Chapter 13
Kennedi
Iwoke up refreshed and relaxed. Bryson was holding me and kissing my shoulder. I turned in his arms and stared into his eyes. “Thank you for last night.”
“All you have to do is ask. My entire purpose is to please you. I love this space that we’ve been in the last few days.”
“So do I. We fell into a dark place for a while, and I know that it was my fault. But this right here feels like a safe place.”
“It wasn’t just your fault, baby. It was both of our faults. I never should have left you feeling devalued, and I should have heard your feelings. I should have taken the time to validate them, and maybe you would have made me your priority at that time.”
I caressed his face and kissed his lips. “I just wanted you to take my career as seriously as you do your own. I mean, I know that you know that what I do is important, but it just felt like you believed I could step away at any given time and be at your beck and call.”
“I did expect that, and it wasn’t fair to you.”
“Do you think that we can maintain this comfortable, safe space after we return?”
He sighed. “I do. But I also believe that it will take work. It won’t always be easy, but I believe with transparency, frequent communication, and being able to be vulnerable with each other, we can maintain a safe space.”
“Speaking of vulnerability, we never got to discuss what took place between us yesterday. I wanted first to say, thank you for being vulnerable with me and trusting me to please you in a new, but meaningful way.”
“You do realize that you fucked my head up with that shit. I still don’t get why that turned me on so much.”
“It doesn’t say anything about your masculinity. I know most people assume that if a man is turned on by someone touching his ass or coming close to it, that means he’s gay, but it honestly doesn’t.”
“I know like hell it doesn’t.”
“Would you like to know what it means?” I asked, looping my leg over his left thigh.
“I mean, if you’re in the business of educating a nigga about something foreign that’s happening in his body, I’m all ears. Just don’t get comfortable with the idea of doing it again.”
I smiled and kissed his lips. “Boy, you know you loved that kinky shit I did to you. Basically, all I was doing was stimulating your prostate from outside of your body. It enhanced the blood flow and caused you to experience a stronger erection than you usually do. Your prostatic fluid was drawn into the prostate and signaled to your sperm that it needed to move. That caused your body to get ready to release.”
“You can explain it a thousand times or more, and I’m not certain that I’ll ever be comfortable with it.”
“I think you would be if you were honest with yourself. Let’s explore that. Why aren’t you comfortable? Are you scared that it says something about your sexuality?”
“Not at all. I’m comfortable with the man that I am.
I have no questions about my sexuality, but if that shit were to get out, I would be concerned about what others might think.
Make no mistake about it, I’m just as dangerous in the streets as I am in the courtroom, but I also don’t want nan nigga trying me. ”
“I doubt they would, sweetheart.”
I kissed him again, and my stomach growled.
“Think we need to do something about that shit, while you’re up in here worrying about my ass.”
I giggled and climbed out of the bed just as he threw a pillow and hit me in the back.
“Get up and get dressed so we can get breakfast, please.”
He laughed, and we got dressed in record time to head to the B&B.
Bryson’s phone rang before we left the cabin, and he answered it.
He grabbed my hand as we headed out the door and up the walking trail.
I took my time to marvel at the beautiful red and gold leaves that were in abundance up here and inhale the crisp mountain air coming off the lake.
I couldn’t wait to get back to that lake.
I didn’t understand it, but it felt as though I had a connection to it, as though something was calling to me from down there.
Whenever I was there, I felt peace, humble, and whole.
There was a serenity there that I had never experienced.
“Yeah, . . . I’m well aware of the stipulations for his release, as was he. I impressed upon him the importance of staying away from her.”
He listened as we continued to walk. From where we were, I could smell the heavy aroma of maple and cinnamon in the air, and I knew that it was coming down from the B&B. I couldn’t wait to get breakfast.
Bryson lifted our knuckles to his lips and kissed them before he lowered them and snapped on someone on the other end of the call.
“I’m not in town, and I cannot make it there. He’s gonna have to sit his ass in jail until I return. He knew what the fuck time it was. What made him violate the terms of his bond? You both knew the risk of his bond being revoked if he didn’t adhere to those terms.”
Bryson stopped walking and held up a finger for me to wait.
I thought about the waterfalls that weren’t too far away, according to one of the staff members up at the B&B.
I hoped that Bryson and I could check it out later in the afternoon since we didn’t have any plans.
When my attention returned to his conversation, I second-guessed that theory.
“It’ll take me three hours to drive back. It would take roughly an hour to get that shit situated, and I could be back here before dinner. Yeah, . . . I’m listening.”
I wanted to blow a fuse. As much as he gave me a hard time about not putting him first, how dare he cut into our vacation to attend to one of those damn thugs he represented? Fury poured through my veins, and I felt the tears coming on.
I knew we agreed to talk things out, but I needed to escape him for the moment.
He continued with his conversation, heading back toward the cabin, and I headed to the B&B.
I was still angry when I stepped inside the dining hall to fix my plate, but it all seeped out of me when I saw the woman from the bar.
She was chatting with some of the customers at one table.
I had no idea she worked here. What a coincidence that was.
I headed to the line to fix to-go platters for both Bryson and me.
The woman from the bar walked to where we stood and removed the almost empty tray of sausages and replaced it with a new one.
Several other people were ahead of me, and they were chatting her up. She turned her gaze to me and smiled.
“Hello. I’ve been meaning to tell you that you and your fiancé make a gorgeous couple.
I can tell that he loves you from how he looks at you.
A piece of advice to keep it going: Don’t always be so quick to jump to conclusions, but give each other the benefit of the doubt.
You’ll be surprised at how many problems can be resolved that way. ”
What was she talking about? I scanned my brain but came up empty. “Uhm, I’m sorry, but aren’t you—”
“Biscuits are calling, and I’ve got to make them. It’s been wonderful talking to everyone. Enjoy your day, folks,” she called over her shoulder before disappearing through a door marked “Restricted, kitchen personnel only.”
I shook my head and left the line. I wasn’t certain what Bryson would want, if anything at all. I needed to confront him about the possibility of his leaving me up here before I could eat. My appetite had diminished no sooner than I had been prepared to fix my plate.
When I returned to our cabin, I was relieved to see that Bryson was no longer on a call. He was pouring himself a glass of juice.
“Hey, you left me.”
“It didn’t seem like you were in a hurry to get something to eat, and I told you that I was hungry,” I mumbled, washing my hands.
Bryson moved behind me and wrapped me in his embrace. Resting his chin on my shoulder, he nipped my ear before he asked, “Are you in your feelings?”
“Damn right, I am.”
“Can we talk about it before you explode?” he asked, reminding me of one of our vows to talk things out.
“Sure.”
He led me back to the couch. “What’s going on? Is this about my call?”
“Yes. It sounds to me like you’re about to hop on the road to save the day for one of your clients, while you leave me behind. Or maybe not. Maybe you were planning on taking me with you, although you never take me with you to handle your business.”
Bryson grabbed my hands and rubbed his over mine.
“And you’re right. I never take you with me, and I’m not about to start now.
What you’re not right about is me returning.
I’m not going anywhere, baby. Yes, they wanted me to, and even offered to triple my rate, but I’m not doing that shit.
I vowed to put us first, and that’s what I meant. ”
“I heard you discussing how long it would take for you to return and how you could be back here by dinner time.”
“You heard me talking that shit out with his hysterical wife, trying to talk some sense into her head or expecting her to make it make sense to me. I wanted her to consider how she would handle it if she had to leave vacation to take care of something and lost almost an entire day doing that.”
“So, you’re not going?”
“No. I’m not going.”
“Did she understand?” I searched his eyes to see if there was any doubt about his decision, but I didn’t see any.
“I don’t give a shit if she understood or not.
The only thing that I care about right now is spending time with my lady and enjoying this beautiful fall day on our vacation.
Our relationship is my priority, Kennedi, whether you believe it or not.
I didn’t give you hell for me to turn around and do the same bullshit.
If this is my second chance at love, I’m gonna treat it like it’s my only one. ”
“Can we get breakfast now?”
He laughed and stood, tugging me out of my seat. “Yeah, let’s go feed your big, back ass before you fuck up my relationship over your hungry stomach, woman.”
I laughed, and we talked about the promotion a little as we made our way back to the B&B.
We were standing in line, and I was trying to choose between the Belgian waffles and chocolate chip pancakes when the woman from the bar appeared again.
I glanced at her and then at Bryson, but he was in a deep conversation with another one of the male guests about something.
“You’re trying to choose which is best. Both are good, but trust your instincts. Always trust your instincts. You have the wisdom inside of you to make the best choices,” she advised and winked at me.
“Delivery man is here,” someone called out from the kitchen. Just like before, the woman disappeared into the kitchen before I could even have a chance to ask her if she was the same woman from the bar.
Although she didn’t act like she knew me or recognized me, she did have a sense of familiarity with me. But it couldn’t be possible that the woman who invited me to the party also worked here, could it? Unless she had a doppelganger, I was certain it was the same woman.