Page 43 of Love Set Me Free

“Go ’head. There ain’t too many people here, and he don’t seem like he wants to bother anyone but us anyway.”

Paisley giggled as she kneeled down to unhook Biscuit’s leash. “Leave this baby alone. He is not a bother.”

She stroked his ears with her fingers, and he tried to lick her face.

Kydrick grunted. “Coulda fooled me. He was a big ass cock blocker last night.”

“To be fair, you forgot to feed him.”

“Can you blame me? My dick has melatonin, but that pussy has amnesia in it. Came up out of that shit not knowing what year it was, who the president was, or my own damn name, girl.”

Paisley howled with laughter as she covered her face while Biscuit jumped on her, panting happily.

“Nah, don’t act shy now.”

Kydrick pulled her hands from her face and then pulled her into his arms. They shared a passionate kiss, and when they pulled away, Paisley couldn’t believe they had arrived at this moment. It felt so surreal for her.

She looked out at the ocean. “Swimming is what brought us together.”

“A miracle really. Black people swimming? Wild concept, but our parents were on to something.” Kydrick cracked a smile, causing Paisley to shriek with laughter.

“Kydrick! Black people swim.”

He looked around dramatically. “Shit, where?”

She giggled as she looked around and noticed they were the only people with melanin in their skin.

“You’re a fool. Seriously, though. I can’t believe we’re right back where we started, but even better than ever.”

He cocked his head to the side. “We gotta go back to the YMCA to be back where we started, Pooh. You want to pack up and go there instead?”

She punched his shoulder with a laugh. “Will you be serious?”

He chuckled. She loved this version of him. Kydrick was back to his old, jokester self. This was the boy she fell in love with, and she was so glad he was still in there, under the hardened man society built.

“Aight, for real, though.” He tucked her hair behind her ear and stared into her eyes. “I think you always knew we would be here like this one day.”

Paisley cocked her head to the side in thought. “I had a lot of doubts, honestly.”

Kydrick lifted her chin. “Nah. You had just enough hope and understanding for the both of us. I’ll spend the rest of my life thanking you for always knowing what’s best for me.”

“I only wanted you to be okay and to feel loved, Kydrick. You were never alone. Not since we were four years old and you were too scared to get into the water. What I do?”

His eyes crinkled in the corners as he recalled the memory. “You grabbed my hand and pulled me into the pool, almost making me drown.”

“Boy, bye. You had floaties on. I taught you not to be afraid of the unknown. That’s what I did.”

“Oh, is that what you did?” he asked, leaning down to kiss her lips.

“Yup.” She smiled as he kissed her all over her face.

“Come on and change into this swimsuit so I can look at you.”

She covered her mouth and giggled. “You’ve seen me in a swimsuit a thousand times.”

He slapped her on the ass before bending down to grab the bag with her clothes and swimsuit. “Yeah, but never as my woman. I want to look at that ass and titties in this two piece.”

Paisley stilled. It was the first time she heard him refer to him as his woman. When he realized she was no longer moving, he looked at her in concern.

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