Twenty-One
TWENTY-ONE
SOLEIL
We sit in Malik’s truck, lights off and hiding in the dark, as we kiss like I never have before. It’s hard and soft, passionate and lustful. When he kisses me like this, how am I supposed to say no.
I know I can’t let myself get lost in the moment, and it would be so easy, but I meant what I said to him. Being with him is something I have to really think about. Weigh the pros and cons, and think of all of the ramifications that a relationship with my daughter’s teacher could bring.
I slide my hands from around Malik’s neck to his chest and nudge him away. We separate, breathless and still hungry, and pry our eyes open.
“I need to get inside,” I whisper.
He runs his fingers from my hair, traces my ear, and trails down my neck. “Do you have a curfew?”
“No. But I guarantee Kyle is sitting by the door, staring out the window and waiting for me to come in and tell her all about our date.”
“She’s watching, huh? We should give her a show.”
Malik palms the back of my head and tugs me close. He kisses me hard, both of us smiling and small chuckles falling from our mouths.
“I really,” kiss. “Need,” kiss kiss. “To go.” Kiss, lick, nip, kiss.
His mouth moves down my throat and I roll my head back, eyes closed and a moan dancing on the tip of my tongue.
“When can I see you again?”
“Monday. When I take Dahlia to school.” That has him pulling away and looking right into my eyes.
“I mean it, Soleil. I want another night. Or an afternoon. Or a midday snack. I don’t care what it is as long as I can see you.”
“Malik. I don’t know. I really have a lot of things to think about. My first inclination is to say yes but–”
“No buts. Why don’t you just end that sentence with yes.” He brushes my hair away from my face tenderly.
“I just need some time. Okay?” His face falls like a young boy who’s been told no more dessert.
His eyes wander over my face like he’s mapping it with his fingers. “Okay. I’ll be patient. Cranky, but patient.”
He kisses my forehead and then my hand. He kisses me like a besotted lover and I feel precious under his gaze. I sigh and he slides out of the truck and over to my side, helping me out and holding my hand as he walks me to my door.
“Thank you for tonight, Malik. And I’m sorry I had to beat you so many times. I’m sure you’ll find something you’re good at. Just keep trying.” I bite my lip, choking back the laughter as he pinches my side.
“You’re going to get it. Next time I’m not holding back.” The amusement from his face fades and is replaced with hope. “I really hope this isn’t our first and last date. I don’t think I could last a lifetime having only had a taste of you, Soleil Brooks.”
Swoon factor one thousand percent.
With one last chaste kiss, I open my door and step inside, shutting him out and keeping me safe. For now.
“Well, well. It’s about time you came inside, little skank.” Kyle flicks on the lamp on the table beside her and sits in a chair, looking like an angry father waiting up for his daughter past curfew.
I yelp and grab at my chest. “You jerk. You scared me half to death.”
“So,” she rests back against the cushioned back and crosses one leg over the other, Sharon Stone style. “You were out doing things you shouldn’t, young lady.”
“No. Of course not.”
“Well why not?” She slams her hands on the armrests and pushes to her feet. “Wasn’t the whole point of this date for you to get your floors waxed and your carpet munched?”
“Oh my god, Kyle. Really? You are wretched.” I drop my keys in the bowl on the counter and set my purse down next to it.
“I may be wretched but at least I’m still walking side to side from getting pounded last night by the new junior legal assistant.”
“You are disgusting.” I open the fridge and grab myself a mineral water. “I think you’re having enough sex for both of us, so I’ll keep it in my pants.”
“It doesn’t look like you kept your tongue in your mouth, so tell me all about it. How was his style? Strong tongue, soft strokes? Could he play Mozart’s Symphony number 40 on your clit and make that pussy sing?”
The water that is on its way down my throat chokes right back up and sprays out of my nose. My eyes are watering and I’m coughing, swiping away at the dribble that pours from my mouth. When the water is all out and I can breathe normally again, I empty the remainder of the water down the drain and toss the bottle in the recycle.
“Now that I’m done almost dying , do you want to hear about the date or not?”
“Yes. Spill.” Kyle grabs my hand and yanks me over to sit on the couch where she hangs on every last detail.
From the dinner where we shared stories –him of growing up in foster care, and me losing my husband in an unimaginable way– to the go-kart racing complete with that awful woman interrupting our night, and ending with the kiss. Kiss es .
“Want my opinion?” She asks.
“No, but I know you’re going to give it to me anyhow.”
“I say you pursue this thing with Malik. He’s a good guy from what I hear, and he’s sexy to boot. And…” she pauses and plays with her hair. “I think you should keep having fun with King.”
“Kyle!” I shout as quietly as possible so as not to wake Dahlia. “I can’t do that. It would be cheating, and that is the exact reason why I find myself a widow.”
“No. You find yourself a widow because Meredith is a snatch and Gene forgot to look before crossing the street.” Kyle has always dealt with pain through insults and laughter.
Despite still missing the good times Gene and I had, I’ve become immune to her comments that come off as a little cold.
“Sunny, if there is anyone who deserves to have a little raunchy fun, it’s you. You’ve always walked the straight and narrow, and now it’s time for you to jump, skip and hop all over the damn place. Enjoy the hoe days you never had before you settle down again, and pop out a few more little monkeys.”
With an arch of my brow and pursed lips, I tell her, “You’re smoking crack if you think I’m having any more kids. I’m thirty-five. Officially geriatric in the world of baby-having. And hoe days? Seriously? I think you’re living enough for the both of us…and then some.”
She shrugs, stands from the couch and saunters into the kitchen. “Say what you will, but my hoochie na-na is sa-tis-fied.”
I can only laugh at her. The way she speaks so eloquently filthy, you’d never know she was a highly respected lawyer.
“What do we have here?” I look over my shoulder to find her staring at my phone with a randy look on her face. “Seems like someone’s ears were ringing.”
I pop up from the couch and rush to where she stands. “Give me that.” I reach for my phone and she holds it high above her head.
“Not until you promise that you will give my suggestions a chance.”
“Cut it out, Big Bird. Give me my phone.” Her eyes narrow at the use of the mean nickname she was saddled with by bullies in elementary school.
“Oh-ho. You’ve done it now, you Wizard of Oz munchkin reject.” She repays the insult with one of her own.
“Dammit, Kyle.” I jump, trying to reach my phone in her outstretched arm as she rises to her tiptoes, making it even further impossible.
I jump up on the couch to attack her, but she’s wise to me and runs away. Her fingers dance across the screen of my phone and my chest tightens with worry.
“Stop it. What are you doing?”
“Shh,” she hushes. “You’re going to wake Dolly.” I leap and wrap myself around her which causes her to drop my phone.
“Ha,” I shout and release her.
My phone survives the fall but my face cracks when I see what she’s done. I look over to see an arrogant smirk and she blows on her nails, rubbing them off on her shirt with such pride.
“You’re fired,” I tell her.
“Fired? From what? You’re not my boss.” She flops back down in the chair and reaches for her phone that sits on the side table.
“You’re fired from being my best friend. I need one that won’t pimp me out.”
“Oh shut up, drama queen. I just told him you’d be available to chat in ten minutes.” She smiles as she looks down at her screen. “You better hurry. I’m sure you’ll want to be in your office for that. I’m going to return a few emails and then I’ll wait for you in your room. There’s no way in hell I’m sleeping in that room after what you two did last time.”
“Ew. Just go home you weirdo.”
“No way, sister. We live this life together. I’m waiting for a recap.” She ignores me once again, knowing it annoys me.
I pick up a throw pillow resting on the corner of the couch and toss it at her head, knocking her bun askew. She glares at me but doesn’t bother with any more than that.
I sigh, knowing I’ve been defeated, and rush to my room to change. I don’t want to see King while I’m dressed like I was on a date. Well, I don’t want him to know I was on a date. Not that it matters. He’s not anything to me. Just a guy I talk to almost daily, send inappropriate pictures to and mutually masturbate with.
I quickly slip into leggings and a crew neck because nothing is going to happen tonight and grab my phone. I enter the office-slash-guest room and barely open my laptop and wake it up before I get a message from King, inviting me to chat. I sit down, pull up his server and blow out a big breath.
I click on his name and wait for him to answer. When his face –mask– appears on the screen, I feel instantly comforted.
“Hello beautiful.” His low, husky voice has me relaxing into my seat.
“Hi King. How are you?”
“Better now.” He places his hands behind his head and rests back against them, making his chest look wide and strong. “How was your day? Do anything fun?”
I gulp down the words that will tell him exactly what I was up to, but do I really owe him that? I didn’t tell Malik about King. Mostly because I did not once think about King while I was with him. Malik steals my entire attention. King is simply a guilty indulgence.
“It was good. I was with a friend so I had fun.” I see his head move up and down in slow, exaggerated nods. “How was your day?”
“Empty. Without you, it was empty. But now that I see your face, it’s full again.” My cheeks heat and my body begins to hum, his words igniting a spark inside of me.
“Thanks,” I whisper, slightly embarrassed.
“You look beautiful tonight.”
That has me arching a brow and pursing my lips. “Okay. Now I know you’re just blowing smoke. I’m wearing a sweatshirt.”
I hear a deep breath expel from him. “Sunny Girl, you don’t get it. You could wear a sheet over your head and pretend to be a ghost and you’d still be the most beautiful woman I’ve laid my eyes on.”
“Smooth talker.”
“It’s true. Look at me.” He pushes away from the counter and I see a tent beneath his sweats and it’s quite impressive. “I hear your voice and it sets me off. That’s all it takes.”
His hand covers his erection and he begins rubbing it. I feel my panties grow damp and squirm in my chair.
“King, my friend is here. I don’t think this is a good idea,” I tell him without conviction.
“Mmm. That makes it a great idea. The thrill of being caught, having her hear the way you fall apart for me.” His hand slips slowly beneath his pants and I watch as it moves up and down his hard shaft.
My sweatshirt scratches at my sensitive nipples as shivers spread through my body. I don’t want to break. I want to hold strong and not give in to King’s temptation, but the urge to release the hunger that still remains from Malik is just too powerful.
“How did we get from zero to a hundred so quickly?” I ask him.
“It only took minutes for me to become completely entranced by you. You’re just catching up. Now, stick those fingers into that pussy and tell me how it feels.”
Biting my lip, my fingers walk across my swirling belly and work their way under the band of my leggings. I feel the wet spot already puddled in my underwear and a moan escapes.
“Feels good, doesn’t it? Don’t keep yourself from me. I want you to give it all. Let me have it.”
My head lolls around and I allow my eyes to fall shut. I roll over my clit and I can already feel how close to the precipice I am. Malik’s smile plays behind my eyes and his touch lingers on my lips.
“Look at me, Sunny.” King growls and I’m startled back into reality. “I want to see those gorgeous eyes and hear your breath and the way it shakes.”
Through fog, I watch King who has his stiff cock gripped tightly in his hand. The mushroomed head is purple and it bulges, ready to explode any moment. My eyes stay glued to it and I rub harder, rolling faster. My chest is rising and falling rapidly and I can’t hang on any longer.
My head hits the headrest and I mewl as the dynamite ripples through me. I work to keep my voice.
“Yes. Oh my god. Yes, Malik.” His name falls from my mouth.
I can’t stop them from coming. They speak what occupies my mind.
My eyes fly open when I hear King groan loudly and see the moment he comes. Like a geyser, he shoots furiously, long ropes stretching up and over his taut abs. If he heard me whisper Malik’s name, he shows no indication as he continues to release.
“Fuck,” he shouts.
I pull my fingers away and swipe them clean with my sweatshirt, and look around the room for…I don’t even know what I’m looking for. I guess my guilty conscience gets the best of me. But am I guilty because I moaned Malik’s name when I should be focused on King? Or is it because I want Malik, and this feels like betrayal?
I decide right then that I must end this thing with King.
“If you were here, I’d have you down on your knees, licking me clean like the good girl that you are.”
I’ll tell him tomorrow .