CAKE

One Hundred Twenty-Three

Mallory

Unfortunately, we didn't finish cooking yesterday and ended up having to come over to my mom's early to put the last pieces together. Fortunately, we didn't finish cooking so we had to come back early. Despite wanting to be asleep, I loved how close Casey was getting to my mother and sister. 

Laughter filled the kitchen as Anne stuck her hand in the bowl of icing, stealing a taste. Casey turned to glare at the light-skinned woman but as she turned her back to my mother, she did the same. I can't help but chuckle lightly earning a glare from my girlfriend.

"Mallory, babe, you're supposed to be helping," she hisses.

Nodding my head, I hop down from the stool and make my way over to the three. Several pairs of brown eyes land on me, wondering what I would do to 'help'.

"Mama, Anne, let Casey do her thing," I mutter before dipping my finger into the bowl and scooping the light cream onto my finger. My mom and Anne burst into a fit of laughter as Casey let out a defeated breath, giving up on stopping us from 'tasting' her food.

She continued with her task. "Did you call your mom?" I question.

Casey's russet eyes meet mine as she shakes her head. "Not yet, but I had an alarm to call her later. I'm sure she's gonna wanna talk to me," the brown-skinned woman muttered, already knowing what to expect.

She had suspected John already proposed after getting her blessing and she was just waiting to hear the news from her mother. I could tell Casey was slightly excited about it. Despite disliking John with a passion, more than anything she wanted her mother to be happy. 

I nod my head, glad she was keeping up with talking to her mother. She was keeping to the promise she made to her late father earlier in the month and I was proud.

"Do you have any siblings, Casey?" Anne questions, peeking into the oven. "Just one. A sister, she's 3 years older than me."

The light-skinned woman stands and glances at my girlfriend. "That's cool, is she married? Maybe you guys can come over for Christmas next year. You can bring your mom and sister."

Casey smiles at the idea. "As much as I would love that, I don't think we'd be able to. We have a lot of friends and family that come to my mom's for the holidays, especially Christmas. I mean we could probably try to make it happen for Thanksgiving."

I can't help but smile at the two making plans for a future neither Casey nor I knew was going to happen. Who said we'd still be together by then? Though I have a strong feeling about my relationship with Casey, I didn't want to jinx anything. I eye the brown-skinned woman hopeful that we'd still be together when next Christmas came around.

"That would be nice," Anne smiled softly. I eye my sister, a smile creeping onto my lips as I speak up. "Are you... approving?" I question.

Even before Anne found out about my trauma, she was always protective of me. But most times when she'd disapprove of a relationship or a crush 9/10 she was right to dislike them. I mean, before I got into...whatever I would call what Carson and I had, I had plenty of crushes and if they did anything terrible, I would more than likely have turned a blind eye.

She disapproved of Carson, rightfully so. And she disapproved Rayne and look where that put me. 

Anne nodded her head, eyes on Casey. "I am approving. I think you scored big with this one," she mutters causing Casey to glance between us in confusion. I shook my head to dismiss it even though I knew she'd force me to tell her later.

The sound of the front door opening grabbed our attention away from each other. My eyes landed on Anne's fiance, who I didn't know much about. Yesterday had been my first time hearing or seeing her. It made me wonder why Anne never introduced us.