The muscles in my face ached from exhaustion. I couldn’t stop smiling. Stripping out of my work clothes, I hopped in the shower to remove the day’s accumulation of dirt from my skin. Once I got out of the shower, I took care in covering my body in my favorite, creamy body butter. Sean loved when I wore it. He said the light smell of coconuts and lime reminded him of the beach or an island paradise.
My hair had gotten damp during my shower. Taking the blow dryer, I lightly diffused it. With a little mousse, I turned my ruined roller set into a beautiful cascade of loose waves.
I thought about putting on makeup but chose not to. I only wore it for special occasions. While I did consider tonight special, I knew Sean preferred it when I didn’t wear any. Instead, I finished with a light dusting of shimmering body powder, giving my mahogany skin a sun-kissed glow. I slipped into a pair of yellow lace, high cut boy shorts. I considered wearing a bra, but opted against it. Finally, I slipped into my dress.
It was a good idea I chose to go braless; the dress had a built-in bra that made my breasts look extra perky. I finished my outfit with a pair of strappy flats. A quick once over and a shake of my hair and I carefully made my way down the stairs.
The sight that greeted me made me nervous; I bit my knuckles. Sean had recreated a scene reminiscent of our first date. A large white canopy stood erect in the backyard. He strategically placed small votive candles around the outside, illuminating the dark space with soft, romantic light. A trail of flowers led from the back lanai all the way to the entrance of the canopy where Sean stood waiting for me.
I followed the path of flowers until I was standing before Sean. He looked amazing in a pair of loose-fitting khakis and a casual, white button-down shirt. Only two buttons were done, leaving his chest on display. His face sported a broad grin. There was no denying he had done well.
CHAPTER 24
SEAN
While Lashawnda took in the surrounding scene, I mentally gave myself a high five. All day I wanted to do something special for her as a reminder of how much she means to me. I could find nothing more romantic than a nighttime picnic. And, based on Lashawnda’s eyes filling with wonder, I had done an excellent job.
“You look beautiful,” I said before pulling her into a tight hug.
“So do you,” Lashawnda responded. She pressed her nose into my chest and did that weird thing she does all the time by sniffing me.
“Guys aren’t supposed to look beautiful,” I chastised lightly.
“Well, then you need to take that up with whoever makes the rules, because you are one beautiful man,” Lashawnda added while looking up at me.
“Fine, but tell no one else.” My arms tightened around her waist, and I held her close, nestled underneath my chin.
I pulled away from her and kissed her lightly on the forehead. With our fingers intertwined, I led her through the opening of the canopy. I felt nervous as I watched the emotions play across Lashawnda’s face. I hoped to give her a nice romantic dinner at home, something to express that we hadn’t lost the passion in our relationship. There were a few times I’d been around Jackson and heard him talk about his relationship with Sarah like he talked about getting an oil change. I didn’t want that to be Lashawnda and me.
I still want to smile when I see her after a long day at work. I still want her to tell me I moan her name while I sleep. Hell, I still want to adjust the front of my pants whenever she pins me with a sultry gaze. I still want her to text me ridiculous jokes she saw on social media. Or, to email me research articles she thought I might find intriguing. I loved that I was the one she called before all others when she forgot something or just needed to vent.
“Oh, Sean!” Lashawnda exclaimed, her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “This is so beautiful.”
“Come on now, don’t do that.” I pulled her back in for another hug.
Candles and flowers surrounded our midnight picnic area. I set the seating area up with one of the white comforters I found in the linen closet. I didn’t have time to get a white picnic blanket, so I had to make a quick decision. Lashawnda chuckled and gave me the side-eye. She would probably give me shit for using her bedding outside like this. Next to the seated area were serving trays lined with an assortment of covered dishes. A bucket of ice held champagne, and another bottle sat next to it.
“These are my favorite.” Lashawnda smiled.
She pulled out of my embrace and walked over to the serving tray that held the chocolate-covered strawberries. Plucking one from the dish she took a bite. I watched her chew with her eyes closed, enjoying the burst of sweet and tart flavors in her mouth. At that moment, I wished I had been that piece of fruit.
“These are for after dinner, young lady,” I said pulling Lashawnda’s hand away as she went to pick up another strawberry.
She pouted playfully at me, but I wagged a finger at her.
“Let’s eat.” I pulled her down until we were seated facing each other. I reached over and pulled a wide, short serving table between us with place settings for two. Lashawnda watched as I placed the decorative covered plates on the table. I got out the champagne and filled both of our glasses.
“I’m so turned on right now. Like seriously, Sean watching you cater to me like this and seeing all the effort you put into this date is giving me a huge lady boner.” Lashawnda spoke each word with a longing that had me biting my lip.
“Lashawnda.” I shook my head to get her to stop.
“I’m serious.” She leaned back on her hands, poking out her chest in my direction—distracting me. “You can claim that men can’t be beautiful, but to me, you are beauty personified. From the strong set of your jaw to those dark arching brows. I love to play with that little cleft in your chin. And please don’t get me started on those lips. Whoo! And you’re eyes.”
She threw her hands in the air and shook her head from side to side.
“Those sexy, green eyes with those long curling lashes that had me drooling over you the first time we saw each other. Never thought I’d think a man had a sexy nose before. You’re just beautiful, perfectly beautiful. And, all mine.”
“Thanks, little lady.” I was a hundred percent sure my face was fire engine red. I place the bottle of champagne back in the bucket of ice. I felt her eyes roaming my body. It reminded me of the first time I had ever taken my clothes off for a girl. This was the woman I planned on spending forever with, and she still had a way of making me feel bare.
“So, what are we having for dinner?” Lashawnda asked placing her napkin in her lap as if she didn’t just embarrass the hell out of me.
I pulled the covers off the plates. “Courtesy of your mother and my mother, we are having steak topped with sautéed shrimp and portobello mushrooms. Asparagus topped with glazed almonds, steamed broccoli, baked sweet potato with a brown sugar butter sauce, and baked macaroni and cheese.”
“Mmm…” Lashawnda lightly licked her lips. “This looks delicious.”
“You look delicious.” I held her gaze, long enough to see her drop her eyes and look away blushing. “You wouldn’t believe how much willpower it took not to devour all this food and take you out to a restaurant instead,” I admitted.
“Well, I’m glad you kept it together,” Lashawnda said placing her hands on her hip.
I smiled and leaned forward until I was close enough to peck her on the lips. “Good…considering I ate half the cheesecake already.”
Lashawnda gasped and pushed at my chest. It was her turn to wag her fingers at me. She tried mimicking my expression from earlier, causing us both to laugh. She picked up her fork and cut her steak. She placed a thin slice of the succulent meat between her lips and moaned as it practically melted on her tongue. I was stuck staring opened mouth with the fork halfway to my lips.
I knew that moan. That was the ‘I’m about to deep throat your length moan.’ It was my second favorite moan to the ‘I’m about to cum’ moan.’
“What?” Lashawnda asked.
; “You really need to stop all that moaning.” I stuck the fork in my mouth and bit into the steak. “Oh…sweet baby Jesus,” I exclaimed letting out a deep moan of my own.
Lashawnda snickered. “Now, what was that you just said?”
“I stand corrected. Whew, our moms can throw it down in the kitchen.” I took another big bite of my steak.
We ate in silence for a few minutes until Lashawnda spoke.
“So, what brought this on?” She pierced a stalk of broccoli and popped it in her mouth.
“I don’t know. I just thought I hadn’t taken you out in a while. I know we are always together and do stuff with the family, but it’s never just me taking you out. I don’t think I’ve actually done that in about two months.” I kept my eyes on my plate through my speech.
“I just wanted to let you know I still feel the same way I did in the beginning. I still want to keep things exciting. I want us to have lots of great memories to share with our children. Things may get a little rough down the road; I know that no relationship is ever smooth sailing all the time. But this way we can look back and say, I remember that night we had a picnic under the stars.”
For the second time that night Lashawnda’s eyes teared up. She crooked her middle finger, motioning me to come closer. When I was close enough, she slowly pressed her lips against mine, tenderly caressing my mouth with her own.
“You are so amazing,” she whispered.
“I’m just trying to live up to my promise.” I sat back, feeling my face heat with the awkwardness of her pronouncement.
“What promise?” Lashawnda took a sip of her champagne.
“I told your dad I’d do everything to make you happy,” I admitted.
“Why? When?”
“Because he’s your father, and he wants to make sure the man you’re living with has your best interest at heart. It was the day we went to buy the grill. He didn’t completely agree with us moving in together without us being married. I told him I wasn’t planning on just shacking up with you forever, but I think it’s important for us to learn what it’s like to live with one another before we get married.”
“Wow! You never mentioned this before.”
“It was a man-to-man conversation,” I said.
“Okay, whatever you say. I think this date was a great idea. We have been falling into a routine for a while now. A very nice routine, but it’s nice to mix it up every now and again.”
“I called our mom’s today to see if they could give me some pointers on making a nice dinner for you. My mom must have called your mother and told her it was a bad idea to allow me to cook on a special night. Can you believe she called me neurotic? My own mother?” I grabbed the champagne and refilled our glasses.
“I can’t imagine why.” Lashawnda arched her eyebrows in mock indignation.
Just then I remembered the incident with the roasted chicken and wholeheartedly agreed with my mother. Of course, I kept that to myself. The woman just told me how perfect I was. I needed to keep her mind on that same path.
“I know right. Anyways…so, they got together and cooked us this wonderful meal. They had plans to spend the day at the antique stores downtown; so, they added this to their to-do-list. They made enough food for the whole family. They even offered to help me set the place up, but I declined. They had done more than enough.”
“And, the shirt that you threw in the trash? What was that all about?” she inquired.
I put down my fork and rubbed the back of my neck. Tonight was turning into a moment of crazy emotions for me. I reached out and took Lashawnda’s hand that rested on top of the table in mine.
“Saturday night you know I was a little high-strung. I have no right to tell you what to wear; even if I don’t like the way other men look at you while you’re wearing it,” I revealed, embarrassed by my train of thought.
“You don’t think I get upset when other women are undressing you with their eyes.” Lashawnda squeezed my hand. “Well I do. Let them stare. You need to remember, you are the one I’m coming home to at the end of the night. That’s what I tell myself.”
“Yeah, well, it’s going to take a little getting used to,” I confessed.
During dinner we talked about our day. I had already decided not to tell her about the Jenny email situation. I told myself if she tried something else, I would tell Lashawnda then. I did, however, tell her about Brent asking for Crystal’s number.
“Oh really? I wonder what he wanted to talk to her about?” Lashawnda asked.
“He wouldn’t say. But I reminded him not to play any games with her, and he said it’s not what I think.”
“I’m going to ask Crystal what he wanted.”
“As much as I’m tempted to tell you to stay out of it, I want to know too,” I confessed.
We sounded like two women gossiping. Lashawnda was my best friend. Not like the guys, but truly my best friend. I realized a few months ago when I found myself calling her about things I usually reached out to one of the guys about. She was the first person I went to when I needed to vent. And whenever I had a big decision to make, I always looked to her for advice.
After dinner, I pulled out what was left of the cheesecake and opened the second bottle of champagne. I cut a huge slice for myself and gave Lashawnda the smaller piece, obviously not intentional, but that’s just the way it turned out. She watched me like a hawk for some sign that I would recognize that I was being greedy. When none came, she slowly slid my dish toward her before the first piece could hit my tongue.
“I’m sure you were given a whole cheesecake. There is less than a fourth left in that dish. I worked hard today. I need this,” she told me, while pushing her plate in front of me.
I didn’t respond right away. Yes, I had eaten three-fourths of the cheesecake. But it wasn’t like I hadn’t been at home working too. I did the laundry, picked up a few things at the grocery store, cleaned out F.B.’s litter box, vacuumed the living room and cleaned the kitchen. I thought the section of cheesecake I ate was well fitting to the duties I did. Tonight was about making her feel special; so I kept all that to myself.
“Fine,” I conceded with a shrug.
She took a bite of the decadent dessert and again moaned. She looked up while I was putting the last piece on my plate in my mouth.
“Really, Sean? What did you do, inhale it?” she asked, eyes wide with shock.
I shrugged and licked the crumb that had fallen on the empty plate. Lashawnda took baby bites then proceeded in licking the fork. I set my fork down and decided to help her out. Plucking the fork from her fingers, I cut through the cheesecake and fed it to her. As she chewed, I leaned in and slowly kissed her lips. Lashawnda’s eyes became heavy with arousal as I let my tongue play on the seam of her lips.
I pulled away and cut another piece and held the fork against her lips. I did this two more times. Lashawnda opened her eyes when I didn’t put the metal against her lips. I was staring at her with my mouth stuffed to the brim and an empty plate in front of her.
“Oh my gosh! Sean, you ate all my cheesecake,” she hollered so loud, I was sure our neighbors heard her.
I scooted back from her, but didn’t get too far, as she pounced on me. My mouth was so full, I couldn’t even speak. My words sounded like grunts and growls. All I could do was laugh as my shoulders shook uncontrollably. I rolled onto my back, and Lashawnda straddled my waist. She tried palming my face, but I held her arms wide. She tried bending, so she could nip me on the lips, but I kept my face averted. Finally, I loosened my hold on her, and she grabbed my cheeks and firmly forced her tongue between my lips.
It was a sloppy dessert kiss and it made the cheesecake taste even better.
Lashawnda pulled back and looked down at the big smile on my face. She was revving up to give me a scolding.
“You are a sneaky…Oh!”
I rolled her over on her back and planted a hard kiss on her lips. “Yes, I am. Thanks for sharing, sweetheart.”
&n
bsp; “You are so greedy. I didn’t share with you. You stole it using your cunning wiles. I don’t want to hear you say anything about Brent ever again.”
“Hey now! Brent is on a level all to himself,” I said defensively. I enjoyed food. Brent was a pig.
“I think you're right there with him,” Lashawnda pouted.
“Aww, come on don’t be like that,” I cajoled.
I placed little kisses across her face, nuzzling that spot behind her ear that never failed to get her aroused. I knew exactly where to kiss and suckle to distract her. I rolled again until Lashawnda was on top. The folds of her dress had become tangled between us. I placed my hands on her thighs and eased the material up until it bunched around her hips.
“You don’t play fair.” She settled on top of me.
“All is fair in love and cheesecake,” I quipped.
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“It doesn’t have to.”
“Now, I see why the pieces were getting smaller and smaller. I’m so telling on you.”
“You better not.”
“Oh, yes I am. I’m going to put on the biggest sad face at Sunday dinner and tell our moms how you ate my cheesecake.”
“Come on…you wouldn’t dare.”
“Yes, I would.”
“What can I do to make it up to you?” I asked sounding as if I was trying to bribe her.
Lashawnda looked around the enclosed canopy. She slowly shifted her hips from side to side as she tapped her cheek thoughtfully. I could feel myself coming to life underneath her. I guess it was my turn to get teased.
She turned her body and stretched until she plucked one of the chocolate-covered strawberries between her fingers. I bit my lip at the sight of her hard nipples underneath the stretched material. She bit into the tasty treat and continued to work her hips from left to right. I was now at full mast. The heat from between her legs made me want to slide her panties to the side and dip my tongue into her core.
Lashawnda dropped the strawberry stem in the empty cheesecake plate. She plucked another one from the bowl. This time she placed it between her lips, forming a perfect O with her mouth as she looked down at me. My hands gripped the sides of her thigh in anticipation of what she had in store for me.
Over the Hedge: Part 2- The Finale (Lucky in Love) Page 29