Page 251 of The Sweetest Return

The AWU Kings won the Homecoming game by ten, and the stadium lost its mind.

Royal Sound filled the air. Students rushed toward the lower railings. Alumni stood and hugged people they had not spoken to since undergrad. Dre pulled me close when the crowd shifted, his hand at my lower back, body angled around mine with the kind of care he gave without making it a whole production.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine.”

“You been saying that all day.”

“Because you keep asking.”

“I’m going to keep asking.”

“I know.”

His eyes dropped briefly to my stomach.

My heart stumbled.

Then his gaze returned to mine. “You hungry?”

I laughed. “That was not smooth.”

“It was practical.”

“It was obvious.”

“I’m a concerned husband.”

“You are a hovering father in preseason form.”

His smile hit me low and warm. “I like the sound of that.”

My eyes burned fast enough to irritate me.

“Dre.”

He dipped his head and kissed my forehead. “Aight. No crying at the concession stand.”

“I am not crying.”

“You are approaching.”

“I’m emotional because the band is loud.”

“Sure.”

I pinched his side.

He laughed and kept me tucked against him.

Later, after the official photos, after too many people congratulated us on marriage like we had wed that morning instead of six months ago, after Saint Aurelia’s alumni showcase sold three custom consults before dessert and Nia texted that The Nocturne’s private holiday list was already over capacity, Dre and I slipped away from the main crowd.

Campus had settled into evening.

The lamps came on along the walkways, warm against the brick buildings and old trees. Music still carried from the yard, but softer now. We walked without rushing, his hand around mine, until the noise thinned behind us.

I knew where we were going before he said it.