Page 13 of Autumn & Woods
One of the uncles stood up first, arms wide. “I remember you. Come give ya Uncle Tone a hug, girl.”
I smiled and hugged him, catching the warm scent of cologne and barbecue sauce on his shirt.
“Aww, you so pretty,” one of the aunties said, adjusting her wig. “And them brows lookin’ good, baby!”
“Thank you, ma’am,” I replied shyly, and she waved me off.
“Ma’am? Girl, I ain’t but forty-eight. Try that again.”
“She always been polite!” Sherry, Taj’s mother, chimed in from the side, standing with her hand on her hip. “Autumn, baby, we so glad you made it.” She hugged me tight like no time had passed. Then she stepped aside. Taj’s grandmother sat regally in the corner chair.
“Big Mama,” Taj said, nodding toward her. “Look who it is.”
Her eyes lit up as she patted her knee. “I know. Come. Let me look at you, girl.” I walked over and leaned in to hug her gently, careful not to knock over her little glass of dark liquid on the side table. “Mmm,” she hummed, touching my cheek. “Still got them good manners and them kind eyes. You keep comin’ ‘round now, you hear me?”
“Sounds good,” I said, heart warm and full as the room filled with laughter and overlapping voices.
Taj leaned in close behind me and whispered, “Told you they missed your ass.”
The house felt packed, but I moved through steadily, smiling and nodding, soaking in the warmth. Even in the noise and bodies, I felt a shift in energy. That tingle down my neck, like being watched. For a second, I thought I had imagined it. Then I looked up and locked eyes with Woods.
He stood in the hallway, looking too good. His eyes locked dead on mine. My heart dropped, and my pussy thumped. Taj talked beside me, fussing about her aunt forgetting the deviled eggs. I didn’t hear a word she said.
Suddenly, that airport bathroom stall wasn’t just a memory. Now it was a tatted-up, dark-skinned problem, standing twenty feet away, looking at me like he already knew I’d be one too.
Taj didn’t notice the way my breath hitched. She didn't notice the way I gripped my clutch. She was too busy beelining toward him, grinning big like she was unveiling a damn prize. “Autumn, come here! Lemme introduce you to my cousin I was tellin’ you about.”
Lord.
I followed behind her slowly. Every step felt like moving toward a live wire. My heartbeat thudded in my ears. My mouth was dry. That low heat built between my legs again, as if my body recognized him before my brain caught up.
“This is Quamaine but everybody call him Woods,” Taj said proudly, elbowing him. “Straight from the West Coast with thatfire ass Cali weed. He don’t know how to sit still or call people back, but we love him anyway.”
He didn’t even flinch. Woods just eyed me down and back up with his lips curved into that same smirk from the airport. “Nice to meet you,” I said quickly, extending my hand like a liar.
His gaze dropped to it, but he didn’t shake it. Instead, he stepped in just a little closer. Not enough for Taj to clock it, but enough for me to feel it. “Oh, we’remeetin’now?” he asked in a low voice just above a hum. “That’s what we’re doin’?” My stomach flipped.
Taj laughed, clueless. “Don’t mind him. He always on bullshit.”
“I can tell,” I said, trying to keep my face neutral.
But Woods looked at me like he already knew how fast my heart was beating. Like he was replaying everything he did to me in that airport bathroom while standing inches away in a house full of family. He leaned back just a little and sipped from the rep cup in his hand, still smirking.
“So you just flew in for the food?” he asked, real innocent-like.
“Something like that.”
Taj’s twin brother, Ty, came up behind him, reaching in to give me a hug. “Long time no see. Everything good?”
“Yep. Mmhmm.”
He dapped up Woods. “Aye, did this fool tell y’all he got stuck in at the airport last night?”
Woods didn’t break eye contact. “Yeah, shit got backed up. Unexpected… connection.”
My throat went dry, and my legs damn near buckled.
“Daaaaamn,” Taj said. “That’s crazy. Autumn too.”
