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ChapterFive
Choyce
Lavender was sleeping so peacefully,Choyce didn’t want to wake her. They’d been sleeping for around six hours, but now, it was time for her to go. Rodney, Mercy’s best friend, had pulled up to drive her to Grace’s home. He had his wife with him to ensure Lavender felt safe since Choyce wasn’t going with them. Mercy would be upset, but he would get over it.
Choyce was a man now.
He wasn’t going to let anyone fight his battles—not even his brother.
Would he allow Mercy to help him? Damn right. But this was some shit Choyce needed to handle for himself. He owed his mother that much.
“Lav,” he called softly, not wanting to startle her out of her sleep. “Get up, boo.”
She stirred and muttered under her breath but didn’t wake up. Chuckling, Choyce shook her a little harder this time.
“She’s not getting up?” Rema asked, leaning against the doorframe.
“Nah.”
“She probably wasn’t sleeping well. I can’t imagine what they were putting them through.”
That was all the more reason for her to leave so he could take care of this shit. Sonny had already paid with his life for what he’d done, but there were some more motherfuckers who had to see Choyce—including his grandfather. While Mercy was worried about what Armani would do to the young hoodlum, Choyce wanted him to come.
As far as he was concerned, Armani was the reason for all of this. Had he not given Sonny his mother, she would be alive and well. Yeah, he probably wouldn’t have been born, but at least his mother would be okay.
“I might just carry her to the car, but I need her to wake up so she knows what’s going on. Plus, I want to say goodbye.”
Rema closed her robe and walked over to the bed. “Lavender, baby,” she called, running her fingers through Lavender’s hair.
“Hmm?”
“It’s time to wake up.”
Choyce sucked his teeth, refusing to believe how easy it was for Rema to get a response from Lavender. “Now how is she going to answer you and not me?”
Rema chuckled as Lavender’s eyes slowly opened. “I have a voice of authority, even when it’s soft. She can ignore you.”
His eyes rolled and he smiled. At this point, it didn’t matter. He was just glad she was waking up.
As Lavender sat up, she sniffled and looked from one to the other.
“Is everything okay?” Lavender checked, scratching her scalp.
“Yeah, it’s time to go,” Choyce replied.
Tilting her chin down, she frowned before nodding and rolling her tongue across her teeth.
He couldn’t ignore the distress that covered her face, but she didn’t fight it. Lavender sat on the edge of the bed. Rema sat next to her and hugged her before giving her a piece of paper that had her number and address on it. After telling Lavender that she could call her for whatever she needed, Rema left.
Avoiding his eyes, Lavender stood and took small steps toward the bathroom.
While Choyce waited for Lavender to return, he reminded himself of all the reasons it was best for her to go away, even if he did want her to stay. Not only was keeping her in Memphis selfish, it was dangerous, too.
She made her way back inside, pouting. Laughing quietly, Choyce wrapped his arms around her.
“What you pouting for?”
“I don’t want to leave.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“I do.” Her brows wrinkled as determination filled her. “I can stay with you, and you can protect me.”
“I would in a heartbeat, but I can’t if I’m unable to protect myself. Let me take care of some things and I promise I’m going to come for you.”
Her shoulders slouched as she released a long breath. “Choyce…”
“I know you’re feeling vulnerable. Maybe attached to me. I’m feeling the same way, too. We’ve gone through a lot over the past twenty-four hours that will forever bond us, but I need you to trust me, Lav. Let me do this for you. For us.”
“Okay. I trust you.” Lavender’s arms lifted and wrapped around his neck. “I’m going to miss you. You were right. I do feel really attached to you already. So maybe you’re right. I don’t want to distract you from what you need to do.”
He placed a kiss in the center of her forehead. “Thank you for understanding. You would’ve had to leave regardless, but I’m glad you’re able to do so knowing this is for the best.”
As Lavender’s thumbs slid up and down the back of his head, Choyce had to keep himself from kissing her. He wasn’t sure where the instinct had come from. Sure, she was attractive, but that shouldn’t have been a focus right now. He couldn’t deny it, though, and he was tired of trying to.
“I really wanna kiss you,” he confessed, barely able to recognize the raspy tone his voice had taken.
She smiled sweetly before licking her lips. “I really wanna kiss you, too.”
As he lowered to her, she lifted to him. The moment their lips connected, his hands went to her ass. Both it and her lips were as soft as he thought they would be.
“Choyce,” she whispered against his lips, lowering her arms and holding him close. “I…”
Choyce cupped her cheeks, demanding that she look into his eyes. “Yes,” he muttered, more like a promised answer than permission for her to continue.
“I’ve never…” Her eyes lowered as she bit her bottom lip. “Will you…” She giggled softly. “I just… in case…” Her head shook. “Forget it. I’m sure there’s not enough time.”
She tried to walk away, stopping when Choyce grabbed her wrist. “Time for what?”
“It’s not important.”
“If it was a desire of yours, it’s important to me.”
Choyce pulled her back in front of him.
