Page 22 of Where There's Smoke…
“Baby, you can do whatever the fuck you want to me, and I would do nothing but tell you thank you afterward,” she chuckled. “I’m all yours. Mind, body, and soul.”
Hearing that made my heart sing because it confirmed that she felt the same way I felt about her. Nobody had ever treated my body as well as she has and they damn sure hadn’t taken care of me like she did. She was the one who I could see myself with for a long ass time.
“I’m all yours, too,” I assure her, kissing her softly. “Mind, body, and soul.”
“So, you gon be my wife one day?” She smirks.
“I don’t know. I’ll think about it,” I tease and giggle when she playfully pinches me in the side.
“You’re a mess, Sweets,” she chuckles. “Come on, so we can take a shower and get back to work. But when I get off, know that imma need you to repeat all that shit you did not too long ago.”
“I got you, baby,” I assure her. “I’ll make you my bitch again.”
“Oh my god, not my Sweets cussin’,” she says in mock shock. I roll my eyes and playfully push her away before climbing out of bed. She gets up and comes over, wrapping her arms around my neck. She kisses me softly before whispering, “I’ll be your bitch any day of the week, Sweets. Only you get that privilege, though.”
“Oh, I know,” I state before pulling her into the bathroom.
The shower lasted longer than intended, and then we were back in my bed once more. By the time we were able to get dressed again, she had to redo her time for the day, and I had to get my workers to lock up for me…
8
Where There’s Skeletons...
Phoenix“Phee”Preston-June 22nd, 2025
“Damn, it smells good out here,” I nod as I hold the door open for Angel.
She climbs out of the passenger seat with a smile. In her hands is a tub of brownies she made to bring with us today. Honestly, I’ve never seen anyone bring brownies to a crawfish boil, but who the hell would ever turn down the chance to have one of her treats? She was so excited about making this new brownie recipe that she tried to perfect it all night. I was with her through the entire trial-and-error process, and when it started getting late, I called to ask my sister if she could watch Nori for the night.
Watching Angel in her element was another level of sexy that I’d never get over. It was the way she’d be so deep in concentration that everything around her would fade. I stood there for a while, just watching her effortlessly add ingredients and mix them as if it were secondnature. She was making raspberry, chocolate fudge brownies and, yeah, they were fucking glorious. The way she knew how to combine flavors perfectly had to be a talent on its own.
Then, when it was all set and done, I loved how she lit up. She exuded so much positivity and optimism that it was hard to feel anything other than happiness when you were around her. Her smile, her laugh, the way she made up little songs for every damn thing…it was all so endearing to me. She was cute and fun, and I couldn’t fathom that I’d been living this many years without knowing her.
“Do you think they’ll like my brownies?” she asks as we walk up the driveway to her brother Orion’s house. “God, I hope so.”
“They will, Sweets,” I chuckle as I stop walking. She stops as well, and I turn her body towards me. She bats her eyelashes, and I almost come undone. “Angel, love, those brownies are the fucking truth. Besides, there’s nothing you could ever make that people wouldn’t eat. You’ve got a gift, mamas.”
“You always know just what to say,” she sighs with a smile. I cup her face in my hands and kiss her tenderly before pulling away.
“Now, let’s go get our grub on,” I say as we continue to walk. “I’ve been craving crawfish for a while now.”
She nods as we make it to the back of the house, where everything is all set up. A few kids are running around, and adults are scattered here and there. Angel set her brownies on the dessert table, and then she took me around to introduce me to a few people. Most of them were people her brothers knew, but I also recognized a few others.
Someone tapped me on the shoulder as we were fixing our trays. I turned to see a smiling Maddox and some guy I didn’t know, but I’d seen him at the cafe a few times. After greeting Angel and me, Maddox introduced us to his boyfriend, Zeelan. I instantly smiled because I loved that for him. I knew that Madd was bisexual, but I’d never met any of his partners before. They seemed to be very much in love from the looks of it.
We spoke with them for a while longer as we continued to pile up our trays with the bright red seafood that I’d been craving since earlier this year. When Angel asked if I wanted to come with her to her brother’s crawfish boil today, I agreed without hesitation. Even though I was supposed to be working today, I convinced Jed to switch days with me because there was no way I would miss this.
I’ve loved crawfish since I was a child. One of my great-uncles owned a crawfish farm further south, and we’d take trips there to help out during spring break every year. It always ended with us having a big boil, which was hands down my favorite part.
Speaking of which, it’s been about a year since I went down there, and I knew I needed to visit that part of my family. I would love it if Angel came with me, but I knew how she got when she was outside and amongst nature for too long. I swear, this woman broke out in hives even if the sun was too bright. I knew she hated it because of how inconvenient it was, but that never stopped her from going out and experiencing stuff. She just had to make sure to keep her allergy medication with her.
“Have I ever told you how much I love this time of year?” Angel asks once we make it to one of the tables and begin to eat. I shake my head,focused on the taste at hand. “Well, I love it so much because this is where all of the family reunions take place. And, I don’t know, I love the idea of people coming together to celebrate the love of family. It’s always so dang nice.”
“Yeah, I get that,” I nod. “Family reunions are great. I mean, I haven’t been to mine in a couple of years, but I was thinking about going this year. I know my extended family would love to see me.”
“Why’d you stop going?” she asks, giving me her undivided attention.
“Uh…well, you know…” I start, suddenly feeling choked up. “When my grandpa got sick, I spent most of my time taking care of him, and then when he passed, I moved away because it was hard being here without him. That day we first met last year was the first time I’d been back in town since his passing.”
