. I hate that you have all this baggage from your past. And I pray that one day, I won’t be the recipient of the weight of that.

But I’ll stand by your side until you see that I’m not her.

This baby . . .” She placed her hand on her belly.

“Our baby means the world to me, and I’m gonna give him the best, loving, protected, and safe home and environment possible, with both his parents involved in his life daily. ”

“I hope so, Sunny. Because I’m serious.”

Sunday released my hands and walked around the table to sit on my lap. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she used her locked wrists to pull my head closer to her. She dipped her head, stared into my eyes, and whispered, “I know that you are. I love you, Mr. Jackson.”

“I love you, Sunny. You got my heart, girl. Treat it right.”

“I promise,” she whispered.

When she brushed her lips against mine, I let the rigidity in my body wash away. I bit her bottom lip until she opened it for me. Sucking her lip into my mouth, I grazed my tongue over it and slowly slipped it into her mouth.

Our kiss was slow but heated, and in it, a million words were spoken about the depth of my feelings for her. When she pulled back, she stood. I smacked her on the ass. “Get you some rest before our company arrives later,” I ordered.

“Are we good?” she asked, repeating the question I always ask her.

“Yeah.”

“Love you.”

“Love you, too, Sunny.”

As she walked off, I couldn’t help but wonder what she wasn’t telling me.