Chapter 7 #2
Sighing, she plopped down on the couch. “Long day at work.” She kicked her shoes off. “My bosses are trying to woo me back.”
I joined her on the sofa. “Is that a good thing?”
She eyed me warily. “A month ago, it would’ve been great.”
“What changed?”
“I don’t think LA is where I want to be anymore. There’s too much baggage here. I’m ready to just start over.”
Curious, I asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“New city, new job, new life.” She stared at the ceiling pensively. “I just want to feel like I’m doing something important, like I’m leaving a legacy.”
“I get that.”
She glanced at me, a soft smile playing on her full lips. “I know you do.”
“One thing I know about you? You’ll figure it out. Is there a rush?”
“Not really. I’ve lived here my whole life, except for the brief time I lived in DC for undergrad. What’s a couple more months?”
“Are you going to stay on longer?
“They’re on some bullshit. A lot of work politics involved.
The person I handpicked to take over my role was passed over for the daughter of one of the board members.
The woman has no qualifications other than her last name.
I don’t want to extend my end date so I can train some ill-equipped person on how to be me.
It pisses me off because I worked my ass off for that title and she flounced in there and stole the job from a brilliant Black man.
Graduate degree from Pepperdine, published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Science, and fifteen years of progressive experience.
Oh, and he wrote a book.” Her shoulders slumped.
“I had to break the news to him, which pissed me off even more.”
“That’s fucked up.”
“Yeah, but I know how it is, how it’s always been.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Anyway, I’m glad you got Ezra down.”
“Shit, I was concerned for a minute. He got some lungs on him.”
She smiled. “I wonder who he got that from.”
“Definitely not me.”
Stretching her arms above her head, she yawned. “I’m so tired. And hungry. Do you have any leftovers from my night?” She gave me a sidelong glance. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Unable to resist her, I pressed my mouth against hers, holding her to me as I kissed her once, twice, and finally one last time. When I pulled back, I rested my forehead against hers, smiling when she brushed her lips over my brow.
It was a thing, something I’d grown to expect when we were together. Made me feel centered.
I brushed a knuckle against her breast. “Just counting the minutes until you’re riding my dick.”
Rissa burst out in a fit of giggles, tracing my bottom lip with her thumb. I sucked it into my mouth. Straddling my lap, she rocked into me.
Groaning, I pulled her into my hardening erection, thrusting against her and gripping her cheeks. “You feel good,” I murmured against her mouth.
Her head fell back on a sigh as I licked a path to the first button of her blouse. Slowly, I unbuttoned it, tugging it out of her slacks as I went. I pushed her shirt off, unclasped her bra, and closed my mouth on one of her nipples.
Ezra stirred from his playpen and she froze, eyes wide open. “We can’t do this in front of the baby.”
I shrugged. “He has to learn someday.”
She laughed.
“Shhh.” I placed a finger over her lips. “Be very quiet.”
“Asa, we can’t.”
“Okay.” I stood with her in my arms and ran into the bedroom, slightly closing the door. “How about now?”
“Bed,” she commanded. “No hard surfaces today.”
I dropped her on the mattress. “As you wish.”
She sat up on her knees and pulled me forward by the waistband of my basketball shorts. Then she tugged me on top of her, kissing me slowly. Wrapping her arms around my waist, she grabbed the hem of my shirt and pushed it up. “Take this off,” she ordered softly.
Reaching behind my neck, I pulled my shirt off and tossed it behind me. “Remember, be quiet.”
I was lost in her eyes, her lips, her scent, transfixed by the way we moved together. Always in sync. It didn’t matter that we were skin-to-skin, legs entwined. It never seemed to be close enough.
She glided her fingers along my spine, brushing her thumb across the scar I got falling off my skateboard in tenth grade. Her touch was like balm over an open wound, simultaneously healing and arousing.
I wanted more of this.
I wanted . . .
“Asa!” Bliss pushed the door open, holding Ezra in one arm and her phone against her ear. “The baby was—” Her eyes widened when she saw us on the bed. “Oop.”
“What happened?” Dallas called over the receiver. “Did you fall?” She gasped. “You caught Asa with some nasty trick, didn’t you?”
“Sissy, I gotta go.” Bliss backed out of the room.
“Oh shit,” Rissa whispered.
I rested my head against her shoulder. “Damn.”
Seconds later, Bliss cracked the door open and tossed Rissa’s blouse inside. “You have company.”
When we emerged from the bedroom fully dressed, I was surprised to see Ana standing in the living room.
“Hello.” I gave my godmother a kiss on the cheek. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
Ana eyed me tentatively. “Hey, sweetie. I didn’t mean to intrude,” she said in her thick, Liberian accent. Her gaze shifted to Rissa. “I didn’t know you were here, babe.”
“Hey, Ma,” Rissa said, hugging the older woman.
Growing up, we all called the other mothers “Ma.” Our families were so close-knit it felt natural. They all took turns loving on us, teaching us invaluable lessons, and correcting us when we were wrong.
“I didn’t know you were coming to town,” Rissa added.
“Jax has business in town, and I wanted to see the baby. I hope you don’t mind.”