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The mattress creaks.
His grunts pound into the wall.
My whimpers turn to screams.
When I reach for him blindly, he finds me and takes my hand. Hansley presses his sweaty forehead against mine and his curly hair scratches against my eyelids.
As my head spins with pleasure and my body wafts lazily down from the high, I think I hear him say, ‘I love you’.
But there’s no way Hansley feels that strongly about me.
I don’t allow myself to dwell on it.
To taint this perfect moment with my crazy imagination.
We’re going slow.
Even if his version of ‘slow’ grabs me by the throat and drags me away at breakneck speed.
Pushing my doubts away, I arch up and kiss him.
This is as far as I’ll go for right now.
I need to hold back just enough of my heart to protect myself.
Just in case… this dream turns out to be a nightmare.
Twenty-Four
Hansley
“Ma, you need to let her go so she can breathe,” I grouse, checking my watch as my mother squeezes Asia close.
“Oh, stop complaining.” Mom slants me a dark look. “You have the rest of your life to be with her. There’s no need to be so darn impatient.”
Dad chuckles.
Asia smiles up at me. She pulled most of her locks into a ponytail, but left two tendrils out. A gentle wind brushes the strands against her warm brown cheeks. Her eyes glitter with happiness and satisfaction.
As they should.
I made sure to rock her world several times this morning before mom called us for breakfast.
Asia looks at my mother. “Thank you so much for everything, Zo.”
“What are you thanking me for, dear? We're family.” Mom twitters, her blue eyes turning to pure navy. “I don’t know if Hansley will ever let you out of his sight,” she teases, "but when you manage to get away, please do come and visit us.”
“I will,” Asia says, her smile fracturing.
Her eyes meet mine for a split second and I see guilt there.
She and my mom clicked after their rocky start. Doesn’t matter that they’re different races and different ages. Doesn’t matter that Asia’s a newlywed and Mom’s been married for decades.
Mom fell for Asia almost as quickly as I did.
The love was reciprocated so I get why Asia’s torn up about maintaining our deceit.
I nod at my wife, offering silent reassurance.
