Chapter Twenty-Four

Callum

Bella eyed me as we moved about my kitchen. I knew she was wondering about the permanent smile on my face. When I told her to come over for a family dinner today, the first thing she asked was who all was coming. Once I ran the list to her, she was okay. She said she hoped I wasn't trying to play peacemaker in our current family drama. I assured her that dinner would be with the family we created, not the one we were born into.

"Why are you smiling so hard? Does this have anything to do with that date you won't tell me about?"

I chuckled. "You are so nosy."

"And you know this, so I don't know why you insist on torturing me. Give me the details. Did you and Pasha have a good time? What did you do?" She gasped. "Did you kiss her? Oh my God, you kissed her. That's why you're smiling so hard!"

I shook my head. "Yes, we had a good time. We went to a riot room to relieve some stress, then to a food truck festival, then to Miss Carol's for dessert—"

She smacked my arm. "You went there and didn't bring me anything back!"

"Bella, you were the last thing on my mind that night."

"I see how you do me. So... Did you kiss her?"

"Why are you in my business?"

"Again, you are my business."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, we kissed. A couple of times, in fact."

She squealed in excitement. "She's comfortable with you. I love that for her."

I scoffed. "What about me?"

"Of course, I love that for you too. But after everything that she's gone through, I'm just happy that she's allowing herself to get close to someone again. I know that couldn't have been easy for her."

"It wasn't easy at all. But I knew that beforehand. I just remained consistent."

"Precious is so excited to see her today. She's been asking when she could come back over for dinner."

"Not my niece trying to steal my woman before I make her my woman."

"My baby says she wants an auntie and cousins. We've discussed this, Callum."

"Please don't make me put you out of my house before everyone else gets here."

"First of all, half of this house will always be mine. You can't get rid of me. Besides, what would you do without me?"

"Have a party."

I bent down to grab a pot from the cabinet, and she got me in a headlock. There we were in the middle of the kitchen, tussling. Now, I would never let her know she got the better of me, but she had a pretty good grip. Even the sounds of approaching footsteps did not make her let up.

Martin laughed as he stepped into the kitchen. "Children, children!" he said, clapping his hands. "No fighting in the kitchen. You're setting a bad example for the little one."

We looked up to see Precious grinning.

"I wanna play!" she squealed as she ran over, jumped on my back, and tickled my sides.

Even at my big age, I was ticklish, and baby girl loved to capitalize off that. I started laughing, and the three of us hit the floor. Bella pinned me down while Precious continued to tickle me. Martin just stood there, watching with a grin on his face. The man didn't make the first move to help me. When the doorbell rang, he walked off like he didn't witness me being assaulted.

"I concede!" I yelled.

"I don't know what that means!" Precious yelled back.

That only made my sister laugh harder. She used to do the same shit to me when we were kids. Sometimes, we got so loud that my parents would run in, thinking that we were trying to kill each other.

"What is going on?" Chris asked, appearing in the archway with Armani on his hip and Eva and their sons at his side.

Martin chuckled. "Please tell your friend that he is too big and too old to be ticklish."

Chris laughed. "Yeah, man. And how did you let Bella's little self pin you down?"

"She caught me off guard, man."

Martin shook his head. "Y'all are the two biggest kids when you get together."

"Well, I think it's sweet," Eva said. "My siblings that I would be fighting for real."

I scooped Precious up from the floor, then reached out a hand to help Bella up as well. "Why don't you and Eva take the kids and go find you something to do? The guys are going to cook tonight."

Eva laughed. "You know what that means, Bella. They're about to gossip. And you talk about women. Men gossip just as much, if not more, than we do. You just call it ‘shooting the shit.'"

"Ooooh! Swear jar, Mommy!" Armani exclaimed.

"Ugh! I was doing so good! Remind me when we get home, baby girl. Come on, Bella boo. We can let the kids play outside while we sip wine and gossip ourselves."

"I think I like that idea. Nobody wants to hear their funky little gossip anyway."

She mushed my head before going into my fridge and grabbing a bottle. After getting two glasses, she and Eva took them out to the back patio with the girls. Just the other week, I bought a playground set for Precious to play on while she was here. She and Armani were sure to work up an appetite.

"Is Malcolm coming?" Chris asked, going into the fridge for a beer.

"He said he's on the way to pick up the girls now, and they'll be here shortly."

"So, did him and ol' girl make it official?"

I shrugged. "Man, I can't really tell you what's going on with that. All I know is he's waiting around for her to commit."

"More power to him." Chris popped the cap on his beer and took a long swig. "So you and Pasha? Is that a thing now?"

"It's... something I'm not quite sure what, but it's not what it used to be. She let me kiss her, so I think it's safe to assume we're moving in some kind of direction."

Both of their eyes widened, and Martin was the first to speak.

"How did that even come about?"

"She told me that her friends are convinced that something more is happening between us. I let her know that I've been very intentional in the way that I handle her. I didn't just go for the kill. I asked her if I could kiss her."

I bit my lip, reminiscing about the number of kisses we shared Friday night. Every kiss was better than the last one, but the one in front of her door was the best. She initiated that one. She took charge and went after what she wanted. How could I not oblige her?

Chris smirked. "Look at him over there thinking about it now."

"He's been smiling since we got here," Martin revealed.

"You know, you are just like your wife... in my business."

He playfully slapped my back. "It's all love, bro. If you're happy, I'm happy. The only time I see you smile like this is with my baby. If someone else can make you feel like that, then I'm all for it."

"So when is this divorce gonna be final?" Chris asked. "Have you had any more run-ins with the soon-to-be ex-husband?"

"She told me it would be final thirty days after they last went to court. That was about a week and a half ago, so she will be a single woman in two and a half weeks. And, no, we have not had any run-ins with that bastard. Maybe it's the fact that she let him keep everything that keeps him from calling her on a blocked number like he had been."

"I don't even know that man, and I want to put hands on him," Chris stated. "If Eva and I ever broke up, she could have whatever she wanted. I may bring in the money, but she is the one that makes the household run as smoothly as it does. If something is off with her, something is off with me. You have to take care of your home first in marriage. That's the problem with a lot of unions. There's no communication, only expectations."

"You right about that," Martin agreed. "Bella and I share everything, no matter how ugly it is. It's always gonna be us against the world in our house. Ain't no divorce. You mad? Come talk this shit out, and let's see how we can work this out together."

I knew he wasn't just saying that for my benefit. He loved my sister differently than I did, but with the same intensity. Nobody could ever play in his face about her. I didn't have many married friends, but these two were the type I'd surround myself with. We shared like-minded views on marriage and relationships. I knew if I were ever on the wrong side of right, they would call me out on my shit and tell me to get myself together. Men held other men accountable for their actions. Clearly, nobody ever held Raymond Sinclaire accountable. But it was cool, though. I had plans to show his soon-to-be ex-wife everything she'd been missing, and then some.

Dinner was well underway with cooking when Malcolm finally showed up with Avyn and Pasha. From my kitchen window, I saw them pull up. Turning my pot down to simmer, I headed out to greet them. When I stepped onto the front porch and saw Pasha get out of the car in that floral jumpsuit, my heart began racing. Her hair was beautiful in its natural, curly state. Her face held a light beat of makeup, and she wore the same necklace and wristwatch I'd been seeing her in lately.

My baby was gorgeous.

When she saw me, she smiled. I made my way down the steps to greet them.

"Nice of you to join us," I jested with Malcolm.

"My bad, man. I got off work a little later than planned."

I nodded as I hugged Avyn. "Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for having me. I told Malcolm I could have driven us over here, but he insisted on picking us up."

Malcolm waved her off. "I told you I would, and I always keep my word."

I slid past them to Pasha and took her hands in mine. "You look amazing, love."

She blushed. "Thank you. You sure this isn't too much?"

"Nah, this..." I stepped back to get another good look at her, "This is perfection."

I pulled her into my arms and leaned in to kiss her. She didn't hesitate to kiss me back. For a moment, I forgot all about our friends standing right there.

"That's my girl," Avyn said, faking tears. "That's my girl!"

Pasha and I parted ways, both of us grinning at her.

"Don't start, Avyn," she warned her.

"What? I'm just here for this beautiful-ass couple. Thank you for making my boo smile like this."

"She deserves it," I said, looking back at Pasha. "She deserves everything." I pecked her lips again and grabbed her hand. "Come on, I want to introduce you two to everybody."

I led them inside. As soon as we walked into the house, everybody scrambled like they'd been doing something they had no business doing. I chuckled, knowing they had probably been watching us from the window. Precious ran right up to Pasha and jumped in her arms.

"Hey, friend!" she said, wrapping her little arms around Pasha's neck.

"Hey, friend. I missed you!"

She kissed her cheek before she placed her back on her feet. I smiled at their interaction.

"Y'all, this is Avyn and Pasha. Pasha, you already know Martin and Bella. But this is my friend, Chris, his wife, Eva, and their daughter, Armani, and their sons, CJ and Evan."

Both Pasha and Avyn offered warm smiles. "It's nice to meet you all."

"Yes," Avyn agreed. "Thank you for having us."

Bella clasped her hands. "Well! Since we were told to find something to do with ourselves while the men cook, ladies, why don't you join Eva and me out back for some wine?"

"Say less!" Avyn held up a bag. "We brought wine too."

Bella giggled. "I like you already. Come on."

She, Eva, Armani, and Precious all walked off toward the back. Pasha tried to follow, but I held her back.

"Wait a minute," I said, pulling her into my chest. "Can I get a moment alone with you?"

She blushed. "Okay."

The fellas grinned and shook their heads as I led her to my bedroom. Closing the door, I motioned for her to sit on the bed. She took a seat and crossed her legs. I took notice of the new polish on her fingers and toes. Today, she was sporting hot pink on both.

"I like this color on you," I said, picking up her hand.

"You noticed?"

"I notice everything about you, baby. I'm paying attention even when you think I'm not."

She smiled as she palmed my cheek. "I... I missed you. Is that weird?"

"Nah. I missed you too. I've been anxious for you to get here, and now I don't wanna share you."

She giggled. "You have a houseful of guests."

"I can send them home with to-go plates."

"Callum!"

I chuckled. "I'm playing. Can you stay a little longer tonight? I'll take you home."

"I can. I'm off tomorrow. I don't have any plans other than car shopping."

"You're finally ready?"

"I am. I have enough for a down payment or something I can pay cash for. I was going to ask you to come with me if you weren't busy. I don't know much about cars and don't want to get swindled because of that."

"Of course. I got you."

"Thank—"

I gave her a look that cut her off. She giggled as she shook her head.

"I appreciate you."

She leaned in and cupped my face, softly kissing my lips. I pulled her into my lap, and my arms went around her waist, pulling her closer. I captured her lips once more as my hands roamed her body respectfully. When she started grinding on me, I couldn't will my dick not to brick up in response.

"Pasha... baby... You are gonna start some trouble if you keep doing that."

She giggled as she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me deeper. The grinding hadn't stopped, and now my dick was straining against my pants. My hands migrated to her ass, giving it a gentle squeeze, followed by a hard slap. She moaned against my mouth, and that shit turned me on so damn bad.

"I know y'all better get out here!" Bella called from the door, forcing us to break apart. Pasha looked at me, and I looked at her before we both burst into laughter.

"We're coming. Damn!" I hollered at the door.

"Figuratively or—"

"Bella Jane!"

She cackled as I heard her footsteps trail off. I shook my head.

"Let's get back out there before the rest of them start coming looking for us."

I sat up and stood with her in my arms. She clung to me as though she thought I would drop her.

"Don't worry... I can hold you just fine, baby."

Kissing her lips, I placed her on her feet. We headed back out front with everybody, only to be greeted with grins and shakes of the head. I guess I really had been single for a while. I never brought women around that I wasn't serious about. I was serious about Pasha. The more time I spent with her, the more I wanted to spend with her.

I cared for her.

Dare I say... I was falling for her?