Page 12 of Falling for Lucifer

I t wasn’t in the plans to take several shots back to back, but here Lucifer was, tipsy and having a good ass time.

He didn’t think he would vibe with Ellodie’s family, but he was wrong.

Her mother was the only one who made him want to cause bodily harm, but he refrained.

He had a terrible temper, if it got to that point, and the last thing he wanted to do was show his ass at Ellodie’s people’s house.

“You tellin’ me you did this shit yo’self?” Martin slurred as he eyed Lucifer’s bike. It was a nice day to ride, so he drove that over to the party instead of one of his cars.

Lucifer chuckled. “Yeah, me and my brother.”

“And y’all own a shop where you do this shit?” Daniel asked as he scratched his head in awe.

Lucifer had already told him about Underworld Customs, but they seemed to be in awe that he had such a cool job.

“Daddy, he already told you that. You don’t believe the man?” Ellodie asked as she and Yasmine made their way down the driveway.

Most people had already left, and the party had wound down. Etta was inside sleeping in Ellodie’s old room, and it was getting late.

“I’m just tryna make sure I understand, girl, hush.” Daniel playfully swatted at Ellodie as she giggled and wrapped her arms around Lucifer’s waist.

Lucifer got a kick out of their banter. He noticed when Kamilah wasn’t around, everyone seemed to have a good time.

As soon as she made an appearance, tension filled the air.

The past hour had been smooth since Kamilah excused herself from the party.

Lucifer suspected it had gotten too ratchet for her, as Yasmine would say.

“Yeah, we own our own custom bike shop, and I’m in a motorcycle club that my brother founded.

Lately, I been wanting to look into opening my own bike repair shop though.

” While he spoke, Lucifer’s hands found Ellodie’s back.

He rubbed it slowly, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. To him, it felt like it.

Ellodie looked up at him. “I didn’t know that.”

He leaned down and kissed her forehead before smiling at her in response.

“Aw, you two are so cute,” Yasmine slurred. The award for the drunkest person of the night went to her without a doubt.

“On that note, we should get going.” Ellodie tried pulling away from him, but he held her in place, unwilling to let her go.

“Y’all staying the night, Ello. Lu can’t ride this thing in his condition.” Daniel grinned at them like he just told them he bought them a house.

It was true. Lucifer wouldn’t get on his bike after the drinks he had. He wasn’t drunk, but he definitely wasn’t sober. He didn’t plan on staying the night though. He was more than capable of calling an Uber.

Ellodie’s brows drew in as she looked at her father. “I can drive him home.”

“Baby, please. I’m talking to your man right now.

” Daniel grinned at his daughter as he swayed in place, which caused both Ellodie and Yasmine to giggle.

They loved seeing him like this. When his eyes finally focused back on Lucifer, he put his hands up in a praying position and said, “It’s been years since I had my daughter sleep under the same roof as me, and now my baby has a baby.

Do an old man a favor and stay here tonight. ”

Lucifer rubbed the back of his neck and smiled hesitantly as he looked at Ellodie, who shook her head. He could tell she suppressed a smile, though, which surprised him. He didn’t think she would be down to stay at her parents’ house longer than she had to, but maybe he’d been wrong.

“What you think, baby?” he asked. He didn’t miss the way that smile she tried to hide slipped out as soon as he called her baby.

“I guess one night won’t hurt.” She peered up at him, and he swore he saw adoration in her eyes.

His heart did a funny little dance, and the liquor in his system had him forgetting that this was all for show.

With that thought dulling his mood, he looked back at Daniel and said, “Looks like we stayin’. ”

Daniel clapped Lucifer on the back with pride dancing in his expression. “I knew I liked you. You’re a good man for my baby.”

Lucifer chuckled. “You’re only sayin’ that ’cause I got her to agree to stay.”

“Nah.” Daniel shook his head. “I’m a good judge of character. I ain’t gon’ hold you. I thought I might not like you ’cause you been MIA, but I was wrong, and I’m man enough to admit that. Thank you for makin’ my baby happy.”

Lucifer was also a good judge of character, so he could automatically tell two things: Daniel was honest with his words, and he was a good father.

Lucifer wondered what it was like to have a good father. He got the impression that Ellodie didn’t understand what she had. It was precious, and the little boy in him yearned to have the love of a father. Not his father. That ship sailed, but a father figure might do.

He shook his head, trying to focus his tipsy thoughts. He did a good job of not thinking about his father, and he wanted to keep it that way, especially now when he was in the company of so many people.

Luckily, Ellodie chose that moment to speak up as she looked up at him. “Can you grab the portable bassinet from my car?”

He didn’t know what the hell a portable bassinet looked like, but he nodded anyway. “Of course.”

Ellodie pulled her keys out of the hoodie she put on. The T-shirt and jean shorts had been cool earlier, but the temperature dropped once the sun went down.

“Night, Daddy,” Ellodie said before giving her father a hug.

“Good night, sweet pea. I’m glad today went so well for you and Etta. You deserve it, for real.” Daniel kissed the top of her head.

Lucifer watched as Ellodie sank into the hug, and he got the sense that they didn’t have a lot of moments like this.

“That’s because that wife of yours stayed out my way for the most part,” she muttered.

Daniel only chuckled before he kissed her head again and released her. Uncle Martin and Yasmine weren’t as coy though. At the mention of Kamilah, they both went in.

“The Wicked Witch of the West was on her best behavior today, wasn’t she?” Yasmine asked.

“That’s a cute name, baby girl. I normally just call her bi?—”

Uncle Martin’s words cut off when Ellodie giggled and turned on her heels. “Night, y’all.”

They replied with a chorus of, “Good night,” before Lucifer heard Uncle Martin mention another shot. By that time, he was thankfully at Ellodie’s car, because there was no way he would take another shot that night. One thing about the Glover family, they could drink with the best of them.

“It’s in the trunk,” Ellodie said as she pressed the button on her keys.

The trunk opened, and Lucifer saw a box with a picture of a bassinet on it. He picked it up, and she closed the trunk before locking her car.

“This new?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yeah. I haven’t had a chance to bring it up to my condo yet, but it worked out because I don’t want Etta to sleep in the bed with us. Not after all the horror stories I’ve read.”

“That’s dangerous?” he asked. “I thought people always slept with their babies.”

She shrugged as they walked toward the front door. “They might, but I can’t. I let her sleep on me when I’m awake, of course, but if I’m sleeping, she’s in her bassinet right by the bed.”

Lucifer nodded as if it made sense, but to him, it didn’t, really. There was a lot he didn’t know about babies, though he loved kids and had a way with them.

Once inside the house, Lucifer followed her to the grand staircase. The way her ass sat up just right in those shorts had him bricked up. That was the perfect time to give himself a pep talk.

Ain’t nothing happening tonight, big dawg. I have to be on my best behavior. We’re only doing this for her pops.

They walked down a long hall past several rooms before she gently pushed open a door on the left.

Inside looked like a teenaged version of the nursery back at Ellodie’s house.

The color pink was everywhere, from the soft pink carpet to the matching curtains over the large window and the pale pink bed spread.

He chuckled, but it faded away when he spotted Kamilah holding Etta and sitting on the bed.

“What are you doing in here?” Ellodie asked in alarm, which put Lucifer on high alert.

Kamilah’s eyes lifted to meet Ellodie’s, and Lucifer saw nothing but hate in them. He recognized that look from his own father, which caused him to step forward so he stood slightly in front of Ellodie.

“Spending time with my granddaughter. What does it look like?”

“You should have asked me first?—”

“I don’t have to ask you for permission to hold her. You came from me, little girl, which means this child came from me too. You’ll do good to remember that.”

Yeah, Lucifer didn’t like the sound of that. It came off too much like a threat.

“Ms. Glover, I’m only going to say this once. Give me my daughter.” The tone of his voice dropped all niceties, and the tension in the room immediately thickened.

Kamilah glared up at him in shock. He could see her trying to figure out if she was going to try to bully him or give in.

She finally made the right choice by standing and placing Etta in his arms. His eyes swept over her small body quickly before he focused back on Kamilah, who ignored him completely and focused on her daughter.

“You’ll do good to remember you’re in my house, Ellodie.”

“With all due respect, Ms. Glover, you’ll do good to remember that she is my woman, and this is my daughter. Two things I don’t play about.”

Flustered, Kamilah looked between Ellodie and Lucifer before she narrowed her eyes at them both and said, “I planned a christening for Antoinetta for next Sunday. I sure do hope that by then, your attitudes are in better shape.”

With that, she left the room. Lucifer exhaled a breath and looked down at Etta, who was awake and looking up at him. “The shit I have to put up with for yo’ mama.”

“I’m sorry about that, Lu. We can call an Uber or something and go home. We don’t have to stay under the same roof as her.”

Lucifer thought about taking her up on that idea.

Moments ago, staying the night here didn’t seem all that bad, but Kamilah had to mess those good feelings up with her nasty attitude.

Then, his mind wandered to Daniel, who looked so happy to have Ellodie under the same roof as him that night.

One glance at Ellodie let him know that her mother dashed all her good feelings about staying the night, too, but he didn’t want that to be a reason to disappoint her father.

That would only make Kamilah win in the end.

“Come here,” he finally said. She did, and when she was within arm’s reach, he pulled her into him by the waist. “You know ya pops wants you here, right? You saw how happy he was a few minutes ago?”

She bit her bottom lip and thought about it before saying, “Yeah.”

“Then we’re staying.”

“But—”

“Do you do that often?” He interrupted her.

She cocked her head to the side. “Do what?”

“Let ya mama run you away from ya pops?” She looked up at the ceiling and opened her mouth before clamping it shut again. He had the urge to kiss her pouty lips, but he refrained. “That’s what I thought. Don’t let her keep doing that. You and your pops don’t have the best relationship, do you?”

Her eyes dropped to Etta resting in his arms before she muttered, “No.”

He used his free hand to lift her chin so she looked at him again. “I think you both want that, but ya mama is in the way. Y’all shouldn’t allow her to be. Having a good father is a gift. You need to lean into that, for real.”

Ellodie peered up at him for a moment, and he could tell she figured something out about him. It was his turn to avoid her gaze. He looked down at Etta, who seemed to concentrate really hard on his beard.

“You don’t have a good relationship with your father?” she asked.

He shook his head. Talking about his father wasn’t something he did with people outside of his family, but for some reason, he didn’t mind being honest with her. “Nah. He’s the reason my mother committed suicide.”

She gasped. “I’m so sorry, Lu. I didn’t know. How old were you?”

“Fifteen,” he replied. “It was a long time ago. My brother basically raised me and my sister after that. I ain’t really seen my pops since. Last time I saw him a few years back I . . . let’s just say it didn’t turn out very well for him.”

He felt her gaze on him, but he kept his eyes on Etta.

Finally, she brushed her fingertips across his arm and whispered, “We can stay.” At that moment, Etta let out a tiny grunt before he felt her diaper shift.

His eyes widened, and he looked at Ellodie in alarm.

She giggled. “We can stay, but you’re on diaper duty. ”

“Yo, man. Did this lil girl just shit in my arms?”

“She did.” Ellodie cooed as she rubbed Etta’s stomach. “And I bet it was the cutest poop ever.”

Lucifer shook his head and tried to hand Etta back over to her. Ellodie shook her head. “I think it’s time you learn to change diapers, baby daddy.”

That was one thing Lucifer never did. His nephew was cool and all, but he wasn’t down for changing anyone’s ass. He could tell that was about to change, because as he looked into Ellodie’s eyes, he knew he wouldn’t tell her no.