11. River
“If you’re going to be in here, you need to keep your hands to yourself, or help.” Erissa fussed as I stood behind her, kissing her neck.
She stood in front of the counter, unpacking the groceries that had just been delivered. Well, she was trying, but I couldn’t stop myself from touching her, which was causing a bit of a distraction.
“I can’t help it. I think I’m addicted to you.”
She turned around, leaning against the counter while standing between my legs.
“I doubt that, but you need to practice some self-control. You can’t act like this in front of your mother and sister.”
I tucked my index finger under her chin, lifting it for a kiss.
“Why not? I’m not trying to hide anything from them.”
“River, I am Rivvy’s nanny. I don’t want your mother to think I’m here for any other reason. Now, if you don’t want to help me unpack the groceries and cook, find something else to occupy your time until Rivvy wakes up from her nap.”
“What if I want you to be more than Rivvy’s nanny?” I asked before I could consider what her answer might be.
“You don’t, so let’s not go down that road. Empty that bag while I empty this one.”
She pushed me back and turned around to face the counter, then emptied the bag that was in front of her. I wanted to ask her why she felt I didn’t want her to be more than Riverlynn’s nanny, but I wasn’t positive that was what I wanted, so I didn’t press.
I removed the items from the other bag, looking at each item before placing it on the counter. When I came across a box that said Plan B, I paused.
“You’re not on birth control?” I asked.
“No. We probably should’ve discussed that before I let you raw dog it and shoot up the club.”
I took her hand and pulled her closer to me.
“I tried to ask you before I filled you up the first time, but I got caught up. It felt too good, and my mind and reflexes weren’t on the same page. After that, I honestly didn’t give a fuck.”
“Lucky for you, you don’t have to worry about it. I’ll take care of it, but you need to wrap up if we’re going to keep doing this.”
“Wrap up? What do you mean?”
“River, you know what I mean. You need to wear a rubber. I’m sure you have plenty of them since you claim to always use them.”
“I do.”
“Well, it shouldn’t be a problem moving forward. It makes no sense for me to take the Plan B if you plan to keep filling me with your seeds.”
“It’s not that simple, E.”
“It’s very simple. Wrap it up, or at the very least, pull out.”
She said that as if doing either of those things was the easiest thing in the world. It was virtually impossible for me to use a condom after feeling her naked pussy wrapped around my naked dick, . . . and the thought of pulling out was laughable.
“I don’t know if—”
As if on cue, we heard Riverlynn whining through the baby monitor.
“We’ll talk about this later,” I told her.
I left Erissa in the kitchen, grabbing the Plan B on my way out and putting it in my bathroom before going to get Riverlynn.
“Hey, baby girl.”
She stopped fussing as soon as she heard my voice. When I stood over her crib, she smiled and reached for me.
“How was your nap?”
She gave me the biggest smile while kicking her legs and flailing her arms. I found it amusing how, at four months old, she always responded when we spoke to her. I believed she understood everything we said and responded the only way she knew how.
I put her on the changing table to change her diaper.
She couldn’t quite roll over yet, but she’d learned to roll onto her side, which caused a few problems when getting her diaper changed.
I moved fast because it didn’t take much for her to pee before I could get a diaper under her.
If she were a boy, I would’ve gotten pissed on one too many times.
“Are you ready to meet your grandmother and auntie today? They’ll spoil you rotten for a few days, then leave Erissa and me to correct the damage they caused.
Don’t let my mother have you calling her something crazy like G-Mama or Glam-Ma.
You can call her Granny, Grandma, or Nana, and that’s it. You got it?”
I leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose as she blew bubbles and squealed. I went to her bathroom and washed my hands before taking her downstairs. I’d only been gone for under ten minutes, but Erissa had put everything away and was cleaning chicken thighs.
“What are you making?”
“Chicken and broccoli with fried rice and veggie egg rolls with sweet and sour sauce.”
“You’re making that from scratch?”
“Yeah. It’s not that hard. This was one of my grandparents’ favorite meals. Hey, Rivvy. Did you have a good nap?” she asked.
She washed and dried her hands before approaching us and taking Riverlynn from my arms. I watched as she spent the next five minutes showing my baby girl love. Erissa spoke to her as if they were having a real conversation.
“You get to hang out with your daddy today while I make dinner for your grandmother and auntie. You good with that?”
She kissed her forehead and returned her to my arms. When she turned to walk away, I grabbed her arm. She looked back at me expectantly.
“Can I get a kiss?”
She smacked her lips and snatched away from me, not in an angry way, but in a way that said she didn’t think I was serious.
“Boy, stop playing. I need to get back to this food.”
She went back to the counter and resumed what she was doing. I decided not to bother her, and Riverlynn and I went to the family room.
While I kept her entertained, the TV was on ESPN, keeping me entertained. The sounds of pots, pans, and other dishes, along with the opening and closing of cabinets, filled the background.
Sometime later, I found myself waking up on the floor with Riverlynn next to me, playing with her feet. I looked at my phone and realized I’d been asleep for about an hour. I’d also received a text from my mother saying they’d landed and were on their way.
“You good, baby girl?” I asked Riverlynn as I picked her up.
The aroma of the dinner I’d soon eat filled the house, and it smelled damn good. We went to the kitchen, and I warmed a bottle for her. Erissa was so engrossed in the preparation for dinner that she barely noticed we were there.
“My mom and sister landed and are on their way. How’s everything coming along?” I asked.
“Good. Everything should be done by the time your family and friends arrive.”
“It smells good as hell. Can I eat now?”
“No, River. Why don’t you go up and change Rivvy’s outfit? I picked something out, and it should be hanging on the back of the door.”
“What’s wrong with what she’s wearing?”
“Nothing, but she’s meeting her grandmother, auntie, and your friends for the first time, and I want her to wear something nicer.”
I shook my head but didn’t think her request was worth going back and forth when I didn’t care what she wore. Without commenting any further, I went upstairs to finish feeding Riverlynn. After burping her and changing her diaper, I dressed her in the yellow dandelion dress that Erissa had chosen.
My baby girl always looked adorable, but we didn’t take her out much, so I rarely saw her in one of the many dresses that filled her closet. I had to admit, the outfit change was a good idea.
“Grandma and Rylee are gon’ fall in love with you as soon as they see you, baby girl.”
I kissed her cheeks, then looked at our reflection in the mirror.
“She looks so pretty,” Erissa said when she peeked inside the nursery.
“She gets it from her father.”
“I guess I’ll have to agree since we don’t know what her mother looks like.”
“That was cold.”
“It was also the truth, although I’m pretty sure her mother is beautiful.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Per my research, you’ve never been spotted with an ugly woman, so that’s a fair assumption. The food is ready, so I’m about to shower again and put on something besides leggings or biker shorts.”
“I didn’t know you had anything else,” I teased.
“Haha. You got jokes, I see.”
Before I could respond, she was on the other side of her bedroom door.
I took Riverlynn to my bedroom, propped her up on my bed with a few pillows, and gave her a rattle.
She was content with that while I found something more presentable to wear.
I couldn’t have my girls dressed nice and not match their fly.
“How does Daddy look?” I asked Riverlynn once I was dressed in a pale yellow polo and khaki shorts.
I picked her up and admired our coordinating outfits in the mirror, taking a selfie before heading back downstairs.
Since there would be several of us having dinner, I decided we would eat on the enclosed patio.
I put Riverlynn in her stroller while I went back and forth from the kitchen to the patio, bringing out the items we needed.
Just as I finished, the doorbell rang, and my security system announced that there was someone at the door.
Excitement buzzed through my body as I headed toward the door with the stroller in tow.
It had been too long since I’d seen the two people closest to me, and I was looking forward to their visit.
I opened the door with a smile, but it disappeared immediately when I saw Jaxon with a woman I’d never seen before. I almost closed the door in their faces, but he caught it before it closed.
“Damn, bruh. Who pissed in your Cheerios?” Jaxon asked.
“I thought y’all were my mama and sister.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m Shakira, Erissa’s best friend.”
“Oh, damn. My bad. I’m River, and I’m not usually rude. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Is my girl in the kitchen?” she asked.
“No, I think she’s upstairs getting dressed. You can go up if you want.”
Shakira peeked into Riverlynn’s stroller and tickled her stomach.
“Hey, pretty girl,” she cooed, getting the cutest reaction from my daughter.
After playing with her for less than a minute, she disappeared, and I watched Jaxon watch her until she disappeared.
“Don’t start no shit with her,” I warned.
“What? I was just admiring the view.”
“Whatever. Where your boys at?” I asked, referring to Desmond and Boris.
“They had plans.”