“Tell me this then. What made you give this a chance? When I first brought it up you turned me down without thought. What changed your mind?”
Nakyra looked off to the water again. The sun was starting to set, causing an ombré of orange, purple, and red to reflect off the water. “When I first met Rome I was in a bad place—freshly estranged from my parents, probably the youngest freshman in my class, deaf, in a new place, and wanting to start over. It was a lot to handle, but I did the best I could. I didn’t think a guy like him would take interest in someone like me. He showeredme with gifts and attention. He became the only person besides Summer who cared about me. It was easy to fall for him.”
She twisted her neck and her eyes fell back on me. “The first year of us being together was perfect. He had taken an ASL class as an elective his second year of college so he knew the basics. It felt like he wanted to be a part of my world. As our relationship went on, I don’t know… I guess I just accepted things he did because I thought that was just his personality. I had never been in a real relationship before and Rome would tell me he loved me and I believed him because no one ever had before.”
Nakyra paused and nibbled on her bottom lip again. She inhaled a deep breath then gave me a toothless grin. My heart was like drums pounding inside me as I listened to her. My blood buzzed through my veins.
“Being around you and spending time with you opened my eyes to a lot of things I didn’t realize I had been missing out on.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“For one, in a relationship both parties should be willing to compromise. I like that you care about my interests. You take my feelings into consideration. I enjoy us cooking and eating together. The communication between us is effortless and easy. Being around you just makes me realize it shouldn’t be hard being in love with someone. I tried so hard to fit into Rome’s world. I had to look a certain way, dress a certain way, talk and engage in a certain way. It got exhausting a lot of the time, but I loved him and knew he had a lot of pressure on him from your parents, so I didn’t complain. But sometimes I just want things to be simple. I want to go on a picnic date, go rock climbing, walk on the beach with Bella together, do a paint and sip. Rome rarely wanted to do what I wanted and he thought tossing money my way fixed it. I just didn’t know how unsatisfied and lonely I felt until we started spending time together.”
At first I didn’t respond. I digested everything she said and studied her body language. She didn’t seem upset or even sad. If anything she was content, as if this was something she had been thinking about for a while and finally accepted.
“You grew up in a house where your feelings weren’t taken into consideration. From a young age you basically had to fend for yourself and had no one to show you how to be cared for properly, it makes sense why you fell for Rome. You fell into the same cycle you were accustomed to from your upbringing. I’ve never been around the two of you and I don’t want to say he didn’t love you, but I do know my brother, he doesn’t keep anyone around him who doesn’t serve a purpose. What yours in his life was I don’t know and I won’t pretend to know.”
My face slacked and my body straightened as I lifted my hands. “As for me,I like you. I think your smile is beautiful, you have a pure heart, and you are a strong woman. You should be with someone that…”I paused, drawing a blank. “How do you sign cherish?”
Her eyes were wide with surprise as her mouth parted. Slowly, she raised her hands, showing me the correct gesture.
“Cherish you and makes you feel loved.”I was still new at signing so I couldn’t do it as fluently as I wanted but I was sure she got the point so I started using my voice again. “I didn’t expect to come here and fall for my brother’s fiancée. That’s not even how I move. I’m loyal by default, and regardless of me and my brother’s relationship status, I would never step on his toes like this. At the same time I can’t keep standing by, seeing how undervalued you were treated. I could see you weren’t happy because when you talked about Rome you never smiled with your eyes. You hid parts of yourself to make him comfortable, but what did he do to reciprocate that for you?”
I picked up a grape and tossed it into my mouth. Nakyra was still staring at me in disbelief.
“When did you learn to sign? How did you know to say all that?”
I chuckled, not shocked that she was still stuck on that. “YouTube and Camilla.”
“Camilla?” Her brows shot up.
“I’ve always been a hands-on learner and picked up on things quickly. When I saw Camilla knew sign language, I asked her to teach me. I’ve been meeting her for a few nights a week for the past month. When I’m not with her, I’m on YouTube or reading books.”
She swallowed hard and her bottom lip began to tremble. “Bu-but why?”
I tongued the inside of my cheek and rubbed my knuckles with my thumb. The tenderness and vulnerability in her voice touched me in ways no one had in a long time. My blood fired to a fever pitch. “Because you deserve someone to put you first, for once. Your hearing is a part of you, so learning how to be in your world in any way I can only makes sense.”
Nakyra’s eyes filled with tears. She squeezed them shut and quickly wiped them. “But you didn’t tell me you had feelings for me until last week.”
“So maybe I knew before then that they were starting to form.” I shrugged, popping another grape into my mouth. I moved to the strawberries next.
“I never had anyone… I mean…” She stumbled over her words. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know.” I bit into the juicy fruit and the taste exploded in my mouth. “I’m a man who enjoys challenges and learning new things, so it wasn’t something that inconvenienced me. Even if this thing between us doesn’t play out, I still want you to know you have someone on your side in this family. Someone willing to make you feel like you belong. Mhm.” I licked the strawberry juice off my lips.
“How do you say come taste this?” I asked.
Her brows furrowed and she blinked rapidly. “Come taste this,” she signed.
I picked up another strawberry and ripped the stem off before putting the wide part into my mouth then lifted my hands, mimicking what she just did.
Her eyes fell on the strawberry and her breathing shook. She swallowed hard and licked her lips.
Slowly, she shifted over to me and balanced on her hands until her face was inches from mine. Again, she watched the strawberry in my mouth. I didn’t move, instead waiting to see if she would make the move. Nakyra moved in and opened her mouth, covering the strawberry and closing her teeth around it. The juices spilled between us. When she didn’t pull away I grabbed the back of her head and kissed her this time. A surge of electricity ran through my veins as we passed the chewed strawberry between us and my tongue traced her lips before plunging inside her mouth.
When she moaned softly against my lips, I took it further and moved my hands to her body, pulling her further into me and leaning back. My hands traveled down her body as she lay on me; the kiss growing hotter and more passionate.
“Let me show you what it feels like for a man to worship a woman without expecting anything in return. Just say yes and I’ll make sure you experience the best night of your life.”
