Page 28 of Always There Bayou
I groan as I try my best to shield my eyes from the light as it seeps through the blinds. It illuminated the room with a soft glow, letting me know it was a new day. After hours of travel yesterday and early this morning, all we could do was retire to our designated rooms and crash. Denny and I were knocked out as soon as we cuddled beneath the covers.
I glance over at them and watch as they continue to sleep peacefully. Their curly hair was once again flowing freely against the pillow, and I shook my head as I chuckled softly to myself. They were such a wild sleeper, and no matter how secure they thought their bonnet was, it never stayed in place throughout the night. I could picture them now, stressing over having to detangle their hair once again. I knew they’d whine about me helping them, and of course, I will.
I turn to face them, gently pushing some of their hair out of their face. I admire their beauty quietly as they continue to snore lightly. Their plump lips, cute nose, and chubby, regularly flushed cheeks brought a smile to my face. My fingers traced constellations in the freckles scattered across their cheeks that were so light, they almost blended in with their skin. However, it was hard not to notice them whenever I was this close to them.
As I lay there, gently rubbing my thumb against their right cheek, I sighed, enjoying the calmness until Denny stirred. I slowly pulled my hand away as their eyes fluttered open. They yawn as they turn over to lie on their back, blinking up at the ceiling. I lean over them, and instantly, a smile forms on their lips. They reach out for me and I fall into their embrace, peppering kisses all over their face as they giggle.
“Good morning, Bunny,” I say, my voice slightly husky. “How’d you sleep?”
“Amazingly,” they nod as we sit up. “This is one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in. Imma need to ask your parents where they got this mattress from. I’m sure I can talk my uncle into getting me a new one.”
“Yeah, because we all know he’d get you and Lilah anything y’all asked for,” I tease, and they blush but nod. “I still can’t believe he and your aunt planned this trip with my parents, and neither of us had a clue.”
“Right? I swear, they were determined to get us to talk by any means necessary,” they laugh.
I nod, a smile gracing my face as I think back to last night and how we were both shocked to see Denny’s family waiting along with mine once we made it to my dad’s house to drop off our cars.
“Wait, isn’t that your aunt and uncle’s SUV?” I asked as we pulled up into the driveway.
“Yeah, and that’s Lilah’s car,” they nodded, motioning towards the car right behind it. “What in the world?”
I pulled up into the driveway, parked the car, and grabbed our things before heading inside to greet our families.
“Well, it’s about time y’all made it!” Denny’s uncle chuckled as soon as we walked into the den where they were all gathered.
“Uh, what are y’all doing here?” Denny asked. “I thought y’all were going out of town for Christmas. I was just about to call to let you know that I would be going with Cory and her family instead, but here y’all are.”
“Okay, don’t be mad, sweetie,” Their aunt says as she comes over to where we are, “But we may have been planning this trip for a while as a surprise for you two.”
“Yeah, we’ve seen how down you’ve both been, so we thought that maybe having a joint trip would get y’all two talking again,” Mama B stated. “We know how much y’all mean to one another, and we just want y’all to make up.”
“Trust me. They already did,” Delilah snickered. “In more ways than one.”
The room went quiet, but I couldn’t contain my smile as I wrapped my arms around Denny. I kissed them right in front of everyone, and I could hear the gasps all around.
Itdidn’t take them long to put two and two together, and I swear, between Mama B, Denny’s Aunt Daphne, and Imani, I almost lost the ability to hear because of the way they were squealing with excitement. It was safe to say that our families were happy that we were finally dating.
Now, we were all in this massive mansion-sized cabin up on a mountain at a ski resort for the next few days. This wasn’t the first time we’d taken family vacations together, but I could already feel that it was different. That playful, friendship-type bond Denny and I always swore by in the past was long gone. Now that we were together, I knew that our families wouldn’t let us hear the end of it. I mean, it was too early in our relationship for them to be talking about settling down, but leave it to them, they’d say some shit about how we should’vebeenmarried by now.
As annoying as I knew these next few days were gonna be, I was looking forward to hitting the slopes again. Outside of basketball, I’d fallen in love with snowboarding ever since the first Christmas trip we took together back when we were 12. I never knew something could be so freeing, and I spent most of the vacation learning everything I could, although I did have to be cautious of my back and how I fell. Then, every other year when we came here for Christmas, I was outside most of the time. Being up here in the mountains was like my own little piece of serenity.
Whenever I decided to settle down, I knew that it would be somewhere that gets a lot of snow. I wanted to teach my future kids the love of the slopes as much as I tried to foster the love of basketball in them. No, I wasn’t gonna force them to continue to do anything if they didn’t want to, but I wanted to introduce them to the possibilities at least. I wanted them to have so many experiences that they’d know that anything was possible. That they could be anything they wanted and not be scared to try new things.
God, I couldn’t wait to have kids, and now that Denny and I were together, the thought of having them with Denny got me even more excited.
“What you thinking about, Corduroy?” Denny asks as they stand up from the bed. My eyes follow their every movement as they stretch, giving me the perfect view of their round ass in those pajama shorts I loved to see them in. They pick up their phone and gasp. I scoot to the edge of the bed as they show me the time on their screen. “Damn, it’s almost noon already? We must’ve been tired as hell. Do you think they made breakfast? Or would it be lunch? Whatever, I’m starving.”
“Me too,” I admit, and I leaned back on my hands, my eyes never leaving their curves. “Come here, Bunny.”
“Why? What’s wrong?” They ask as they shuffle over to stand at the edge of the bed, concern etched across their gorgeous face. I lick my lips before sitting up fully. “Cory, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I’m just admiring how gorgeous you are,” I say, pulling them closer to me by the waistband of their shorts. My hands wrap around their ass, and I look up at them. They’re biting their lip but not saying anything. “You in these little ass shorts have always made me feel things, but I fought hard not to cross that line. However, now that the line is gone, it excites me to know that you’re all mine.”
“Don’t you get it, Cory? I’ve always been yours,” they say, leaning down as their hands rest on my thighs. I lean back on my hands once again and look up at them with a devious smile. “You just took forever to open your eyes.”
“Let’s not talk about the past, Bunny,” I chuckle. “I know I was a dummy, but I got you now, and I don’t plan on letting you go.”
“Mmm, I like the sound of that,” they smile as they lean down to kiss me.
