Page 24 of Always There Bayou
6
Admittance Bayou.
DennyHouston-December21st, 2024
One minute, I was talking with Katori, a gorgeous woman who had been giving me heart eyes for months now, and the next, I was being pulled away by the one woman who wouldn’t leave my mind, no matter how hard I tried to make her. Seeing her for the first time in almost two weeks had me freezing on the spot, and I didn’t fight her as she guided me into my office and closed the door behind us.
I sat on the edge of my desk, crossing my arms over my chest as I stared at her. She looked so fucking good in the black, short-sleeved button-down and black pants. Her locs were tied up in a bun, and I could tell that it was time for a retwist. Usually, that was my job, but since I hadn’t been speaking to her lately, she hadn’t gotten them redone. I don’t know why, but that small fact made my heart skip a beat.
She hated anyone but me to touch her hair. I was the one who started her locs all those years ago and the only one who’d ever retwisted them. She has always been very particular when it came to physical touch. She hated hugs. She hated holding hands. Hell, she even hated women touching her when they were being intimate. She’d told me many times before how she preferred to be on the giving side of things. That didn’t even change when she was with Christie.
I’ve always had special privileges. I’ve always had the special privilege of getting to run my hands through her hair as she rested her head in my lap. I was the one who got to cuddle with her, feeling her warmth envelope me. Yeah, what we had was different, but for some reason, she couldn’t see that.
We continued to stare at each other in silence. Neither of us said anything as the air around us got thick with tension and…something else I couldn’t place. I wasn’t sure what the next moments would bring, but I did know that I was tired of us not talking.
“Cory,” I say. She finally makes eye contact with me as she steps closer, not saying anything. “What do you want?”
“Are you fucking ‘ole girl?” She asks, and I’m taken aback.
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” I sigh, annoyed already. “Whether I am or not, what do you care?”
“Denny, don’t fucking play with me right now,” she replies, clearly agitated. I instantly clock the jealousy in her voice, and for some reason, it feels refreshing to be on the opposite side of this feeling. “That’s what you’ve been doing these last two weeks? Laid up under some bitch you don’t even know.”
“Well, yeah, since the woman Idoknow chose to cuss me out and still hasn’t apologized for it,” I snap, and her mouth falls open. “Contrary to what you want to believe, Cory, I’ve always had options. I justchosenot to date because I was stupidly waiting for your oblivious ass. So,excuse mefor wanting to get my back blown out every now and then.”
I move to get up, but she stops me by placing her hands on my hips. I’m annoyed with how my body reacts, making me sit back down. Her hands move to my thighs, and she leans in a bit closer. I could feel my heart pounding like crazy.
This is what you wanted, right, Denny?
“First of all, lose the lil attitude, Denali,” she replies, calling me by my birth name. I sigh, rolling my eyes because she only called me that when I starteddoing too much... “Secondly, I’m here now.”
“Yeah, and how long has it been?” I scoff, looking off to the side. She squeezes my thighs softly, and I look back at her, a serious look on her face.
“How many times do I have to tell you to stop playing with me, Bunny?” she questions, but I don’t answer. “You call me stubborn, but I’ve been texting and calling you for the last two weeks, yet you haven’t replied. That’swhyI came to see you so that I could apologize in person.”
“Spare me the bullshit, Cory,” I mumble, but I could feel my heart fighting me, especially after she cups my chin in her hand to make sure I don’t look away again.
Mybreath hitches as I stare into her beautiful, brown eyes. They were as deep as the most decadent chocolate, and I felt like I was falling deeper and deeper into a hole that I couldn’t get out of, no matter how much I tried. I was stubborn, yes, but she’d hurt my feelings.
I know. Iknow.
I was being a brat and childish as hell for dragging this out, knowing that she’d been trying to apologize, but a part of me didn’t want to give in so easily. That part of me was tired of waiting for her to acknowledge my feelings.That’sthe main reason I was so upset and frustrated. I loved the hell out of her, and I wanted to scream because I felt like she’d never see that, with her oblivious ass.
I wish I could box up my feelings and lock them away, but I knew it would never work. I knew that I’d stupidly wait for her for as long as she wanted, as unhealthy as that may seem. I couldn’t help it, though.
I was so down bad for this woman…
“Denny, you have every right to be upset with me because I was wrong for treating you the way I did, and I’m sorry,” she says softly, and I feel myself swoon at her words. See what I mean? I was a lost cause… “You’re my best friend, and you’ve been nothing but kind to me. I’m so damn sorry for pushing you away. You didn’t deserve any of that.”
“You’re right,” I state, averting my eye because her intense stare was too much.
“Denny, I know I have some shit I need to work on when it comes to being completely honest about my feelings, even with you, but Iwant to change that starting now,” she says, and I glance back at her. My breath hitches once again as our eyes connect. “Denali Kade Houston, I love you. Hell, I’m fuckinginlove with you.”
“Cory…” is all I could say because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
I was frozen.
Yeah, I’d been waiting for her to admit that she felt the same about me for the longest, but it still caught me off guard. I felt relieved but also slightly hesitant, because…was this a dream? God, I sure hoped it wasn’t.
