Page 52 of Cherish

“Hey,” I say, grabbing her face with both hands, “you know I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, okay. I would never ghost you or stop loving you. You have me. All of me.”

Her eyes search mine, hers filling with tears with each second that passes. Finally, the tears fall. She reaches for me, hugging me tight as she cries.

“Do you promise?” she asks, voice hoarse with tears.

“Jeremiah chapter twenty-nine verse eleven. For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Never have I been more grateful for my photographic memory and the few times my mother forced us to go to church with my grandmother.

She pulls her head back and looks at my face, now laughing through her tears. “That bitch never sent me that scripture. That one, I like.”

“Bitch Patrice sounds a bit morbid and uptight.”

She laughs so hard she shakes. “Two Christmases ago, I was having drinks with Ananda when one of her texts came through. This one warned about hellfire and brimstone, nothing about our Savior’s birth as you would expect around Christmas. Anyway, Ananda found the biggest dildo and I sent Bitch Patrice a nice, anonymous Christmas gift. It was perfect. The card had a quote from First Timothy chapter four verse fourteen. ‘Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.’ I didn’t hear from her for six months after that. I don’t know if that was because she was too busy using her gift, or if she figured out it came from me. That dildo bought me six months of peace, Jay.”

She’s struck me speechless. I look at her dumbfounded until we both start to laugh. We laugh so hard, I’d bet they could hear us outside. Tears roll down our cheeks, and we grab our stomachs for support.

“You Jezebel,” I say.

“I’ll show you Jezebel.” She straddles me, pulls her T-shirt over her head, removes her bra, and plops her breasts on my chest. She rubs her nipples against my shirt, which comes off immediately. I stick one of her pebbled nipples in my mouth as I grab her ass with both hands, pulling her to me.

CHAPTER 35

JASON

The last thing I want to do is get out of this bed. Alex is wrapped around my naked body, her hand wrapped around my waist and her head between my shoulder blades. It’s warm in my bedroom despite the heavy rain outside. I learned soon into our relationship Alex prefers to sleep without central air in the bedroom, but the open window is not enough to keep the late summer heat and humidity away.

I finally manage to move out of her grasp, quietly close the window, and turn the air on to cool the room. I plant a kiss on her lips after I put on my workout clothes. I have about thirty minutes to get in a workout before I leave for work. I hate to leave her any day, but especially on Saturday mornings.

It’s been nothing but perfection since we returned from the Vineyard a month ago. She doesn’t even need to say the words, which she says every day, but just the look in her eyes tells me how she feels. The soft kisses she places on my lips on Saturday mornings before I leave for work. She always wakes up to make me coffee. I don’t tell her that the coffee she makes is awful, but her sweet kisses make up for it.

I skip the weights this morning and run for half an hour. By the time I’m done, sweat is dripping down my back, making my shirt stick to my body. She’s starting to stir when I walk into the bedroom and tiptoe into the bathroom to shower.

Just as expected, when I come out, the bedroom is empty. I dry and dress quickly and find Alex in the kitchen, pouring coffee in a to-go cup.

“You know you don’t have to do this.” She ignores me and wraps both arms around me, holding me close. She’s warm, soft, and smells like sex. I stick my nose in her curly hair and inhale the fruity fragrance of her shampoo.

“I’m going to miss you today.” I’ve been working long hours, leaving us with stolen moments. She’ll sometimes visit me in my on-call room or the cafeteria if I have a few minutes. Last time we ate lunch together, I felt Doyle’s eyes on us the entire time.

“That’s still a thing?” he asks me a few hours later.

“What is?” I feign ignorance, knowing full well what he’s talking about.

“You and Alexandra.” The asshole leans against the wall and waits on me, as if I owe him an explanation.

“Obviously, me and my girlfriend are still a thing, Dr. Doyle. That’s probably why she didn’t return your text.”

If he’s surprised that I know about that, he doesn’t show it. He pulls himself away from the wall and starts to walk to the nurses’ station. “Well, we do have a history.” He doesn’t give me a chance to reply. He picks up his pace and grabs a chart, pretending to review it.

It’s obvious to me why he ghosted Alex, and it’s also obvious the asshole regrets it and is waiting for an opportunity. Too bad for him, I’m not giving him one.

It’s been perfection since we got back from the Vineyard. One month of love, laughter, and dinner attempts on her part. It’s been a month of her practically living with me. I’ve only stayed at her place twice, and I’m relieved that she doesn’t push for us to stay there more often. It’s cramped and cluttered and her bed is too small for both of us.

Alex squeezes my waist, bringing me back to the present.

“I’m going to miss you too. What do you have going on today?”

“Mellie wants to decorate her room. We’re meeting Ananda and hitting up every TJ Maxx and Marshall’s in the city, then lunch.” Okay, maybe I don’t wish I was a part of that, but I wish I could be at home impatiently waiting for her to get back.

“Do you need any money?” I reach into my pocket, take out my wallet and pull out a credit card.

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