Page 22 of In the Lonely Hour

“Let me finish working out your back and keeping you safe.”

Layla giggled as she helped him remove his clothing. Andres crawled up the middle of her bed, and she straddled him, restingher forehead on his. No matter how well he treated her, nothing made her crave Andres more than his care and kindness toward her daughter. That, within itself, was a constant aphrodisiac. As she lowered herself onto his shaft, her walls instantly swallowed him whole. Biting down on her lip didn’t keep her from moaning quietly.

Her hands flattened against the wall on both sides of his head as she began to ride him on the flats of her feet.

“Jesus, Layla,” he moaned, squeezing her ass with one hand while the other lifted her breast so he could suck her nipple.

“Don’t bring Him into this,” she teased.

She was so turned on, it didn’t take long for her to begin to drench him all over again. Head flung, she dropped down to her knees, feeling heat spread throughout her core. Andres smacking her ass had her tightening against him, whimpering as she came again. He held her close, kissing up her neck and cheek before settling on her lips. They stayed there for a while, taking in deep breaths to compose themselves.

After showering together, they left her room. Layla went to Dior’s room to see if she was ready for breakfast when Andres suggested they go out and eat. Since Dior was cool with it, Layla agreed. She couldn’t help but feel herself getting used to having Andres as a constant part of their daily lives. Him offering to stick around until Dior graduated high school was what had caused the dam to break last night. Layla didn’t want to, but it was getting harder and harder to see her life without Andres in it.

“Dior, do you think I’m cheating?” Andres asked, ignoring Layla’s smug grin.

“Yes, I do. You also said you’d never played before, so you lied too.”

Both he and Layla laughed heartily but Dior’s expression remained serious, making him laugh even more.

“See! You can’t get nothing past us,” Layla added.

“Nah, but it don’t even matter because y’all still playing like y’all a team when it’s supposed to be every man for themselves.”

“Forget that! I’m not about to let you beatbothof us. We gon’ win some kind of way. Ain’t that right, Dior?”

Dior nodded, making sure the fake Monopoly money she’d caught Andres trying to steal was safely hidden underneath her arm.

The doorbell’s ring caused Layla to stand and leave Dior’s room to answer it. At the sound of her and Carlos’s hushed conversation, Andres tried to talk to Dior to keep her from listening in. It worked for a while until Carlos began to raise his voice. As soon as he did, Dior began to rock and hum. Not wanting her to get overwhelmed, Andres stood to see if he could diffuse the situation. It seemed like every time Carlos came around he was on some bullshit, and Andres’s patience had run thin.

“Is there a problem?” Andres asked, making his way to Layla’s side.

“If it was, it ain’t got shit to do with you,” Carlos answered.

“Actually it does. Dior can hear you in here yelling at her mother, and the dis-ease is fucking with her peace. That has everything to do with me.”

“Carlos said his parents would like to spend some time with Dior,” Layla informed before Carlos could reply. “I told him I would love that, but I wanted you to meet with his parents and go over there with us the first time and he’s acting like I’m asking him to cut off one of his balls.”

Holding back his laugh, Andres asked, “What’s the problem with me meeting with your family? If it makes sense, I can accommodate you, but it’s my job to help Dior with how she socializes and engages with people. That’s literally what I’m here for.”

“Are you sure that’s what you here for? Or are you here to fuck my wife?”

Andres chuckled as he removed his glasses and handed them to Layla whose pleas for him to let her handle it went ignored.

“First time we met you made sure to make it clear to me that y’all were separated, so whether I’m fucking her or not, that ain’t got shit to do with you.”

“Can we please just focus on Dior?” Layla asked, trying to step between them as she often did, but Andres pulled her behind him.

“If he doesn’t want me to go with y’all that’s cool, but he will have to have a full session with me and Dior so I can make sure he’s equipped to properly handle her moods. If she’s not used to being around his family, she will be uncomfortable in the beginning. What they say to her is very important, so she won’t shut down. They all need to be prepared.”

Carlos chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. “I shouldn’t have to take a class to spend time with my daughter.”

“You haven’t tried to spend any time with Dior this whole time, Carlos,” Layla stressed, voice raising slightly. “And even before Andres started helping us, I had to beg you to talk to her and spend time with her. Dior’s peace has come from your presence, not your companionship. Now all of a sudden I’m supposed to just trust you with her?”

“This is what you’ve been asking for, ain’t it? For me to be more present.”

“And I appreciate that. I promise I do. I really want her to spend time with you. And your family. I’m simply asking that you all prepare first. That’s it.” Her voice cracked and Andres gritted his teeth to keep from speaking. “You make little comments here and there that are hurtful. I know it’s not your intention to be hurtful but you’re ignorant to what Dior having A.S. really means. You expect her to talk to you like she’s a 100 percent normal teenager and that’s simply not the case. I don’t want you to get frustrated with her and say something that’s going to hurt her feelings and make her shut down.”

“I’m not going to baby her like you do. I don’t give a fuck what her doctors say, there’s nothing wrong with Dior’s brain. She knows damn well the difference between right and wrong and everything else. If you didn’t coddle and spoil her so muchand let her get away with going against me, we wouldn’t have an issue with our relationship. You won’t let me talk to her and train her the way I need to, to make her respect me.”

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