“Of course it matters! I want your mom to like me,” I said, playfully pushing his head away.
“Well, she’s going to love you. If anything, just the simple fact you got me to lay down some roots is going to make her jump for joy.” He ground his hips into mine and kissed the spot behind my ear. “Come on, let’s get some sleep. We’ve got work in the morning.”
Sean curled himself around my body. His chest to my back and his right hand cupped my left breast. This was how we’d slept all weekend, and I imagined that this was how we’d sleep forever. Even in slumber, Sean was the protector of my heart.
CHAPTER 28
LASHAWNDA
Six months later…
The glare from the shiny desktop caught my attention and held me transfixed. The myriad of memories running through my head put me into a trance. I wasn’t one of those people that buckled in high stress situations. I was always action-oriented, a problem solver. For the first time in my life I felt helpless and lost. I had to put my trust in the hands of people who knew better than me how to handle situations like this. It was an uncomfortable feeling I would never get used to.
I watched the bodies moving through the tight hallway and I felt anger rise in the pit of my stomach. Time was wasted with me arguing with them and it took the presence of Dr. Barnes for them to finally stop brushing me off and listen. Even in this day and age as a woman of color, my thoughts and opinions weren’t as valid as a white man’s. I took a long, shaky breath, mentally coaching myself that this train of thought wasn’t going to help the situation.
On reflex, my hand went to my phone as I checked for any missed calls or text. There were none, at least none from him, but I scrolled through my call log again, mentally calculating the hours that had passed since I last spoke to Sean. The phone shook in my hands, and I placed it on the desk so I wouldn’t accidentally drop it.
I was panicking.
How could this be happening? How could the last ten months of my life, which have been nothing short of spectacular, turn into a nightmare? I never thought something like this would happen. We were building a life together. We had our house; our families were one. I was ready to take that next step with him.
I ran a nervous hand over my droopy curls. The beautifully coiffed roller-set that once adorned my head was non-existent. I’d been nervously fussing with my hair for the last two hours and I could only imagine what I looked like. I pulled out my compact from my purse. The haggard face with the strained eyes that looked back at me, was a reflection of my inner turmoil.
The dark red tube at the bottom of my clutch caught my attention. I pulled out my matte red lipstick. It was Sean’s favorite color on me. The last time I wore this color was on one of our most memorable dates so far. Thoughts of that night with Sean caused a smile to form on my lips.
☙☙MV❧❧
“Sweetheart I think this is going to be so much fun.” Sean squeezed my thigh, causing goosebumps to form on my skin. Even after months of dating my body still reacted to his touch like the first time.
I shook my head at his words and watched the scenery from my open window. We were driving down the highway just after six in the evening. There wasn’t much traffic heading out of the city into the less populated rural areas. Sean’s enthusiasm was palpable, but I couldn’t help hiding my apprehension about this new adventure. For the last few weeks there have been ads for the new miniature golf course airing on TV. Sean was desperate to go check it out.
Miniature golfing was one of those things his parents did all the time when they were dating. Mrs. Colcord used to make it a monthly event with Sean when he was a kid. She even carried the other three boys along until they went off to college. This was a great bonding moment between Sean, his friends, and his mom. So, I could understand why he wanted to share it with me.
But, I’ve been miniature golfing twice in my life and both times ended in a complete disaster. I tried warning Sean pairing my clumsiness with miniature golf was asking for trouble. But. like classic Sean he just knew because I was doing it with him, nothing could possibly go wrong. The man was so confident in his ability to keep me from wreaking havoc it was laughable. I have to admit, since we started living together. I had less accidents around the house.
“Lashawnda, come on. You can’t seriously think something bad is going to happen.”
Sean’s grip on my thigh tightened, and I pressed my knees together, trapping his hand. A slight smirk crossed my lips as I thought about what he’d do if I suggested we pull over for a little kinky fun. I scratched that thought as I recall our last attempt at car sex. My knees were bruised for about a week after the incident. Also, I was about ninety percent sure there were cameras in the restaurant parking. With my luck, there was probably some creepy restaurant owner watching Sean bend me over the back seat of his truck at this very moment.
“I’m not saying a word Mr. Know-it-all. I already told you I was banned from that one place a few blocks from our house,” I explained with a shrug of my shoulders.
“I don’t quite understand how they can ban someone for life.” Sean shook his head with confusion.
“Well, after ending up with two concussions both times; the owner said, ‘he didn’t want the risk of getting sued because of another one of my freak accidents’.”
“Still though…a lifetime ban?”
“Who knows if there’s a interconnected miniature golf network where my name and picture is stored in some database. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get stopped by the miniature golf security team before we even make it to the entrance.”
Sean threw his head back and laughed. Those sexy green eyes of his narrowed into little slits as his big body shook with mirth. My man’s laughter was my favorite sound in the world. Crystal and Brent were always making fun of him for his resting bitch face or that mean mug he’s always sporting. I loved that I’m able to get him to let his guard down and relax.
“Sweetheart, I think you’re on something. Really Lashawnda…a security team?” Sean shook his head while laughing quietly.
“When this all blows up in your face don’t be upset when I rub it in.” I laced our fingers and slowly began tracing the thick protruding veins on the back of his hand. “Ya know we could have been having just as much fun finding new places in our house to make love.”
Sean’s grip on my hand tightened. When I looked up, my eyes landed on his rose-colored lips pulled taught in a grimace. Along with making him laugh I was damn good at making him cum. Months of making love to this man made me an expert on knowing how to please him. More importantly, I knew exactly what to do to turn him on.
“You’re playing an unfair game, little lady.” His voice darkened in that sexy baritone that made my nipples tighten.
“We could be doing a lot more than just playing games right now.” I teased, bringing our joined hands to my lips and lightly biting his knuckle.
“Shit! You’re not playing fair. You know I like it when you use your teeth, Sean growled. Our eyes met, and I saw the pleading in his. He was ready just as quickly as I was. When he pulled his hand out of my grasp my head tilted in confusion. “But, we are about five minutes away from our destination, and you are not going to distract me.”
“Argghh.” I folded my arms underneath my breasts and pouted like a petulant child. “Fine, but you’re covering my hospital care.”
“Speaking of which, we should probably go to HR on Monday to find out about getting a family plan. There’s no reason for us both to have an individual plan. I was thinking about how much we could save in the long run,” Sean explained.
Just like that I was googly-eyed like a love-sick teenager all over again. This beautiful, sexy, intelligent man was all mine, and he wanted to build a future with me. If love didn’t mean talking about joined health insurance plans, I don’t know what else did. We spent the rest of the drive hashing out a few other things we needed to consolidate since we started living together. By the time we made it to the
miniature golf course, I was just as excited about this date as Sean.
However, my excitement ended about ten minutes into our game. Not only did the weather change from bright and sunny to dark and stormy. Just as I predicted, things didn’t go so well. My trip to the emergency room for a possible concussion was the not-so-perfect ending to our date.
Somewhere along the way to the third hole we passed a family with two small children. I was polite and waved to them as we waited for them to finish the course. The little boy was agitated and began throwing a temper tantrum. It must have been a common thing because the parents were ignoring him. The little fella decided to amp things up a bit by throwing his golf club. Just like bees were to honey; I was a magnet for catastrophe. I didn’t think a four-year-old had that much strength.
The golf club smacked me so hard in the head that I lost my balance and fell over. Poor Sean looked as if he was torn between murdering the little boy or just snapping his limbs. The parents were extremely apologetic, and I didn’t miss how the dad kept looking at Sean with fear in his eyes. I mean Sean isn’t a tiny man. I would have been scared too.
Our night ended with me curled up with Sean in a hospital bed while I was being monitored. His green orbs were filled with so much worry that I was the one doing the comforting. When the nurse came and handed me my discharge papers, Sean squatted down in front of me to put my shoes on. His hands paused in tying my laces, and he looked up at me.
“We are never going miniature golfing again.” He spoke with finality, and I knew he meant every word.
I ran my fingers through his dark hair and cupped his cheek. Sean stood up with a heavy sigh, rested his hands on both sides of my body, and caged me in. I kissed him slowly, leaving a stain of my red lipstick on his lips. I breathed a sigh of relief as tension eased from around his eyes and his lips pulled into a smile. Even with a knot the size of a lemon on my head, just having him here with me made this date spectacular.
❧❧MV❧❧
The alarm on my phone sounding brought me back to the present. I snapped my compact mirror shut and quickly grabbed the device, checking the screen. The alert labeled “Sean’s Surprise” flashed in brilliant fluorescent letters with the sultry sound of Tank’s voice accompanying it. The song, You Mean That Much, was our song—well one of our songs. Truthfully Sean and I probably had a song for every major occasion in our ten-month long relationship. There were times we would blast the stereo on a Saturday, play our favorites, while we did chores around the house.
The first time we heard the song it was Sean that made me listen to it. It was after our first real fight and at a point in our relationship where I was afraid everything between us was too good to be true. Sean was so darn perfect that I found myself afraid I wasn’t enough for him. It took a lot of reassuring on his part for me to finally settle into our relationship without so much anxiety.
❧❧MV❧❧
“Do you ever get the feeling everything is too perfect?” I asked.
“Um, no…why would you say something like that?” Stacy replied.
It had been a whirlwind in both of our lives and we haven’t had the chance to talk. Sean and I were spending more and more time together. The new grants at H&G were in full swing, and I was working overtime just to keep on top of everything around the office. Plus, Stacy and her longtime boyfriend Will were going through something, which made it difficult for them to visit as often as before. But, here we were, finally able to catch up over the phone.
I was at home packing up a few more boxes of cat food to drop off to my parents’ house. Fat Bastard had been staying with my mother a lot lately. I wasn’t sure why exactly, but with my mother being home alone it seemed like she needed the company. Since I had been dating Sean, I realized I wasn’t home as much.
“I don’t know…I just feel like everything is just…perfect,” I replied. I was feeling awkward from being in a fight with Sean and hoped talking to Stacy would help me make some sense of all that was going through my mind.
“Okay…out with it. What is going on with you? And, before you even think about giving me that ‘nothing is wrong’ spiel; try that bullshit with someone else,” Stacy fussed.
This was why she was my best friend. Between her and Crystal, I couldn’t get away with much.
“Stacy, I promise nothing is wrong. I am in a relationship, now. Which means my significant other and I will not always see eye to eye. I’m trying to sort it out with myself first before I talk to him tomorrow.” I walked into my bathroom and grabbed a towel from the bottom of the linen closet.
“So, something is wrong…”
“No, no, no…” I added cutting her off. “Nothing is wrong with Sean and me. We are just butting heads about the next step in our relationship. Like I said, I just need to get it all sorted out in my head before I discuss things with him.” I tossed the towel into the bag I was holding and bent down underneath the sink to find some cotton balls.
“Oww…dang it!” I screeched.
“What was that?” Stacy asked in alarm.
“Nothing,” I replied, pressing my palms against my head. “Just me…being distracted…again. I bumped my head on the sink; so much for my amazing depth perception,”
“Girl, you know you have no hand eye coordination.” Stacy laughed at my ridiculous attempt at a joke.
“Yeah, thanks…don’t remind me. You know, I just thought of something,” I responded in a whimsical tone. I sat on the tile floor and began massaging my aching scalp.
“What’s that?”
I pulled my knees up to my chin and let out a puff of air from my mouth. “That when Sean and I are together, I tend to be less klutzy.”
“Aww…that’s so sweet. Why do you think that is? Maybe you too spend so much time doing the horizontal rumba, you just don’t have time to fall over stuff.” Stacy added playfully.
I snickered. “No…actually he spends most of the time making sure I don’t hurt myself. He’s always there moving things out of the way or catching me before I fall.” I paused, angling my head toward the open bathroom door. “Do you hear that?”
“Um, no… Hey, how hard did you hit your head?”
“Shh…I think someone is at the door.” I scrambled up from the ground and headed toward the front door. The flashing green light on top of the microwave indicated it was after midnight.
“So, who is it?” Stacy asked impatiently.
“I don’t know. I haven’t gotten to the door yet.” My heart started puttering around in my chest. Only someone who had access to the building could come up to my door. Was there something wrong with one of my neighbors? Or, maybe the security guard let up someone I had added to my unrestricted visitor list.
Not waiting to see if the person would knock again, I unhitched the chain, turned the deadbolt, and pulled the door open to find Sean standing in the hallway with his hands deep in his pockets.
I felt weightless.
Looking at my love, I recalled the first time our eyes connected over the hedge of my cubicle. I remembered the way my skin felt flushed when he first kissed me, the first time he said, ‘I love you’, our first time making love, the way he held me close to his magnificent body at night. And, I recalled the last week of arguing and realized… I wasn’t whole without him.
The phone was so loud Stacy’s voice could be heard yelling, “Hello” repeatedly. Sean reached out and plucked the phone from my shaking fingers. He pressed the speaker button and held the device up between us.
“Hello.”
“Who is this?” Stacy asked in a panic.
“Hey Stacy…it’s Sean.”
“Oh, is everything okay? One minute I’m talking to Lashawnda, and the next I hear her whimpering and then silence.”
Sean looked at me, arching his brow in question. “Yeah, everything is good. I think I shocked her by coming over so late.”
“Hmm…I know y’all are fighting. As soon as she called me I heard it in her voice. Now, I’m no
t trying to be all in your business. But, you need to fix whatever the hell is wrong. Cause, my best friend doesn’t need to have anything on her mind distracting her.”
Sean smiled into the receiver. Stacy was speaking to him like he was a petulant child. I’d already explained to him she was a bulldog and very protective of me. Now, he was getting a hearty dose of Stacy at her best.
“Don’t worry. That’s why I’m here. Can I have her call you back?” Sean posed the question to me with a shake of his head. I nodded, desperately wanting to clear the air between us.
“Sure; but not tonight. My hubby just got home and I need to go have a discussion with him about letting me know when he’s going to be late so I don’t sit up and worry,” Stacy said.
That was probably way more information than she needed to give Sean about the current state of her relationship. If I knew Stacy, and I did, she was going to be digging into Will’s ass about him coming home late. I would not want to be in his shoes.
“Nite, Stacy,” Sean answered. Silly me waved as though she could see me. Sean laughed, but was gracious enough not to point out my faux pas.
“Bye,” she responded. “Now I know you did not just walk up in here all cool as a cucumber. Do you have any idea…” That was the last part of her speech we heard before the line went dead. Sean hit the end button on the phone; before handing it back to me.
“Can I come in?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I replied in a barely audible voice.
Sean stepped over the threshold and into the foyer. He looked just as nervous as I felt, which ironically put me at ease. He took my hand in his and walked through the living room and out toward the balcony. The feel of his warm, firm hand wrapped around mine made me feel like putty on the inside.
“Make sure you don’t lock us out., I said when he closed the door.
Over the Hedge Page 25