“How is it?” Love asked.
Drake scowled. It wasn’t the best cake he’d ever tasted, but he liked to support entrepreneurs. One of the patient techs had ideas to start a cottage industry baking cakes and wanted him to be her taster. “Not good.”
Love wrinkled her nose. “I told you to stop buying food from those people at the hospital. You never know what their houses look like. They could have bugs.” She shook her head. “Yuck.”
“I’ll try anything once.” He squeezed her thigh, leaned in and kissed her. She caressed his face as they deepened the kiss.
When she pulled back and dipped her spoon in the red Jell-O, he took a minute to look at her. She was a vision, with her hair wild and free. His oversize shirt hung off her shoulders, exposing her bare skin.
They ate in silence, devouring the food in front of them. Finished, she fell against the mattress. “Woo, that was yummy.”
He set their dishes on the bedside table and lay back next to her. They stared at the ceiling, seemingly in their own thoughts.
“Drake?” she asked, rising up on her elbow and looking down at him.
“Hmm?”
“Did we just declare our love for each other?”
Chuckling, he confirmed that they had in fact done that. “I meant what I said.”
“Why do you love me?”
He shook his head. Leave it to Love to ask the hard questions. “I’ve loved you since I was two years old.”
“Drake, that doesn’t count. We were in Pull-Ups.”
“It counts, because I feel like you being my best friend has contributed to the way I love you now.”
“How so?”
“I loved you before we were us, and I love you more now because we’re us.”
“Aw, you’re so sweet. And corny.” She laughed.
“I’m glad I can still make you laugh.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled into him. “What do we do now?”
From his experience with Love, he knew he had to let her set the pace. He knew what he wanted, and he didn’t second-guess it. They were taking a big leap, but he was ready to jump, as long as she was with him. The easy way they were with each other confirmed that they could make it work. The awkwardness of the morning after their wedding had disappeared. Love was comfortable with him, invested in them.
“We take it day by day,” he said. “Are you good with that?”
She pressed her cheek against his chest, kissed him right above his heart. “Yes, I am.”
He heard the growl of her stomach. “Are you still hungry?”
“Oh, my God, that is so embarrassing, and so not sexy.”
“I can try to cook you something.”
“I want to live to see tomorrow.” She giggled. “I have a taste for fish and grits, but it’s too late to eat. I’m already going to pay for this dessert break.”
“Aw, shoot. I must have put it down if you’re talking about making my favorite meal.”
She pinched him. “Shut up. Go to sleep. I’ll make you fish and grits tomorrow.”
The room descended into silence again. He squeezed her tight. “Good night. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
CHAPTER 16
The Cadillac Club, an exclusive society, hosted a fund-raiser for the hospital every spring. Each year they awarded countless scholarships to prospective college students at the Annual Beau/Debutante Ball for high school seniors of color. They were also what Love considered a black elite social group.
Ann Arbor had a large population of affluent African Americans—doctors, lawyers, business owners and executives in local companies. True, they donated money to countless charities, but in doing so, some of them looked down on the people they were trying to help.
The Jackson family—more specifically, Drake’s grandfather—was a founding member of the club. They were honoring his father with an award for philanthropy, and Love had promised Drake she’d be at the gala—even though she hated events like these.
Formal dinners were not her idea of fun, especially when it was an event that served one main purpose: to provide affluent individuals with a venue to act superior to other people. Love preferred low-key events. She’d rather be chilling in a bar with a bowl of peanuts and a big screen TV than attending a tense, stuffy dinner.
As she and Drake walked into the ballroom, his hand on the small of her back, she felt extremely uncomfortable. It had been a week since they’d declared their love for each other, and things were good. But they hadn’t yet been around Drake’s father together.
They’d spent the last week in a little bubble, holed up in bed or sneaking off at work to have lunch together or make out in the residents’ lounge.