14.

Taxes are just a yearly subscription to the country where you live.

Dice

D ICE

“How is Cydney feeling? Are you sure it’s okay to leave her alone?” Tank asked as I walked out onto the porch.

“She said that too much togetherness is the reason there are so many Dateline episodes and that if I didn’t give her some space, she was going to become a television star.”

Tank burst out laughing and glanced back at the house before he said, “You’ve got a firecracker with that one, brother.”

“In her defense, I have been pushing her limits,” I admitted. “I thought I’d take some initiative and clean out her pantry and cabinets so she wasn’t tempted by all the food she shouldn’t eat. When she told me to leave it there because she’d be able to eat it someday, I went ahead and started dumping everything into a trash bag.”

“That was ballsy. What happened after you did that?”

I threw my leg over my bike and settled myself on the seat before I replied, “I caught her working on a spreadsheet that included positives and negatives about my personality. ‘Dumbass’ was in all caps, bold font, and highlighted in orange.”

“I guess that means you two really are getting to know each other.”

“Thanks for your support. With friends like you, how could I go wrong in life?”

“Speaking of friends, Tiny sent a message a few minutes ago asking why we weren’t at Tutu’s house already. I guess she’s excited to see us.”

“God, I love that woman,” I professed as I turned the ignition switch on my bike so I could fire it up. “She’s gonna marry me one day.”

“Are we talking about Tutu or Cydney?” Tank asked.

I stared down at my gas tank for a minute as my bike warmed up, thinking about what I’d just said. Yes, I loved Tiny’s grandmother, Tutu, because she was wonderful and caring and generous. She had never mistrusted me or judged me for my past, always encouraged me to do more and do better, and I knew that no matter what, I could count on her to have my back.

Just like I knew Cydney would.

Since I brought Cydney home from the hospital yesterday, I’d learned more about her than I could have imagined I’d learn in a year, let alone a single day, and almost all of it was good. She pulled no punches, that was for sure, and that meant I would always know where I stood with her. Even in pain as she recovered from surgery, she was fun to be around - her quips and funny comments kept me smiling. I’d laughed out loud more times in the last twenty-four hours than I had in as long as I could remember.

Her quirks were sexy as hell, too, although I could see how they’d take some getting used to. The fact that she was stubborn as a mule and resisted help at every turn, only asking for it if she had already proven to herself that she couldn’t do something alone, even proved to be sexy.

Last night after I made her a dinner of roasted chicken with carrots and potatoes, she insisted that I stay in my chair while she cleaned the kitchen. I let her have that win since I’d only used one pan, a cutting board, and a few utensils to make dinner - which meant there wasn’t much for her to clean.

She shuffled around the kitchen, moving slowly as she wiped off the counters and then rinsed the dishes, and I watched her war with herself over whether or not she could bend at the waist to load the dishwasher. Finally, she tried it, reaching in to pull out the bottom rack, and I saw a myriad of emotions cross her face - anger, frustration, resignation, and, most of all, pain. It took every ounce of self-control I possessed not to rush over to help her, but I managed to stay in my chair. She finally pushed herself up to stand next to the counter and sighed before she said, “I guess I do need your help after all. Will you load the dishwasher?”

Light didn’t move as fast as I did getting into the kitchen to help her, and I could tell by the look on her face that she appreciated both my restraint and my help now that she’d tried it on her own.

“Well, fuck,” I muttered to myself as I shut off my bike. I looked over at Tank and said, “Go ahead and tell Tutu not to hold dinner for me. I’ll be there as soon as I can, and hopefully, I’ll have Cyd with me.”

“I thought you said she wanted some alone time.”

“She said she did, but you know what? She’s not firing on all cylinders right now because she’s hurting, so I’m going to take one for the team and go back in.”

“I’ll say nice things about you when you’re gone,” Tank promised.

“Bullshit. You’ll steal all my stuff and tell everyone I’m an asshole.”

“Probably.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to wait for you? I might not be able to rescue you, but I can at least call 911 after she sets you on fire.”

“That sounds very generous and self-sacrificing, but I know you just want to be the guy in the shadows whose voice they disguise on Dateline.”

“Fuck that! I’ll be the guy they interview that shows them around the crime scene!”

“With friends like you, it’s probably very easy to understand why I have a genuine mistrust of people.” I got off my bike and started walking back to the house, and when Tank started laughing at me, I flipped him off over my shoulder and yelled, “Go away, asshole!”

I let myself back into Cydney’s using the code she’d given me for the keypad, and when I didn’t see her in the living room where I had left her, I walked through the house. I didn’t want to call for her in case she’d decided to take a nap, but I realized when I got to the doorway of her bedroom that she wasn’t in bed.

No, she was in the bathroom, making some kind of foreign noise. It sounded like she was trying to summon a demon using its native language. I wondered where I could find holy water before the portal to Hell opened up.

It took everything I had not to pull my phone out and record the sound so I could use it as an alarm in the morning. I couldn’t think of any sound, other than a cat vomiting somewhere nearby, that would be able to wake me up as quickly, but I didn’t want her to think I was making fun of her.

I leaned against the doorframe and suddenly became a voyeur. I had never in my life wanted to be a soap-covered loofah, but there was a first time for everything. Cydney was taking a nice, slow shower, washing up after a few days without the chance, and the sight and scent I was reveling in right now would stay rent-free in my head for the rest of my life.

Once she was finished, she stood beneath the spray and let the water flow over her body, her eyes closed as she savored the relaxing heat, until she raised her arm to brush the wet hair out of her eyes and flinched with the pain that movement caused. She slowly kept moving her arm up, and the song she was wailing turned into a moan followed by a string of curses that would make a sailor blush.

“I’m doing it. I can do it. Come on, Squid, quit being a pussy,” she admonished herself as she slowly lowered her arms. Suddenly, that look of bliss and relaxation was replaced with one of sadness and resignation when she realized that she couldn’t wash her hair without pain.

Without thinking, I pushed away from the doorframe and started stripping as I walked across the bathroom so that I was naked by the time I opened the shower door. Cydney’s eyes snapped open right before she screamed bloody murder and punched me with a right hook that had me stumbling back and seeing stars.

“What the fuck, Kenny?” Cydney screeched. “You scared the shit out of me.”

I wiggled my jaw around and then reached up to touch my cheek before I explained, “I was going to help you wash your hair.”

“With that?” Cydney yelled, her eyes on my erection.

“Just ignore him. He’s excited to see you naked and can’t control himself,” I told her as I stepped inside and pulled the door closed behind me. “Let me help you.”

“You’re supposed to be at your friend’s house,” Cydney reminded me. “What are you doing here?”

I reached for the shampoo bottle and squirted some into my hand as I answered, “I don’t want to go without you.”

“That’s bullshit! They’re waiting on you!”

“They can wait just a little longer because you’re going with me.”

“Um, no . . .” Cydney’s argument was cut short when I started massaging her scalp.

She groaned, and I gave her a few minutes to enjoy the feeling before I said, “I figured out that you didn’t want to go because you don’t feel like you look your best, so I came back to help.”

“I can’t argue with you when you’re doing that to my head, but if you stop, I might have to drown you.”

“We can’t stay in here much longer, or we’ll be too late to eat with the family, but I promise that I’ll wash your hair for as long as you want and as often as you want until you get better.”

“I may end up suffering from long-term physical complications that will require help in the shower every day until forever.”

I chuckled as I nudged her beneath the spray, and as soon as I gently pulled her back toward me, she asked, “Will you shampoo one more time, please? I don’t know how to describe it, but I feel like the hospital funk isn’t out yet.”

“I can do that,” I assured her as I reached for the shampoo again. I accidently touched my cock to her hip, and she wrapped her hand around it. “That’s not the way to get us out of here quickly.”

“I do recall that you weren’t exactly a three-minute man, but that just means that you and I both have a mission.”

“You’re sick. You’re injured. You’re recovering. You’re . . . you’re killing me,” I mumbled as she twisted her soapy hand back and forth at the base of my cock.

I tried to pull my hips back, but that just moved her grip toward the top of my cock as she said, “I’ll make you feel good while you make me feel good. Deal?”

“I didn’t get in here naked with any thoughts other than to help you,” I assured her.

“But now that you’re naked and I’m naked, why not, right?”

“We have to go in a . . . Yeah, just like that,” I whispered when she ran her thumb over the head of my cock. “Fuck, yes.”

“Focus, Kenny!” I opened my eyes and saw her squinting as soap trailed down her face.

“Shit! I will . . .” I gasped when she started jacking me in earnest but tried my hardest to focus on the task at hand. “Time to rinse!”

“Is it really, though?” Cydney asked as she leaned her head back under the spray.

Even though her hand never stopped moving, I was able to focus a little more and finally said, “I’m not the kind of guy that’s okay with getting his rocks off and leaving the woman high and dry.”

“I’ll put this one on your tab and even charge you interest,” Cydney offered.

“Interest? Oh, you’ve already got my interest, sweetheart.”

I put some conditioner in my hand, but Cydney took her hand off my cock and swept it across my palm, taking almost all of it. When she put her hand back on me, it was even slipperier than before. I almost fell to my knees when she squeezed tighter as she moved her hand up and down.

“Focus, Kenny. You got in the shower to do something specific, remember?”

“I can’t even remember my own name right now.”

“I want to laugh at you, but that hurts, so I’m not going to. I’ll put that on your tab too.”

I shuddered when Cydney ran her thumb over the tip of my cock a few times and then tried my hardest to pay attention to the task at hand. I put more conditioner in my palm and rubbed my hands together before I ran them through her hair. I was about to suggest she step under the spray to rinse when she used her grip on my cock to push me back against the wall.

“We need to . . . Good God, your hands should be considered a national treasure.”

“Now we let my hair sit for just a few minutes while I make you scream.”

“I’m not a . . .” My voice trailed off with a gasp as she used her other hand to reach down and cup my balls, and I was lost. My head fell back and hit the shower wall with a loud thump. I heard Cydney chuckle, but I didn’t care.

I was so close to the edge that it didn’t take long for her to finish me with her skilled hands, and I came with a loud roar, my hips moving of their own volition as she milked every drop out of me. I was still trying to catch my breath when she tiptoed up and gave me a long kiss, complete with that fabulous tongue of hers, and then stepped back beneath the water to let it run through her hair to rinse out the conditioner.

I was a little more coherent by the time she turned the water off and jumped into action when she opened the shower door. Before she got too far away, I gently pulled her close to me and kissed her hard.

When I finally came up for air, Cydney was almost as breathless as I had been. I smiled down at her before I said, “I owe you not just one, but multiple orgasms now.”

“I have a feeling you would have been doling them out as soon as possible even if I hadn’t given you incentive.”

“You’re right, but thank you anyway. Here I am supposed to be taking care of you, and you took care of me instead.”

“Isn’t that what relationships are all about?”

“Is that what this is?”

Cydney looked confused and then embarrassed before she said, “I thought that’s what you wanted!”

“With every minute I spend with you, I want that more and more.”

◆◆◆

CYDNEY

I was glad the ride to Kenny’s friend’s grandmother’s was smoother than the one going home from the hospital. Of course, that was probably because I was feeling much better today than I had been just twenty-four hours ago. Even with the pain I was feeling, I still felt better than I had last week. It helped that Kenny had looked up ways to make a car ride less uncomfortable for someone who had just had laparoscopic surgery and then took that advice and brought one of my pillows for me to hold onto while he drove across town.

When we arrived at the house, Kenny was very galant and opened my door before he helped me down to the ground, took my hand, and walked with me up the sidewalk. I knew that we were late because he’d helped me in the shower, but he insisted that the woman he called “Tutu” would understand.

However, I was not about to tell her or anyone else exactly why our shower had taken so long.

“La'u uo tama pele!” the woman at the door said as she greeted us cheerfully. I had no idea what that meant, but her smile spoke a thousand words and I instantly felt comfortable with her.

Kenny didn’t let go of my hand as he reached for the older woman and pulled her toward his chest for a hug. I thought I saw her blushing when he said, “Oh, love of my life, you get more beautiful every time I see you!”

“You’re horrible,” the woman chided, but there was no heat in it.

Kenny gave her an obviously fake frown and said, “My love, we’re going to have to postpone the wedding. Something big has come up.”

“You found your missing brain?” the woman asked before she winked at me. “I’ve been telling you for years that you’re not my type.” She smiled at me and, in a loud whisper, said, “He’s way too skinny.”

“He’s pretty, but he’s not all that smart,” I loudly whispered back.

“He was smart enough to find a woman like you,” she said with a broad grin.

“She led me on quite a chase, but now that I’ve found her, I’m not gonna let her go,” Kenny declared. “Tutu, I’d like to introduce you to Cydney Mason. Cyd, this is Tiny’s grandmother, Tutu.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said sincerely as I stuck out my hand to shake hers.

She lifted her arms to envelope me in a hug, and Kenny let go of my hand and stepped between us as he quickly explained, “She just had surgery a few days ago, so I’ll take her hug for myself.”

Tutu ignored his offer and looked around me with an expression of concern as she said, “Come in, and sit down!”

Tutu slapped Kenny on the shoulder and started speaking in another language, and even though neither of us understood a word, it was obvious that she was chewing him out. When she put her hand out for mine, I took it and let her guide me into the house where she pulled out a chair at the table and motioned for me to sit down.

I had been so enamored by my new friend, who reminded me a lot of Gamma and Aunt Sandy, that I hadn’t even noticed Tiny and Amethyst standing in the kitchen. Tutu saw them at the same time I did and started speaking rapidly as she shooed them away from the stove. When Tiny tried to grab one more piece of whatever it was he and Amethyst had been sampling, Tutu slapped his hand and then pushed him toward the table.

“Hey, Squid,” Amethyst said, not even ashamed that she’d been caught sampling the food. “You look good!”

“Thanks. I finally got a shower and actually feel like a human again.”

“What’s your pain level?” Amethyst asked as she sat down across from me. “Did they give you anything?”

“They did, but I really haven’t needed it. I think it’s just glorified Tylenol since I can’t have narcotics.”

“Well, there are some that you can . . .”

“I refused them. I should have started with that.”

“Are you in pain? Do you need something? I have some . . .”

“Oh, no, ma’am,” I interrupted Tutu. “I’m fine, just a little uncomfortable.”

“You’ll feel better after we eat,” she said firmly before she turned back to the stove.

I grimaced, and Amethyst knew exactly what I was thinking, so she called out, “Squid might not be able to eat much. She just had her gallbladder removed and needs to . . .”

“I had that surgery two years ago. I know exactly what to make for you!”

“You don’t have to make anything special for me,” I hurriedly told her. “You’ve already held dinner because of us, and I don’t want you to . . .”

Tutu waved me off and then started barking orders at Tiny, who stopped talking to Kenny and jumped up to do her bidding.

“What language is she speaking? It’s beautiful,” I said quietly to Amethyst.

“It’s Samoan. I am going to have to learn it because Tama’i talks to me in it all the time, and I have no idea what he’s saying. He swears it’s always sweet things, but sometimes I wonder.”

“I guess he’s all moved in now. How’s that going?”

Amethyst got a dreamy look in her eye and sighed before she said, “I love him so much that the urge to kill him hasn’t won out yet.”

I burst out laughing and then groaned as I put my hand over the bandages that covered my incision. Within an instant, Kenny was down on one knee at my side. “Are you okay? Do you need to lay down?”

“I’m fine,” I choked out through the pain. “I just have to remember that it’s not a good idea to laugh. Or cough. Or sneeze. Or, well, anything but sit very still.”

Kenny’s hand was resting on my thigh, and as he rubbed his thumb back and forth over my leggings he said, “If you get tired or the pain gets to be too much, let me know and I’ll take you home, okay?”

“Go help the love of your life and let me chat with my friend, Kenny. I’m fine. I promise.”

“But if you . . .”

“She’s never had a problem expressing herself,” Amethyst interrupted. “Believe me when I say that she’ll let us know if she needs something.”

Kenny gave me a quick kiss before he stood up and walked back into the kitchen, and when I looked at Amethyst, she was grinning.

“It looks like the getting-to-know-each-other phase is going well,” she said sarcastically.

“We haven’t exactly had a lot of time to do that, considering that my life has been a whirlwind of toilet-hugging drama since he got here.”

“He seems very attentive,” Amethyst said as Tiny walked over to the table and set a glass of ice water in front of her. Without a word, he walked off, and Amethyst smiled at me. “It’s awesome, just so you know.”

I hummed and pressed my lips together, trying to hold in a laugh. Finally, I was able to say, “I’m glad I came tonight because this is really the first time I’ve gotten to see him with his friends and not just my family around.”

“Tama’i says he’s a great guy. I told him he’d better be or he’s gonna end up a dead guy, but he just laughed like he thought I was joking.”

Just then, a young woman came rushing into the kitchen and hit Kenny like a football player trying to get a tackle. He picked her up as if she didn’t weigh a thing and then spun around with her in his arms.

“Dice! I’m so glad you came to visit!”

Kenny rubbed his nose against hers and then leaned back to smile at her before he said, “I had to come see my favorite girls! I’ve got someone I want you to meet, Tameka.”

He set the girl back on her feet and then walked toward the table to stand behind my chair before he said, “Meka, this is Cyd. Cyd, meet Meka. She’s the little sister I always wanted.”

“Hi,” the young girl said shyly.

“Wanna know a secret?” Kenny asked as he bent down close to her ear. He whispered something, and her eyes got wide right before they shot down to my stomach. I knew he’d told her about my pregnancy. “Cool, huh?”

“Really?”

“Absolutely!”

“Can I be his aunt?”

“You think it’s a boy?”

“Well, duh. They’re all over the place,” Meka said grumpily.

“What is a boy?” Tutu asked as she walked over to the table. “Who is having a baby?”

Kenny put his hand on my shoulder before he said, “We are.”

I wanted so badly to jump up and celebrate with Kenny, Tutu, and Tameka, especially when Amethyst jumped in. However, I knew I had to bide my time, even though I was ecstatic inside.

This was the first time I’d heard Kenny say something like that - lumping us together as a team, if not as a couple, and proudly telling people he obviously cared about that I was pregnant.

That seemingly small gesture was huge to me, and tears filled my eyes when I thought about how much that meant to me. As soon as Kenny saw my face, he left Amethyst, Meka, and Tutu excitedly talking together and rushed over to me. He pulled out the chair beside mine and sat down before he wiped a tear from my cheek as he asked, “What’s wrong, babe?”

“Nothing. These are happy tears.”

“Good. I don’t ever want to be the cause of sad ones.”

“If that’s the case, then you’re batting a thousand so far.”