Chapter 25
“Mommy, you okay?” Quis asked as he looked me in my eyes. His light brown eyes were a replica of the man who’d pissed me off on more than one occasion.
My lip trembled at the sight of his worried little eyebrows knitted together with concern. I lifted him up into my arms and kissed his cheek. He hugged me tightly, and it took every ounce of strength in my body to hold in the tears.
“I’m okay, stinkabutt.”
He gave me a kiss on my nose before he wiggled out of my grip and ran off to the living room. The gesture made me laugh despite the emotions coursing through my body. I disappointed myself because I should have known Marquise was on the same type of shit he got locked up for. I shouldn’t have allowed him the chance to be in our lives without being certain he was a better person than before.
I’m a dummy for letting him back into my life. I should have got the hell out of town when we crossed paths all those months ago.
It had been over a day since Quis had called his father to come over. I was ready to block Marquise from everything again. I didn’t play about my son, and if Marquise couldn’t keep his word with me or his child, I would drop him like a sack of potatoes.
Knock, knock.
The sound of a firm tap on the front door brought me out of my thoughts. We weren’t expecting any visitors, and not too many people knew our address. The walk to the door was quick. I looked through the peephole but couldn’t make out what I saw. I twisted the locks and peered through the cracked door.
“What the hell?”
Marquise grinned. “Hey, baby.”
“What do you have on?” I asked with amusement. I didn’t want to give him a smile, but he looked ridiculous.
The green blow-up T-Rex costume was huge. It was the type of costume you’d see in a sitcom during a Halloween episode or something. Why was this gangster ass man wearing this silly ass wardrobe?
“I felt bad the way our call ended. Then yesterday got out of my hands. I wanted to make things up to you and Quis.”
“You let street shit consume you yesterday, right?” I asked as I placed my hand on my hip.
“Honey—”
“Mommy—oh… my… goodness! Mr. Marquise, you’re a dinosaur,” Quis screamed with pure bliss, interrupting whatever excuse Marquise was about to spew out of his mouth.
“I couldn’t find a brachiosaurus costume, so I figured this would be the next best thing.” Marquise ducked his head down and waddled into the house. He damn near knocked over a lamp and three picture frames on his way into the living room. Quis’s eyes were bright with eagerness to explore the crazy shit Marquise had on.
“I love it,” Quis exclaimed. He played with Marquise for a few minutes.
“Can you let me and your mom talk for a few minutes? If you meet me outside, we can chase each other around for a while.”
Quis nodded. “Okay. Be fast, please.”
Once he had disappeared toward the back door, Marquise turned his attention to me. “I’m sorry if I made you mad yesterday.” He reached out to me with his tiny ass T-Rex arms, and I fought a laugh.
“Marquise, I meant everything I said. I don’t want my child—our child—to see you behind bars.”
“I know. I’m sorry for everything, Honey. I’m sorry for being in a position to get locked up the first time. I’m sorry we spent so much time apart. I should have never let you walk away from me those years ago. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
“Don’t be sorry. I need more than words. I need action. I need changed behavior. From what I saw the last few months, I was pleased… until yesterday.”
He nodded. “I know. All of that street shit is behind me. I promise.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Mr. Marquise!” Quis called out.
“Here I come,” Marquise shouted back. He turned his attention to me. “One of these days, I hope he starts calling me dad.”
“It’ll come.” I smiled and pushed him toward the back door. “Don’t keep my baby waiting any longer.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
It might have been foolish for me to give him another chance, but what could I say? I was a sucker for my first love. Marquise was my first everything, and I kind of wanted to see our happily ever after—if he didn’t fuck up anymore.
* * *
The afternoon shifted into the evening, and Marquise and Quis were inseparable. After Marquise took off the dinosaur costume, they played outside until the sun set. It was something about watching the two of them bond that had my hormones raging.
“Keep your fingers spread when you dribble the ball to have more control. You want to pivot when necessary.”
“What’s a pivot?” Quis asked as he slowly dribbled the ball.
“Pass me the ball, and I’ll show you.”
Quis used both hands to throw the ball to Marquise. Marquise showed how to pivot and the rules in which a player would pivot on the court. Then he taught Quis a few drills. Quis was just happy to play with the man, which kept a permanent smile on my face.
The sun swapped places with the moon, so it was time to intervene in their playtime.
“It’s time to eat and get ready for bed.”
“Aww, Mommy. Can we play for a little while longer, please?” Quis whined.
Marquise scooped him into his arms. “We can play some more tomorrow. Your mom is right. We have to eat and get cleaned up for bed.”
Quis pouted. “Okay. Can Mr. Marquise do bedtime with me, Mommy?”
“I don’t know. Ask him.”
Quis looked up at his twin.
Marquise grinned. “I’d love to do bedtime with you, kid.”
Quis naturally gravitated to his father without even knowing Marquise was his dad. Crazy how things worked like that.
We ordered takeout tonight because I was too exhausted to cook. Once we’d all eaten, Quis and Marquise handled bedtime while I straightened up the kitchen and living room. I went outside and deflated the T-Rex costume and put it in a bag for Marquise to take home. Once I finished cleaning, I opted to keep the productivity going. I poured a glass of wine and opened my laptop to catch up on emails while I waited for Marquise to come back down the stairs.
About thirty minutes later, Marquise emerged with a smile on his face. “I love that little boy.”
“Me too.” I finished the contents of my second cup of wine and closed my laptop.
“Thank you for giving me another chance. I knew if I hadn’t made a grand gesture after the call we had yesterday, you might have blocked me.”
I smirked. “Glad you know. You were ten seconds away from getting blocked. I almost regret letting you in his life, but the bond y’all have grown over such a short amount of time… is beautiful.”
“You mind if I join you?” he asked as he motioned to the seat beside me.
“Go ahead. You can get a glass of wine too.”
“Fa sho.” He went into the kitchen and retrieved a wine glass and the chilled bottle from the refrigerator. When he returned, he sat beside me and filled both of our cups up.
“This parent shit couldn’t have been easy alone,” he commented.
I shook my head. “It wasn’t too bad because of the village I have. Postpartum wasn’t too bad, but there were nights when I’d cry myself to sleep because I wasn’t sure the decisions I made were what was best for him, you know?”
He nodded. “I feel it. From where I stand, you did an amazing job of raising him. You’re an amazing mother, and he’s lucky to have you in his life.”
I reached out and held Marquise’s hand. I rubbed his knuckles and sighed.
“Thank you.”
“Nah, thank you.”
“For what?”
“Being open to letting me be a part of y’all’s life again.”
“It was the right thing to do. We were very much in love until that moment.”
He smiled. “I’m still in love with you. These years have done amazing to you. Aging like fine wine.”
I shook my head. “Don’t you start something.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? I can’t compliment the woman you’ve become?”
“You can, but you gotta stop looking at me like that.”
His tongue slid across his beautiful, dark pink lips. “Like what?”
His eyelids were low. The wine couldn’t have been that strong. Had someone messed with the thermostat? Either way, a thin layer of sweat coated my skin as I gulped down the rest of the red liquid.
“Like you want me…”
“I do. I always have, and I always will.”
“How do I know you’ll treat me with the care I deserve?”
“I can show you better than I can tell you.”
I parted my lips and inhaled sharply. “Show me then.”
“C’mere.”
He leaned back in his chair and patted his lap. I stood up, and he immediately pulled me into his lap. His eyes, those beautiful brown orbs, stared into my soul. I tried to look away, but he cupped my face in his large hands.
“Can I kiss you?”
“Y-yes.”
There was no hesitation in his movements. His lips met mine, and my soul rejoiced. The assertiveness had me ready to give him all of me on the dining room table. My flesh was weak, but my heart and soul had come to an agreement. If the world ended tomorrow, I’d be content with giving him all of me tonight.
“Can I stay here tonight?” he asked softly.
I searched his eyes for a moment. There were so many emotions coursing through those bright irises. “Promise you’ll be gentle with me.”
“Of course I will.”
“Do you still like shared showers?” I asked as my fingers massaged the low trimmed beard on his chiseled face.
Marquise shrugged. “For you, always.”
“Let’s go upstairs then.”
My heart pounded in my chest so loudly my ears rang. My pussy was a leaking faucet awaiting her plumber to come and drain her pipe. It had been six—almost seven—long years since I’d felt the heat of a man against my body.
Time seemed to stop as we stepped into the walk-in shower after grabbing our towels and removing our clothes. The black marble walls added a romantic element as the steam coated the glass doors in a thick layer of fog. I eyed his physique. Muscles, tattoos, and a thick ass dick were the perfect components to a wild night of sex or a euphoric night of lovemaking.
We showered individually, sneaking kisses every few moments. It was nice to be in his company again. Once we were clean, we stepped out together and dried off. My excitement grew as we went to the bed. He placed a towel across the bed and grabbed me by my waist.
“I’ve dreamed of this moment for years,” he confessed.
I placed my hands on the back of his neck and rubbed the skin with the tips of my fingers. “You’re the only man I’ve ever been with, Marquise.”
He licked his lips. “Good. That’s always been my pussy, and I’m going to reward you for keeping these mothafuckas away from it.”
“How are you going to reward me?”
“Lay back and let me show you.”
He pushed me onto the bed playfully. I lifted my legs up as he claimed the spot between my thighs. He wasted no time diving into my pussy. He started by licking me from the bottom of my crease to the top. He spread my lips and used the tip of his tongue to greet my clit. The tantalizingly slow licks drove me crazy.
“This pussy tastes better than I remembered.” He ate my pussy like a pro. I held his head in place as I rode out my orgasm on his tongue.
“Shit…”
“No warning?” he asked with a smirk as he sat up and looked at me. My juices covered his chin.
“Sorry. It kind of just happened.”
“There’s more where that came from too. I’m trying to milk that shit out of you all fuckin’ night.” He straightened up and massaged the base of his dick. His dick was beautiful. It was thick, long, and girth-y. It was perfect. Bitches lost their minds over dick like this—which was probably why I never gave this pussy to another man.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked as he leaned over me and kissed my lips. The taste of my essence tickled my tongue.
When we parted, I nodded. “Just… be gentle.”
“I got you, my love.”
He kissed down my neck and brought one of my nipples into his mouth. My back arched slightly at the feel of his warm mouth around my hardened bead.
He gave attention to both nipples equally before his tongue slid down my abdomen. He kissed my clit once more. Then he pulled me to the edge of the bed and twisted my legs like a pretzel and pressed them into my chest. He used one hand to keep them in place and the other to guide his tip into my entrance.
My warmth greeted him with open arms. She sucked him in like a vacuum. She finally reunited with her best friend. She was going to show the fuck out for that dick.
“Fuck…” Marquise groaned from deep in his gut.
“Just for you, baby.” I bit down on my bottom lip and tilted my head back as he finished inserting his length into me. Balls deep. I could feel his tip tap my heart. He was so damn deep inside of me.
“Damn, you’re so fuckin’ wet, bae.”
“Drown in it.”
He shuddered at the explicit request. His lips parted slightly as he inhaled a sharp breath when I tightened my walls around him. I wasn’t sure what path we would take, but the night was young, and my pipes had a lot of pent-up stress to release.
“You make a nigga feel so special. Kept this pussy tight and wet for me. My good lil slut.” He spread my legs and switched the pace of his strokes.
“I’m finna—ooo… fuck…” My dam burst, and the sticky wetness sprayed all over his dick.
“Shit…” He hissed as he filled me to the rim with his warm nut. I collapsed onto the bed as I fought to catch my breath.
“What you doing?” he asked.
“Taking a break?”
“You can break after the next round. Let me dig that nut up out of you.”
“You’re so nasty.”
“Just for you.” He pulled me back to the edge of the bed and leaned down to stick his tongue inside my dripping entrance. A man who would suck his nut out of my pussy was a dangerous man that I didn’t want to ever let go of. When his mouth was full of our mixed juices, he hovered over me and allowed the mess to fall from his mouth into mine. I swallowed it up and smirked as he wrapped his hand around my throat.
“You match my freak a lil too well, bae.”
“I know.” I giggled.
“You ready for the next round?”
“Yes.”
“Get on those knees and choke on this dick.”
And you know what I did? I got down on my knees and stuffed that big ass dick down my throat. Tears slid from my eyes, but I sucked that shit like the good eater I was. It was something so freeing about being around a man who could let me unleash my nastiest ideas in the bedroom. A lot of women wouldn’t be into the type of shit we did, and that was fine. It worked for us.
The type of shit that went on in the room that night was one for the books. I was grateful that Quis’s room was down the hall and nowhere in earshot of the demon time we were on.
In the future, we’d have to be more mindful of the noise we made, but tonight… Tonight I was reunited with the love of my life in the best soul tie ever.
“I love you,” I moaned through tears of ecstasy.
“I love you more.” He let out a muffled groan as he filled me for the second time that night.