Page 95 of Me For You
“Somee, can I?”
“You can, but they’re her presents, so you don’t get to take them home,”I warned with a stern look and she nodded.
“I know. Thank you.”She then turned to Areena with her hands moving wildly.“She said yes.”
They jumped up and down excitedly before running off. I watched them weave their way between Ryland and Daren, relaying the message that it was time to open presents. Seeing Rylee like this made my heart swell. She deserved to have every minute of happiness life could offer her because she was such a beautiful soul. Looking at the man who was giving her the opportunity, I was starting to believe I did too.
It wasafter nine when we made it to the house and Rylee was knocked out from having spent the day at a trampoline fun center. Ryland gently got his sister out of the car and carried her into the house while I collected the goodie bags and toys she won on games at Gravity Zone.
When I made it to the room, he was removing her shoes while she was curled up on the bed. He already had her pajamas laid out next to his sister’s exhausted body.
“You think she’ll survive without a bath tonight?”he signed when I placed her things on the dresser.
“Probably not. She was wilding in there.”I grinned, remembering how Rylee was all over the place.“I’ll help her do a quick shower. She’ll be mad but she’ll sleep better.”
“Aight, I’m about to see what Joy left for dinner and get that warmed up for us. I’m hungry as hell.”
“We could have eaten at Gravity Zone,”I teased, knowing he wasn’t with it.
Ryland took one look at the menu and was not interested. They had typical kid-friendly food like burgers, fries, chicken tenders, pizza, and mozzarella sticks, none of which were appealing to him. Toya said there was an adult side to Gravity Zone with alcohol and better food. We elected to skip having dinner there but made plans for all of us to come back without the kids.
“That immature ass food wasn’t going to do anything for me.”
I grinned.“Give me like thirty minutes and I’ll have her in bed.”
He nodded.“I’m going to jump in the shower too then, before I head down.”
Ryland exited the room, leaving me with a sleepy six-year-old to get in the shower and dressed for bed. Rylee barely even opened her eyes and pouted the entire time I moved through the process of getting her cleaned up and dressed for bed. Once she was out cold again, I decided to wash the day away and change before I headed downstairs. By the time I made it to the kitchen, Ryland had our food on the table which he paired with two bottles of beer.
Joy had made steak and vegetable kabobs with juicy cuts of tenderloin separated by chunks of green and red peppers, onions, potatoes, and carrots. It was like having roast beef on a skewer. There were six on Ryland’s plate, arranged on a mound of rice pilaf, and three on mine. Damn this man could eat.
“Looks good,”I signed as soon as he made it to the table, handing me a napkin and my utensils. After he placed one next to his plate, he grinned sexily.
“Me or the food?”My eyes moved right to the impression of his dick in the gray Sharks sweatshorts that sat low on his waist before I caught myself.
“The food.”
His smile expanded when he filled the seat to the left of me, pulled mine closer, lifted my feet, and placed them on his thigh, moving my plate next to his.
“You plan on giving me a foot massage and feeding me?”
“If that’s what you want you got that.”He shrugged, lifting his beer and twisting the top off.“You cool with beer or you want something else?”
I pinched the bottle with my fingers and turned it in my direction. Bleu Mountain. I wasn’t sure of the brand but it was an IPA, so it was fine for me.
“This is good.”
He nodded, grabbed my bottle, and removed the cap. Our heads dipped and we blessed our food before I used my fork to slide the steak and vegetables from the skewer so I wouldn’t have to struggle and could just dive in. When the first bite hit my tongue, I could have cried.
The steak was tender and seasoned to perfection. I sampled a green pepper and onion which were coated with an herb sauce that had a smoky flavor.
“I think I love Joy.”
Ryland grinned.“Shit, me too. She’s doing her thing. If you’re cool with having her here, I’ll go ahead and bring her on with a permanent position.”
“She damn sure has my vote for as long as I’m here,”I signed as another forkful of steak made it to my mouth.
“Then she’s not leaving because neither are you.”
