Page 28 of Meet Me at the Altar

She tucked her bottom lip in between her teeth and dragged her hand down my chest. “You keep making big promises, Mr. Jones. I hope you can deliver.”

I tugged at her T-shirt and angled my head as my eyes narrowed in on her. “You wanna try me?”

“Nooo.” She teased me before she giggled and pulled away.

She ran onto the balcony to check out the views, while I called down to the front desk to ensure that everything was set up for later.

When I finished my call, I joined her on the balcony. “What do you want to do first, ma?” I stepped behind her and wrapped her in my arms as she admired the beautiful views. Although the mountains were all around, we could see the city from our location.

“You already know that hiking has to be on my agenda.”

“You and me both, but I’ve got that planned for tomorrow, unless you want to go today. Thought you might want to chill on our first day, but we can make changes.”

“I want to do whatever it is you want to do,” she replied, turning around and gripping my T-shirt in her hands.

“If we do whatever it is I want to do, ya ass won’t be leaving this room until it’s time to go home.”

Her face turned a deep shade of red, and she replied, “Well, let’s do whatever it is you had planned for us to do, sir.”

“I was thinking that we might take a quick swim on the rooftop deck, head down for some massages, enjoy dinner, and then check out the stargazing later tonight from the terrace.”

“I like that, but can I take a quick shower first?”

“Do whatever it is that your heart desires, babe.”

She looped her arms around my neck and stared into my eyes. “Thank you for doing this, baby. You make me so happy, Drè.”

“That’s all I want, and it’s the only thing that matters,” I replied, kissing her lips before releasing her.

She immediately pulled her T-shirt off and turned toward the bathroom. I watched as she shimmied out of her leggings. She tossed a casual glance at me over her shoulder and asked, “You gonna join me?”

“No. I’ve got some last-minute things to take care of.” We hadn’t had sex yet, and I doubted I would be able to keep my hands to myself in the shower. Yet, I didn’t want our first time to happen in the shower.

“This remindsme of all the times that we used to lie out in my backyard, watching the stars.”

“Me too. I thought you might like this,” I replied.

Kalli turned her head sideways in her chaise lounge and smiled at me. We had been holding hands, and she squeezed mine. I had never been a hand-holding type of nigga, not even with Mercedes, but Kalli loved that shit, and I loved making her happy. I also loved keeping us physically connected as much as possible.

“Thank you for this. I’ve been wondering all these years how much has changed about you. I’ve been watching you over the last few weeks, and I realized that not much has changed at all.”

“Is that good or bad?” I asked.

She smiled. “It’s great. I mean, the wild ways, I don’t see evidence of those anymore. Your protective, thoughtful, caring, and generous nature is still there. It’s just a more enhanced and mature version of you. I like that for you, and I love that for me.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. What about me? Do you think that I’ve changed at all?”

I chuckled.

“What? What’s so funny?” she asked with a smile of her own.

“Ya’ li’l ass still just as spoiled and whiny as you always were. The only difference is that your ass don’t take shit off nobody anymore. If someone is stepping to you, you’re making sure they come correct.”

“As I should. Have you seen my life? I’ve only been with one man, who turned out to be a lying, cheating asshole. The only other man I ever wanted ran out of town so far away that I worried I scared him off.”

I pulled her knuckles to my lips and kissed them. “You know that shit ain’t true. If I had my life together at the time, even partially together, I would have taken you with me.”