Page 89 of Awakening
I smiled, heat blooming in my cheeks, “Y’all are gonna make me cry.”
Maverick leaned over and kissed my temple. “Let it out if you need to, Baby. We got tissues and strong shoulders.”
“I still can’t believe how cool Dro was,” I murmured, “I thought I was gonna pass out from nerves.”
“Don’t downplay what you did, baby,” Knox said, “You stood in your truth, claimed your power, and never let it go.”
“Yeah,” I said, biting into the cookie and talking through a soft laugh, “And then Callie and Leah practically threw their panties at y’all.”
Knox chuckled, “I mean, shit, we some fly ass niggas.”
Maverick snorted, “I mean, I get it. We are kind of hot.”
“Say that then, Mr. Confident,” I teased, nudging him with my elbow.
He leaned in closer, “Only when I’ve got the woman of my dreams on one side and my man across from me with that sleepy, smug, satisfied grin.”
I looked at both of them, my heart full enough to burst. “You know what the best part of today was?”
They looked at me, waiting for me to tell them.
“That I didn’t feel ashamed.”
Maverick reached for my hand and squeezed, “You never needed to, but I’m glad you don’t.”
There was a long pause, comfortable and quiet.
Then Knox said, “Wanna know my favorite part? Watching you glow. Watching you be proud of the life you’ve built, of the love we’re growing.”
“Damn,” I whispered, blinking hard, “Y’all really trynna get a girl deep in her feelings tonight.”
Maverick chuckled, pulling me into his lap. “Come cry into this chest, General. We got you.”
I melted into his arms as Knox knelt in front of us, his hands cupping my thighs, forehead resting against my back.
“You don’t have to go back to the closet, Ajaih,” Knox whispered, “Not for anyone. You’re out, and you’re free.”
“And you’re loved,” Maverick added, kissing my cheek, “So deeply it scares me sometimes.”
“Me too,” I whispered, “But I’m not running from it.”
“Good,” Knox said, voice thick, “Because you’re stuck with us.”
We sat like that, just existing in this kind of love that settled deep into your bones.
The fire pit popped softly beside us, the night warm, still, and laced with that quiet that only settles in when the one person who fills a room with light is away.
Ajaih was in D.C. for an aviation conference, where she served as a panel speaker and keynote guest, representing the aviation academy as the trailblazer she is. It had only been two days since she left, and the house already felt too quiet, too still, and too big without her laughter bouncing through it. She wouldn’t be back for another 5 days, giving me plenty of time to talk to Knox about what was on my mind and set my plan into motion.
Knox and I were outside in the backyard, bourbon in hand, bare feet on the cool stone patio. The breeze carried the scent of citrus and honeysuckle, but the air between us was thick with something heavier than the usual camaraderie. He noticed it, too, kept watching me like he was waiting for me to drop whatever was weighing down my spirit.
I cleared my throat and stared into the fire. “You ever love someone so much it messes with your whole damn chemistry?”
Knox glanced at me, gold fangs flashing with a crooked smile, “Every day of my life.”
I nodded slowly, “I want to marry her.”
His eyebrows arched, caught mid-sip. He lowered his glass, eyes on me like I’d just rewritten gravity.
