Page 53

DAVINA

When the sun was nearing the horizon, Deke took me on a boat ride. His boat was named The Saint .

“Because Bishops are far from saints,” he told me when I asked why he and Whitney chose that name for it. “When we go for a ride, it feels like our sins are being washed away.”

We cruised the lake, the mist sprinkling my face and the wind blowing through my blown-out curls. Lake Santeetlah was absolutely breathtaking. The clouds hung low, blending with the emerald mountains. The air smelled sweet, like remnants of honeysuckle and tree sap.

When Deke stopped the boat, he walked around the steering wheel and sat next to me on the padded bench. “Did you know the name Santeetlah derives from Native Americans?”

“No,” I said, meeting his eyes. “I didn’t know that.”

“Yep. Whitney told me. It means ‘blue waters.’”

I looked past Deke to the water, which looked more like a dark turquoise. “It’s really beautiful here.” And romantic, I thought, but I wasn’t about to say that out loud.

Deke leaned forward to grab the handle of the cooler and popped it open. He plucked out two Drumstick ice cream cones and offered one to me.

“Does this mean I won the bet?” I asked, grinning as I unwrapped it.

“You came close, but no one can beat the king of the court.” He cracked a smile and turned on the portable speaker he brought with him.

When his phone’s Bluetooth was connected, a song by Khalid and Normani played. I bit into my ice cream cone, and Deke opened his, too, spreading his legs and looking ahead.

“So what’s with the dragonfly necklace?” he asked. “You wear it a lot. Does it mean something?”

“Oh.” I grappled nervously at the pendant. “Yeah, Lewis gave it to me. My, uh ... my late husband. It was an anniversary gift.”

“Oh.” He nodded. “Nice.”

I avoided his eyes, feeling the need to explain further. “It’s supposed to represent love and changes that are promising. I don’t take it off much.”

“I see.” Deke was quiet for a moment. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Why don’t you ever talk about him?”

“Oh ... um ...” My chest tightened, and I blinked rapidly as I looked away. “I guess I thought you didn’t want to hear about him.”

Deke gave me his full attention. “I don’t mind hearing about him. I don’t want you feeling like you have to hide that part of your life or anything.”

“It’s not that I’m hiding it—it’s just hard to talk about him. Even with my sister and Tisha. Talking about him with you would be twice as hard.”

“Well, I want you to know I won’t feel any kind of way if you ever decide to bring him up. This is a safe place. I’ll never judge.”

“Okay.” Some of the vanilla dripped over my fingers, and I licked it away. Silence settled between us.

“He was nice,” I offered after a while. “Got along with everyone.”

Deke nodded with a soft, sincere smile.

“Everyone loved him. He was just one of those people who could find anything to talk about and had a way of making others feel special.” I felt my mouth twitch as I thought about my first date with Lewis.

We had gone to eat expensive burgers and milkshakes at Five Guys, and our conversations were so simple, so seamless. I didn’t have to force anything with him. It had been almost second nature, like he and I had met in another lifetime and were picking up where we left off. Funnily enough, it had been like that with Deke too. Effortless.

“Anyway, you probably would’ve really liked him. And I know he would’ve loved you. Football had his heart, but he was also a huge basketball fan. His favorite college team was Clemson.”

“That’s a shame,” he said, head shaking. “Clemson was good, but he should’ve been riding with the Blue Devils.” He was referring to Duke University. I remembered seeing in his file that he played for Duke. “Who was his favorite NBA team?”

“The Wasps, of course! Home team!”

“Boo!” Deke threw a thumbs-down at that. “We’ve whooped their asses so many times. He should’ve been flying with the birds, not the bees.”

I tossed my head back to laugh. “I think that was the corniest thing I ever heard you say, Deke!”

“Oh, for real? You think I’m corny?” He set his ice cream down on the wrapper next to him to haul me across his lap. I couldn’t help laughing as he nuzzled his nose into the bend of my neck while holding me in his arms.

When he’d had enough, he sat me upright again. My cone had fallen to the floor, but I couldn’t bother myself to pick it up, because Deke leaned forward to cup the back of my head. His forehead pressed to mine, and his eyes traveled to my lips. And when he kissed me, I melted into it and sighed as his hand curled around my waist to reel me closer.

We stayed like that for a while, kissing hotly, gasping for breath, sticky from ice cream, tasting like vanilla, chocolate, and a hint of peanuts. He was such a good kisser, his lips the perfect mixture of firm and soft. His hands roamed my body, squeezing, claiming.

“I want more nights like this with you, D,” he breathed when our swollen lips parted. “Tell me you want the same.”

My breaths came out ragged as I clasped his face in my hands. “I think I do.”

“But?”

“But ... it makes me nervous. Feels too soon.”

He thought about that as he studied my face, drinking in every feature, every detail, with mellow eyes. When he leaned back, he reached for my head to smooth down the unruly curl at my temple.

“I’m willing to wait for as long as you need me to,” he murmured.

Then he kissed me again.