Chapter 28
28
Bishop
I light the last candle and check that everything is perfect before starting the music. Candles are lit, flowers are placed in several vases around the room and large pillows arranged on the floor and either side of the ottoman. I set a large wooden tray on top of the ottoman to steady the food that I will bring out once she’s here.
I dim the lamps and step over to my record player and carefully drop the needle. Heaven Help by Lenny Kravitz begins to play a soft melody and I rub my hands together, knowing everything is set for a surprise for my little butterfly.
This week has been exhausting for her with midterms already upon us. I insisted that she stay in her dorm this week and just focus on her studies. She wasn’t very happy about it, but I promised her a surprise when she was finished.
I check my watch and see that she should be here any minute. I rush up to my bedroom and swish some mouthwash one last time. I hear the doorbell ring before my foot can hit the last step to the second floor.
I bounce down the steps curious as to why she didn’t just use the code and come in like sh e usually does, but when I open the door, Anais isn’t the one standing there.
“Nix?”
“Geez. Think you could wipe the disappointed look off your face?” Nix smacks my shoulder then pushes past me into the small entryway. “I was down at the stadium clearing out all my gear and thought I’d drop in and see if you want to go grab a beer with me.”
“Uh, well I kind of have plans,” I tell him right as he hears the music playing.
“Oh shit. I’m sorry. Got a date upstairs?”
“Nah. Not yet. But I do have someone coming over any moment,” I tell him, hoping he’ll sense the urgency in my voice and leave before Anais pulls up.
Hopefully she’ll recognize her Uncle’s big ass truck and keep driving.
“Yeah? Who is it? Anyone I know?” He waggles his brows with a cheeky grin on his face.
“I don’t-I, um. It’s new. I’ll tell you about her when I know where things are going,” I lie.
He studies me with narrowed eyes, his mouth working back and forth like he’s rolling around the words he wants to say.
Finally he says, “Is it that chick Melina that CeCe introduced you to?”
“No, man. Not her. I promise to tell you when the time is right.” Sweat starts to bead at my hairline and my pulse is racing as he continues to stand here.
“Cool. I get it. Well then, guess I’ll head out. I just miss you, brotha. Seems like we haven’t had much time to hang out. We need a guys night soon before you get busy with your season. Yeah?” He leans in for a hug and slap on the back before turning to open the door.
“For sure. Let’s talk to Vaughan and Hayes, maybe even see if we can drag Luca away from C. The guy barely lets her walk. I can’t imagine he’d be too thrilled about leaving her alone for a few hours.”
“Eh. We’ll get the girls to go over to her house and it’ll be good. ”
I follow him out to his truck to make sure he leaves as soon as possible. He opens his door and just as he turns his back to climb in, a blue streak catches the corner of my eye as it goes speeding by.
“Damn. That car was going fast,” Nix says when he hears the rush of the engine.
“Probably some stupid kids. Hey, get home safely. Okay?” Nix starts up his truck and rolls the window down.
“Oh. One last thing. I heard Viv talking with Cami about having a Halloween party. Probably at the ranch but I’m not positive. I’m sure they’ll text you about it since you’re an ‘honorary’ member of their girl group.”
I roll my eyes, laughing at him every time he talks about the college sleepovers.
“Man, you gotta get over that. It was a long time ago and aside from the party at your place, I haven’t had a sleepover with them since we graduated college.” I tap the door two times then tell him, “You get a sleepover every night with Red, so I don’t understand why you’re still complaining.”
A devious look crosses his face and I don’t even want to know what is about to spill from his mouth.
“Best fucking sleepovers I’ve ever had. The other night she–”
“NO! I don’t want to hear it. Viv is like a little sister and any mention of you violating her is too much,” I tell him, backing away from his truck.
“ Me violating her? She’s the one that does all of the violating. She’s feisty.” He turns up the volume on his radio and begins backing out. He pops his head out of the window and calls out, “But the way she can deep throat… fuuuuck .”
“You asshole. Get out of here.” He cracks up laughing and drives away.
I watch until he turns the corner then quickly rush back inside. I look for my phone that I left on the kitchen counter and see a series of texts from Anais.
??: Oh my god! Why is my Uncle at your house?!
??: Does he know? Bishop! Did you tell him?
??: I’m waiting down the street.Text me when he leaves. Unless he kills you because you’re fucking his niece.
??: NM. Erase that. I don’t want that out in the universe. Oh god. Please hurry!
I send her a text and tell her he’s gone and run back down the stairs to open the garage. I’m breathing heavily from all of the up and down the stairs I’ve done in the past few minutes. I throw up the kickstand on my bike, hit the clutch and move it to the back of the garage to make room for Anais to park her car inside. Just in case anyone else decides to make an unannounced visit.
The beams from headlights illuminate the garage as her car pulls into the driveway. I wave her in and she slowly pulls her car into the garage. She shuts off the engine and I immediately close the door, locking us in and out of sight.
“Oh my god. I thought my Uncle was here to kill you!” She leaps into my arms and begins peppering my face with kisses. “I wasn’t sure if I should leave or call the police.”
“I’m fine, baby girl.” I squeeze her tightly in my arms and nuzzle my nose into her neck. “He stopped by unexpectedly. I was trying to get him out of here.”
She wraps her legs around me and I carry her in the house and up the stairs. Aside from the song that has now changed, everything is still as it was before Nix came by.
She slides down my body with a gasp and asks, “Is this for me?”
Her head whips between me and the scene in front of her, and I notice her eyes glisten. She moves her way further into the living room to admire the set up. I sneak up behind her and wrap my arms around her small waist.
“All for you, ” I whisper into her ear.
I take her hand and pull her over to the cushions and help her to sit. The music plays on and the smile on her face is electrifying. If I was a dying man, the intensity of her smile could bring me back to life.
Her eyes continue to search the space, stopping at each bouquet.
“Wildflowers,” she muses.
“Because butterflies dance in fields of wildflowers. So I thought I’d bring the wildflowers to my butterfly.” She bites her lip and pats the seat next to hers.
I kneel to kiss her and feel my body ease. She brings a peace to me that I never thought possible. I realize that our relationship is going to cause some waves in the bonds that I have with my friends, but sometimes love is worth sacrificing everything for.
“Let me get our food. Then we can pick this up later.” We separate and I step into the kitchen where the food sits in the oven to keep warm.
“I’ll help,” Anais says and grabs a set of oven mitts. “Where do you want this?”
She takes the dish with the rosemary potatoes from me and I grab the roasted chicken. “Just put it right on the tray. I’ll get the vegetables and then come back for the rest.”
I follow her to where the plates are set up and we place the dishes in the middle. I go back for the zucchini and squash and grab the bottle of wine, as well. Anais takes the bottle from me and I squeeze the vegetables into the last open space, then lower myself on the cushion.
My knees pop as I sit. Just a little souvenir from baseball that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my days.
By the time I’ve settled myself, Anais has served us each a piece of chicken and reaches for the potatoes. We work together like a couple that has been doing this for years, and finish plating our food and pouring the wine.
She takes the first bite and moans, her eyes rolling in delight.
“How are you such a good cook? You know you’re going to be in charge of all of the cooking for our family, rig ht?” She shovels a forkful of potatoes into her mouth and chews like she didn’t just drop my every dream into my lap.
“Our family?” I ask her and she slows her eating to look up at me.
“Um,” she forces the chewed up bite down her throat and takes a sip of wine. “I guess, I mean-I was just thinking out loud.”
She shrugs and I tap the tip of her nose. “I like the way that sounds. But you’ve got a few years before that can happen.”
Her smile returns as she stabs at her zucchini. “Yeah? Are you going to be a stay at home daddy? Take care of kids and do school drop off in a minivan?”
I practically choke on my food and have to pound my chest. “School drop off, daddy duty, dinners and lunches, I’m on it. But I’ll carry ten kids on my back all the way to school before I drive a damn minivan.”
“What the fuck? Ten? Bishop, I’m not a baby factory.”
“We’ll work out the exact number later. We have some time before we need to nail it down.” I take a bite of my chicken and wink at her.
“So how do you see this confession to Nix going down? Because to be honest, I think we should just keep it between us and hide away from the world.”
I set my fork down and rest my elbows on the tray. “You know we can’t do that. Besides, I want to be able to show you off. Let everyone know you’re my girl.” She bats her lashes and the apples of her cheeks tinge pink. “I’ll be honest. I don’t think he’s going to take it too well. He’s going to be pissed at me for sure, but you’ll be fine. I’ll just have to wait out the storm until he comes around.”
The mood grows a little tense and Anais crawls her way over to me.
“Like you said before, we’re in this together. We’ll wait out the storm and we’ll be here when it all settles.”
I take her face in my hands and kiss her. “Together,” I murmur against her lips and dive in deeper.
I carefully lay her back until she’s laid out on the plush rug. My body hovers over hers as my hands work to peel t he clothing that hides her beautiful form. I roll down her leggings and tug the sweatshirt over her head and find her in nothing more than white lace panties and bra. Small purple flowers are sewn into the lace that covers her mound and her nipples. I run my nose down her neck and trail it down to her wet pussy.
“Smelling the roses?” she asks with a hint of playfulness.
“I wish I could swim in a field of these flowers.” I blow a hot breath over her sensitive area and watch chills roll across her skin.
I suck on her through the thin lace and taste her muskiness. I slide her panties to the side and flatten my tongue, licking her clean. My tongue flicks her clit and she arches her back, her delicious breasts lifting higher. I let my tongue nudge at her opening before dipping it in to drink her down. I work in and out of her, adding my fingers to bring her to the edge.
Her legs clamp to the side of my head and I hear her breathing speed up.
“Oh god. Fuck, right there,” she whimpers when I hit her g-spot.
Her moans turn loud and her soft pleas turn to cries when her orgasm overwhelms her. I work her through it all until I feel her tense body turn slack.
I move her panties back into place and rise to my knees. Her eyelids remain shut but her sated smile tells me everything I need to know.
“Good, baby girl?” I lick my lips, taking in the last drops of her, and run my hands up the silky skin of her legs.
“So good. Better than good. I know there’s a word for it, but my brain can’t process it right now.”
I carefully stand, leaving her to bathe in the afterglow, and change the album. Another song’s slow melodic beat sets the mood back to the carefree yet intimate moment we were living in.
Anais raises to her elbows, resting her weight back on them and letting her wild mane cascade around her.
“Didn’t your mama teach you to never eat dessert before dinner?” She coos.
“She did. But she also taught me to live life to the fullest and only do the things that bring me joy. That,” I flick my eyes to the space between her legs. “Brings me immense pleasure.”
With a smirk she shakes her head and moves to her knees. When she reaches for her clothes I rip them away before she can grab ahold of them.
“Hey! I’m hungry and want to finish eating. Give me back my clothes so I can get dressed and finish.”
“Nope. You wanna finish eating, you eat like that.” I eye her up and down, wanting to put her on my plate and feast once more.
“Oh, but you get to wear that? Not fair.”
Without another word, I reach behind my head and tug my shirt off my head. I stand and undo my jeans and let them fall to my feet before kicking them away. When I’m done, I’m left standing in only my tented boxer briefs.
“Better?” I ask.
She looks up at me, lust in her eyes and nods her head, jaw hanging open.
“Oh much better.” She crawls over to me and up my body, where she devours dessert and doesn't finish her dinner.