Chapter 36 SHYAH
SHYAH
“Are you comfortable?”
I rolled my eyes. Lewis knew damn well I was comfortable.
I was nestled in his arms, rubbing my feet together, and smacking on a fresh honey bun and a bag of plain chips.
The sweet and salty combo was the icing on the cake.
He had the lights turned off, a scary movie on, and his freshly washed body cocooning mine.
“Too comfortable,” I replied. “Why would you show me your snack stash?”
He chuckled. “You said you wanted something sweet. I can’t have you ‘round here craving something and not supply it for you.”
Something in his tone caused the handful of chips in my hand to miss my mouth and tumble down my shirt. At same time, I felt the hardness of him against my back. Suddenly flustered, I chuckled. This wasn’t the first time I’d felt Lewis’s dick. It surely felt like it, though.
“Don’t mind him. He’ll chill out in a minute.”
Sighing, I chewed the chips I’d picked off my shirt and reflected on the short time Lewis and I had officially known each other.
From his voicemails to him showing up at my birthday party, he was really putting in the work to win a piece of me that I only wanted to reserve for my husband.
He was a little crazy, enormously funny, and too sweet to believe that he was real.
Lewis could have any woman he wanted, and here I was with my boundaries.
“If my need to wait for marriage bothers you, I’d understand if you decide we won’t work. A man has needs, right?”
Lewis was quiet for so long, I glanced over my shoulder to see if he’d fallen asleep. His face was contorted, and he stared at me as if I sprouted another two eyes.
“You want me to flip you on yo’ head? Is that what it is?”
Snickering, I shook my head. “No.”
“Yes, you do. You tryin’ to trick me out my spot.”
I threw my head back and laughed.
“Ain’t gon’ happen. I’ll wait patiently to call you Mrs. Winston.” He tugged me until my back was against his chest again. “Ya boundaries don’t scare me, Shy. They make me wanna be everything you desire. They make me wanna take my time courting you but rush us the fuck down the aisle.”
Grinning, I settled in to finish my honey bun and chips. Although his dick occasionally jumped, he never paid it any attention. By the time we both fell asleep, I was underneath his large body, smiling from ear to ear at him locking me down like that.
The next morning, Lewis made me breakfast in bed.
I devoured my plate and downed my orange juice a little too quickly.
That was because Lewis had plans for us today, and I was eager to get dressed and out the door.
An hour later, I was freshly showered, moisturized to perfection, and dressed.
Light makeup, a high ponytail, and a nude and pink ombré lip rounded out my look for the day.
I came out of the bathroom to find Lewis standing there wearing a goofy-ass grin.
“You like?”
My grin matched his because our red sweatpants and hoodies matched.
“Red looks good on you,” I told him, doing my best to avoid the print tinting his sweatpants. His moisturized dark skin and fresh lineup made it no better. Lewis was a certified fine-ass man.
He approached me and kissed my lips. “You look good, baby. Ready to get into some trouble?”
“With you? Yes.”
***
Our first stop was to shop, which was crazy because Lewis bought me an entire boutique’s worth of gifts.
We weren’t shopping for clothes or jewelry, though.
Navé’s birthday was in a few days, and Lewis brought me along to purchase her gifts—one-of-a-kind pieces of art painted by Gerrand.
Gerrand was sought out for his intricate and bold artwork, showcasing the rawness and realness of Black love.
Lewis and I toured Gerrand’s showroom, and while many were just here to look, Lewis selected five paintings to gift his mother.
He spent nearly two hours selecting the pieces he wanted, and I just held his hand and followed along, enjoying how he explained different paintings to me.
I realized that Lewis was a lover of art.
I should’ve known because his house was full of rare artwork.
The gallery’s manager agreed to have the pieces delivered to Lewis’s house on the day of his mother’s birthday.
After leaving the gallery, we went to a bakery.
For another hour, I sat beside him, tasting cakes until he found the perfect one for his mother.
While I wasn’t the one being showered with special birthday gifts, Lewis’s attention to detail and the way he chose everything with intention, kicked me over the edge.
This man loved his mother. He loved her to no end.
We did a few more things, to which was really a blur.
I was in my head, thinking about the woman who gave birth to me.
I wondered what it would have been like to shower her with the love that I now showered upon Margarite.
Sadly, I wondered if we would have had a wonderful relationship.
For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why she didn’t protect me.
Lewis’s fingers touched my chin, jarring me out of my thoughts. I took his hand in mine and smiled despite my hectic thoughts.
“You’ve been quiet for the last thirty minutes, my baby. What’s wrong?”
“Remember when I told you about my parents?”
A snarl touched his face, but he nodded.
“Years after I was rescued, I learned that they were planning to sell me. Over the years, they’d done things like that to other girls who were my age.”
Lewis drew in a deep breath, pushed it out, then focused back on the road. By the set of his jaw, the way he gritted his teeth, then released, he was angry.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“I’m convinced you like to get me riled up,” he interjected.
“Don’t ever apologize for confiding in me.
That’s what the fuck I want you to do. I’m not a licensed therapist, but you can damn sure use me like one.
I wanna hear everything that concerns you, and I wanna know everything you’re afraid of.
” His emotions peeked out, causing his voice to grow hoarse.
“I’m angry as fuck. There are so many times I wish to lay down my badge and become the nigga who doesn’t mind killin’ a muthafucka for doing some shit like that. ”
“Oh.” I watched Lewis’s profile and realized he was serious. Knowing who I was connected to, I could never tell him the shit Antonias and the rest of my people were into. If he found out… Hopefully, he didn’t find out. After all, Lewis was the law.
He briefly glanced at me and asked, “How would you feel if I was that nigga?”
As I thought about an answer, Lewis pulled into a large circular driveway in front of a stately brick mini mansion. Several vehicles filled the driveway, and a few teenagers milled near the front door. Lewis touched my chin to remind me that he’d asked me a question.
“Would you like the politically correct reply or Shyah’s reply?”
He chuckled. “Shy’s reply. Please.”
“Even if it doesn’t align with your badge?”
“Even if, baby. Tell me ya raw thoughts.”
“If someone kidnapped me. Are you going to the police? Or are you going to do whatever…or kill whoever it takes to get me back?”
He smirked devilishly. Leaning over the seat, he seized my lips and wrapped his tongue around mine. After he’d thoroughly assaulted my lips, he pulled back slightly.
“I’m comin’ for you.” He kissed me. “Fuck the police.” Another gentle peck fell on my lips. “Fuck anybody who tries to stop me. Fuck anybody in my way.” We locked eyes. “I’ll bury whoever to get to you.”
I cupped his jaw and said, “That man, will always have my respect.”
Something in his eyes softened. We shared one last kiss before exiting his truck. He led me to the front door and introduced me to his younger cousins. As we entered the house, a smell I hadn’t smelled in years hit my nose.
“I know that ain’t what I think it is.” Lewis turned his nose up.
A woman, who heavily favored Navé, appeared in the foyer. She popped Lewis upside the head.
“Watch yo’ mouth inside my house,” she chided. She pushed him aside and embraced me. “You must be Shyah. Navé has been talking about you all day. I’m Jenny.”
Smiling, I spoke back to her, “Your house is lovely.”
“Oh, okay!” She grinned. “I like you already.”
“Auntie… Why you cookin’ funky chittlins? You know I can’t stand ‘em.”
“When you pay one of these bills, then you can tell me what to cook in my house. Now, gon’ and take Shyah to meet everyone else.”
Lewis followed instructions, and I hid a smile behind his large back. It was clear that his comedic personality stemmed from the very people he called his family. I met everyone…all one hundred of them it seemed like. From the youngest to the oldest, I met all of Lewis’s family.
By the time I made it to one of the tables set out in the backyard, dusk had settled in. Jenny brought us our plates, and immediately, Lewis liked to have passed out.
He frowned at his plate. “Who put these chittlins on my plate, Auntie?”
“I did, and you better eat them,” she commanded.
“Nah, Auntie. My stomach gon’ need a pump after consuming this shit.”
I died laughing, but he was dead-ass serious.
“That’s for you talking about how bad they smell.”
“And they’re still funky as hell. My nose and eyes been watering since I got through the door.” He stood from the table and walked over to one of the trash cans next to the tables where the food was set up.
Jenny cracked a smile and slapped Lewis’s arm. “Boy, shut up.”
He scraped the chitterlings off his plate, causing me and a few other people to burst out laughing. Lewis was a mess! He must’ve thought better of it, then sat the plate to the side before fixing himself a new serving of food. I laughed until he was seated next to me.
“My stomach hurts,” he mumbled.
Deciding that Lewis was the craziest, funniest man I’d ever met, I was sure that I could never walk away from him.
Later that evening, Lewis and I cuddled up on one of the patio chairs and watched the rest of his family enjoy themselves. Navé and Jenny were the funniest sisters I’d ever met. They reminded me a lot of Maddie and Minnie.
“Enlighten me,” I said to Lewis. “What was Navé like before Hollywood?”
Lewis’s deep chuckle sounded grand to my ears. “My mama was a G. She had niggas terrified of her.”
“You’re lying!”
“I swear, baby. I was young as hell, but I remember how them niggas used to tremble in front of my mama.”
“No… Not sweet Navé.” I couldn’t believe it.
“When I was ten, my father was robbed and killed by a nigga he trusted. A nigga he would’ve died for.”
“Is he the reason you became a detective?”
“Yep. My father was big on loyalty and honor. I swore I would make him proud.”
I kissed Lewis and smiled softly. “I know you’re making him proud.”
He grinned, and we fell silent as we continued to observe his family.