Chapter 16
Luke
“Oh my gosh, Luke. These are so pretty! Thank you,” Hollis gushed over the yellow assortment of flowers. She leaned in to sniff them as her smile grew, making mine mirror hers. All I ever wanted was to be the reason for hers.
I took in her pink dress that stopped mid-thigh, showing off my new favorite part of her body and like a man attracted as fuck to his wife, I bit down on my bottom lip as I moved closer behind her, pressing against her ass as my hands roamed, caressing her softly before gripping a handful of her stomach.
“And they match the kitchen perfectly. Was that your goal?” she asked as she moved the vase to the center of the counter, stepping away from me.
“No, I got them with you in mind. Yellow is the color of new beginnings, joy, and friendship. All the things I want with you, for us.” When Hollis glanced over at me, her perfect white teeth were on display. I paid attention to the light in her eyes, sparking my chest to stretch with pride.
Yeah, you did that shit.
I gently slapped her ass, getting her attention.
“Are you ready, baby?” She only nodded while I held out my hand for hers, taking it the second she offered it, allowing the silky-smooth touch to cool my nerves.
I was nervous as hell to be taking my wife out on a date.
“You look amazing, by the way, Hershey. This pink on you is sexy as hell,” I said as I walked her to the garage.
“Thank you. You clean up nice too. I didn’t know you own more than sweats, jeans, and your baseball uniform.”
“You got jokes, I see. Act like you don’t remember that three-piece suit I wore the day I made you mine if you want to,” I said, opening her door, then smacking her ass as I lifted her into the truck.
“Three-piece, my a—” she shrieked as I locked her in, then made my way around to get in.
“You never did tell me where we were going.”
“It’s a surprise.” That was all I said then put on the playlist I made as we left for our destination.
Twenty-five minutes later, we were pulling into the butterfly garden. It was one of the few places in town where we didn’t have any memories.
I grabbed Hollis’s hand, kissing the back before I got out, rushing to beat the valet to her door.
She was quiet as hell as I interlocked our hands, so I got nervous all over again as we walked in.
“Please tell me you don’t have any bad memories here.”
“No, I’ve never been here, just taking this in.
This is breathtaking. I’ve always wondered what it looked like in here.
Mickey had this as an option for her wedding but opted for the gardens, and well Johnni, she went beach style this time.
” While she stared in amazement at the venue, I was taking in her beauty, thinking that nothing in the world compared.
I grabbed her hand in mine as we walked a little further.
We reached the hostess who led us to the private room I rented out for our date. We walked into the butterfly themed room filled with not only butterflies but also yellow flowers and her gifts. I was making up for anniversaries, birthdays, Valentine’s Days, and Christmas, shit even just because.
Hollis gasped as she turned to look at me.
“Luke, what is all this?”
“Happy anniversary, Hollis,” I said as I leaned down and kissed her lips sweetly, before I released her to help her to the chair, pulling it out.
Once the hostess left us alone, Hollis spoke again.
“Luke, this is a lot for a fake anniversary dinner that no one can see, don’t you think? When you said we should do this I thought—"
“Wrong. Ain’t shit fake about this anniversary.
This isn’t for nobody but you. Not only am I making up for the missed opportunities to spoil you with all the finer things, I wanted to create a new memory for us.
You mentioned before that we’re all over town and those reminders on our timeline hurt.
This is me giving you, shit, well hopefully, I didn’t think this all the way though…
I’m trying to make new ones that erase the pain in our history.
” Hollis blushed as she tucked her bottom lip into her mouth, dropping her head slightly.
I reached over, hooking her chin to raise it so our eyes were locked in.
“Since when are you hiding from me, huh?”
“Since you got a girl feeling butterflies that got my cheeks getting warm and stuff. You know I’m too P for that.
I can’t be out here losing my card because my husband is being overly sweet.
” We shared a laugh before our server came in, bringing the champagne I’d picked out, pouring us glasses.
I had our entire meal planned so there was no need for ordering to lessen the interruptions.
When I said I wanted my wife to myself, I meant just that.
“Girl ain’t shit P about you unless you mean being a pain in my ass.” She flipped me off as she dug into her purse, producing a velvet box.
“I know I said I wasn’t getting you anything, but looking so gotdamn good after my hair appointment, I stopped by the shops.”
She slid it over, causing me to smirk as I opened it to a designer watch. It was nice as hell, not too flashy. I hated looking like I had money. I let my name be the wealth.
“Damn, Hershey. You did me good. Thank you, baby.”
“Don’t thank me too much. You definitely will see it on your bank statement.” This time my laugh was louder as I shook my head.
“Of course. Do you want to open one of yours before the food comes?” I asked, getting up to get the one I wanted her to open first.
“I guess I don’t have a choice.” I placed the bag in front of her.
Her bright eyes peeked over at me as I retook my seat while she dug out the tissue paper.
When she pulled out the first small velvet box, I watched her eyes grow wide as she opened it, then a gasp came as she looked from me to the jewelry.
“Oh my gosh, a diamond ring? This is beautiful, Luke. It doesn’t fit my finger though. Is it real?” Hollis tried to put the ring on her index finger herself, which had me taking it from her hand.
“Baby, stop playing with me. Hell yeah it’s real, and it’s not just any diamond ring either.
What you think this shit is? It’s your wedding band.
I had to redecorate your finger, properly this time, with the size of my love in diamond form.
I got you out here naked as fuck and I don’t like that.
And your ass better not take it the fuck off or pawn it or I’ma fuck you up this time,” I said as I slid it on her finger with her laughing.
“Never, baby.” I placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand.
“Here’s to two years.” She licked her lips, shaking her head as she tried to fight the grin that spread across her face before her teeth were on display.
“Two years.” We clanked our glasses just as her second surprise came out. I had our cake remade with the same toppers she’d tossed out.
Hollis frowned until I tossed her a wink.
Once we were alone again, she spoke.
“This better not be the same cake that was in the freezer, Luke. I told you it wasn’t safe to eat and I’m damn sure not playing with you.” I chuckled.
“No, I did think about it, but this is a remake.” I got back up, holding my hand out for hers so we could cut into it.
She giggled as I stood behind her and we cut the mini cake.
“No! Baby, you remembered the original flavors I wanted and we couldn’t get.
How?” I picked up a spoon, going in for a bite for my wife.
It was a strawberry shortcake with a cheesecake layer and fresh strawberries.
Since the cheesecake layer had been an upcharge we couldn’t afford back then, she’d opted for cream cheese frosting.
Not this time. My baby wasn’t settling for shit she didn’t want. I was going to give her the world, no matter how much it cost.
“Hershey, I told you I remember everything about you.” Instead of eating her bite, she grabbed a spoon, then got some for me so we could feed each other.
She closed her eyes, moaning through the experience.
“Mmm…yeah, it’s a good thing this wasn’t the cake at our reception because I damn sure wouldn’t have shared. To be honest, I don’t think you can have any more.” I chuckled as I pulled her chair out again, assisting her back in.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get my strawberry fix later on. I like mine better with chocolate anyways,” I said as I tossed Hollis a wink and watched her full cheeks rise, letting me know she was blushing again.
“Luke, will you stop being nasty for one second? It’s bad enough that your hands are forever smacking my ass. I guess I don’t have to ask if you’re enjoying the added benefits this time around.”
“Shit, hell naw, but if you think your ass is my main focus, I gotta do better with kissing your lips, caressing your thighs, and sucking on that fat c—"
“Deke!” She cut me off just as the server came in with our main course. When we were alone again and after we said our grace, Hollis was back in her bag, this time producing a stack of papers.
“Look what Jimmy gave me in my letter.” She slid them over to me. I picked them up, doing my best to hide my reaction.
I’d always wondered what happened to her plans but didn’t want to ask out of fear of sparking an argument or something. Hollis was more sensitive this time around.
“Wow, Black Girl Magic Magazine,” I said casually while I looked through the plans. Hollis had always been detailed in every aspect of her life, so much so that for months she worked on these ideas, down to the color her office would be.
“You still want your pink and gold office with your glass desk?” I asked, snickering.
“Hell yeah, and I want my massive digital whiteboard installed. The only thing I’m swapping out is that white carpet. I had it in my condo a couple of years ago. Let’s just say a high maintenance expense that’s not in my budget, ever. Now, I’m thinking hardwood floors, a nice classic oak moment.”
She was speaking in present tense, so I pushed. My brows rose as I watched her put a piece of stuffed salmon into her mouth.
“So, this is still on the board of things to make happen?”