Lips Like Promises 💋✨

Chapter Twenty-Three - Wrapped in Dawn

The first thing Tasia felt was warmth.

Not the kind from the sun—though the golden morning light was streaming through the blinds—but the kind of warmth that came from skin against skin, a steady heartbeat beneath her cheek, and the faint smell of vanilla mixed with Taraji's perfume lingering on the sheets.

She groaned softly, stretching out like a cat, before realizing she was still wrapped in Taraji's arms.

"Well, good morning," Taraji's voice rumbled, low and amused.

Tasia tilted her head back to look at her. Taraji's curls were wild, her lips swollen, her eyes heavy with sleep—but God, she'd never looked finer.

"You're staring," Taraji teased, a lazy smirk tugging her mouth.

Tasia rolled her eyes, but her cheeks warmed. "I'm allowed. Last night was... something."

"'Something?'" Taraji raised a brow, her hand sliding across Tasia's hip. "That all you got for me? Just something?"

Tasia laughed, swatting at her chest playfully before leaning in to kiss her jaw. "Fine. It was everything. You happy now?"

"Ecstatic," Taraji drawled, pulling her closer, their legs tangling again.

For a while, they didn't move—just lay there in that soft silence only lovers know, broken by little kisses and lazy strokes of fingers. But eventually, Taraji's stomach growled, loud enough to make them both laugh.

"Guess somebody's hungry," Tasia said, slipping out of bed, grabbing one of Taraji's oversized T-shirts from the floor, and pulling it over her head.

"Don't act like it ain't you too," Taraji shot back, watching her walk to the kitchen. "I heard your stomach talking all night."

"Lies," Tasia called over her shoulder, grinning.

The kitchen filled with the smell of sizzling bacon and coffee brewing. Taraji perched on the counter in nothing but her shorts and a tank top, watching Tasia move around like she owned the place.

"You tryna wife me up or what?" Taraji teased as Tasia flipped pancakes.

"Maybe," Tasia said without missing a beat, glancing at her with a sly smile. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Taraji leaned back, eyes glinting. "I already do."

The words hung there, heavier than either of them expected. Tasia's hand paused mid-flip, her chest tightening in the best way. She turned back to the stove, hiding her smile.

But just as the moment softened into something deeper, Taraji's phone buzzed on the counter. Once. Twice. Then again.

Her smile faded.

Tasia looked over, spatula still in hand. "Who is it?"

Taraji didn't answer right away. She just stared at the screen, jaw tightening, before flipping it facedown. "Nobody important."

But the way her voice dipped, the flicker in her eyes—Tasia knew.

Alicia wasn't done.

And no matter how sweet the morning tasted, that shadow was back, creeping in through the cracks.

To be continued...