"Ruth!" an excited Emily hollered, startling Ruth as she looked up from her study sheet.

Emily's expresso gaze was lit up to match the breathtaking smile stretched widely across her face. In her pale fingers was her cell phone, lit up with something Ruth couldn't make out until she drew close enough. It didn't take long for her to glance over the screen and figure out what she was showing her.

"You got in!" Ruth grinned, her smile genuine as she offered the excited girl a friendly hug. Emily's vanilla and lily scent wafted up Ruth's nostrils, temporarily stunning her until she pulled back. She avoided the blush sprawled across Em's cheeks and cleared her throat. "I got in too! My letter came over the weekend."

Emily's smile widened even more if that were possible and she reached down to squeeze Ruth's hand in hers. "Ruth, that means we'll get to be in New York City together! This is fucking amazing!"

Emily's grin sparked a little more excitement in Ruth than what was there before. She'd been so busy worrying about how Raffo would take her news, that she didn't get to mull over how eager she was to explore a new opportunity. Another city for another start with someone she knew, and hopefully with someone she loved. New York City was a chance for new beginnings and new starts.

And what better way to do that than with the man Ruth loved? The man who deserved a new start.

Ruth let that thought settle her nerves for the rest of class. She promised herself she'd tell Raffo within the next few days before time could get away from her. She had to tell him before Friday, it was only fair. Her leaving involved him too and he deserved to know.

And when Ruth saw him waiting for after class leaning casually against the side of her building, she almost spilled the beans right there. She wasn't necessarily lying to him, but the secret she was hiding wasn't a small one. So to see Raffo standing there with her chai latte in hand and a lazy half-smile twisting his perfect lips to the side, she couldn't stop her chest from aching.

"Why do you have to be so perfect all the damn time?" Ruth groaned, plucking her drink from his hand. She tilted her face up to him and he wasted no time in giving her a hot kiss that made her all warm and tingly inside.

"Born like that," he said, smirking after he pulled away. He ignored her eyeroll and grabbed ahold of her hand. "You done with tests for the day?"

"Yep! What do you have planned that you made me leave my car at home?"

Raffo casually shrugged his shoulders. "I have to pick up my sisters from school since my mom's working overtime, so I was thinking maybe you can come with me to pick them up? I just have to drop them off at school and then we can go back to your apartment."

Ruth's heart fluttered at the thought of Raffo wanting her to meet his sisters and she quickly agreed. He smiled handsomely and walked them over to his truck with the simple tug of his hand. On the drive over, they listened to some of their favorite songs with the windows rolled down and their fingers entwined together. Raffo's lips were singing the lyrics of "We'll be a Dream" against the soft skin on the back of her hand. Her shy smile was lost in the wind, as were her worries.

"You know," Ruth started, once the song was over. Raffo raised a curious brow at her. "I expect to be serenaded in bed soon with that guitar of yours, Mr. Leflore."

His laugh was loud and enchanting. "How'd I know that was coming?" he teased, allowing her to draw his knuckles up to her lips. "Didn't I already sing for you?"

"We weren't in bed though," she pointed out. "That part is really important."

"You want me to put on a cowboy hat while I'm at it?"

"Well . . . now that you mention it—"

"Hell no," he laughed again, followed by Ruth's wild smile.

"Hey you offered," she said, innocently putting her free hand up. "But I'd be perfectly happy with just you and the guitar."

"And the bed. 'That part is really important'," he mocked, his smirk growing after Ruth swatted his arm.

"I don't know why I put up with you."

Raffo winked at her, and his following smile was lovely. "Because you love me."

Ruth's heart fluttered. "And you're lucky I do."

It wasn't long after that Raffo pulled his truck into the parking lot of his sister's school. It was an early day for Ava and Phoenix, so by the time his truck pulled up to the curb alongside the other cars, the girls were already making their way towards Raffo and Ruth.

Ruth had easily recognized Phoenix, but was struck by how adorable Ava was for being only twelve years old. She had long, dark brown hair like her brother, but light brown eyes that were opposite of her sister. She inherited her drunk of a father's long nose, and gained Raffo's long lashes and strong, native cheekbones in the process. Having inherited his height as well, she had longer legs than most of the other girls she was near and seemed to have more of an athletic build than the others. Ruth remembered Raffo had briefly mentioned she played softball, so that explained the muscle building on her lanky body.

Ava's eyes had zeroed in on Ruth the moment she noticed she was sitting in the front seat. Something flirting along the side of caution and suspicion became apparent in her expression, and Ruth's belly did a flip at the look. As much as Ruth hated to admit it, Raffo's family mistrusting her didn't feel right. She wanted them to like her; at least his sisters and his mother. She didn't give two shits about Roger.

Phoenix, unlike Ava, was more than delighted to see her. She wasted no time in pulling open the truck door and climbing into the backseat with her worn-out unicorn backpack stuffed over her legs.

"Hi Ruth!" Phoenix's exclaim brought a smile to both Ruth and Raffo's faces.

"Hey Phoenix," Ruth greeted, turning her head to give the girl a wave with her free hand.

Ava climbed into the truck after helping Phoenix get settled into her booster seat. Her brown eyes were pinned to her brother, wondering who Ruth was and why she was in his truck. They would be sensible questions, but she'd never ask Ruth to her face. In their culture, children always had to respect those older than them. Disrespect was against everything they believed in.

"Ava, this is Ruth. Ruth, Ava," Raffo gestured between the two.

Ruth's smile was gentle, softer than the one she had given Phoenix. Ava's quiet hesitancy made Ruth want to dial back more until she was ready to get to know the girl around her brother. "Nice to meet you, Ava."

"You too," Ava returned, but then said nothing else after. She instead leaned her head back against the headrest and kept her gaze out the window.

Raffo didn't pay her silence any mind and turned back around to pull out of the parking lot. Ruth thought she shouldn't pay it any mind either, so she went with a safer topic.

"How was school?" Ruth asked.

Ava didn't get the chance to speak very much the entire ride back to Raffo's house. Phoenix had taken the floor with elementary school nonsense that Raffo and Ruth listened intently to. It didn't take long to realize how attentive of a big brother he was to his little sisters. He was always sure to give them attention, make them laugh, engage in the conversation, and ask questions at the perfect time so that they knew he was paying attention. And he really was.

The girls didn't question Raffo and Ruth's woven hands or the periodic glancing between the two that were accompanied by shared smiles. Even though Ava didn't talk very much, Ruth was glad she got to formally meet her and talk to Phoenix outside of what happened the last time they saw each other. Raffo had already met her cousins, so to be able to know his family was important to Ruth. It felt more official.

Not that things weren't already official to begin with, but she was really happy that he did this for her.

When Raffo pulled up to the front of his house, Ava was the first to exit the truck. She gave Ruth a half-hearted smile. "It was nice to meet you, Ruth."

Ruth, not really sure how to take the standoffish girl, only smiled back and gave a slight wave. "It was nice to meet you too, Ava."

"Are you gonna stay longer this time, Ruth? I promise daddy won't be back for awhile," Phoenix asked, frowning at her as Raffo untied her from her booster.

Ruth didn't miss the way Raffo bristled at the mention of Roger, but she was quick to interject. "Thanks for the offer kid, but your brother and I have to go run a couple of errands. We can hang out soon though," she offered.

The stubborn girl narrowed her eyes. "Promise?"

"I promise."

Satisfied with the youthful belief of two words, Phoenix followed her brother out. Raffo helped shrug her backpack straps through her arms, made her promise to do her homework if she wanted to watch tv, and then kissed the top of her head affectionately. She made him promise to be home for dinner, which he did rather reluctantly, and then she skipped into the house.

Ruth's heart swelled with even more love for Raffo after watching the sweet way he handled Ava and Phoenix. She knew he loved them, but watching someone like Raffo interacting with his little sisters was so different to her. Genuine. Sweet; an interaction she could watch over and over again. The love shimmering in his gaze makes it known that he'd do anything for them, and he does. Every day, he works hard to help his mother keep food on the table and uses himself to shield any physical harm from coming unto them. His very being was for them, and if no one else appreciated it, Ruth sure as hell already did.

"Ready?" Raffo asked, tearing Ruth's gaze away from the spot where she sent Roger flying on his ass. His knowing smile was enough to make her relax back into her seat and nod her head.

"We have three hours before the girls get home today," Ruth said, smiling mischievously. "So, I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

*****

Sweat clung to Ruth's brown skin in a well-worked sheen that satisfied her exhausted body after Raffo handled her frenzy to the best of his abilities. They weren't finished by any means and were, in fact, in the middle of his lips blazing trails of fire across the expanse of her shoulder-blade and down the curve of her bare back. She was too caught up in the rapture of him to focus on anything else but the open mouth kisses tracing across her skin. The salty beads of sweat trailed down the side of her temple.

Raffo's fingers grabbed at her fleshy sides, his thumbs massaging the dip of her lovehandles with such care and attention, she could only sigh out with contentment. She rolled her body under the intensity of his mouth and a soft whimper pushed from her lips as he kissed the side of her neck now, his body molding behind her.

"You . . . promised—" Ruth panted and shuddered beneath his nibbling mouth. "Dinner? With the girls?"

"I still have an hour and a half," Raffo murmured. He wrapped his hands around her waist and hoisted the lower half of her body upwards, planting the side of her face softly into the pillow. "I'm not done with you yet, aiukli."

Ruth arched her back with her fingers curling into the covers as a cool breeze brushed over her naked body. Raffo's low groan did weird things to her and when he pushed her curls off of her flushed cheek so he could see her, she closed her eyes. She hadn't had someone come inside her from behind in months, so she more than appreciated him using his finger first to make sure she was wet enough to move forward.

Her nails dug even deeper into the covers at the feel of his thick length edging slowly into her. She whimpered at the different way she stretched around him and the careful insertion that made Raffo hiss behind her.

"Fuck," Raffo moaned, pushing deeper. A blast of pleasure glided down Ruth's spine and settled in the dimples at her lower back. "You doing okay?"

Ruth trembled, her voice breathless when she responded with a quick beg of more. He pushed her further down into the bed and helped her ease back onto him by guiding her hips with fingers that could surely bruise her skin. She'd never felt someone so deep inside of her before, and when he made his first thrust, she thought she was going to faint.

It didn't take long for Ruth to balance on her palms as she threw her head back with a wispy moan of utter pleasure. Raffo pushed her faster against him, slamming their hips together as her walls suffocated him. When he slammed against her G-spot, she released a cry.

"Right there, baby?" Raffo cooed, pushing against the tender spot again.

"Right—right there," Ruth panted. Her body contorted from the pressure building in the pit of her stomach and when he slammed into her again, she almost collapsed. "I'm—I'm—"

Before Ruth could even finish the sentence, she came exploding around Raffo in an orgasm that ripped from her screaming mouth to her curling toes. He thrusted one more time and came spilling into his condom from the pulsing of her pussy around him. His groan of satisfaction was muffled in her ringing ears as she slid herself off of him to collapse with exhaustion on the bed.

Ruth's body ached with a soreness that hadn't been there almost two hours before then, and when she closed her eyes, she knew she didn't want to move for awhile. But she desperately needed a shower and to change her sheets before she got too tired to do it.

A faint spray of water drifted into her ears and before she could wonder where it came from for long, Raffo's hands were right there flipping her over onto her back. Through squinted eyes, she watched him tentatively swoop his arms underneath her back and the underside of her knees and lifted her body up. She rolled her head against his chest, not even having the energy to protest against carrying her into the steaming bathroom of bliss.

Ruth lazily traced the contours of his face as he stepped into the shower with her in his arms. She followed the intensity of his focused, deep-brown eyes, down the strong curve of his nose, and over his perfect lips that were still swollen from their kisses.

He carefully sat the both of them down on the shower floor with her sitting curled up in front of him as the water hit her chest and arms. And for a moment, he just held her there in his warm embrace. With her damp ringlets plastered to the front of his chest, and his long strands touching her body, she felt connected to him. Whole.

A feeling she hadn't felt ever in her entire life.

Ruth watched the way he moved around her, grabbing a pink, netted body sponge and pouring a gentle body scrub onto the outside of it before he drew his arm back around her. When he glided the sponge along her arms and over her shoulder, she finally looked up at him, only to find him following the smooth movements of his working hands.

She pressed a hand to his lower cheek and gently nudged his jaw over, drawing his gaze down to look at her. The words she wanted to say to him didn't have to be said, for the silent exchange between the two of them said everything that words couldn't.

Raffo pressed his forehead to Ruth's, his gaze already trained on her lips and hers to his as she rubbed her thumb over his cheekbone. He dropped the sponge to curl her hair behind her ear and hold her face close to his, drawing her chin up just enough to press their lips together in a sweet kiss.

The water wrapped around them like a comforting blanket of steam. It splashed over their closed eyelids, dripping off Raffo's lashes to cascade like a river of tears down Ruth's cheeks. Her breathing was staggered from the careful way he handled her.

"Chi hullo li," he whispered against her lips. He pulled back just enough to look at her, his gaze hooded and full of so much trust, that her chest squeezed. It has taken them time to trust each other and get to that point, and now she was going to break both of their hearts soon.

"Chi hullo li," Ruth said, her mouth wobbling. "So much."

And it was true.

She loved him so much so that she was destroyed internally at the possibility of leaving him. She loved him enough to want to bring him along to not only protect him from Roger, but to have him in her life forever.

Because after knowing what it was like to be with someone as special as him, Ruth knew she would never be the same again if she couldn't keep him forever.

*****
notes: translation (from choctaw to english)

♡ aiukli - beautiful

♡ chi hullo li - i love you