Page 17 of Embrace

I chose to sit out on the balcony to give Suvi space and not annoy her with my business calls. I know she probably had some things to handle before we left the country, too.

Rontre was quiet for a long while. “Suvi’s fine ass agreed to marry you? Damn. I thought I had a chance with her.”

A twinge ofsomethingcoursed through my veins. I hadn’t minded when he spoke about her before, but now that she had my last name and we’d made promises of forever… I couldn’t let the jokes fly.

“Yo. Watch how you speak on my wife,” I warned.

“My fault, Boss. You just got to admit this shit is crazy as hell.”

A scoff escaped my lips. “Yeah. We didn’t expect it either. Anyway, the reason I’m calling y’all is because I won’t be back to work for a while. I’ll be flying out to my honeymoon on Monday, and we won’t be back in town until the following Monday.”

“Aww shit! I see you! Enjoy your honeymoon. We’ll hold it down until you return.”

“I trust y’all will, but just in case…”

For the next thirty minutes, I gave him rules and guidelines to follow and rescheduled all heavy orders until my return. They could service my clients, but they wouldn’t be forced to do so. I’d send out an announcement email and text to let all of my clients know.

Once I’d handled my business, I hung up the phone and stretched. Lunch with Suvi was chill. I’d calmed her down enough to enjoy two servings of spinach dip, frozen margaritas, and some Cajun pasta. However, once we’d returned to the hotel, she laid in bed and scrolled on her phone. I decided to give her space and handle some business before I concocted a planto cheer Suvi up.

It frustrated me because I hadn’t talked to Jakayla since we broke up last year. Why did she feel the need to cause a scene when we both agreed during the breakup we weren’t going to work? She saw me happy with my wife and showed her whole ass. I prayed we didn’t run into any more of my exes. Houston was huge, but every now and then, paths from the past crossed.

Walking back into the hotel room, I tossed my phone onto the counter and made my way over to Suvi. She laid on her side with her arm tucked under her head. She used her free hand to prop her phone up as she watched a video. I slid into bed beside her and pulled her against my chest. She tried to push me away, but my grip tightened around her.

“Move, B,” she mumbled lowly.

“Nah. You’ve had this little attitude since we got back. I gave you well over thirty minutes to find some joy in your life. I came back in here, and you still got this mug on yo’ face, so now I have no choice but to beat your ass. You want to fight now or after we go get these daiquiris and wings?” I asked.

She stopped resisting and turned so her eyes could meet mine. “After.”

I knew wings would cheer her up. One thing about my best friend was her love for chicken wings. She’d tried to go vegan back in the day, but when she tried the cauliflower chicken wing dupes, she immediately ended the journey.

“Cool. Put your shoes on, so we can go.”

Her mood shifted immediately. She hopped up and slid her feet into her tie-dye-colored Crocs and grabbed her purse. I grabbed my phone, wallet, and keys, before I opened the hotel room for her. She skipped out of the door and made her way to the elevator.

“You know my back gon’ always be big because all you do is feed me,” she commented as we stepped into the elevator.

“Big back or not, I’m still gon’ eat you like a buffet,” I rebutted.

She damn near fell out. With wide eyes she said, “Huh?”

“You heard me,” I replied with a smirk on my face.

“Since when did you want to eat me like a buffet?”

“Since the day you became my wife. I ain’t want to sound like a simp, but when we shared a kiss… I started to see you in a different light. You became more attractive to me when you took my last name and said you do.”

Her lips turned into a mischievous grin. “You wanna smell my punani?”

The reference to one of her favorite movies made me laugh. I mushed her face and held her hand as we exited the elevator.

“If I could be any food, I’d want to be a ten-piece lemon pepper combo with seasoned crinkle fries and ranch,” Suvi explained as she swirled the drum in the ranch container.

We’d opted to have our wings and daiquiris at a local park. We set up our dinner at a green bench positioned under a large streetlamp. The sun had begun to set, and the sky was an arrangement of pinks, oranges, and purples. She wrapped her mouth around the chicken and slid the meat off the bone in one swift movement. Her juicy ass lips got covered with ranch. Her tongue slide across the dark pink surface which prompted heat to rise in my core. I’d never wanted to be a chicken wing more than in the moment.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind being that piece of chicken right now.”

Suvi snorted. “Get the hell out of here, loser.”

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