Page 40 of Always There Bayou (The BR Bayou #3)

“I can’t believe that you and I have been married for five years now,” Denny said as they intertwined their fingers with mine. I turned over on my side to face them. Their face glowed beautifully, illuminated by the small streaks of sun that pooled in from the windows. “It still feels so surreal.”

“Yeah, but it is real,” I laugh, sitting up against the headboard. They followed suit, and soon, sitting between my legs, their back pressed against my chest. My hand travels down to their protruding stomach. “This is proof of that.”

“I also can’t believe that I let you talk me into having another one, and that it turned out to be two more,” they laugh, and all I could do was smile, satisfied at the outcome.

(And yes, I did end up taking Denny’s last name, because why not?)

Then, a few months ago, we decided to have one more.

Well, at least we thought that’s what was going to happen, so imagine our surprise when we went in for Denny’s check-up one day and were told that we were having twins.

They were also both going to be girls, and we had already decided to name them after flowers as well. Dahlia and Ivy.

We were so excited to see them, but we knew that once they got here, we would be busier than ever between our business, raising three kids, and just enjoying life.

However, I wouldn’t change my life for anything in the world, and every day I feel better about stepping away from the spotlight when I did.

I couldn’t imagine not being able to spend uninterrupted time with my little family.

And I wasn’t the only one who thought that.

Harley retired about two years after I did when she and Cheyenne decided that they wanted to start a family, and then Simone followed almost a year ago.

They admitted that seeing me and Denny live in peace and harmony made them feel jealous.

They both realized that it was time to let the next generation of basketball stars take the reins.

Now we were all enjoying the retired, stay-at-home mom lifestyles, and we couldn’t be happier.

These past five years have been some of the best years I’ve ever lived, and it’s all because I finally decided to let go of all the hurt I had bo ttled up.

I finally let people in and finally worked on ways to deal with my anxieties, struggles, and pain.

It was also not lost on me that getting closure from my mom’s letter also helped.

No, I’ll never invite Trevor into my life, but I have forgiven him for the past. It took a while, but I knew that I had to do so, not for him, but for me. I wanted peace. I wanted to be stress-free. So, I let go of all those things holding me back, and I was glad I had.

“What are you thinking so hard about?” Denny laughs, and I smile, looking down at them. “Having second guesses?”

“Don’t even play like that,” I laugh, leaning down to kiss their lips. “You know that if I were having second-guesses, I wouldn’t have put two more babies in you.”

“Oh, you put them in me, did you?” they tease, and I smirk, nodding.

“You know my strap game is impeccable, love. We made those babies with pure love,” I joke seductively. I maneuver them until they’re lying on their back and I’m hovering over them. “I think we have a little time to make a triplet.”

“You’re so damn silly,” they giggle as I kiss their neck. Soon, moans replace the giggles, and their hands are running through my hair. “Mm, Cory…”

“You’re so gorgeous, Bunny,” I whisper as I move to kiss their lips. “God, I’m so lucky to have you. Fuck, I need to…”

“Y’all better be up!” we hear someone shout on the other side of the door.

I sigh deeply, pressing my forehead against Denny’s.

I kiss them once more before sitting up, helping them up as well.

Before we can call f or the interruption to come in, the door flies open, and in runs Lavender, followed by Lilah holding her daughter, Harmony.

I still couldn’t believe that it had been two years since she and Cordell had their fling that ended up in flames.

And when I say flames, I mean a burning building.

Neither of our families thought that they would ever recover from the games they kept playing with each other’s hearts.

I’m glad that they finally got it together once they realized that Harmony was the most important among them.

They were excellent co-parents, even if they weren’t compatible relationship-wise.

“Hey, Renny! Hey, Mama!” Lavender greeted us as she hopped onto the bed. I scooped her into my arms and smothered her little cheeks in kisses. She giggled as she squirmed in my hands. “Mama, that tickles!”

“Morning, muffin,” I greeted her before letting her go so Denny could give her some love.

I watched in contentment as they greeted one another. I had such a beautiful family.

“Y’all are cute,” Lilah says as she sits down on the edge of the bed. Harmony twists out of her grasp and crawls over to me. I open my arms for her to snuggle up against my chest. “Oooh, you little traitor.”

“Don’t hate because my niece loves me,” I tease, and she waves me off.

“Whatever. Anyway, are y’all planning to get up anytime soon? Y’all drug everybody and their mama out here to celebrate y’all’s annive rsary, yet didn’t plan for a private chef to cook us breakfast? Where the hell they do that at?”

“Where a hell dey do it at?!” Harmony copies as best she can, and it takes everything in me not to fall out laughing. She was at that age where she copied every little thing she heard.

“Mony, don’t repeat, Mommy, okay?” Lilah says softly. Harmony giggles and buries her face in my chest.

“Don’t get mad at my niecey because you curse like a sailor,” Denny taunts, causing Lilah to flip them off before standing.

“Now, get y’all asses up, please. We have so much to do today.”

With that, she scoops up Harmony and leaves the room.

Once Lavender sees that her bestie is leaving, she hops up and follows behind them, asking Lilah if they could go play until breakfast is ready.

My eyes drift back over to Denny as they struggle to get out of bed.

Instantly, I’m up on my feet, helping them to the bathroom.

I haven’t let them do a damn thing since finding out they were pregnant again.

It was my job to care for them and make their lives easier and more comfortable, and I took that job seriously.

Once we were dressed for the day, we headed down the stairs carefully and were about to make our way to the kitchen, but were stopped in our tracks when we heard music blasting.

She shared a quick look before I guided Denny out the back door.

There was a trail of balloons that led from the back door, all the way down the path to the private beach that was included with the beach house we’d rented for everyone to enjoy.

“Oh, my god,” Denny gasped once the beautifully decorated beach came into view.

“ What is all of this?” I managed to say as we made our way over to where our friends and family were standing.

Kids ran around and played in the sand as the adults talked and joked.

As we approached, Harley and Simone came over to greet us first. They saw our shocked expressions and explained that they wanted to do something nice for us since they knew how hectic things would be soon.

I tried to argue, especially because Nala had just had a baby a couple of months ago, but she waved me off, too.

“Girl, don’t even start,” Nala laughed. “Y’all deserve to be celebrated because y’all are both such amazing friends not only to Simone and Harley, but to me and Chey as well.”

“Exactly,” Chey added. “I know you and I didn’t get off on the right foot, but we’ve become so close these last five years.

Cory, I’m so proud of you for taking care of yourself and your mental health, and for letting everyone in.

You deserve all the happiness you receive, and I’m glad that you have Denny and your beautiful girls to share it with. ”

“Please chill,” I say, wiping my eyes. “Y’all stay trying to ruin my tough bitch image.”

“Tough where?” Lilah teases. “You’ve cried every three business days since you and Denny got married.” Everyone nods in agreement. “Your tough girl image was all for show anyway, and you know it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I say, waving her off. I turn back to my friends and family with a smile. “Thank y’all so much for this. How y’all were able to set all this up without us knowing, I have no clue, but I appreciate it.”

“ You’re our best friend, and if it wasn’t for your courage to take a step back from making basketball your entire life, I don’t think Harley and I would’ve retired as early as we did,” Simone sighs, slinging her arm over my shoulder.

“You just retired last year,” I point out.

“Details details,” Simone waves me off, and we all share a laugh.

The next few hours are spent amongst family and friends who came to help us celebrate our 5 years of marriage, but also our 28 years of friendship.

I knew that when Denny and I got married, it had to be on a special day, so we decided that it would be the day that we first became friends on that playground all those years ago.

I will never forget that day either. I was having the shittiest first week, and these girls kept bothering me for no reason.

I stood up to them as best as I could, but when I couldn’t take it anymore, along came Denny to calm me down.

From that day on, we were attached at the hip.

Well, I tried to shake them at first, but it’s like they were drawn to me, and I was drawn to them, because even I found myself looking forward to spending all our break time chatting and joking together.

I mean, yeah, at first, it was just Denny going on and on about stuff she liked and spilling all of her business to me, but I didn’t mind. For the first time, I felt like I had an actual friend, and I knew that no matter what, she and I would never be apart.

Now, here we were. Almost 30 years later, and still the best of friends. We’ve had our ups and downs, our arguments and fights, but we were still here. Not only in love and married, but we had amazin g careers, a gorgeous home, and almost three daughters to share it with.

Life was extraordinary, and there was nothing in the world that could make me give this up.

She was the Lisa to my Corduroy after all, and that’s how it always would be.

The End.