8. Keondra Daily
When I woke up to silence and feeling refreshed, it felt like something was wrong. I popped my eyes open and searched around for my phone to check the time. It was after eight in the morning, which meant my human alarm clock hadn’t come to wake me up. That was extremely unusual.
Tossing my legs over the bed, I stretched and rose to my feet.
After going to the bathroom to relieve myself and wash my hands, I headed out front to see where my baby girl was.
Both of us oversleeping wasn’t normal. The only time Kehlani did was when she wasn’t feeling well, and I prayed that wasn’t the case. We’d just gotten her better.
Maybe Aunt Faith had come to get her and allowed me to sleep in. She’d do that every once in a while, when she thought I needed rest.
My phone vibrating in my hand stopped me in my tracks. Colony’s name appeared on my screen, so I answered it and continued walking.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
“Good morning, handsome. Hey, is Kehlani okay? She isn’t here.”
The hairs on the back of my neck rose. My mouth went dry. Where the hell was my daughter?
Panic began to settle in my chest. Just as I was about to let Colony know I’d call her back, Kehlani and my family jumped out in front of me.
“Happy birthday!” everyone sang in unison.
I should’ve known something was up. Kehlani ran over to me with balloons and a gift bag. “Happy birthday, Daddy! Look what I got you.”
“Oh, it’s your birthday? Why didn’t you tell me, Keondra?” Colony questioned, reminding me that she was on the phone.
“Because I never make a big deal of it. For me, it’s another day that I’m blessed to see.”
“You’re right about that, but it’s your day. You’re meant to be celebrated.”
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Mm-hmm. We’ll see about that.”
I smirked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Colony released a sneaky giggle. “You’ll see. Happy birthday, Keondra. I’ll see you later.”
She hung up before I could protest or pry deeper. With a shake of my head, I slid my phone into my pocket and gave Kehlani my undivided attention, but I could feel other eyes on me. I thanked Kehlani and kissed her forehead. She bounced on her toes as she watched me dig into the bag.
I beamed. “You know your daddy, don’t you?”
“Better than anyone.”
Inside the bag were a few pairs of pajama pants along with a notebook and pens.
Whenever we were at home, I mostly wore pajama pants while I created new recipes.
All throughout the house, I had notebooks filled with good and bad recipes I’d created over the years.
I was sure my mother helped her pick the items out, but it meant the world to me.
When I focused my attention on my family, they were all glaring at me with mischievous grins.
“Why are y’all looking at me like that?”
“Who was that you were talking to?” Mama pried with her head tilted.
I pushed my glasses up with my lips pressed together but didn’t answer.
Dad asked, “Was it the woman you were telling us about?”
“It was,” I confirmed.
Aunt Faith threw her hands in the air before placing them on her hips. “I know you better be telling us who she is. You know we’re going to find out one way or another, so you may as well spill it, Nephew.”
Kehlani looked up at me. “Was it Colony?”
Dramatically, Aunt Faith gasped, and I figured she was about to be on some shit.
“Colony? As in Colony Miles? The owner of Center of Love?”
I nodded. “Yes, her.”
“Wait, wait. Are y’all dating?”
“We’re not a couple or anything, but we are taking the strides to getting to know one another.
We’ve been on a date, and I’m actually in the process of planning another one.
I like where things are going between us, but I’m also trying to keep it between us.
Just like me, Colony has been through some shit.
We’ve agreed to take things slow and vibe. ”
Taking things slow seemed to be getting harder for me.
I was a man who’d been depriving himself of sexual needs but with good reason.
Colony was the woman who I desired to replenish those needs.
Since she’d come on so strong to me that one day, and I got a feel of her tightness, .
. . it was hard to get something like that off my mind.
The way she kissed me didn’t help either.
Colony was dangerous for me, and I liked that shit.
“Oh, I love Colony.” Aunt Faith gushed. “She truly is a good woman with a heart of gold. The way she loves the kids like they’re her own is beautiful. I think she’s a great choice for you, Keondra.”
“Me too!” Kehlani all but yelled, jumping up and down. If I had to guess, one of them had given her something sweet, because she was hyper as hell.
“What did y’all give my baby?” I interrogated.
My mother came over and placed her hands on Kehlani’s shoulders. “Don’t try to change the subject. When are your father and I going to meet Colony?”
“Not until we make things official.”
“Until? No if? I like that.” My father chuckled. “You seem to be letting your guard down, son.”
“I’m working on the steps to doing so. You know who and what my main priority is.”
“And you know what we’ve talked about. Like I’ve said a million times before, you and Kehlani have a village for a reason,” Dad reminded me. He came over and patted my shoulders. “Go get ready. We’re about to take you out for breakfast, then take Kehlani off your hands for the day.”
My brows dipped. “Y’all aren’t taking her on my birthday. She’s who I want to celebrate with.”
“Oh, please.” Mama fussed. “You need a day to yourself, Keondra. It’s your day, so go do as you please. And I know you better not take your ass down to that restaurant, or it’s going to be me and you.”
“Me too.”
“Me three.”
“Me four!”
My family sounded off like a canon, and Kehlani couldn’t help but to join in. I loved how they came in to bully me on my day, but it was what it was. There was no point in arguing with them about it. It was three, well four, against one. I didn’t stand a chance.
They waited while I went to get ready. I enjoyed any time I had with my family, so I was pleased to see Dawson, his wife, and Sedrick were waiting for us at the restaurant. The morning was filled with love and laughter. It was the exact remedy I needed to set the tone for the day.
When we made it back to my house, my parents stayed for a while to give Kehlani more time with me. Somehow, she’d convinced them to get me a cake, but it was her favorite flavor. I didn’t mind because my baby girl had good taste.
I assumed they’d gotten Kehlani ready while I was asleep because they grabbed a bag I didn’t notice before and whisked my baby away.
Standing in the middle of my house, I thought about what to do to occupy my day.
It was rare that I had a day to myself, especially one where I was off with nothing to do.
Colony crossed my mind. If I wanted to spend the day with anyone outside Kehlani and my family, it was her. Since she was working, I wasn’t sure how that would play out. I wouldn’t know unless I asked, so I called her back as I headed to my room.
“Hey, birthday boy.”
“Don’t start that.” I chuckled. “Don’t make it a big deal.”
“Well, what you’ll learn about me is that I love birthdays. If you’re close to me, I’m making it a big deal.”
“So, am I close to you?”
“After the way I’ve had my tongue all in your mouth and allowed you to touch me the way you did, I’d say so. Oh, I told you about my dark past too. We’re pretty close if you ask me.”
I released a hearty laugh. “I guess you have a good point. What are you up to right now?”
“I’m on my way to your house.”
Her response wasn’t what I expected. “You’re what?”
“I’m on my way to you. I told you how I am about birthdays.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
She snickered. “That’s the perks of being the owner. I can switch up my schedule as long as my employees are good and don’t need me. Plus, my favorite girl isn’t there today. I thought I’d get a two for one special by seeing the both of you.”
“I hate to rain on your parade, but my family snatched my baby girl up today. They let me sleep in, took me to breakfast, and told me I needed to find something to do today.”
“Aw, that’s sweet of them. I hate I won’t get to see Kehlani, but that leaves us to do whatever it is you desire to do today.”
If only Colony knew how badly I wanted to do her today.
Since she was on her way, I told her to let me know when she arrived so I could straighten my house up.
As I was doing the dishes, I got water all over my shirt, so I took it off and finished them.
It wasn’t long before she informed me that she was outside.
Shirtless, I headed to the front to open the door for her.
The smile that thinned my lips was an immediate reaction to seeing Colony walking toward me with the biggest smile and balloons floating in her hand.
When she crossed over the threshold to my house, Colony stopped in front of me with her mouth slightly parted.
Slowly, she looked me over. Her hand went to my stomach where Kehlani’s name was tattooed in big bold letters.
The feel of her nails against my skin had dirty thoughts crossing my mind.
To keep from doing anything neither of us were ready to, I grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles.
Seeming to snap out of some sort of trance, Colony grinned and held the balloons out to me. “Happy birthday, Keondra.”
“Thank you, Colony. Can I have a birthday kiss?”
With haste, Colony stood on her tiptoes and blessed me with the lips I dreamed about.
Our bodies meshed as we kissed like we couldn’t breathe without one another’s breath.
Colony’s hands made their way back to my skin, resting against my bare chest and caressing it before she trailed them to my back.
I held onto her waist, feeling the heat from her pussy against my body.