Page 46 of Embrace

“I hear you, but I lose my mind when I’m inside of you.”

Blaze gave my ass a firm slap before he draped his arm over my shoulder. “You want to move forward with the application today?”

I nodded. “Yes, please. I don’t want anybody else to even get the chance to look at it.”

“Say no more. We can do the application together before we eat dinner.”

“Thank you, husband.”

“Anything for you, wife.”

Soon we’d be in our forever home together, making babies, and living out our happily ever after.

Spring had transitioned to summer before we knew it. The weather in Houston was unbearably hot which meant the grills would be out and the pools open. The Snows had a Juneteenth BBQ. Both of our families pulled up to celebrate. My parents and sister were in attendance as well as Blaze’s siblings. Cousins, uncles, and grandparents all took up space either outside under the awning or in the pool.

“Suvi!” Mama Ashley called out to me. She had a frozen margarita in her hand as she occupied one of the seats at the Spades table. Also seated at the table was my mother, my sister, Blaze’s sister, and BJ’s girlfriend, Tonya.

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied. I walked over to her while I sipped on my Pink Panty.

Pink Panties were a blended drink of pink lemonade, ice cream, ice, vodka, and strawberries. All the older women in the family loved the drink during the summer. It got us drunk while keeping us cool in the Texas heat.

I spoke to everyone at the table, respectfully. In the south, we were raised to speak to everyone when you approach a group or enter a room. The easiest way to have a person’s family hate you would be to walk into their home and not speak.

“How do you like the newlywed life?” she asked.

I shrugged. “It’s all right. He’s cool, I guess.”

She raised a brow.

“I’m just playin’, Mama!” I took a seat across from her and laughed. “I’m having the best time. Blaze used to annoy me bad, but it was like the honeymoon elevated our relationship. He wasn’t my best friend anymore, he became so much more.”

“Aww!” Ally and Mari cooed.

“Period! I’m so happy for y’all,” Tonya added.

“It’s really a blessing,” I continued. “To marry a man who already knows me like the back of his hand was the best thing to happen to me. I didn’t have to teach him how to love me because he already knew. I didn’t have to guide him on ways to make me happy because he already knew.”

Mama smiled. “I knew we did good.”

Mama Ashley agreed. “We’d tried it a few years earlier with Mari and BJ, but they ain’t give us the same energy as you and Blaze did.”

Mari choked on her drink. “Huh?”

“We wanted our first-born children to get married,” Mama explained.

“But y’all didn’t click. I’d had two kids before Sav had her first child, but Mari and Ally got along much better than BJ and Mari. We weren’t going to force it.” Mama Ashley shook her head.

We all listened to the mothers share the plot to the story none of us paid much attention to. It was interesting to see how they chose to curate a love between me and Blaze before we were even born.

“We were already family before the marriage, but I’m so happy the marriage made it legal!” Mama explained.

I smiled. “It does feel right. Everything fits so perfectly together. We’re still waiting on the house application to get approved, but I have never felt so free and loved in a relationship until I married my best friend.”

Blaze’s ears must’ve rung because he made his way over to me and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “What are y’all over here talking about?”

“You,” I answered. I turned and kissed his lips. He smiled as our lips parted.

“Y’all are too cute, I’m going to be sick!” Mari joked as she fake gagged.

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