The song faded, and soon Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood” played through the speakers.
I reached out to her. “Dance with me.”
Beaming, she walked into my arms. We swayed to the music, letting it take us back to a time when the world moved slow and there was nobody else in the room but us. She rested her head on my chest. “I love this.”
“I wanted to show you how much you mean to me, how muchthismeans to me.”
Leaning her head back, she smiled up at me. “You mean a lot to me, too.”
“I don’t want to take this for granted. I don’t want to stand still. I want us to have nights like this all the time. I want to spoil you, take you on dates. I want to feel free to love you. Openly, without hesitation or reservation.”
Her chin trembled. “If you make me cry after I spent all this time on my makeup, I’ll kick you.”
I brushed her cheek, placed a kiss there. “I’ll never make you cry again.”
“Good, because I’m a lot stronger now. I can knock you out.”
Chuckling, I rested my forehead against hers. “I believe it. Bug, I know we’ve decided to look forward and not behind us. I don’t want to assume that you’ve completely forgiven me for hurting you, but I—”
She placed her hand on my mouth, then her lips. “Stop. You don’t need my forgiveness. I forgave you the moment your lips touched mine. Maybe even before that.”
“You mean it?”
“Of course, I do. I just didn’t want to accept it because I thought it made me weak, and I was tired of feeling that way. I didn’t want to be that woman anymore.”
“You’re not.”
“And as you’ve told me many times, you’re not that boy either. What we had back then was sweet, pure, the product of two people who grew up together, shared an attraction and explored it.” She kissed me. “But I love the man you are now. Just as much if not more than I did then.”
My eyes flashed to hers.
“You’re imperfect, sometimes reckless, always cocky, moody, loyal, driven, sweet, and kind. I don’t want to run away. I want to stay close. I want date nights, too. I want hot sex on every available surface. I just want you.”
I buried my face in her neck, letting her words wash over me, healing me from the inside out. “You don’t know how much I needed to hear you say that. I’ll always hate that I hurt you the way I did.”
“We were kids, and you were put in an impossible situation. When I think back on that night now, I don’t think about you leaving. I’m reminded of what we shared that day, how you made it nice for me, how you’ve always taken care of me. Yes, you hurt me, but you’ve also restored me. You encourage me. You make me laugh. You make me forget everything not good in the world. And I want that forever.”
I pressed my mouth against hers, deepening the kiss. “I love you, Bug. I’ve always loved you. Iwillalways love you. I promise you, I’ll do everything I can to make your life better.”
She caressed my face, feathered her fingers down my cheek, over my jawline. The love shining back at me through her eyes made my heart tighten in my chest. “You already have.”
Sweeping my hand under her ass, I lifted her in my arms.
“I thought we were going to eat?” she asked.
“Later.” I sucked her lip into my mouth. “Right now, I need something …”
A slow smirk spread across her face. “Whatever you need.”
Nothing else needed to be said. For the first time in a long time, I felt peace—the calm after the rain, the sun peeking out from the clouds. I had no doubt that the promises we made tonight would sustain us through space and time, through the storms of life. And no one—not even Ms. Tea—would stop me from loving her. For the rest of our lives.
Epilogue
Wesley
Iwas nervous.
So nervous that I couldn’t focus on what I’d planned to do.
