Page 76 of Surrender
Colbie sank down into the tub, taking a sip of her wine before placing it beside her. Her conversation with Max had exhausted her, and Colbie wasn’t sure how many ways he expected her to tell him that he either came and did his work during the three weeks the school was so graciously giving him or fail. There were no in-betweens or other options. She wasn’t just going to give him a passing grade so she wouldn’t have to deal with him next year. She was aware that sometimes teachers did that, but she wasn’t one of them.
Max didn’t want to give up three weeks of his summer, and Colbie could understand that. She didn’t want to give up three weeks of hers, but she was doing so. Hindsight was always twenty-twenty, but it seemed that wasn’t the case with Max because he was still trying to take the easy way out of the situation when all he needed to do was the work from the beginning. Even if he hadn’t, he should have taken the help she’d tried to offer him because he wouldn’t be in this position. At least not in her class.
She didn’t think the young man realized how lucky he was. Not only had the district decided to give those who had fallen behind the opportunity to graduate, but they weren’t having to do so in the traditional summer school session, which would have been six to eight weeks. Colbie felt like Max should be thankful for the time he was being given, show up, and do the work. Not try to convince her that he could do it at home and turn it in before the three weeks were over.
He must have thought Colbie was born yesterday because she knew that he wouldn’t be the one completing the work. She wouldn’t put it past him to try to bride someone else to do it since that had been the way he’d received his grades in the past. Through his coach, who Colbie still couldn’t believe thought it was okay to do so, bribing or trying to intimidate the other teachers.
With a sigh, Colbie decided to turn her focus to the relaxing bath she was in. She picked up her wine glass and took a drink as she closed her eyes, the soft sounds of Ella Mai filtered through the space.
By the time she bathed and finished her wine, Tyrese was serenading her as she stepped out of the bathtub and wrapped a towel around herself. Colbie grabbed her body butter, the wine glass, and her speaker, taking them into the bedroom with her.
She massaged the moisturizer into her skin before pulling on a pair of panties, some yoga shorts, and a tank top. She turned off the music and grabbed the wine glass going to the kitchen. The delicious aroma of food greeted her, and she found Dallis placing food on plates. Colbie placed the glass to the side as she stepped behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“That smells delicious,” she complimented.
“Aunt Yani made this a few weeks ago when I went over. I called and asked for the recipe. It’s honey garlic pork chops with baby red potatoes and Brussels sprouts.”
“You keep cooking like this, and you’re going to make me keep you,” Colbie joked.
“You’ll keep me either way,” Dallis responded, looking over his shoulder.
Colbie didn’t respond because she couldn’t deny it. Instead, she released him, refilling her wine glass and pouring him something to drink before going to the table. Dallis brought their plates over, and after blessing her food, she dug in.
If she thought the smell was mouthwatering, the taste was orgasmic. A soft moan slipped past her lips on the first taste, and it wasn’t until Dallis chuckled and she opened her eyes to look at him that she realized she’d closed them, to begin with.
“I take it you like it, baby.”
“It’s delicious. I’m going to need you to give me the recipe.”
“Nah, I don’t think I’m going to give it to you. That way, you have to rely on me to cook it for you,” Dallis told her with a smirk.
Colbie rolled her eyes at him playfully before turning her attention back to the orgasmic food on her plate. As they ate, Colbie asked him if he’d decided what he was going to wear to prom. He told her he had but was more interested in knowing what she planned on wearing. She was only chaperoning and figured she’d find something in her closet the night of.
She knew that Dallis, his cousin Callie, and Hayden were all going together, and she wasn’t sure how he’d gotten two plus ones. There were talks of after-parties before the seniors were even out of school. So, there was no telling what they were going to get into once prom was over. Colbie just wanted them to have fun, and she would make sure Dallis knew he could call her if they ended up drinking and having too much. They could think of something to tell the other two.
When they finished dinner, they cleaned the kitchen together, and while Dallis went to shower, she lay on the couch and went to the Shudder app. She was in the mood to watch something scary, and that tended to be her go-to.
Colbie was watching The Boy Behind the Door when Dallis returned twenty minutes later. He lay between her legs with his head on her chest. He grabbed her legs, wrapping them around him, and she ran her fingers up and down the back of his neck.
“Are you staying the entire weekend?” she asked.
“Unless you’d rather I didn’t.”
“No, I want you to. I bought a puzzle the other day at the store. Maybe we can do it together tomorrow.”
“We can do that, baby, but can we push it to Sunday? I want to take you to Strawberry to Fossil Creek to see the waterfalls.”
“There’s a Strawberry, Arizona?” Colbie asked. She’d lived in Arizona for three years but, like most people, still didn’t know every town and city in the state.
“There is, and the waterfalls are beautiful. It’s about a two-hour drive.”
“We can do that. It sounds like fun.”
“Good, we’ll make a day out of it,” Dallis stated, kissing her chest before turning his attention back to the television as they settled in to watch the movie together.
24
Colbie sang along to the song on the radio as they drove down the highway. It was a little before eight in the morning, and they had twenty minutes before they made it to Fossil Creek. When she’d asked Dallis the night before why they needed to leave at six in the morning, he informed her the hike to the waterfall was seven and a half miles. He wanted to give them plenty of time to get there, enjoy it, and get back before the sun started to set.
