Chapter 36 Smooth Sailing
Chapter thirty-six
Smooth Sailing
Deuce jumped into the frame throwing out some questionable dance moves that had us both cracking up.
“Move Deuce!” Whitley fussed, nudging him with her shoulder. “You’re ruining the aesthetic.”
“You’ve been hogging Nique all weekend!” Deuce shot back, not missing a beat. “She’s my sister too. I get some time.”
I laughed, a warm swell of pride hitting my chest. I had never had anyone fight over my attention before. Certainly not siblings. It was a brand-new kind of high.
Wendell, who was standing close enough to hear the bickering, stepped in with a smile. “Nique, it sounds like you need to come out and visit us sometime this summer. We all need more time with you and Nel.”
Whitley’s eyes lit up instantly. “Oh! Can she and Nel come on our summer trip to Oak Bluffs?”
“Of course,” Wendell said, nodding.
“As in Martha’s Vineyard?” I asked, making sure I heard him right.
“Yes!” Whitley grabbed my hands, bouncing slightly. “We do it every other summer. It can be boring sometimes with just the adults, but it would be so much more fun with you and Nel there. Please say you’ll go.”
I looked at Wendell who was watching us with a grin and then back at Whitley’s hopeful face. “Sure. I don’t see why I couldn’t make that work.”
Whitley started cheering just as Stella walked up looking elegant in her evening gown. “What’s all the excitement about?” she asked.
Whitley filled her in at a mile a minute. Stella’s expression softened, her eyes searching mine with a vulnerability I was slowly getting used to. “Oh wow. I’d love that Nique. Truly.”
Deuce caught Nel’s attention and pulled him into the circle to break the news. As everyone stood around buzzing about travel dates and beach houses I realized I couldn’t let the moment stay surface level. Not if we were serious about this.
“How do y’all feel about family therapy?” I asked, the question cutting through the excitement.
The circle went quiet. I took a breath and kept going.
“Oak Bluffs and vacations are exciting and I want that. But I don’t want to just sweep things under the rug and pretend like we haven’t been a broken family all these years.
Whitley, Deuce, I’m so happy to finally know you but I want us to have a healthy dynamic. I want us to do the work so this last.”
Stella was the first to nod. She looked at Whitley and then at Deuce. “Nique is right. There’s something I need to tell you two once we get home and I think afterward family therapy would be great for all of us.”
They all nodded, the weight of the conversation settling over us. Not as a burden but as a foundation.
The DJ broke the tension, his voice booming over the mic. “Alright alright. Find your lover folks. This next one is for the couples.”
The smooth soulful intro to Luther Vandross’s So Amazing began to play. Wendell reached out a hand to Stella asking her to dance and we watched them walk onto the floor. I didn’t have to wait long before I felt a familiar presence behind me.
Dex swooped in, his hand finding the small of my back. “Can I have this dance?”
“Yes,” I whispered, turning into his arms.
We moved slowly, everything else falling away. I rested my head against his chest, listening to the steady thrum of his heart. I didn’t have to say it out loud to know it. I was so deeply in love with this man it scared me.
Dex broke the silence, his voice low against my temple. “I love seeing you like this,” he said quietly. “Laughing with your siblings, your mom in the same room. You used to tell me when we were kids that all you ever wanted was a real family around you.”
“I used to pray for this,” I admitted, closing my eyes. “I used to think God would deliver it in the form of a husband and some kids. I never imagined Stella and I actually getting close or getting to know my siblings. And get this, they want me and Nel to go to Oak Bluffs with them this summer.”
Dex pulled back just enough to look at me, a grin playing on his lips. “Damn y’all doing family vacations already? That’s what’s up.”
I got quiet for a second, looking up at him. “Will you come with me?”
“Of course,” he said without a moment’s hesitation. He leaned down, his lips meeting mine in a kiss that felt like a promise.
When we finally pulled apart, I took a breath. “In a perfect world what does going back to Mobile look like for us?”
Dex didn’t even have to think about it. “In a perfect world? You’d move in with me.”
I raised an eyebrow, but he kept going.
“Nique, when I designed my house, I did it with you in mind. I remembered every single detail you once told me about your dream home. The layout, the light, the kitchen. I built it for you.”
I smiled, my heart doing a slow roll in my chest. “I realized that the first time I ever visited Dex.”
“So why are you talking about moving into an apartment?” Dex asked, his grip tightening slightly as we swayed.
I looked him in the eye, wanting him to understand.
“Because I just got out of a relationship where I lived with and depended on my partner. When the rug was ripped from underneath me it left me assed out. I still have to handle getting my things from her place when we get back. It just makes me realize I don’t want to shack up Dex.
If you want me under your roof I want it fully.
Your last name, my name on the deed, all of it. ”
Dex didn’t flinch. He just nodded, his expression steady. “We can make all that happen.”
“But at the same time,” I added, “I don’t want it overnight. We need to date and get to know each other again. I need to really get to know Demi, and we need to make sure Amina is comfortable with me being around your child. It’s a lot of groundwork that needs to be done.”
Dex let out a long breath, conceding the point. “Aight. I’m willing to do it. Just at least get an apartment on my side of the bay.”
I laughed, leaning my head back. “You live in Point Clear. Do you know how expensive rent is over there?”
“You’re mine,” Dex said, his voice dropping into that possessive tone that always made my stomach flip. “Stop acting like you’re gonna be paying your own rent.”
I grinned, looking up at him playfully. “Oh? I love a trick daddy.”
Dex let out a bark of a laugh and playfully smacked my ass making me jump. We were laughing together when a sharp genuine laugh from across the room pulled our attention.
We looked over to see Kam at the edge of the floor leaning in close to Amina. Whatever he was saying had her cracking up, her eyes bright and her posture relaxed.
“We had sort of a come to Jesus earlier in the bathroom,” I said, watching them.
Dex looked down at me. “Who? You and Amina?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t a kumbaya, but it was a start.”
“That’s good to know,” Dex muttered. He turned his gaze back toward them watching Kam and Amina a little closer this time. He went quiet for a second, his protective instincts clearly flaring. “I got a feeling Kam is feeling Amina.”
“Kam is just a natural flirt Dex,” I teased, nudging him.
“I hope that’s all it is.”
“Not you being jealous that your cousin might be feeling your baby mama,” I said, my voice full of mischief.
Dex shook his head. “It’s less jealousy and more so the shit would be weird. Family dinners would be a mess.”
“I don’t think Kam would do that to you,” I said, trying to ease his mind. “Him liking London back then was enough drama for him to know to stay away from Amina. He’s not looking for another war.”
Dex just kept watching them for another beat before turning his focus back to me and pulling me closer.
Dex’s hand was still firm on the small of my back as Luther’s voice filled the space between us. I looked past his shoulder, my eyes drifting around the room to see where everyone else landed.
I caught sight of Paris and Kyson. They were locked in a slow dance and from a distance they looked like the perfect couple.
But knowing what I knew now, the secret she was choking on, I could see the way she gripped his shoulders just a little too tight like she was holding on for dear life.
Kyson looked down at her with so much love it made my heart ache.
I knew that was a storm for another day but for tonight they were at peace.
I scanned the room for my brother and found Nel sitting at a table with Uncle Tevin.
They were leaned in close, Nel’s hands moving animatedly as he talked.
I could tell by the way Uncle Tevin was nodding and smiling that Nel was telling him about the surrogate.
Seeing my brother so excited made me feel proud.
I would have to play nice with Harvey, but that was okay.
My eyes shifted toward the bar where Amina was still talking to Kam.
She happened to look up at the same time I did.
For a split second that old tension flared but then she gave me a slow almost imperceptible nod.
It wasn’t a hug and it wasn’t an apology, but it was a white flag.
I nodded back, feeling a weight lift that I hadn’t even realized I was carrying.
“You okay?” Dex whispered, pulling my attention back to him.
“Yeah,” I said, leaning my head back against his chest. “I’m better than okay.”
Whitley and Deuce were nearby watching Stella and Wendell on the dance floor.
Whitley looked a little pensive, probably wondering what that something was that Stella needed to tell them back home, but she didn’t look scared.
She looked like she was ready for the truth whatever it was.
I realized then that I wasn’t just the sister they’d found.
I was going to be the one they leaned on when things got heavy.
Finally, I looked toward the center of the floor. Eli and London were lost in each other, moving as if they were the only two people on the beach. After everything they had been through to get here they were finally whole.
“I’m ready,” I murmured, more to myself than to Dex.
“Ready for what?” he asked, pulling me closer as the song began to fade.
“Ready to go home,” I said, looking up at him with a smile. “Ready to actually start our life.”
Dex leaned down, his forehead resting against mine. “Good. Because I’ve been waiting long enough.”
The DJ switched the vibe, the drums of a fast track kicking in to pull everyone back to their feet, but for a moment we just stood there. In the middle of the magic, in the middle of Tulum, finally knowing exactly where we belonged.