Page 105 of Range
She nodded.
“My sisters.”
“Hm?”
“You asked what makes me laugh. My sisters. They make me smile, too. Especially Rome and Roaman. My nieces and nephews, them, too. Love. The thought of love feels so good to me that it makes me want to cry. The special kind. A kind just for me. That’s the kind that makes my heart burst a little when I’m alone in my bed at night.”
“I’m going to give you that, Range. That kind of love. Just be ready to receive it.”
A smile pulled her lips backward.
“And you.”
“Me?” Wrinkles formed on my forehead.
She nodded, carving out more space in my chest for her to make herself at home.
“Whatever is happening between us,” Range sighed, “It feels so good it summons my emotions. Sadness. Happiness. It expands my heart. Hurts my chest. Makes my head spin. Nearly cuts the sides of my mouth from the smiles it causes.”
I leaned in, lips to her ear. “You trying to make a real nigga blush in this motherfucker?”
Chuckling, she pulled back. “I’m due something after all you’ve done to me.”
Ahhh. I sighed.
That was it. That was the sound. That was the point of it all. That was my life’s goal.
Her laughter was like a cup of ice water after a two hour gym session. Like sunshine after four months of rain. Like freedom, even inside a cage.
“I like you,” I admitted, placing my right hand around her neck.
I pressed my lips against hers. She pulled my tongue inside, hanging onto it for a brief second before letting me go. I didn’t want her to. I wanted her to hold onto me. All of me.
“I like you, too.”
I pecked her lips again.
“Good day, now, Attorney Childers.”
She closed her eyes, stomping her feet like a disappointed toddler.
“I hate this part.”
Her words hurt, but I understood them.
“Me, too,” I confessed.
I didn’t prolong the process. I stepped away, leaving her in the middle of the floor.
Me, too, Sunshine.
ELEVEN
“Your honor, due to the lack of evidence on the defense’s end–”
Uh. No.
I shook my head as I scratched out the first line of verbal motion. It would be followed with official paperwork that I was finalizing, simultaneously.
