Lisa Jackson – Finally, You And Me (страница 7)

She watched him fiddling around inside the truck for a few minutes before opening the door and stepping out. So as not to be seen, Alexa hurried off to the kitchen where the girls had just finished eating their breakfast. The three of them wandered into the adjoining great room where they were watching cartoons.

In an attempt to look busy, Alexa began to clear the table when the door opened.

“Good morning.” He greeted her in a voice as smooth as a caress.

Alexa looked up right into his smoldering eyes. How could he look so sexy at this hour of the morning? she wondered, digging his style. The reversed leather Kangol cap on his head and the belted, black leather jacket looked good on him.

“Good morning,” she responded, turning her back to him to place the dishes she was holding inside the dishwasher.

“Uncle Darry!” Monaye and Brielle screamed in unison. They scrambled up from their places on the floor and charged him like miniature linebackers on a quarterback.

“Hey, little bits!” he returned, scooping them both up in his arms. “How are my girls?”

“Guess what?” Monaye asked, completely ignoring his question. “Our granny is sick.”

“I know,” he sadly replied. “Your dad just told me.”

“Mommy said we should pray so she can get better.”

“That’s a good idea,” Darius replied.

“Okay, let’s pray,” Monaye suggested as she had seen her mother do on countless occasions. She motioned for Darius to place her back on the floor, and he obliged.

Alexa, who had heard everything as she watched from her side of the room, found her goddaughter’s approach touching.

Just as they did at the dinner table, Monaye locked Darius’s hand in one of hers and Brielle’s in the other.

Darius glanced up at Alexa with pleading eyes as if begging for a way out. Alexa, in turn, pretended as if she hadn’t noticed, believing that she was exempt from the circle. However, that was not the case as Monaye called her over to join them.

“Are you sure?” Alexa asked, stunned by the child’s astuteness.

Monaye nodded. “Mommy said that if more than two people pray in Jesus’ name, God will answer our prayers.”

This time it was Alexa who looked to Darius for a way out. But just as she had treated him moments before, he returned the favor by ignoring her pleas. To stress his point, he released Monaye’s hand and extended his hand therefore creating a space for her.

Seeing no other way of getting out of it, Alexa joined them. The point at which she entered required her to hold Darius’s hand. It was the first time they had touched in nine years. His hand was more massive than she remembered, yet amazingly soft.

For a few seconds they stood there looking at one another to see who would take the initiative. Alexa thought Darius would and vice versa. Again, they were surprised when Monaye stepped forward with a sweet, short prayer for her grandmother. When she was done, Brielle followed suit. Alexa was impressed and made a mental note to praise her friends for the great job they had done in developing their children’s spirituality.

Upon the completion of Brielle’s contribution, Alexa prayed for complete healing and energy for the upcoming celebration. When she was done, all eyes fell on Darius. Alexa didn’t know if it was his nerves or the warm jacket he wore that produced the beads of sweat on his brow, but he surprised Alexa with a short yet eloquent prayer.

When they were done, Alexa instructed the girls to play in the family room while she finished cleaning up the kitchen. Darius slipped out of his coat and tossed it on the ottoman before getting down on his knees to initiate play with the girls.

Alex moved back and forth from the table to the dishwasher, occasionally stealing glances at the foursome roughhousing in the next room. The girls screamed with delight each time Darius held one of them high above his head and pretended to drop them, only to cradle them against his solid chest. At one point, she paused to watch them tumbling into a pile on the floor in fits of laughter.

As Alexa observed their play, memories of their playful days back in college came to mind. Darius loved to wrestle with her. He claimed that the tough image she tried to portray energized him and he liked showing her who the “champ” really was. Any signs of boldness or bravery challenged Darius and he would lift her high above his head before tossing her on the sofa. If she talked back, he would pin her down beneath his weight until she admitted that he was “the king.”

She recalled one occasion when they were spread out on the living room floor after watching WWF.

Darius was on top of Alexa and had one of her arms and one of her legs pinned down. “You give?” he panted, searching her face for signs of surrender.

“No!” Alexa screamed, squirming to set herself free.

He responded by raining kisses over her face and neck. As he worked his way down and inside her button-down shirt, she screamed out that she gave up. Upon hearing that, Darius’s grip loosened and his kisses softened. Minutes later, they would be wrapped in each other’s arms.

With Darius nearby, in the other room, Alexa grew uneasy as thoughts of them being intimate entered her mind. She always believed that what they shared was unique. Making love to Darius was like exquisite art, beautiful music comforting scents, and freedom of expression all rolled into one. It bothered her to know that Darius would always possess a part of her that she could never, ever share with anyone else.

“Whatever you’re thinking about must be good,” a voice said from behind, causing her to jump with surprise. Alexa turned around to find Darius leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed before his chest.

“Excuse me?” she asked, her face warm with embarrassment.

“I would like to be in your head right now,” he replied.

Heat radiated from her collar. Little did he know that he was already in her head. “I was just thinking about something,” she uttered.

“You were smiling so wide, I thought you won the lottery,” he continued.

“If that was the case believe me I would be doing more than just smiling,” she retorted, turning back to the cupboard to retrieve the box of dishwasher detergent. Pouring some into the dispenser, she set the timer and turned it on. All the while, Alexa knew Darius was watching her and knowing this made her uncomfortable.

From where Darius stood, he had a good view of her backside and he couldn’t help but smile with appreciation. Her efforts to thwart his attention had failed as he found her as appealing in the nondescript clothing as he would in a sassy red dress. He was curious to know what had her paralyzed in thought just moments ago. Whatever it was, she turned down the glow like a halogen lamp. He mistook her quiet musing as an invitation for company and thought it would be a good time to ask her out to dinner as friends. However, the idea quickly escaped him when she closed up like a clam.

“Well, I played long enough,” he announced. “I guess I better get to work.”

“Good idea,” Alexa quickly agreed. Then as to not sound too harsh, she added, “I have to get the girls dressed anyway.”

At the mention of their well-being, the girls groaned in protest.

“Come on, girls, you know you have to get ready for the day.” Alexa ushered them towards the stairs.

Darius watched as they trudged past with sad expressions. He waited until they disappeared upstairs before heading for Bryant’s office.

The work that needed to be done to Bryant’s computer took longer than Darius anticipated. It was after 4:00 when he emerged from the office tired and famished.

His stomach growled as he made his way from the back of the house into the main living quarters. The house was as quiet as an empty church. Thinking Alexa had left with the children, he headed towards the kitchen in search of something to devour. As he rounded the corner leading into the kitchen he came to a screeching halt, surprised to find her seated at the table; his mouth was agape with awe.

Alexa appeared to be deep in thought as she gazed out of the window, grasping a mug of hot tea. Darius almost didn’t want to disturb her. She looked so peaceful and radiant, with the natural light warming her nut-brown complexion. He fought the urge to approach her and stroke her ebony tresses, but he knew he could not do that. The act would have been too intimate and much too forward considering the circumstances.

“Alex.” He said her name softly. So softly that he thought only he could hear, but she had.

She turned around, her honey-brown eyes aglow.

“The house is so quiet. I thought you all were gone.”

“The girls are taking their nap.” She whispered as if speaking aloud would wake them way upstairs.

The mention of the girls brought a smile to his lips. “Those girls are something else, especially that Monaye. She is Maya all over again.”

Alexa smiled and nodded in agreement. Her response encouraged him to enter the kitchen.

“Are you hungry?” she pointed over to the stove. “I just made some potato soup.”

His brow lifted. Potato soup was his favorite. “I am starving!” he said and went over to the kitchen cabinet to grab a bowl.