Page 35 of Until Nalia
“Nalia, you want a beer?” he asks her, and she looks back at him.
“I’m not really a fan of beer.”
“You want a glass of wine?” I ask, and her eyes come to me.
“Maybe with dinner.”
“Where’s Billie?” he asks, walking over to the fridge.
“School.” I glance over at the clock. “She should be home soon.”
Placing my open beer on the counter next to me, Hector starts to take his to the table but his cell rings and when he pulls it out to look at it he lets out a curse and walks to the back door.
“I’ll be back,” he mutters before stepping outside.
“Is Uncle Hector okay?” Coop asks, staring at the back door.
“Yeah, bud,” I tell him as I hear the front door open. Knowing it’s Billie, I brace, unsure what her reaction to Nalia and Zuri being here might be.
“Dad, Cat is here…” Her words taper off as she steps into the kitchen with her friend right behind her. “Oh, hi,” she says to Nalia, then her eyes go to Zuri, and she smiles a real smile before she looks at me.
“How was school?” I ask her as she walks my way.
“Okay.” She looks at the counter. “Are we having tacos for dinner?”
“Yep,” I mutter with a smile, and she looks back at Cat.
“Do you want to stay?”
“Sure.” Cat shrugs then smiles at me. “Hey, Mr. Rafe.”
“What’s up, Cat?” I dip my chin towards her, then tell Billie, “Uncle Hector is here for dinner too.”
“Cool, I saw his truck out front,” She walks to the fridge and gets out a soda for her and her friend. “We’re going to go up and do our homework.”
“Sounds good.” I watch her walk away and wonder if she got body snatched on the way home. I expected at least a little bit of an attitude or her to give Nalia the cold shoulder and neither of those things happened.
“Can we do our reading upstairs in the game room?” Coop asks a minute later as he’s putting his school stuff back in his bag and Zuri is tucking hers away.
“If Nalia is cool with that,” I tell him, and he looks at her with his eyes pleading and she laughs softly.
“Do you promise to actually read before you start to play?”
“Yes!” the two of them say at the same time, then start to laugh when they look at each other.
“Then I’m okay with it,” she says, and they take off out of the kitchen. A second later, I hear their heavy footsteps on the wood stairs.
“How much do you want to bet that they aren’t going to read?” she asks, getting up from the table, then pushing in her chair.
“I’m not a man who bets when I know I’m gonna lose.”
“Are you sure about that?” She lifts a brow, and I grin. “Do you want some help?” She stops at the edge of the counter.
“Can I trust you with a cheese grater?”
“Sure.” She walks over and washes her hands. I get the cheese out of the fridge along with the grater from the cupboard and set it up for her. While she starts on the cheese, I finish up the salsa, and once I have everything mixed up, I open the bag of chips I bought and scoop some up and take a bite. It’s good, heavy on the fresh cilantro, lime, and jalapeño. I make one more chip with salsa and hold it out in front of her mouth.
Her eyes lock with mine as she takes the bite I offer, and my dick twitches when her lips close around the chip and her eyes slide closed.
