REDEMPTION

TWENTY

Miss Temptation, I don't think you know
You keep me waitin', know you like to take it slow
Miss Temptation, you never let it show
So persuasive, Miss Temptation
_______

"Gommy, wake up! Mama says we are going for a picnic!"

Stirring in the bed, Baby rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up straight. After a few seconds passed without her responding, Ginge once again called out to her from the top of the basement stairs.

"Goooommmmyyyyy!"

"I'm awake!" she yelled as she pulled herself out from under her sheets. "Give me a half hour and I'll be up, okay?"

"Okay!" Ginger happily agreed with a delighted flair that made Baby smile.

The basement door slammed shut, and Baby yawned hard before standing up out of the bed. Once her feet hit the floor, she bit her lip and smiled to herself as she remembered pieces of the night before. The smell of Beyoncé's perfume was still on her skin, reassuring her that what she'd experienced had not been a dream. Although she had to hop in the shower, part of her didn't want to wash it away.

With her morning hygiene out of the way, Baby walked up the stairs slowly, feeling anxious about seeing Beyoncé again after the night they'd had. She knew that with Ginger around, they would have to make sure they acted as normal as possible, but she wasn't sure how that would work. The nature of their relationship had changed.

"Gommy! It took you forever. Like a whole million years!" Ginger stretched her arms out wide to illustrate her statement.

"I wanted to make sure I was perfect for you," Baby told her with a smile as she touched her nose. Ginger giggled, and it was the most pleasant sound to Baby's ears.

"I need to do something about this hair, little girl," she said, eyeing the mess of curls on Ginger's head. Jade usually was the one to do it, but it was Saturday, and since Baby moved in, she told the young girl she no longer had to come on the weekends because she would take care of Ginge herself.

Dampening a brush with a splash of water, Baby pulled a section of Ginger's golden-brown curls up into a high ponytail. As soon as she began to place the leave in conditioner in her hair, she heard Beyoncé behind her. Her body stiffened, but she sucked in a breath and let it out slowly to relax.

Taking advantage of the fact that her daughter's back was to her, Beyoncé casually slid up behind Baby and planted a soft kiss on the nape of her neck. Before pulling away, she closed her eyes and took in a full breath of Baby's scent, letting it fill her up as well as ignite her passion.

Get it together, she told herself what she knew would be easier said than done. You can't get any more of that until tonight.

"Are you ladies ready to go?" she asked with a smile as she walked around and stood in front of Ginger.

The lusty look in Baby's eyes made Beyoncé want to pull her into the bathroom and give her a quickie, but the excitement in Ginger's face helped her suppress her desires. For now, at least.

"I can't wait! We've never been on a picnic," she said, already thinking about how wonderful it would be.

After getting her daughter and the woman she loved into her Bentley GT, Beyoncé let the top down and took off toward the park. God answered her prayers and blessed them with the perfect day. As Beyoncé looked at Baby and Ginger, listening to them sing songs to the top of their lungs as their hair blew in the wind, she couldn't help but think that this was the family she'd always prayed for.