Chapter 7
Seven
My lady tingled as I lubricated my fingers again, tasting remnants of me as they slid down my tongue. I scooped the small amount of saliva up with curled fingers before swiftly maneuvering them to my clitoris again. With my left hand, I pulled back my sizeable lower lips so that my nub would continue to poke out. My body spasmed as my slippery finger brushed its peak.
What’s your name love? His voice rang out in my head as his face appeared behind my sealed lids.
“Oh God,” I cried out.
My teeth sank into my bottom lip as my ass lifted from the bed beneath me. I’m Bello . Eight nights and eight days ago, I’d encountered what felt like a mythical creature or God of the sort and couldn’t get him out of my head. He was in my dreams when I fell asleep. He was the first thing on my mind when I woke up. He was the reason I’d laid down earlier for the last seven nights, touching myself as I thought of him.
Go away . I begged, even knowing that I’d be devastated if he did. In fact, I’d found myself in a state of misery since I’d left his presence.
Come back. I corrected myself, knowing it was rooted in my true desires.
And, he did. His unbelievably dark skin and hauntingly dark eyes returned. With them was that smile and those gold teeth. I couldn’t contain myself as I sped the pace of my fingers, ready to release whatever my body had to offer so that I could float away to a much further place. Away from reality and closer to my pique.
“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” My orgasm hit me harder than a MACK truck, smacking me square in the gut and pulling my body upward then down again. As much as I wanted to remove my finger and come down from my high, I couldn’t. Instead, I kept flickering the swollen nub until eventually… eventually…
“Oh my God. Wha- What? Oh, God!”
Full stream, a thin, clear liquid forced my fingers from my clit and pierced the air.
“Ohhhhhhh! MY GOD!” I cried out until the flow lightened and finally subsided.
Breathlessly, I lowered my aching body onto my soaking bed and sighed. What was that? I questioned with every intention of finding out on google whenever I got myself together. Oh my God. Exhaustion hit me hard, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep in my wetness. I needed a few things, a shower being one of them. Then, I needed new sheets - an expense that I wasn’t counting on.
Maybe I can just go to the laundry mat , I thought. Immediately, I checked to time on my phone to discover it was going on eight o’clock. The last thing I wanted was to spend two hours cleaning sheets. But, buying new ones wasn't an option, either. Melonie! I found a more reasonable solution.
Hey, babe. Can I drop by and put my sheets in the washer? I will pick them back up in the morning .
I grabbed my cell and texted. Still descending from the elevation of my orgasm, I waited for a response. It didn’t take very long. A gray bubble appeared before words filled it.
Melonie: Of course. Just drop them off. I’ll toss them in.
Wear gloves, lol.
Melonie: Anything you care to tell your best friend?
No. Nothing happening over here.
Melonie: I’d say good for you, but it’s not. D is the best thing that happened to ME!
I’ve heard the stories. I know all about it.
Melonie: Can’t because you’d be bouncing on one!
Bye. I’ll see you in a few.
As much as I hated the idea of repaying to park my camper, I hated the idea of sleeping on soiled sheets even more. Not to mention the possibility of taking a quick wash-up at the Frank’s. The fifteen dollars I spent each night to power my camper was worth the expense, but I absolutely hated that showers were no longer an option. They’d shut them down a month after I started parking and had yet to reopen them.
Though there were other places to rest, this was the only one in the hills. As insane as it was, I preferred being amongst wealth, with the hopes that one day their life’s grace would transfer to me. The homes in the hills lulled me to sleep every night. Most times, they’d dual as my white noise along with the swaying of the trees up here. Plus, the sunsets were unbeatable.
Within a few minutes, I was packed up and anything that could possibly fall while in motion, I secured. My journey to the Frank’s was uneventful, yet filled with undeniably incredible sounds of Frank Ocean as he harmonized Cayendo . Thirty minutes later and I was creeping down the street that led to my destination.
Instead of letting Melonie know that I was outside, I decided to grab my laundry and toiletry bags. The thought of her putting my things in the washing machine made me cringe. I’d plop them in, wash my girl parts, and be on my way. I could already feel the freshness of my skin from the Napa Wine bath bar I’d snagged from 212Luxe . It was snug in my toiletry bag along with the rest of my goodies.
I was a sucker for worthy self-care essentials. In the almost nonexistent monthly budget that I’d put together to keep me afloat, self-care was a priority. It kept me sane for the most part and I never regretted a single dollar I spent to make it happen for me. Twenty dollars went into its cash envelope monthly, giving me forty to spend overall. It was more than enough to get me through the down days and stressful nights when my faith and energy were both low.
Headlights traced my skin and then disappeared, again. The low purring of a vehicle caused fine bumps to raise on my skin. The large driveway that I stood in, ready to lock up my camper, had welcomed a guest. And, though I had no clue who was behind the wheel, my heart told me so.
Bello.
The achiness returned, slowing and then speeding my heart at an unpredictable pace. Refusing to reveal my uneasiness so willingly, I continued to crouch over and into the side of my van in hopes that this moment would pass me by. I dug into my laundry bag, though it only held my comforter and sheets as if I was searching for something. And, maybe I was. If there was any chance that my pride and confidence would surface, I’d keep digging.
But, I couldn’t.
Not at the sound of his footsteps nearing. Not with the potency of his cologne polluting the air that I breathed. Not with… not with his closeness as he cleared his throat and acknowledged my existence.
“Let me help you with that,” he insisted, already near and too close for me to decline. Lies . Another lie, it was. I could’ve but I didn’t and neither did I truly want to.
Swiftly, I removed myself from the opening of my camper with the bag in hand and offered it to him while closing the door behind me. The softness of his hands was unexpected and so was their proximity to mine. While he seemingly thought nothing of the quick exchange, I felt everything.
Nothing moved around us and silence was the loudest thing I’d ever heard. Time, for once, was terminated and there was nothing left but air… and us. My eyes searched the darkness for his, the light within them slowly dying as he defused my attempt at locating them. Rejection . It stung like a fresh wound with coarse salt being dragged across its core.
Something had shifted. Or, maybe it was everything. Immediately, the realization that Bello helping me with my bags was simply the act of a gentleman, and nothing more slammed into my chest. The interest that he held all those nights ago no longer existed. At the moment, I was simply Melonie’s friend, whom he was assisting with a bag. Not the girl he’d found intriguing seven nights ago.
Silently accepting my loss as I’d always had, I stopped my search just as time resumed and the whistling of the swaying trees brought me back to reality. I retracted my fingers, dropping my hand at my side and attempting to forget the magic of his touch and the perfection of his skin. One foot in front of the other, I started for the door.
Suddenly, the sheets, comforter, or wash-up meant nothing to me. All that mattered was my tattered heart that crumbled into smaller pieces with each step that I took. Before I made it to the door of the Frank’s residence, I came to a striking conclusion. I can’t . Not with the sting of rejection fresh on my heart, him under the same roof, or knowing that he was the reason that I was here in the first place though he didn’t share the same feelings as I did.
It was all too much, forcing me to turn in an instant and say, “Ouch!”
God, Brisk . Ouch hadn’t been intentional. It was simply a reflex of the impact.
For once, my clumsiness was the culprit of my anxiety. I slammed into his chest, accidentally. My entire body stiffened as I stepped back to increase the space between us. Even knowing that my interest wasn’t shared, I couldn’t stop my vagina from pulsating and oozing with pleasure at the sight of his dark skin, deep waves, and dark eyes that had finally decided to show themselves under the light.
“Sorry. Can you give that to Melonie and tell her that… that I uh. I’ll call her,” I rushed out and before he could respond, I was gone.
Down the walkway and toward the spiraling driveway that led to my safe haven. I wanted nothing more than to curl up on my bare mattress and allow sleep to overcome me. But, I knew I couldn’t and the thought of paying twelve dollars to shower at the nearest rest stop made the moment ten times worse.
Dang it! I cringed, remembering that my toiletry bag was stuffed inside of my laundry bag. It didn’t matter much, because I refused to go back for it. I’d embarrassed myself enough for a lifetime.
“Brisk,” the deep, agonizing voice of Bello called after me.
Against my better judgment, I turned in his direction and responded, “Yes?”
“What day is your birthday?”
He’d thrown me for a loop, remembering such a minor detail. As I had said a million times, it was just another day. There was nothing special about it and never would be. Just a reminder of my screwed reality and of the time I couldn’t get back.
“Fri,” I choked, “Friday.” My emotions had chosen a God-awful time to surface and holding them back was choking me up.
That was it.
I stood waiting for a rebuttal or gesture but received nothing. Bello turned toward the house again and disappeared through the doors shortly after. I quickly came to the realization that he was in possession of a key to the Frank’s home.
Puzzled, I finally picked up the pieces and got into my camper. The night air relieved me as I rolled down the window - one circle motion at a time. Anxiety was thick in my throat, making it harder to breathe than necessary. I gripped the steering wheel with my fingers and rested my forehead against it.
Is it possible for someone you don’t even know to break your entire heart? I wondered. Because I think it’s happening .