Page 41 of Soft On Her
“I get it. However, I want you to know that I love Sneaux. Always have and always will. I’d never do anything to harm her mentally, physically, or emotionally. She has always been my forever,” I professed. “I’ll never allow anyone to bring harm to her.”
“I heard you threw a dagger to protect Sleeping Beauty in Aruba,” she joked.
My hands flew to my face. I was so embarrassed, but she was able to pull a smile out of me. “I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t know it was him.”
“It’s cool. I’m thankful it was a dagger and not a bullet or else we might be having a different conversation right now,” Mrs. Sierra shook her head. “If you and Sneaux are really planning to move away for you to follow your dreams and become a veterinarian, we are going to need you to show us those shooting skills. My daughter can’t be the only protector between the two of you,” she noted.
“Oh, I know how to shoot a gun, too. I keep telling people that,” I laughed.
“I’m just saying. Last we heard, you ain’t know what to do with a gun. We can’t have a repeat of that.”
“I promise we won’t,” I assured her.
The front door came open again, and I heard Sneaux and Terrel conversing with Mr. Luis before she came into view.They’d both gone home to shower and change. Sneaux wore a pair of light colored denim shorts and a teal bikini. Terrel also wore a floral pair of swim trunks. Mikel slid the glass door open, and Terrel jogged over to him, abandoning Sneaux’s side. Hearing that Terrel and Mikel weren’t even speaking was a shocker. They’d known each other the longest and were thick as thieves. I hoped they were able to rebuild their friendship with the family beef dying down.
“You went home and got cute for who?” I questioned, following Mrs. Sierra out of the kitchen.
“You,” she cooed. “They said we were having a welcome home party and to wear a bathing suit. I brought you one too.”
After placing the bottle of water down in front of Mr. Luis, I continued towards Sneaux. She pulled a swimsuit with tags on it out of her purse.
“Thank you, baby,” I pecked her lips.
“This has been a long time coming,” Mrs. Sierra noted.
“It really has,” her husband added.
“And we have waited too long to let anything come between us,” Sneaux commented, eyeing her mother. I felt her arm snake around my waist, and I settled into her comforting embrace.
“We have had a heart to heart, right, Milani?” Mrs. Sierra informed Sneaux.
“We did, and I appreciate you so much, Mrs. Sierra.”
“Of course, baby. I know I might not have acted like it before, but I’m so happy you’re home. Sneaux is at ease now. Go ‘head and get changed. Enjoy yourself. Everyone is here to celebrate you. You are so loved in Sand Cranes.”
“I am,” I sighed, realizing how many people stopped their plans to show up for me.
As the night continued, it was like I hadn’t missed a beat in Sand Cranes. I expected awkward, forced conversations withpeople who felt like strangers if I ever returned. Yet, I was met with the support of family and genuine love.
Epilogue
A Year Later
The last twelve months of my life were an emotional rollercoaster like I’d never experienced before. Five months after I returned to Sand Cranes, my mother passed away. Neither the Harris nor Black family ever judged the conflicted love I had for my mother; they always supported me along the way. My grieving process was filled with love and support from the funeral arrangements to my random emotional outbursts; they were there for me every step of the way. The first few months were rough, but I was in a much better place mentally and physically as we returned to Aruba to celebrate our first anniversary.
I officially received my acceptance letter from Sand Cranes University for Summer admission, so we were there to celebratebefore I started taking classes. Although I had more than enough money to last a lifetime with my father’s life insurance payout and assets, I still wanted to follow my dreams. After spending nine years away from the people who loved me most, I decided to forgo UC Davis and attend Sand Cranes. Luckily, I wasn’t starting as a freshman with zero credits. I had successfully completed enough dual enrollment and AP classes in high school to qualify for junior status. In two years, I would have a BS in Biology with a concentration in animal biology, so I could apply to veterinarian school.
We were in the middle of our last day in Aruba, and my arm was stretched across a tattoo armrest stand while the artists brought our vision to life. It was my first and only tattoo, and it hurt like hell. I was sitting in Sneaux’s lap, but even that wasn’t enough to distract me from the needle stabbing into my skin. Her hands gently ran up and down my back as I coached myself to breathe through the pain. The sharp electric hum stopped as Michael lifted the needle. My eyes popped open, praying that he was almost done, but he only shaded half of the pink flamingo.
“AHHHHHHHH!” I squealed. “I thought we were done.”
Sneaux and Michael laughed at my exasperated cries.
“You doing good, bae,” Sneaux kissed my exposed shoulder while Michael wiped the excess ink away, then dipped his needle in the ink cap and got back to work.
“I know the matching tattoos were my idea, but why didn’t you tell me how much they hurt?” I whined.
“It ain’t that bad,” Sneaux replied as Michael went back to shading.
