Page 38 of Sparks Will Fly

Hearing him call me by my name and not that stupid nickname hurt most of all. He tried to walk away, but I reached for his hand to stop him.

“I just got scared. I love you,” I confessed with a shaky voice.

He sighed. “I know. That’s what makes this shit so fucking hard.”

A spark of hope fired off when he came back close. He leaned down and placed a kiss on my lips.

“I love you too, but it’s over.”

This time, when he walked away, I let him. My eyes never left him as he walked toward the entrance. I couldn’t entertain the idea of him going with that girl with the nappy edges. I couldn’t even entertain the idea of walking away from him. I knew he was the one who was scared now, and I just needed to prove that I was all in. He was expecting me not to fight for him, and he had another thing coming. I’d fight until I had no more air in my lungs.

I was kickingit in my living room watching TV and smoking a blunt to relax when I heard a knock on the door. It was late as fuck, so I had to check the camera from my phone to see who was there. I stared at the phone for a minute debating if I was going to ignore her or not. Seeing her nervously shuffling from side to side and messing with her hair made my decision for me.

Standing, I tossed my phone back on the couch then walked to the front door. I unlocked and snatched the door open in one swift movement.

“What are you doing here, Lovie?”

She held up a cake box. “Peace offering?”

I should’ve taken the cake, closed the door, and walked away, but my heart wouldn’t let me. She’d already come all this way. Plus, she seemed adamant about talking to me. Being mad wasn’t solving anything. Closure would be good for us both, so I stepped back to allow her room to enter.

She’d gone home to change into leggings, a hoodie, and Crocs. The cake smelled fresh as if she’d left Paradise to go home and bake it. I was impressed considering I felt like she was going to spend the night partying hard. Yet, here she was at my home despite me telling her it was over to bring me a cake. Lovie was living up to her nickname in every way. She was fucking trouble, and I secretly loved it.

We went into the kitchen where she set the cake on the island. I walked up next to her to see what the flavor was. When I saw the strawberries lining the top, I knew it was my favorite flavor. The wordsForgive Mewere written in cursive with white icing.

I glanced up at her. “You did this?”

She shook her head quickly. “No, my Granny did, so you gotta talk to me for every minute she spent baking this cake in the middle of the night. She knew it was for you too.”

I couldn’t help but laugh because she didn’t play fair. Strawberry was my favorite cake though, and I knew her grandmother was a beast in the kitchen.

“Okay, fine. Talk.”

Without warning, I walked over to her and lifted her onto the counter. Her breathing fanned across my face as I leaned in closer to her. Her legs spread wider to allow space for me to stand between her. She was in my personal space smelling too fucking delicious to stand so far away. I felt her eyes on me as I trailed my finger up her thigh.

“You’re not talking, Trouble.”

Lifting my head, I looked in her eyes. She was biting her bottom lip with puffy cheeks. Her eyes were low the closer I got to her center. I swiped a finger across her clit softly. I barely touched the fabric of her leggings, but the hiss she released said she felt it all.

“Talk.”

When she didn’t start, I stepped away. She quickly wrapped her arms around my shoulders to pull me back to her.

“Noooo. I’ll talk. Just don’t stop touching me.”

I waited until her lips began moving to return to teasing her.

“I never should’ve lied to you. My mind was telling me this wasn’t real and would just be another whirlwind romance. It’s not an excuse, but I was terrified and expressed it in the worst way possible.”

“You think you were the only one afraid to open their heart?” I licked my lips, loving the way her face was contorted as I continued massaging her pearl. “This shit ain’t been easy for me, Trouble, but I thought you were worth it.”

“I am worth it!” she yelled, becoming defensive. “I’m not perfect, but when I love, I love with everything in me. Being away from you… it showed me that I was already too far gone. I thought I was in control, but the truth is you already have my heart, Romani.”

Her words stroked my ego. I could only increase my strokes until she was writhing beneath me. I wanted to taste her but settled for kissing along her neck. I sucked on her skin imagining all the things I wanted to do to her body. Just when I was certain she was about to come undone I stepped away, leaving her heaving on my counter.

“What the fuck?” she fussed, but the damage was done.

Even without my touch, I watched with glee as she came against her will. I delighted in my work, knowing I was going to fuck the shit out of her after all this was over. For now, I had to lay down the law, so she’d know playing with me like that was never going to happen again. I didn’t accept repeat offenses. Forgiving her now was for my sanity and not hers. I was miserable without her pretty, damn near intolerable ass.

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