Chapter 6
Andrès
“It’s hot as shit up here. Why is Mommy having us do this again?” Kalliope whined to her older sister, Kelsey.
“Girl, I don’t even know. It’s dumb,” Kelsey muttered.
Mr. and Mrs. Robinson had four children, and Kalliope was the baby. Khatya was the oldest, then her only brother Kordell Jr., or KJ, and then Kelsey was a little more than a year older than Kalliope. They had been extremely close growing up, and I figured they still were.
“Because I said so. Kalliope Marie Robinson and Kelsey Michelle Robinson, I swear y’all better watch your mouths.”
“Oop!” Kelsey whooped.
I stood behind Mrs. Robinson at the attic door, and I stifled my chuckle; otherwise, I would be on the receiving end of the glare she gave her daughters.
Although I could see the girls, they couldn’t see me. Kalli pulled her tank top away from her body and blew down the front of it. “Mommy, it’s hotter than Hades up here. Why doesn’t Khat and KJ have to be here?” Kalli whined.
“Because Khat has to work a double tonight, and KJ did his part last weekend. He didn’t have as much stuff as you girls.”
“Mommy, why are we doing this again?” Kelsey asked.
“Because your daddy and I are selling the house. We’re ready to downsize.”
“Y’all say that every other year,” Kelsey mumbled.
“We’re serious this year. We’ve even met with a realtor who did a walk-through and advised us of everything we need to do to prepare the house to sell, and it starts with this attic,” Mrs. Robinson explained.
“But why? This is our childhood home, and we’ve got so many memories here,” Kalli argued.
“You’re welcome to buy it.” Mrs. Robinson had always been quick with her comebacks.
I wasn’t sure why her children even tried her.
When Kalli didn’t say another word, her mother stated, “Oh, and fix your face. Drè is here.” She wore a smug look as she moved out of the way so that Kalli could see me.
“Ohmigosh.” Kalli breathed and hurriedly straightened her shirt and hair.
“Boy, I hope you came to save us or help us,” Kelsey retorted.
“Not hardly,” I replied with a chuckle.
“His appearance will give you girls a one-hour break, and that’s it,” Mrs. Robinson declared as she turned back toward the steps.
“Kassi, let them girls out of that attic. They can finish next weekend,” their father, Kordell Sr., hollered from the bottom of the stairwell.
Mrs. Robinson headed down the stairs to argue with him, and both girls stuck their tongues out and hopped off their stools.
We all rushed behind her to escape the cruel heat that resided in the attic like a paying tenant.
“Y’all want something to drink?” Mr. Robinson offered once we were downstairs.
“Please. Because Mama thinks she’s our slave master,” Kelsey stated.
“Honey, if I was a slave master, I would have helped your sorry tail escape,” Mrs. Robinson replied with a chuckle.
“Your mama cooked, too, so y’all go on in there and fix a plate,” Mr. Robinson stated.
“I’m not hungry, Daddy, but I am thirsty,” Kalli replied, grabbing a bottled juice and handing me one before we headed out onto the front porch.
“How did Mommy react when she saw you?” Kalli asked.
“As can be expected. Blew both of your parents away. We’ve been down here catching up for the last hour.”
She choked on her juice and then spit some out. Mugging me, she asked, “Really? And you let me stay in that steaming hot attic all that time? What kind of best friend are you? Oh, I forgot, the kind that abandons their best friend with no hello or explanation in the world.”
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “Aye, chill with all that. Let’s take a walk.”
“To where?”
“The park down the street, like old times.”
“Okay.”
I sat down on the bottom step, and she climbed on my back.
Thick, toned, caramel legs wrapped around me, and I could feel the heat from her core pressed against my back.
Damn. I closed my eyes briefly, and I swallowed, praying that my erection that sprouted would go back down.
The touch of my hand against her smooth calves, her arms wrapped around my neck, and her chin resting on my head brought back warm memories of how much I desired her in my youth. Nothing had changed for me.
Although we had spoken daily since she visited my hotel a week ago, we hadn’t seen each other. She’d been busy with her job, and I had been busy getting things in order with our new location here and with check-ins on my house construction.
As she shifted into the right place on my back, making it harder for my erection to go away, her mother shouted, “Girl! Get off that boy’s back.”
“Go,” Kalli hissed, rocking forward on my back in a hunching manner. That shit had been difficult back in the days, but it was paralyzing now.
“Aye! Quit doing that shit,” I grumbled.
“Sorry, but run.”
I took off running down the driveway, and I didn’t stop running until we were three houses away.
“Just like old times,” she declared, laughing. That was something we always did in the past, and her mother would chastise her about being on my back like that. She never got on me, but she gave Kalli the blues about it.
“So, have you given any thought to what I asked?” I shifted her higher up my back as I walked down the sidewalk toward the park.
“Uhm . . . marrying?”
“Yeah. I mean, I was serious about what I said.”
“I see. You bought a ring and everything. A big, gorgeous ring.”
“So?”
“You can’t just pop back up into my life and expect me to marry you, Drè. Do I even know you anymore?”
“Come on, K. You know that you do. Don’t play me. We made a vow, Kalli, and kids or not, it meant something to me. I was hoping that it meant something to you.”
“It did.” Her voice was soft and sad, and it tore at my heart.
“So you’re telling me that you haven’t given it any thought since then? Or does your promise no longer hold any validity?”
“Of course, it does, Drè. That’s all I’ve been thinking about. I keep asking myself is he serious, and what would that be like being married to you. I’ve never been married before, and I have no idea what to expect, what to give, or if I’d make a good wife.”
“Nobody does their first time. We would learn together.”
We crossed the street and entered the park. I let her down once we were by the swings, and she took a seat on one. I pushed her gently, and she appeared thoughtful. After several minutes, she spoke again.
“I always wanted to get married.”
“You once said there would be nothing better than marrying your best friend.”
“No. I said, the only thing better than marrying my best friend would be to marry a man who loves me unconditionally.”
“Same thing.”
“No, it’s not. I need more than just best friends. I need the spark. I need love, and I need it unconditionally, Drè, because that’s what I’d be giving. It’s the only way that I know how to love.”
I stopped pushing her, walked around to the front of the swing, and kneeled before her. I stared into her eyes and then captured her face in my hands. She stared back into my eyes as I leaned in slowly and kissed her.
She whimpered and pressed deeper into the kiss as I swirled my tongue around hers and deepened the kiss, making it more passionate and more demanding. When I pulled back, she whimpered, “Drè.”
Her mouth was still parted, and she wore a dazed look in her eyes.
“Tell me you didn’t feel a spark.” My tone was raw and rugged, filled with emotion.
“I do. We’ve always had chemistry, Drè. Even when I wasn’t sure you wanted me, there was always something powerful between us. I just wasn’t sure what it was. That’s not the problem.”
“What is the problem?”
“I know that you love me, but I need unconditional love.”
“That’s the kiss of a man who already loves you unconditionally, baby girl.
I always have since the moment that I stood up against Vincent Waller and Jeremy Mote for you in sixth grade.
If you don’t know what my intimate love looks or feels like, give me a chance to show you.
Trust me with your heart, your life, and your hand in marriage. ”
She licked her lips.
“Yeah, but . . . the pact was one of two silly kids.”
“Maybe, but we loved each other. For me, that love hasn’t left. It’s only intensified through the years, Kalli.”
She sucked on her bottom lip, and I reached up and tugged it free.
“Give me two months to date you, Kalli. Two months is all the time we need for me to prove to you that I’m that guy.
There is no other who holds your heart the way that I do.
No matter what you tell yourself, I felt it in that kiss. Your body can’t lie to me.”
I glanced down and chuckled when she attempted to hide her hardened nipples by crossing her arms over her chest.
She thrusted her chin up and replied heatedly, “Two months, goddamnit—and they’d better be the best two months of my life.”
I winked, moved behind her, and pushed her again as I sang Jagged Edge’s, “Let’s Get Married.”