Chapter 22
R ival
We spent the morning with my mother, who insisted on making her famous buttermilk pancakes, before we headed out to explore the city. Now I was giving Sailor the grand tour of where I grew up and pointing out landmarks that had me remembering things I had forgotten about.
Sailor had shifted since the conversation with my mother yesterday. She was quiet last night, but not in the guarded way I was used to when she was retreating. I had not a damn clue what that was about but decided not to push.
"And this is where I got my first speeding ticket." I pointed out the corner as we drove through my old neighborhood. "Seventeen years old and you couldn’t tell me shit in my five hundred dollar car."
“Five hundred dollar car?”
I nodded and glanced at Sail. “Yeah that shit was terrible too. It was so rusted I probably should have gotten a Tetanus shot before driving it. It had mismatched tires and was built from three different Civics, all different years, but it was mine and I was driving.”
“Oh wow, the visual I just had.” She laughed.
“Trust me, the visual you had likely made my shit look a lot better than it was. That car shouldn’t have been on the road. I don’t even know how it moved fast enough for me to get that damn ticket. Shit, you might need to go back and challenge that ticket for me.”
Sailor laughed. "Men will do anything to impress women. I’m sure you were showing off for some lil heifer?"
"Worse. Showing off for myself. No one else was even in the car."
“Hmm, this would be one of those dumb teenage things you mentioned then.”
“Yeah, one of many.”
"Where to next?" she asked, her hand resting casually on my thigh as I drove, another small but significant change. She'd always been physically affectionate in private, but these public displays and Sailor’s need for connection was new.
"I thought we would check out Mitchell Park. Used to play ball there all the time as a kid."
"The famous basketball courts where young Rival Hassan honed his skills?" she teased. "I'm intrigued."
"Don't get too excited. I was good for Oakland, which isn’t saying much."
"Doesn’t matter. You’ve had access to all of me. I like being exposed to all of you. It helps me understand who you are."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," she confirmed. "Consider it the Rival Hassan deposition."
"Discovery on the case of me?"
She rolled her eyes. "More like getting to know my husband."
The words hit different. The term husband still felt new when she said it, especially since she’d stopped saying it with that damn sarcastic tone, like it was all a big fucking joke.
I pulled into the parking lot near the basketball courts, which were already busy with pickup games, even this early. The familiar sounds of bouncing balls and shit talking brought back memories.
"I spent more time here than at home during the summers," I told her after we were out of the car and leaning against it. “My mom would pack lunches, drop me off in the morning, and pick me up when she got off work. Said it kept me out of trouble."
"Did it?"
"I plead the fifth." I grinned. "But trust, trouble can find you no matter where you are.”
"Hassan! That you, fam?"
I glanced over my shoulder to see someone jogging toward us from the courts with a wide smile spreading across his face. It took me a minute to place him then I grinned.
"Jason Phillips.” I pushed away from the car and met him halfway for a complicated handshake I shouldn’t have remembered. "Damn, how long has it been?"
"Too damn long." Jason followed me back to the car where Sailor was waiting. “I see life has been treating you right."
"Can't complain." I turned to include Sailor. "Jason, this is my wife, Sailor. Sailor, this is Jason. We played ball together all through high school."
"Wife? Damn, hold up, hold up. Mr. I’ll Never Settle Down is married?"
Sailor stepped forward, extending her hand. "Nice to meet you, Jason."
"Same." He shook her hand, then turned back to me with a grin. "Damn, sure didn’t see that coming."
"People change.” I leaned against the car and pulled Sailor into my chest, hooking my arm around her waist. Jason leaned in the spot next to us.
"Some things don't, though." Jason motioned to the courts with a toss of his chin.
“Yeah I see that. I figured they would be out here.”
“Just like we used to be. Sunup to sundown. You want to hear some crazy shit though?”
“What’s up?”
“That’s Wilson’s grandson.”
“Coach Wilson?”
He nodded and I chuckled, shaking my head. “That shit is crazy.”
“Very fucking crazy. We’re old as shit.”
I grinned. “Yeah we are.”
“You remember Coach Wilson's face when you dunked on Darnell Smith? Senior year, championship game? He was mad as fuck. We play technique ball, Hassan. Not that street stuff .”
"How the fuck could I forget? He benched me for showing off even though we were up by twenty and it didn’t matter."
"Wait," Sailor interrupted, looking between us. "You dunked on someone in a championship game and got benched for it?"
"Yeah, shit wasn’t fair either. It wasn’t even that serious."
"Excessive? Bruh, you hung on the rim, pointed at Darnell, and did his signature celebration move right in his face! Coach had to bench you before a fight broke out."
Sailor tilted her head back, grinning. "This does not sound like the mature, level-headed man I married."
"I was seventeen and Darnell had been talking shit all season about how he was going to embarrass me in the finals."
"And you embarrassed him.”
"Yes the fuck he did," Jason confirmed. "Rival was the quietest dude on the team until you pushed him too far. Then he would show the fuck out on you and not even talk about it after."
"Interesting." Sailor lifted her eyes to me again.
"Girls loved that shit too," Jason continued and I chuckled. "This muthafucker had them lined up. You know how y’all love them silent, misunderstood men."
"I’ll have to agree. There’s something sexy about a man whose presence speaks more than his words.”
She angled her head back and let her eyes meet mine. I tightened my arm around her waist, understanding that statement had been to Jason but was for me.
“He’s a good dude though. Always looking out for people. That's why the ladies loved him, he actually gave a damn."
“Then not much has changed,” she said with a cute ass smile that had me gripping her chin and bringing my mouth to hers. I kept it quick though since we had an audience.
Jason laughed and shook his head. “Your ass is really fucking married.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“Nah, it’s a good look. I respect that.”
“What about you?” I asked and he grinned.
“I’m still in my hoe phase.”
Sailor laughed. “Wait, are you two the same age?”
“We are but consider me a late bloomer.”
“Right.” She rolled her eyes and I chuckled.
"I was down here to hit the courts. You game?" Jason offered, gesturing to the courts. “Looks like they’re wrapping up. We can get in there."
I glanced at Sailor, who shrugged. "Go ahead. I want to see these hidden skills."
"Don’t get too excited. It’s been a minute and I’m damn sure beyond my days of dunking on people.”
"Just don’t get dunked on or there might be an annulment in your near future."
“Damn, it’s like that.”
She nodded.
“I have an image to uphold, Hassan.”
Twenty minutes later, I was drenched in sweat, playing a casual three on three with Jason after we picked up a third player. Sailor watched from the sidelines, occasionally cheering or heckling, depending on the play. It felt good to be back on these courts and I was thankful my muscle memory kicked in so I didn’t embarrass myself in front of my wife. I checked in after the first game and Sailor promised me she was good and didn’t mind me doing a follow up. We won both and afterwards, I stood off to the side with Jason while Sail took a phone call.
"Your wife's cool. How did that happen?"
"She hired me to build some custom pieces for her apartment. We just worked," I explained, keeping it simple. The full story was too complicated and honestly none of his business.
"And now you're married. That was a hell of a consultation."
I laughed, glancing at my wife. “Yeah, something like that.”
“I fuck with it though. Maybe I’ll grow up one day.”
"It’s not all that bad.”
“Your wife is fine, Rival. No disrespect but a woman like that might be enough to make me consider it. She got a sister?”
“A very married, very pregnant sister whose husband is an ex-NFL player. What your pockets looking like?”
He barked a laugh. “Shit, nothing like what she might want. I guess I’ll stay in my lane for now.”
“Yeah you do that.”
After saying our goodbyes to Jason, Sailor and I continued our tour of the city. I showed her my high school, the community center where I played rec ball, and the strip mall near the house where I used to hang out before grabbing food at a hole in the wall burger place that hadn’t changed in twenty years. We sat outside at one of the weathered metal picnic tables, straddling one bench, facing each other with Sail’s legs draped over mine.
"You really loved growing up here.”
"Yeah I did. Life was good. It wasn't always easy, especially after my dad died, because money was tight and we both missed him like crazy, but it was home.”
"I never had that. My life was always so structured, almost robotic. My friends were my siblings when I was younger, and in high school, it was people who were on the same path that were chosen for me.”
"That must have been tough."
"It taught me to be self-sufficient." She shrugged. "Not to rely too much on any one person."
"Which made it a lot harder when there was distance between you, TJ, and Sky?
She was quiet for a moment. "It was but that wasn’t necessarily on them. I have to take responsibility for that and now I'm learning that maybe there's value in putting down roots and relying on someone."
The simple statement felt monumental coming from her.
“Someone?” I gripped her chin and leaned closer until our mouths were damn near touching.
“Jason was cool. He might be worth putting down roots with.” She smiled devilishly slow and I laughed.
“I know you’re a beast in the courtroom, but don’t play with people’s lives like that, Sail. You might not be able to help me clear the charge.”
She rolled her eyes and I kissed her.
“I’m going to have to detox when we get home. That burger was so damn good I’m willing to bet the lettuce was sautéed in grease.”
“You’re probably right. Come on, let’s head back. I think I need a nap after that.”
On the drive back to the house, Sailor was quiet until we pulled into the driveway then she turned and grinned. "Thank you for today."
"You’re thanking me for telling you all my shortcomings."
"You're sharing yourself with me. The real you, not just the version that fits neatly into our arrangement."
"That’s what marriage is supposed to be, Sail" I asked. "Sharing ourselves, the good and the bad, the past and the present?"
She nodded. "I think I'm starting to understand that."
After we showered the day off and crashed for a few hours, we had dinner with my mother who invited a few of her closest friends who fussed over me and interrogated Sailor. She handled it like a champ and charmed them while asking questions about their lives and their connections to my mother.
Later, when we made it back to my childhood bedroom, I watched Sailor move around the space, examining more of my past that my mother left untouched which was mostly basketball trophies and a few small custom projects I worked on with my grandfather before he passed.
"Your mom loves you."
"She does. I try to remember that when she’s embarrassing me."
Sailor smiled, turning to face me. "I like her. A lot."
"She likes you too. I could tell."
"We had a good talk yesterday about us."
"Yeah? What about us?"
"About what this marriage could be. If I let it."
"And what did she say?"
"That there's no perfect way to love someone. It's about choosing each other, every day, and being willing to learn and grow together. That the most beautiful part isn't in being perfect, it's being vulnerable enough to keep trying."
"Sounds like my mother. She knows her shit, which I can admit now that I’m mature enough to accept I don’t know everything."
Sailor grinned. "She does and I think she might be right."
"Right about what, Sail?"
"About what we could be, if I stop thinking of this as temporary.“
“And you agree?"
"I want this to work and not just for a year. I want this to be the real thing.”
“We’re real. We have been from the start, at least for me."
"I've been the one with one foot out the door but I want to be all in too. With you."
I jerked her to me by the waist and gripped the back of her neck. “Are you sure? Because if you're not?—"
"I'm sure. I'm scared as hell, but I'm sure."
I kissed her and her arms lifted around my neck when she pressed herself against me.
When we finally broke apart, I rested my forehead against hers. "So, what now, wife?"
“I think we should see how many ways you can make me cum in that little ass bed.”
"Challenge accepted," I growled and lifted her, dropping Sail on the mattress.
"Your mother is across the hall," she whispered.
"Then you'll have to be very fucking quiet," I mumbled, pressing my lips to her neck just below her ear
She arched against me. "Not fair."
"All's fair in love and war.” I moved my hands under her dress and pushed it upward.
"Is that what this is? Love?"
I paused, meeting her gaze directly. "For me? Yes. It has been for a while now."
"Rival..."
"You don't have to say it back. I just want you to know where I stand. No more trying to figure shit out. I’m being clear about what this is for me."
She pulled me down and responded with a kiss that communicated what she wasn’t ready to say out loud. That was enough.
I took my time undressing my wife, enjoying her impatience. This bed was small as hell and we seriously needed to be quiet because I didn’t want my mother being party to me fucking my wife but Sail had a way of scrambling my logic. When her tongue ended up on my dick, I couldn’t formulate lucid thoughts.
Her lips wrapped around the head and I swore I felt it all the way in my spine.
“Sailor…shit…”
She went slow at first, with her tongue swirling around the tip and her eyes still on me like she was studying every reaction. Then she took more and went deeper until her mouth was gliding over me, messy and sloppy.
Her hand tightened at the base while her throat worked around the length and spit leaked down her chin.
I reached down, curled my fingers in her hair, and groaned low in the back of my throat as she started to speed up, sucking hard, making sounds that had my dick sensitive as fuck.
She took me so deep that she gagged hard, then backed off just to suck me deeper the second time, making her eyes water.
She loved this and fuck if I didn’t love watching her do it.
“I thought we were being quiet?”
She deep throated me once more, making me groan in appreciation before my dick slipped from her mouth. “We are… at least until you fuck me.”
I yanked her up, flipped her around, and pulled her until she was on her hands and knees, ass in the air, legs spread wide and thighs already slick. My palms moved up the backs of her thighs, spreading them just enough to reveal my favorite thing.
“Stay just like that.”
She groaned and dropped her head between her arms.
I lowered myself, got eye-level with her pussy, and just breathed her in, watching the way her muscles tensed.
My tongue made contact. One long, slow stroke from her entrance to her clit, and she gasped, fisting the sheets.
“Shit, oh shit…”
“Quiet, Sail, remember.”
I kept going, wrapping my arms around her thighs and burying my face between them, licking and sucking on that pussy while she tried but failed miserably to keep her voice low. My tongue circled her clit, slow at first, then faster before I was sucking on it until her legs started to tremble.
Her whole body rocked and jerked while she moaned, loud as hell with her ass pushing back into my face.
I growled into her pussy and sucked her clit hard, then slacked up just a little to slide my tongue lower, teasing her entrance before licking her back up again.
She was dripping and tried to close her legs while her thighs shook uncontrollably.
“Nah, Sail,” I growled, spreading her wider. “Stay open for me.”
“Rival…I can’t…I’m gonna come…”
“Do it,” I said against her with my tongue flicking faster over her clit. “Come on my fucking face, Sail.”
And she did. Her whole body locked with her back curving as the orgasm ripped through her. My name was on her tongue right before she collapsed onto her elbows with her legs shaking under her.
I kept going, licking slower though, letting her ride it out while I groaned into her pussy and sang its praises.
When she finally exhaled a shaky please, I gave her one last lick, then kissed her inner thighs.
“You good?”
She lifted her head slowly and frowned. “I can’t even feel my legs.”
I smirked and dragged my fingers between her legs. “That’s the point.”
“Now I get to fuck you.”
She didn’t even get a second to recover before I grabbed her hips and lined myself up, rubbing the thick head of my dick through her folds, just enough to tease her before I slammed into her without warning. She moaned her approval but jerked her head over my shoulder and glared at me right before she rocked back, meeting my next thrust.
After multiple orgasms we were tangled together in my small ass bed with her head on my chest and my arms wrapped securely around her. I felt a peace I had been chasing for years.
"We were dangerously close to breaking this bed," she mumbled sleepily.
"If we didn’t after the way I was just in that pussy, then I think we’re good, but if it happens, it will damn sure be worth it." I pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
"Your mother is going to know exactly what we've been doing."
"She's a grown woman who raised a son. I think she'll be fine."
Sailor laughed and edged closer. "I’m not going to be able to look at her tomorrow. We had very loud sex in the room across from hers."
"This will be a very interesting anniversary story to tell years from now."
"Our kids will be horrified." She yawned, then froze when she realized what she said. "I mean…"
"Our kids. That’s not a bad thing."
She relaxed. "Maybe someday."
"We've got time."
Sail was out a few minutes later and I stayed awake, stuck in my thoughts but feeling at ease with all the shit that had happened recently. I had no regrets, and even if Sail did, she was working her way through them because she wanted this too and that was enough for me to work with.