Storge: familial love

Danai's family members traveled back and forth from the kitchen to the outside deck, holding various plates and cups. Music was being played as kids ran around the backyard. Andy was still recovering from his awkward introduction to Danai's extended family. The majority of them taking his intro as Danai's coworker and friend at face value until her young cousin revealed that Andy played her love interest. Danai's aunt, especially took an interest to it asking in front of everyone if he and Danai were dating. Out of habit he declined the notion, yet he looked over at Danai fidgeting and trying to worm herself out of the conversation.

A couple of minutes later Andy found himself standing at the grill with Roger. The stern man had asked for his help, yet Andy was concerned that Roger was going to further interrogate him. He glanced over to Danai, hovering around the kitchen, talking to the women of her family. His attention was drawn back to the grill when Roger cleared his throat.

"Sorry for getting into your personal business the other day." Roger's eyes were preoccupied by the pieces of meat browning above the large open flame.

"Oh no, I completely understand. No hard feelings." Andy held onto an aluminum pan for the finished meat to go into.

"My wife said I was rude. I assure you that wasn't my intention." He simply nodded as Roger continued, "Although this is our first chance at meeting formally, my Dede is constantly raving about your acting skills, and your commitment to your work . . ."

Roger fumbled with a pair of silver tongs flipping over a row burgers. ". . . She's very smitten with you." If not attached to the socket, Andy's eyeballs would've popped out of his head; utter shock glued his mouth shut. "She just won't admit it. Her mother and I try not to pry, but I felt like she was setting herself up to get her feelings hurt. That is of course before I knew that you were divorced." Roger glanced over at Andy, slightly amused by the genuine shock on his face. He chuckled, "I see the way you look at my daughter. I'd be a fool to not realize that you harbor some feelings for her as well."

Andy slightly nodded.

"You are both adults, but I still have to inform you, if you hurt my princess I'll kick your ass." Roger burst into laughter while Andy chuckled nervously, fully believing his threat.

After Roger relinquished him, Andy gathered his own plate of food. Danai's brother called him over to sit at the table with the rest of Danai's siblings and their significant others, ironically the only open chair being right next to Danai. He was still digesting the new information from her father, yet it amused him a bit to see how tense she'd become when he was near. As he got comfortable, two of the women introduced themselves as Danai's big sisters, Choni and Shingai.

Andy felt quite at ease conversing with Danai's family members. People went back in for more food, while Roger had brought out the drinks. The kids had deserted the yard, Choni urged them to watch a movie inside so that the adults could be adults. Danai stayed mostly mum, avoiding eye contact with everyone, especially Andy. Her father's notion that she had secret feelings for him excited him.

Just then a song came through the speakers that caused Choni to scream. "Shingai, Dede, this is our song!" Andy watched Danai immediately perk up.

"Yes, remember our little dance we made up when we were kids?" Danai smiled.

Choni got up from the table, swinging her arms in the air. "Dede, come on help me out!"

Danai giggled, "Choni, that's all you." Choni shook her head and grabbed her baby sister by the wrists.

"Don't count me out, I can still move with this belly." Shingai complained, using her husband's shoulder as leverage so she could join her sisters out on the freshly cut lawn.

Andy had seen Danai all but sway back and forth at cast parties so he was curious to find out how well she really danced. The sisters bounced their knees to the beat, waiting for the chorus to kick in. Once given the cue by Choni, they all kicked their feet swiftly, their shoulders shifted and their hands clapped in unison. It was evident that they performed this dance a lot as their memory did not fail them. When the routine ended they broke out into giggles.

"We're getting old," Choni grabbed her back.

"Speak for yourself sisi, I'm still in my prime," Danai said.

"Y'all can battle this out amongst yourselves. My pregnant ass needs to sit down." Shingai said as she waddled back over to her seat by her husband.

The couple of drinks Choni and Danai had earlier began to loosen them up even further. The moment the song changed to a popular Zimbabwean slow wind song, Choni's hips instinctively began to move. It seemed as though a memory popped into her head, so yelled to her sister, "Shingai, remember when you tried to teach Dede how to wind with the boy next door?"

The pregnant woman broke out into a fit of loud giggles. Danai playfully pouted. "Baba about burst a blood vessel when he caught the three of us in backyard practicing on the fence."

Choni turned to Danai, "We weren't allowed to go to any school dances after that. You never did learn, did you?"

Danai scoffed, "Uh yeah, who didn't learn how to slow wind at some point?"

Choni's eyes gleamed, "Prove it."

"Wha-" Danai froze.

"Andy, come here!"

"Choni!" Danai spat through clenched teeth.

"What Danai, you can't slow wind without a partner. Chill, I won't leave you hanging." At their request, Andy walked towards the sisters, a puzzled look on his face. "Andy, dance with Danai."

"Oh, I'm not much of a dancer." He answered startled.

"That's okay, you just stand there and look cute, Danai will take care of you." Choni winked at her blushing sister.

Choni turned towards the table they were previously sitting at, "Baby come over here and dance with me." Her husband got up and grabbed her waist, she grinned teasingly at her sister as he pulled her away from Andy and Danai. Andy was too preoccupied with giving the beauty in front of him a once-over to notice.

After sighing, Danai grabbed his hand, leading him towards the tall wooden fence. "I'll take it slow."

"You know you don't have to do this?" Andy chuckled.

"I know, but now I have a point to prove." Her competitive nature peeking out from it's dormant spot.

Danai motioned for him to stand with his back against the fence. She backed up on him pressing her bottom against his front and her hips began to wind in a figure eight motion. In that moment, he was glad her parents were back inside the house because he could not help but stare at her ass moving against him. Fuck. "What am I supposed to do with my hands," he asked.

"You can put them on my hips if you want." Her fingers softly wrapped around his to place his right hand at the curve of her hips. It took everything in him not to grip her. Her scent of coconut oil and vanilla lured him into rubbing his thumb against the exposed skin that escaped from her silk blouse. His other hand down to grip her thick thigh. She responded by pressing harder against him. She likes it, she's getting cocky.

She asserted his thought, turning her head slightly over her shoulder to give him a naughty smirk. Her hand traveled behind them both, sliding behind his neck to grab his curls. He was less concerned about the groan coming out of his mouth as he was with the hardness growing in his pants.

Andy quickly scanned the yard and saw that Choni and her husband had moved back to the table talking amongst themselves, Shingai was sitting on her husband's lap with a rib in her hand, and the rest of Danai's family were inside playing cards. With no one paying them attention, Andy decided to slowly glide his hand up her torso to grab her breast.

Danai swung around to face him, cupping his face. "Andy!", she giggled, a bit stunned at his advance.

"You've been holding back on me. I knew you could dance," he peered down at her ass, his eyes lifting in a mischievous manner, "but not like that." She threw her head back in laughter, then buried her head in his shoulder. Time flew by as the two held each other in an embrace and swayed side to side, he discreetly peppered her exposed neck in kisses. His hands eventually ventured to rubbing and cupping her ass, enjoying her girlish giggle.

"Dede, we're leaving!" Danai popped her head up from Andy's shoulder to see her sisters and their husbands at the kitchen door.

"Coming!" she yelled back. She jogged towards the house so she could go in and say goodbye to everyone, Andy had to hang back a couple of minutes trying to will away his erection.

After everyone left, the house buzzed with quietness. Andy and Danai stood in the middle of the guest hallway holding hands, holding onto their last few moments before they had to separate.

Danai looked at him through lowered lashes, "We both have a plane to catch tomorrow so I'll let you get packing. Goodnight." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and he kicked himself watching her walk up the staircase to her bedroom.

As soon as Andy closed the guest bedroom door behind him, his anxious thoughts began racing. He wanted to go down to her room and knock on the door, but what reason would he have for the intrusion? I would happily admit I want her, but she's hesitant. I don't want to push her away. Plus her parents are upstairs, that would be horrible if they caught me up there in her room.

Yet, the sudden loss of her touch and voice threatened to push him into a risky decision. For the past four years Andy had denied the sexual tension around he and Danai. He always brushed it off as good acting chemistry, yet that did not explain the nights he spent up wondering what she was doing, or wanting to talk just to hear her voice. She was such a charming woman that Andy never realized how their interactions were set apart from hers with other actors. People around them would note it, yet he never believed them. He never wanted to stick around to see her flirtations with other men in fear that his jealousy would rear it's ugly head, that should have been a sign that he was falling for her right then.

Andy talked himself down, agreeing instead on taking a much needed shower. Afterwards, he changed into a white t-shirt and thin pajama bottoms; however, his thoughts were as loud as they were before. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep with his thoughts screaming at him the way they were. He put on his reading glasses and picked up a book, sitting in a chaise chair across from the bed.

The pages helped him escape from his own world for a little while until he heard a soft knock on his door. He quickly looked at the clock on his nightstand which shown that two hours had passed.

When he opened the door Danai was two feet from him, looking as if she were about to walk away.

"Danai?" Is my mind playing tricks on me?

"Andy, uh . . ." Danai looked completely flustered which was odd since she was the one to knock on his door.

"Do you want to come in?" He stepped aside to gesture into the small bedroom.

She scratched her neck and fidgeted with her finger. "I'm sorry for bothering you."

"It's truly fine, I was up reading. Come in." She took a seat on the guest bed while he occupied the chaise he was formerly reading in. She watched him run his fingers through his hair before he asked, "Is everything alright?"

Her stare fixated on the carpet before looking into his blue eyes. "I thought it'd be obvious why I'm here, but now I don't know what to say, so I'm just gonna get outta here." Danai began lifting herself from the seat until Andy protested.

"No! Please stay." It's now or never. "I don't know about you, but I just spent the past two hours trying to come up with any reasonable excuse for you to sleep next to me tonight. I'm not lonely by any means but it's all I've wanted to do since you came to see me. So I'm truly shocked that you showed up at my door, almost two nights in a row."

Andy almost relented, her silence making him think that he offended her. "I'm sorry, I just sounded like an ass." He covered his red face in his hands.

He was shocked to hear her giggle. "No, come here," she smirked, patting the bed.

She pulled back a corner of the bed cover and climbed in. Andy followed her lead placing his glasses and book at the side table before pulling back the other side of the cover and climbing in facing her. She turned off the bedside lamp and snuggled up to Andy's chest. At that moment his body seemed to take over while his brain took a backseat. He pulled her closer, needing to feel every inch of her warmth. Danai's foot found its comfortable place hooked around his leg and her fingertips brushed his grey beard. Her voice was low and sultry, as she brought her attention away from his pouty lips to his hooded eyes.

"How long?"

He automatically understand what she was asking. For her own sanity, she had to know when his interest in her began.

"Quite honestly, from the moment I met you." They mirrored one another with the small smile.

He noticed her glancing down at his lips. "Me too," she said.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" His hand massaged her lower back, pure glee pinning the corner of his lips into a goofy grin.

"Do you really have to ask?"

"I wasted so much time." He reached his hand up to caress her face.

"Everything happens for a reason Andy." Her eyes lowered, mesmerized by his lips once again.