Chapter 17
“ W hat do you think they are talking about?” I asked, looking over at Quaid with my father and brothers.
He’d been over there for a while. None of them had gotten loud, and there was no fighting, so I could only assume things were going well.
“Are they really that bad?” Donna asked.
We all looked at her and laughed.
“Stick around long enough, and you’ll see how those men do the most,” Shar said. “Their intentions are good, and that’s the only reason they get a pass.”
She giggled. “Kerrion is so sweet, though. I mean, . . . other than his bedroom manners, he’s a total teddy bear.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’s okay. He’s the calm one of the group, for sure, but don’t let him fool you. He can be a savage when he has to be.”
“Oh, I’m sure.”
“Where are the kids?” I asked, pulling my eyes away from my man.
“My parents have Marino,” Shar answered.
Salima said, “Mrs. Stephanie and Alec have Darlyn. Liam was a little fussy, so he’s inside with my mom, taking a nap.”
“Korri and Juri are with my parents,” Romi answered. “They are giving us a little break before these two come.” She rubbed her belly with a smile.
“I still can’t believe you’re having twins,” Renay said, reaching out to rub her belly as well. “You might be too fertile, sis.”
Romi giggled. “It’s that man. I can’t keep him off me.”
“Speaking of not keeping a man off you . . .” Renay turned to me. “How are things in the bedroom, Ms. I’m No Longer A Virgin?”
They erupted with laughter, making me palm my face.
“Don’t get all shy now!” Shar said, pulling my hands away. “We never got the details. Spill the tea.”
I sighed. “Things are great. I mean, it’s only been a couple of days, so we’ve only done it once. But it was amazing. He took great care of me.”
Shar waved me off. “That was dry as hell. Details, bitch.”
I shook my head and proceeded to give them the details of that night. Just talking about it had my juices pooling below. The way that man handled me was pure and utter perfection.
“He said what!” Shar exclaimed. “That man? That man over there?”
“He said, and I quote, ‘She’s a greedy thing, ain’t she? It’s not enough to fill her with this dick. That clit needs attention too, huh, love?’ . I lost it at that point. His mouth is filthy, and I loved it.”
Shar was giddy with excitement. “I love this for you. That man is gonna turn you out. Mark my words.”
She had no idea that I was already well on my way to that.
Last night, we had phone sex, and it was just as nasty as if he were in the room with me.
Clearly, he’d done it before. As green as I was to a lot of things, he was an excellent teacher.
The way he instructed me to close my eyes and touch myself while listening to the sound of his voice had me wetting my sheets up.
“Look at her ass over there thinking about it,” Renay said, laughing.
“Oh, whatever!” I exclaimed, my face completely flushed.
“Keep blushing. He’s coming over.”
I looked up to see Quaid making his way over to us. I stood and met him, going straight into his arms. Peering up at him, I saw his eyes were low, making me giggle.
“I take it they didn’t do you too bad,” I said.
“Nah. We’re cool. Your father did give me a hell of a blunt. I’m hungry as shit right now.”
Just as he said that, the patio door opened. Grams stuck her head out.
“Food’s ready!”
Everybody started moving inside. As usual, we all moved to the grand dining hall for the blessing of the food.
My grandfather was already seated in his usual spot in the kitchen, already eating.
With his illness, he preferred to eat and head back to his room these days.
Most of the time, he barely spoke a word.
His lucid moments were few and far between right now.
“I wanna introduce you to someone,” I said, pulling Quaid toward the kitchen.
As we approached my grandfather, he paused in his eating and looked up at us.
“Hey, Grandpa,” I said softly.
When I leaned in to kiss his cheek, he smiled softly. “Well, aren’t you a pretty thing. What’s your name?”
I was used to introducing myself at this point, but it didn’t break my heart any less.
Pulling out a chair, I sat in front of him and grabbed his hand.
“Jaeda, Grandpa.”
“I’m your grandpa?”
“You are. It’s good to see you.”
I placed his hand to my face, hoping he would remember me, if only for a moment. He looked at me, squinting heavily.
“Jaeda! My sweet baby. You look just like that girl my son used to date a long time ago. What was her name?”
“Tavia. That’s my mom.”
“Tavia had a baby? Well I’ll be damned.”
I giggled. “She had four. She’s expecting again.”
“Children are a blessing. I had . . .” He paused for a moment, counting on his fingers. “Three? No, four.”
“That’s right.”
“Is that baby my son’s?”
I laughed. “No, Grandpa. Mama got married.”
“Good for her. That son of mine had too many good women and fumbled them all. Damn fool.”
I laughed because even with Alzheimer’s, my grandfather knew his son couldn’t keep a woman. He gave that absent-minded smile I was used to. Looking up, his eyes landed on Quaid.
“Well, who’s this big fella? Am I your grandpa too?”
Quaid chuckled. “No, sir. My name is Quaid. It’s nice to meet you.”
Quaid extended his hand, and my grandfather shook it. “You know him?”
“This is my boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend? Well, that’s nice. A pretty thing like you should have somebody to love you. You take care of her, young man.”
“No worries, sir. I’ve got her.”
Grandpa nodded and pulled his hand away. He went back to eating, humming quietly to himself. I sat there for a moment before standing, as I felt myself getting emotional. Leaning over, I kissed his temple.
“I love you,” I whispered.
Quaid reached for my hand, and I linked our fingers. We walked back into the dining hall and got in line to get our food. Since I had to share him with my family all day long, I copped us a seat at a less populated table next to the kids. We ate in silence for a bit before Quaid spoke.
“Is it Alzheimer’s?” he asked. “Your grandfather.”
“It is,” I confirmed softly. “It’s gotten worse over the last year. At this point, I’m used to him not knowing who I am. Today was better than others. At least he spoke. Most of the time, it’s like he looks right through us.”
“He’s lucky to have a family that cares. I can tell you all take great care of him. I know how hard it is trying to take care of someone who sometimes doesn’t wanna listen.”
“How so?”
“My mom. She had uterine cancer. They gave her a hysterectomy a while ago, and that lady won’t sit her ass down. She’s hardheaded as shit.”
I giggled. “We are never done raising our parents.”
“Never.”
“What are your parents like?”
“Dad’s pretty chill, for the most part. Mom can be a little extra. She’s a busy body, always in my business, or trying to set me up with one of her friends’ daughters. Don’t get me wrong. They might be nice girls, but I don’t need her help with women.”
“So your mom’s trying to set you up, and my family is trying to keep me a virgin.”
He chuckled. “Pretty much. I have told them about you, though.”
My eyes widened. “You didn’t tell them I had you snatched up, did you?”
“What? No. I’m not crazy, woman. I will admit that they are a little apprehensive.”
I hung my head. “My family?”
“Yeah.”
I shrugged. “I’m used to it. What did they have to say?”
“They are worried. Mom hasn’t been speaking to me, and Dad’s been short with me. I hate it’s like that, but they will have to get over it.”
“And if they don’t? I guess I better enjoy you while I have you, huh?”
He reached out and cupped my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his. “I’m not going anywhere. It doesn’t matter who feels what about you. You’re mine.”
I smiled faintly. “I would never expect you to choose me over your family.”
“I’m not. I’m doing exactly what you did. Choosing my happiness over what anybody else has to say about it. You make me happy, Jaeda. I’d never give that up.”
Leaning in, he pressed his lips to mine. The innocence was lost once his tongue slipped into my mouth and a moan fell from my lips.
“Aye now!” my father yelled from across the room. “Cut that shit out!”
Our lips parted, and we looked back to find him frowning. Neither of us could hold in our laughter. Stanley might be cool with Quaid right now, but he was still going to be himself.
“Don’t worry,” I said, discreetly resting my hand on his crotch. “You can have all my kisses when we leave here.”
Quaid blushed. “Yes, ma’am.”
We survived the day, and what a long ass day it was.
After we ate, it was a party as usual. I had to admit, I loved having Quaid around my family.
Knowing they couldn’t punk him made him that much more attractive to me.
There was something to say about a man that could hold his own.
He was basically thrown to the wolves and came out untouched.
I was beginning to see why Mia liked that part of Titan.
Speaking of those two, they showed up after dinner.
I was surprised that she brought him and even more surprised that he and my brothers were getting along.
I guess after stomping out those guys at Silk, they had somewhat of a mutual respect for each other.
Would they ever be friends? I couldn’t call it.
But at least nobody pulled a gun this time.
Quaid and I walked into my house a little after ten. I’d previously told him to bring a bag because I wanted him to stay. I’d quickly fallen in love with sleeping next to him. Something about those big, strong arms wrapped around me seemed to lull me to sleep.
We entered the house and headed straight for my bedroom.