Page 80 of Awakening
It was Caleb’s turn to chuckle from the sheets, “Don’t act like you ain’t been texting her since you woke up.”
“Shut up, Black,” Mav tossed back, laughing with a grin a mile wide on his face.
Yanna leaned over and kissed my lips, slow and sensual, like a whispered promise, “Go on, they need their Queen.”
I melted a little, but Maverick didn’t wait; he turned and carried me out the door like a prize he’d just won at the fair.
When we got back to our suite, Knox was standing on the balcony, shirtless, sipping espresso and looking like a GQ cover shoot. He turned and smiled when he saw me.
“You get lost?” he asked with a knowing smirk.
“Rescued,” Maverick answered, laying me down onto our bed like a ceremony.
Knox set his cup down and came to sit beside me, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “You good?”
I hesitated, feeling my throat tighten again, that old anxiety creeping up like it wanted to rob me of this moment too.
“I’m in love with you both, madly, confidently, completely, utterly, in love,” I whispered, “And I want to introduce you to my family, Dro, Michelle, Lena, and DJ. I want them to see what my joy looks like, but I’m scared.”
There. I said it.
Knox reached for my hand while Maverick cradled my face in his palm.
“You don’t have to do anything until you’re ready,” Knox said gently.
“And if you never want to tell them, you won’t hear a single complaint from me,” Maverick added, “This love doesn’t need validation from anybody but the three of us.”
I nodded, my chest tight and heart racing, eyes clouded with tears. “But that’s just it, I am ready. I don’t want tolive like this, one foot out in the open, one foot in the closet. I want my people to see this beautiful, messy, wild, perfect love and know that it’s mine, that I chose it, that I choose you both, and see that I’m thriving in ways that I never have.”
Silence filled the room as they let my words fully sink in.
“Well damn,” Knox whispered, grinning, “Now I gotta step my game up at brunch, huh?”
Maverick raised an eyebrow. “Baby, we got you out here confessing your love like a poet with a mic, and I didn’t even brush my teeth yet.”
I laughed, a full belly laugh this time, tears finally giving way to lightness.
“We’re proud of you,” Knox said, kissing my forehead, “And we’ll be right beside you every step, every decision.”
“No matter what,” Maverick added.
I reached for both their hands, holding tight.
“You know, I could’ve stayed with Caleb and Yanna,” I said with a mischievous grin.
“You could have,” Maverick smirked, “But then I’d have to go start a whole war in Bora Bora.”
Knox leaned in, brushing his lips across my jaw, “Let’s just say we’re real glad you chose home.”
And in that bed, with both of them wrapped around me, the sunshine pouring through the windows and the sounds of the ocean waves swaying just beyond the walls, I realized something undeniable and straightforward: I wasn’t scared anymore, I was free.
Bora Bora didn’t just look like paradise, it felt like it had been hand-chiseled by the Gods themselves. The sun kissed everything in gold, the air smelled like ocean and orchids, and our catamaran floated like a lazy dream over the bluest water I’d ever seen in my life.
We were barefoot and carefree, champagne flutes in hand, charcuterie boards styled like edible art, and laughter echoing off the open sea. I stood near the helm, watching Maverick laugh with Caleb while the captain prepped the snorkel gear.
I turned my attention to Ajaih, Yanna, and Dana.
They came walking up from the lower deck in slow motion, probably not on purpose, but I swear time halted while my dick moved.
