Cherry’s Jubilee (Lunchtime Chronicles: Season 7)

Chapter 20

Cherry

“I thought you said you were going to be on a call?” I ask Daniel the moment he comes out of his home office. It’s been six days since we celebrated my dad’s birthday, and despite the tense beginning, it turned out to be a nice time with my family.

I’ve missed my dad, and this tension with my mother means I don’t see him as much. The truth is, I’ve missed my mother too. When she’s not kissing her family’s butts, she’s a great mom.

“Is this an inquisition?” Daniel asks as he sidesteps me.

“I had my ear pressed to your office door, and I didn’t hear a peep,” I say. “And your minions just dropped off a bunch of stuff in the kitchen. I was told not to touch anything.”

He ignores me, and I follow him to the kitchen. He pulls out contents from the brown paper bags and lays them on the counter.

“That’s because I told them not to let you touch it. And my office is soundproof, you nosy, little thing.” He comes around the counter, puts his hands on my waist, lifts me, and sets me on the kitchen island. “I have a surprise for you. I’m going to cook.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Watch this.”

He plants a loud kiss on the side of my neck before he grabs a skillet, puts it on the stove, and turns on the burner .

I cross my arms and watch as he dumps pre-packaged and pre-measured ingredients into the hot skillet. Then he dumps cherries in the mixture.

“Can you put vanilla ice cream in those big bowls for me, please?” he asks several minutes later while he swirls the skillet around. He lifts me from the island, and I do as he asks.

He grabs a bottle of cherry liqueur, and a flame erupts.

“Fancy!” I exclaim.

“Yeah. After my meeting, I watched about seven YouTube videos so I can make this for you.”

I wrap my arms around him from behind and kiss the middle of his back. “My hero.”

He puts the sauce over the ice cream and hands me my bowl, but he feeds me a spoonful from his own plate first.

“Cherries jubilee,” he says, and I take a bite. The sweetness of the ice cream and the tanginess of the cherries are a good combination.

“Delicious,” I say. “I’ve never had this before.” I usually avoid all cherry flavored things, but this is one I’ll have to have again.

He finishes his first, then snatches my bowl and eats my last bite. I jump on his back and try to take him in a headlock, but he only laughs and pulls me off. He takes the skillet and puts the rest of the cherry mixture in a small bowl, then lifts me off my feet and runs to his bedroom where he drops me on the bed. After putting the bowl down, he grabs my legs and pulls down my shorts along with my underwear.

“Mr. Jubilee,” I say, pretending to be outraged.

After tossing my shorts aside, he pulls my plain tee over my head. I have no bra on, and my breasts spring free. His eyes light up at the sight and he licks his lips.

I watch as he strips naked and dives on top of me. He kisses the side of my neck as I wrap my legs around him and enjoy the feel of his weight on my body. I slide my fingers down his back and one of his large hands cups my breast .

Then he rolls off and grabs the bowl, placing cherries from my chest down to my pubic bone, and eats his way down. He spreads my legs apart and drips the cherry juice on top of my pussy.

“Oooh,” I moan when his tongue hits my clit and he licks the juice.

Something cold lands between my thighs, and I realize it’s ice cream. He licks it, and the jolt of his tongue sends a shiver down my body. Suddenly, he flips us over, and I end up on top of him. He hands the bowl to me.

I copy his actions and put cherries down his body until I get to his dick and take it to the back of my throat.

“Shit,” he says as I swallow him again. “I’m so glad I went to that party,” he moans.

“Me too,” I say when I pull his dick from my mouth. “So happy.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Jubilee.”

“Slide down this dick and ride me.”

And I do

“Damn, girl,” Ginger says after I turn around for her.

She’s been here for the past few hours while I got ready for this stupid wedding. The only positive thing is the shopping spree I went on courtesy of my boyfriend. Solange couldn’t go, but Ginger couldn’t stay away if she tried.

“You like?” I ask as I spin for my friend in the long, figure-hugging, strapless red dress with a sweetheart neckline. The dress is long and flares at the bottom. Instead of straightening my hair for this occasion, I decided to go natural and let my tight curls shine.

Ginger whistles and says, “I don’t think you can ever go wrong with Chanel. Your man is going to have a heart attack.” She helps me put on the diamond earrings and matching bracelet Daniel gave me yesterday. After putting on my rhinestone-covered open-toed heels, I finally turn and look at my reflection in the mirror. I smile in satisfaction as I run my hands over my hips. “And where is your man?” Ginger asks.

As the words leave her mouth, the bedroom door opens, and he walks in, still wearing shorts and a tee. He stops short when he sees me.

“Cherry Bomb,” he says, as if he’s in awe. “You look so beautiful.” He approaches and looks down at me.

“Um, is this what you’re wearing?” I ask.

“Give me fifteen minutes to shower and dress,” he says as he peels off his t-shirt.

Ginger pretends to be shocked and closes her eyes tight.

“Honestly!” I say as he runs from me and shuts himself inside the bathroom.

“Your parents are here?” I ask, stunned when Daniel leads us to a pew only to see his mom and dad. They smile and wave at us. His dad stands and kisses my cheek, and his mom does the same. I look around and spot my parents, along with Kirby and Solange. My mom and Solange are all wearing pink, along with every other woman here other than me. I stand out like a sore thumb in my red dress and wouldn’t change anything about it.

We’re barely there five minutes before the wedding begins. It’s a large affair with eight bridesmaids and groomsmen. There are four junior bridesmaids and two adorable ring-bearers.

We stand when the wedding march begins, and Ashley and Uncle Whit come out. She’s in a big poufy ballgown, and her veil covers her face. Rob stands at the altar with his brother as his best man .

When the vows are exchanged, Daniel holds my hand, and I rest my head on his shoulder. The wedding is a beautiful and grand affair, and if it hadn’t been Ashley’s wedding, I would have had a much better time.

“You look phenomenal,” Solange whispers. “I love the red. Karen is already giving you the death glare from across the way.” I turn my head to find her glaring at me. I grin and promptly give her my back. “She almost choked each time you got in one of the family pictures. I wish you had told me so I could have worn red too.”

“You’re too nice,” I say back to my sister.

“And look.” She points at Daniel’s parents, who are talking and laughing with our parents. “This is going to kill that bitch.”

I roll my eyes. “I can’t wait until this wedding is over. Daniel is going to reassign Ashley to another executive,” I whisper. “Because I told him I don’t trust her not to spit in my coffee.”

“Good. He really loves you, and we have work until the new year.”

Daniel invited my family and Ginger to his dad’s yacht the day after Dad's birthday. Upon hearing about Solange and Kirby’s business, Josephine Jubilee hired them to cater one of her charity lunches. Mrs. Jubilee introduced them to her other friends, and since then, they’ve been getting steady work.

“Oh, God. The groom and his bridezilla are working the room now. I will reluctantly admit that Ashley looks pretty today,” she whispers.

“I won’t,” I say back, but she does. I just refuse to say it.

I look around for Daniel, who I find at the bar. He’s in a dark blue suit, white shirt, and no tie. The bartender hands him two drinks and when he walks over he gives me one .

“Your parents invited mine over for dinner next weekend,” he says, and I almost choke on my drink. “They’ve accepted.” I try to picture his parents, who lived in a mansion with an indoor pool, sitting at my parents' kitchen island.

“Well, okay then.” I sip my drink and put it down on our table.

My parents and his join us just as Ashley, Rob, her parents, and sister approach. When Ashley narrows her eyes at me, I make sure to give her a big smile. Daniel puts his arm around my waist, and I swear I see steam shooting out of the top of her head.

“Congratulations, Ashley and Rob,” Mr. Jubilee says, and Ashley smiles warmly at him. She only gives my mother a dismissive look when she congratulates her.

“Do you remember my daughter, Amira?” Karen says right before she shoves Amira in front of Daniel. He quickly sidesteps and stands on the other side of me.

“I remember,” Mr. Jubilee says. “And DJ told me he met Cherry here a few months ago. We couldn’t be happier for him.” That fake smile on Karen’s face almost becomes comical. “She’s a lovely girl.” I blush at the compliment. “And smart too. In fact, Cherry,” he says to me, “I need to talk to you about something later. In private.” He winks.

“Well,” Karen says with her lips pursed, “isn’t that wonderful? Interesting choice of color, by the way, Cherette.” She gives me the side-eye before she looks away and says, “Well, let’s greet the rest of our guests. You all enjoy yourselves.” She eyes me up and down one last time.

Uncle Whit gives me a genuine smile, oblivious to his wife’s attitude. “It’s nice to see you, Cherry,” he says. I don’t remember the last time he spoke to me directly. His wife stops in her tracks and slowly turns around. “I was hoping you could find some time and give Amira some career advice.” I look at Amira, who is looking at me, but unlike her mother and sister, she doesn’t look like she wants to kill me. “I think she looks up to you a bit,” he whispers. Amira looks away. “But don’t give me an answer today. I’ll get your number from your mom, and Amira will be in touch.” He taps my shoulder and walks away.

“This is a nice wedding,” I say while Daniel holds me in his arms. “Too bad it’s for the antichrist.”

He smiles down at me. “Well, I’m having fun with my girlfriend, even though you danced more with my dad than you did with me.”

“He’s more powerful than you are. Maybe I’m only with you to get close to him.”

“In that case, be careful. My mom has claws.” His hands travel down my side, and one of them rests on my ass. “How about we get out of here, and I get to take you home and make love to you.” He cups my cheeks and gives me a slow but thorough kiss, igniting all the passion inside of me. He abruptly ends it, and I think he does it before he gets too aroused. “I love you,” he says while he looks down at me.

I feel goosebumps spread throughout my body at his words. We’ve said them every day since we were at my parents’ house, but each declaration from him is like the first.

“I love you too.”

He smiles and pulls me close, wrapping both arms around me. “I’m Cherry’s Jubilee now.”

I snort at that and start giggling until I feel eyes on me. I look around and spot Karen and Ashley staring at me with so much hate that I almost step back. Amira stands beside them, giving me a small smile and waves. Karen notices and knocks her hand down.

“Let’s get out of here,” I say to Daniel, deciding never to be around this branch of my family again.