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“Your shoulders are tensing up,” Tobias noted over me. “You okay?”
Shoot…
The thought of Kelvin and Mya coiled me in no time. I nodded as we turned for the living room. Not only was there a beautiful Christmas tree set up in there, but it overflowed with gifts. Some were wrapped in traditional holiday paper, and others were in the original designer bags or boxes. And there were plenty. I even saw where he placed the ones I’d had in here already for him—minus the tree. This was why it had taken Tobias so long to come to bed last night. And apparently, he had help from Charlie at some point.
“Merry Christmas, Lennox,” he droned.
Cupping my mouth with both hands, I turned to him. “This is a lot.” I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful and hoped he didn’t receive it that way. “Thank you!”
Tobias planted a kiss on my forehead. “You’re welcome, but this ain’t it.” When I eyed him wildly, he took me by the shoulders and spun me around again. “We have to acknowledge another special occasion.”
Our travel was short; he stopped at the opening of the dining room. The table seating eight was filled from top to bottom with gifts. Birthday wrapping paper covered some, and high-end designer logos on bags and boxes contained others. There was a cake—a huge cake—in the center of the table. It was an image of me from last week inKarsyn Cove. Elia, JuJu, and Krista had gone back to their resort, leaving Tobias and me on the beach as the sun set. Gloriously tipsy, Tobias and I role-played being a model and photographer meeting on a shoot. I gave my best Tyra Banks poses as I sipped onMauvewith melting rocks.
The image on the cake was me doing the exact same pose as the brass image in Tobias’ bedroom. My head was tossed back, and one knee was hiked, as I groped a breast in a string bikini hiding very little. I wore a covering while the kids were around, of course.
“Damn, was it freeing to take that cover up off ,” I breathed out, gazing at the cake.
“I could tell. I couldn’t decide which picture I liked best. But I think this one captures you damn near bare and…loving yourself. Loving on yourself.” His hairy face moved closer to my ear, and he whispered. “Look at where your hands are. It’s like you’re enjoying you.” His chest covered my back, and I could feel him thickening behind me.
My eyes closed at the instant arousal I felt from his heat, words, and encouragement. “That’s like the sculpture in your bedroom,” I whispered, loving the heady space I was in.
Tobias didn’t reply right away. “I guess it could be.” He lowered his mouth and kissed my neck. Immediately, I swelled between my thighs. “But I like your interpretation of femininity better.”
He moved from behind me and toward the table where he scooped frosting with his index finger. “Niña’s Sweet Cakesat your service.” He brought the dollop of frosting to my mouth. I watched his burning gaze on my lips until I opened. I swirled my tongue and the delicious cream cheese frosting around his finger, pulling it further into my mouth. When I let it go, Tobias’ gaze returned to my eyes, now filled with hunger.
“Some days, I feel weak for loving you the way I do,” I murmured.
“Why?”
“Because I wonder if your love for me feels so monumental because no one has ever committed to me, my heart, my well-being, or my happiness like you.”
And that’s when I was able to name the now-exploding emotion. As an adult, waking up to Christmas Day was just like any other. And as a woman low on love, waking up to my birthday was just as mundane. I didn’t get the urgency in Tobias’ demands this morning. It was just another day to me.
But not to him.
“And lucky for me, no one else ever will.” He crushed me into his chest, lifting me from the floor by grabbing me at the ass. Tobias took my mouth hungrily.
“I’ll be like…” Jade Bailey, in the middle of Ragee’s plush, contemporary kitchen, threw air punches. Like…she spread her feet apart, had her fists in the air, throwing mock jabs.
Every one of us around the palatial island was in a laughing fit. I had tears in my eyes.
“For real!” Jade declared. “I’ll be like ‘bop,’ ‘bop,’ ‘BOOM!’” Her air jabs synced rhythmically with her demonstrations. When she returned to the crowded island, she wore a smirk. “Boy, that bitch know she don’t want none of this. Not even Terrell! He hates women so bad, with his gay ass. No disrespect, darling,” she amended to LeRoy, the only male in this conversation—stately dressed, too.
“None taken, sweet peach. Terrell is a ponk, and I told him straight to his face atArt Baselone year.” He snapped his fingers, thinking. “It was that year he was onIGLive, talking about ‘Ragee’s nice and all, but Luther Vandross wouldn’t sit with him if he was alive.’ I said, ‘you fucking right Luther wouldn’t sit with Raj, because his ass was so goddamn catty, especially when it came to competition!’ But that aside, Raj could never be Luther, neither does he want to be. He’s in his own lane.”
“Exactly!” Wynter agreed.
“And if I was there, I would’ve hooked his fat ass!” Jade demonstrated a calmer air punch, cracking us all up again. She was nice and tipsy, and I loved it.
This was nice. The night of Christmas, which was my birthday. After spending the morning opening gifts and making love, Tobias and I got dressed to visit his grandmother and uncle with gifts in tow. Then, we drove up to a party at Ragee and Wynter’s in Sparta. It was mostly the same crew that was here on Thanksgiving. Tobias took me on a tour of the estate before the sun set. I even got the chance to meet Raj’s older brother and visit his ranch.
Oddly, on the ride back to the main house, Nisha texted wishing me a Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas in a thread we have with Lisa. Lisa sent her well-wishes, too. I replied to them both asking for a time next month when we could get together. I had more settling in to do, but coming clean to them about the fib regarding what I’d been doing during and after my divorce proceedings needed to be cleared up. I’d tell them about Mya, too.
Tonight, I was able to talk more to the ladies. Wynter was really sweet and just as down to earth as Tobias described her. Tori wasn’t as talkative as the other ladies, but made sure we had a one-on-one conversation, making me feel welcomed. Jade was funny as hell, but the biggest nurturer. Bishop Carmichael’s wife was a riot. She was blunt, smart, and so Harlem. She even cussed a little, which was funny. She referred to her husband a lot, especially when she was “going off.” It was cute and telling of how much of an influence he was to her.
LeRoy was the classiest man I’ve ever met. He was dressed to the nines and had one of the broadest vocabularies around. Apparently, he was a world traveler. All night, people mentioned being surprised to see him so soon after Thanksgiving. LeRoy mentioned being a companion to several wealthy men around the globe. Why did I believe him? He seemed to fit the bill with his faux accent and poised posture. I learned a lot about this celebrity circle in just a few hours of drinking, eating, and cutting up.
Laughing, I asked Tori, “And she’s talking about your best friend?”
