Today. Tomorrow. Always (Free Falling, #3.5)(14)

“Get up and get dressed,” I said, smacking his hip lightly before hopping off the bed, heading toward the bathroom to shower. “And don’t embarrass me and your son by losing to that man downstairs,” I called out over my shoulder before closing the door behind me. The last thing I heard was AJ laughing.

I started the water and slipped out of my robe. The heated tile floors were a welcomed feel when I stepped out of my slippers, too. Blazing hot water scorched my skin, but I didn’t cool it down. This was how I liked it. The bathroom door crept open and then there were footsteps. Through the frosted shower door, I could make out AJ’s silhouette as he stood just beside it. Laughing, I asked what he was doing.

He sighed. “Trying to decide if I should join you or not.”

His mind stayed in the gutter… and I probably enjoyed that more than I should’ve. “Don’t,” I protested, knowing he’d throw off my plan if he did. “Later. I promise.”

“You know I’ll hold you to it.”

I laughed again. “I know you will.” Next, the sink turned on and I listened as he washed his face and brushed his teeth.

Maisha had Anthony with her so I could get my shower out of the way. There was a lot to be done in the next few hours, but I had it all planned out. Angel would be here by nine and so would Mrs. Hahn… I mean, Emi—I still hadn’t quite gotten used to calling her by her first name just yet. Between the four of us, we should be able to take care of the decorations and prep the tables before the caterers showed up.

We were expecting about thirty guests, but I was most excited about Dee, Karl, and my parents, making it into town. Dee and Karl would be staying here with us at the house for the night, so I’d already prepped their room while AJ was at work the day before. He’d be so happy to see everyone here, together.

“Okay, I’m out,” he announced, stopping at the bathroom door before exiting. His steps came toward me again, and then a second later the glass shower door eased open.

At first, purely out of shock, I covered myself with my hands, but then stopped hiding from him. I was covered from head to toe in suds and AJ stared, shaking his head back and forth.

“You’re so bad,” I said, shifting beneath the stream of water to rinse.

He didn’t deny that, reaching a hand inside the shower to touch me, his fingers cool against my breasts in contrast to the heat of the water.

“I think you should let me get in with you,” he said, propositioning me once again. “To hell with basketball.”

If he’d known how badly I wanted him closer, I’d lose this fight for sure. But my help would be arriving very shortly, so I couldn’t risk him running into anyone.

I turned my back and glanced at him from over my shoulder, which proved to be a bad idea because the sight of him made me want to give in even more. I had to stick to my guns, though.

“Tonight,” I promised.

A slick smile crossed his face. “Tease.”

“You like it,” I said back as the shower door closed once again.

By the time I made it downstairs, he and Terrell were gone like I predicted. “Do you think he suspected anything?” I asked when I found Maisha in the kitchen spooning oatmeal into Anthony’s mouth.

She shook her head. “Nope. And I made Terrell promise that they’d both take a shower there at the gym so they don’t show up all sweaty and funky for the party.”

“Oh, good. Thanks. I didn’t even think about that.”

Propping my hands on my hips, I looked around, wondering where to start. “I guess I should get going on the balloons. The tables and chairs should be arriving soon. Angel can decorate them once she gets here.”

“What you need me to do?” Maisha asked.

“Actually, if you can just keep an eye on Anthony until AJ’s mom gets here, that’d be perfect. If I know her, she’s gonna get tunnel vision when she sees him, anyway. Like always.” I’d joked to AJ that I think his mom preferred our son over him. He agreed, citing that Anthony hadn’t given her nearly as much hell as he had over the years.

I grabbed the bags of balloons and headed out to the patio. However, the second I did, the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.”

After fumbling with the lock for a second because my hands were full, I opened the door to find Angel grinning on the other side of it. “Morning, Sammy!” she sang.

She pulled me in for a one-armed hug because her other was loaded down with tons of stuff for the party, including her gift for AJ, already wrapped.

“Point me in whatever direction you need me in so we can knock this out.”

I took a breath and scratched my head. “Well, I wanted you working on the tables, but they haven’t arrived yet. Wanna help me with balloons?”

She nodded and agreed. We went out to the patio like I’d started doing before she showed up, and we were well on our way. She and I had spoken the day before about the job prospect, working for Arata, and she jumped on it like I knew she would. The money was good and if she didn’t like it, the upside was that it was only temporary.

I watched her when she wasn’t paying attention. She was here today to help like I knew she’d be. In my head, she was always more like a sister than a cousin to me, and there wasn’t a single time I called on her for something that she hadn’t come through. From the big things to the small, she’d been there.