Love In the Red Zone (Connecticut Kings Book 1) (24 page)

She shuffled over to the table, stopping at the island to pull out placemats, utensils and cloth napkins from the drawer.
Where did those come from?
I didn’t even know the island had those compartments.

With arched brows and a crook in her neck as she settled the first placemat, she responded, “Yesterday. When does every black woman cook her Thanksgiving meal? Duh?” She cracked a playful smile to soothe the burn of her shot. “I finished this morning.”

Kyree had a game in his hand already. Where it came from was anyone’s guess. Dude had stashes all over. I shook my head, trying to wrap my brain around this.

“When? I didn’t smell this last night when I got in.”

“You must’ve been stuffy because I finished around seven and you got in after ten.” She continued with the table.

“But we just left the church with all that food…” I found my thumb facing backward and my stomach rumbling at the familiar scent of home cooked soul food.

Jade straightened from the table, her hazels narrowing with understanding. One that I wished she’d clue me in on.

She took a deep breath. “That food was for those in need. It was work from your charity organization—like you said, your form of ministry. This”—she pointed to the table—“is your private celebration with people who’re…”

Jade paused. My chest grew, nostrils expanded. I was partially afraid of the remainder of that sentence. The other part of me felt something that didn’t hurt, but also wasn’t indifferent. And that concerned me.

She cleared her throat and licked her lips as she straightened her petite frame, her chest pushing out, bringing my attention to those boobs again as she stood with one foot on top of the other.

“Look, Trent. You deserve to have a private retreat after all of that. A warm dinner in your home. Let’s do that before you two poop out on me.” She ended on a more genuine and softer smile.

My eyes crossed the room in humility and I nodded.     

About an hour later, we were all seated at the table. Kyree and I were freshly showered while Jade had only changed into tights and one of my gold
Connecticut Kings
t-shirts she had to tie into a big knot against her back to not have it swallow her. The royal blue socks she slipped on were a cute match.

We’d just sat down and the smell of the food had my stomach doing somersaults in anticipation. Kyree was quiet and I knew why. Dude was bushed. No way he’d make it through this meal. We were all there expectantly, but no one moved for food. In fact, all the dishes were nicely laid out on the island, organized according to pan type. I tossed a glance over to Jade for instruction. She widened her eyes and nodded toward the table. My forehead wrinkled.

Jade cleared her throat, her lashes fluttered. “Isn’t this where you say grace?”

Oh
…

I wasn’t expecting to make a big deal out of it. I offered my hands to both Kyree and his mother; we bowed our heads and I blessed the food. Once I was done, my eyes focused in on her across the table. Jade nodded and grabbed my and Kyree’s plate.

“Wanna little bit everything?”

“I don’t want no white salad, Mommy,” Kyree spoke even louder.

“I know what you will be getting and won’t be getting.” She threw him a nasty glare; one I’d become used to.

Then she looked at me again, waiting on my answer. I felt that “checked” spirit she just put on Kyree. I nodded quickly, not wanting to get on her bad side. Jade went over and loaded my plate with turkey, macaroni and cheese, greens, butter beans, potato salad, yams, stuffing, cabbage, and gravy. I still didn’t know how she pulled this off yesterday without me knowing. Once the plate landed in front of me, I tossed curiosity out the window and went in. The table grew silent right away. My mouth, tongue, and throat smacking, giving away my hunger—and Jade’s skills in the kitchen. Everything was flavored with the skill of a seasoned woman. This Jade was becoming more intriguing every day.

The first time my eyes came up they roved over to find Kyree pouting, his plate half finished.

“What’s good, man?” I asked, not believing he’d be opposed to anything on his plate.

The food was banging!

“I don’t like white salad,” he hissed, eyes down at the table.

“Dude, look at you. You’re acting like a brat over food,” I snorted, teasing him. “You need to man up and eat the little she put on your plate. Real men don’t let their women cook and complain about what they put on the table.” I smiled as I spoke to him. “Man up. Act like a big boy, Ky,” I tried.

“Man up? You the one wit’ a crush on a lady, but too scared to tell her!”

I froze in place at the table, totally not expecting that. Ky had just ratted me out and out of the blue. Suddenly, I felt like a kid, embarrassed from being outted in front of a girl. Then I glanced over at Jade to find her eyes on me anxiously.

“What?” I asked with a mouth full of food.

Those lashes fluttered again. “What do you think?”

“About what?” I considered that for a few seconds, wondering if she wanted me to expound on Ky’s snitching. Then it dawned on me. “Oh!” shot from my curled lips. “The food is great! It’s always great. You know that.” A smile broke out on her pretty face. “But this one is special because it’s your Thanksgiving spread. It’s delicious. Tastes special.” I shut the hell up, thinking I was overdoing it, trying to cover Ky’s slip.

I didn’t say anything untrue. I didn’t want to appear ungrateful. She leaned back in her chair, her arms extended on the table astride her plate as she nodded. I thought it meant she believed me. I hoped she did. I went back into my plate, avoiding her eyes.

“I’m going to put him down. Finish up.” She stood. “I have pecan and sweet potato pie if you have room.” 

I watched her reach for Kyree’s dead weight in his chair and I jumped to my feet. I couldn’t believe he fell out that fast; he’d just ratted me out seconds ago. Jade said Ky could get cranky when sleepy. I guess tonight was my first encounter with it.

“Oh, I got him.”

She shooed me off with a wave. “I’ve been carrying this boy for six years. I know my days are numbered, but I still have a few more to go before I’ll need help.” On a grunt, her little frame went into a squat and positioned him on her torso before lifting. She turned away from the table, but before taking off, she tossed a glance over the unoccupied shoulder. “I’ll take the elevator. Besides, I like watching you eat and the idea of you eating my food.” Her eyes slanted at that and then she winked. “I’ll be back.”

Jade was back less than twenty minutes later and we finished dinner, quietly kicking it about the events of the day. She recalled some people I hadn’t; there had been so many. I was just grateful she didn’t bring up Ky’s claim. She was determined to cut me a piece of pie. I went with the sweet potato pie, promising to try all of her desserts tomorrow. She warmed it up for me and served it with a fluff of whip cream. It was just as delicious as dinner.

Once my belly was full, we took to the steps for the second floor. The tour to the bedroom area was strange. It felt weird because it was now normal. Jade and Kyree had been here for two months and trekking up these stairs with either one of them had that quickly turned into normal. I was afraid to consider what exactly that meant. It was definitely something I should probably kick around with Ezra.

We split when Jade hit Kyree’s room. She didn’t have any parting words, and although it was blatant, I knew why. I stayed the path to my room, going straight into the bathroom. I stripped, took off for the bathroom for a leak. I didn’t spend much time in there, so ready to hit the damn sack. My mind rolled over the need to thank Jade for what she did today. Not only did she volunteer with her son at my event, she stayed the entire day, and had a home-cooked meal waiting for us here at the house. I fought against those distrusting feelings. Jade made it clear they’d be leaving as soon as she found a place suitable for Kyree. Therefore, I knew she wasn’t trying to insert herself domestically into my crib. Making quick work of drying my hands, I left for the bedroom. The moment I neared it, I threw my heavy body into the bed after swiping all the decorative pillows to the floor and pulling down the comforter. I sighed the moment my back was settled on the cool mattress. My lids closed and arms and legs stretched wide.

“You really could have taken the time to put these in the hamper,” her little voice scolded.

A lid opened and caught when the bathroom door closed. I snorted, realizing I was getting used to her fussing, too. My eyes closed again. I couldn’t help it, listening to the shower run and imagining her naked body in there. Now, my chest twisted from her subconscious seduction. She’d come in here to shower knowing damn well the one in Kyree’s room was available. It had become glaringly clear she’d been feeling me like that, too, but it was hard for me to just let go. What made the situation more frustrating was that I needed a sufficient way to show my gratitude for what she did tonight. A woman looking out for you like that should be thanked properly with kisses and orgasms. It would be a method of branding and reaffirming her role in a man’s world. The only problem was Jade wasn’t mine; not even her pussy.

“You heard what I said,” I heard her hiss.

I lifted a lid again then both my damn eyes ballooned.

“What the hell are you wearing?”

From the foot of the bed, Jade glanced down at her half nude body, playing coy.

She shrugged in the dim recessed lights. “My pajamas.”

“I ain’t never seen those pajamas before.” My throat went dry as I lifted just my head from the bed.

“You told me to start wearing my own pajamas to bed, so”—she glanced down again—“I am.”

She wore a short grey tank shirt with thin straps that hung loose on her. Only in the breast region, I could make out about forty percent of her tits...and her stoned nipples. The contour of that portion of her anatomy had me growing in my shorts immediately. I flipped to my side, my back now to her. I pulled the blanket up.

“Yo, Jade, you wait all this time to show me you only have that as pajamas?”

“It’s only been what...eight weeks? I have a lot of clothes you haven’t seen.” Her tone was so damn cavalier.

I rolled my eyes in the dark. “You sleeping in here tonight?”

No sooner than that, I felt her on the side of the mattress, soft tugs on the other end of the comforter.

“Sure am.” There was a bit of merriment in her damn tone.

Jade let out a sigh of comfort the moment she settled in the sheets.

“Just stay on your side of the bed.” I was still hot.

Hard as hell and hot.

She giggled, for some crazy reason, delighted. “I always do.”