Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 98524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Goodness. What was this man doing to me?
Twenty
Javier
“And I could get kicked in the balls right now, and I bet you wouldn’t even notice.” Deke snapped his fingers in my face.
I looked away from the group of children in the middle of the gym to him.
“What?” I asked.
“What the hell is going on with you, man?” Deke laughed as he looked me up and down. “You’re over there daydreaming like we don’t have shit to do.”
“Uh, right.” I scratched the back of my head.
“Come on, man. We have basketballs to sign.”
I followed Deke to the center of the gym, where several volunteers were trying to keep the children calm. All of them had red-and-white-striped basketballs in hand—ones we’d ordered for this day. We were celebrating hitting $1 million in donations at Element, and the gym was packed with not only volunteers and children but also parents, photographers, and vendor stands.
As we approached, the children squealed and became rowdy. Deke grinned as he stepped right in front of them, wrangling a bunch of them into his arms to give them a massive hug.
They giggled, and as soon as he released them, they shoved their basketballs into his face, begging for signatures.
I waved at a few of the kids who approached me, gave them hugs and high fives, and began signing balls too.
“So what were you thinking about over there?” Deke asked, eyeing me before handing a signed ball to the kid in front of him.
“Nothing,” I lied, finishing off a signature myself.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” a woman to my left said. She held her phone in the air and waved it. “My daughter’s such a big fan of yours. Can I get a picture of you two?”
“Of course.” I smiled and lowered to a squat next to the girl. Once the photo was taken, the girl’s mother thanked me, took her hand, and shuffled away.
“It was definitely something,” Deke carried on, and I really wished he would let it go.
I was not about to tell him that I was thinking about Octavia.
About the night before and how irresponsible we’d been, yet how fucking amazing it had been. I was not about to tell him that I woke up with a hard dick and wanted to stroke myself to the thought of her until I came again. I did not do that, of course. I held back—and was glad I did, because it prepared me for what we were about to do in the kitchen . . .
Up until Aleesa woke up and reality sank in.
Octavia and I were in a very tricky situation. The sex we’d had was explosive, and I absolutely wanted more . . . but wanting more was a risk, and I was not sure if it needed to be taken.
Instead of answering Deke, I ignored him and worked through the line of eager children, signing balls and taking pictures until the area was clear. We were finally given a break when the kids ran to the vendors, getting face paint, popcorn, and cotton candy and shooting hoops at the contest area.
“Let me guess.” Deke popped up at my side again.
I avoided an eye roll and a sigh. He was not going to let this go.
“You didn’t look mad when you were zoned out, so I assume you were thinking about something good?”
“It was nothing, Deke. Seriously.”
“Come on, Valdez. You can’t lie to me.”
“I am not lying about anything. It was nothing. Just . . . things about Aleesa.” Partly true. I was worried about sleeping with my daughter’s nanny. Technically, that situation revolved around her.
A woman approached us, offering two bottles of water. We accepted, and Deke cracked his open and took a few chugs.
I started to open mine, too, until someone across the court caught my eye.
Walking through the doors with my daughter’s hand in hers was Octavia. And, fuck . . . What was she thinking? How was any man not going to look at her?
She wore a floral purple sundress that hugged her at the middle and stopped mid-thigh, with open-toed sandals. Her locs were styled in an updo, and of course she had those jewels in them.
She looked like an angel standing there, gazing around the gym, pointing at things as Aleesa bounced on her toes. And call me crazy, but I found it cute that she and Aleesa were matching in color. They did that often. It was almost always Aleesa’s idea. She wanted to wear the same colors as her Tava.
When Octavia carried her eyes to the middle and spotted me, she threw her hand up to wave. I waved back, and Aleesa wasted no time bolting across the gymnasium to reach me.
“Daddy!”
I bent down and held my arms out, then scooped her up and raised her in the air. I nibbled at her belly, and she giggled.