Chapter 18
Flashback – Winter Break – Sophomore Year
Ayear and a half had passed since all the friends had been together. Between summer jobs, internships, and Fateema’s track and field training, they couldn’t sync their schedules and get back to Chicago as often or at the same time.
It was Christmas Eve, and the friends were meeting at Lynx’s house to eat, exchange gifts, catch up, and enjoy each other’s company. Joaquin was the first to arrive.
“Damn, nigga. You been in the gym.” Joaquin stepped inside and lightly punched Lynx on the shoulder.
“A lil bit. I’m trying to get big like you. How you been?” Lynx responded as they exchanged a one-armed hug.
“I’ve been good. School and work are kicking my ass, but I gotta do what I gotta do.”
“Same here, man. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to change my major.”
“Real talk? I’ve never known you to struggle in school.”
“You try majoring in architecture and minoring in construction management. This shit ain’t no joke.”
“I believe you, but you got it,” Joaquin encouraged.
Before Lynx closed the door, he saw Adam and Meaghan approaching the house from different directions.
“Wassup, y’all? It’s been a minute,” Adam greeted.
“Almost two years,” Lynx said.
“And it seems longer,” Meaghan added.
The friends continued to exchange greetings and hugs. When Meaghan removed her coat, the guys couldn’t help but notice how good she looked.
“Damn, girl. You fine as fuck,” Joaquin exclaimed.
“Whatever, boy.”
“Nah, Meaghan. You really do look good,” Adam cosigned.
“Don’t play with me like that. I’ve always looked good.”
“True, but this grown-woman look puts your teenage look to shame. I bet you got niggas all in your DMs,” Joaquin said.
“I guess that’s a compliment,” she said, giving him the side-eye.
“Oh, it most definitely is.”
Joaquin always thought Meaghan was pretty, but teenage Meaghan and young adult Meaghan were on different levels.
“Thank you. Where’s Octavia and Fateema? I’m starving.”
“Hopefully, on their way. We can head to the kitchen while we wait,” Lynx said.
They ran into Keno coming down the stairs on their way to the kitchen. He stopped and spoke to them briefly before leaving for the night.
“Does Mr. Keno have a girlfriend?” Meaghan asked.
Lynx frowned. “Last I checked, he had a few, and you better not be asking because you’re interested.”
“Umm, your daddy is fine, but eww! He said he’d be back in the morning, so I was just asking.”
“Still nosy, I see.”
“No, just curious.”
As they continued to the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Lynx went back to answer the door while his friends continued into the kitchen. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Fateema. Before she could greet him, he pulled her into a hug and buried his face in her neck.
“What took you so long?” he mumbled.
Her arms went around his body, and she allowed herself to get lost in his scent.
“I had to do some last-minute shopping since I didn’t get home until last night.” She held up the bags in her hands.
He released her, taking the bags but remaining close, his eyes focused on her lips.
Everyone was still in the dark about them being more than friends.
However, Lynx couldn’t resist risking being caught and stealing a kiss, so he placed the bags on the floor, cupped her face with his hands, and pressed his lips against hers for a moment before pulling away.
“I missed you,” he whispered with his lips still lightly pressed against hers.
“I missed you, too, but we need to chill before we get caught.”
Before Fateema left Lynx in DC several months ago, they decided not to share with anyone that the nature of their relationship had changed. They didn’t want to be pressured to define what they had or to move at a pace that was uncomfortable.
“You’re right.”
He finally moved to the side and let her in from the cold. Just as he was about to close the door, Octavia stopped it from closing.
“I’m here!” she exclaimed.
The three friends exchanged greetings with excitement before heading to the kitchen, where the others had already begun filling their plates. Everyone was happy to see each other and didn’t hide their excitement.
“We cannot wait this long to get together again,” Fateema said.
“It does seem like forever, but who has money to travel back and forth? I know I don’t,” Adam declared.
“Every month, I’m praying my tuition is paid, so traveling isn’t feasible for me either,” Joaquin added.
Keeping in touch with each other was more challenging than expected, and they understood all too well what it meant to be a broke college student.
“We need to be more intentional with communicating. Our group text is dry as hell,” Meaghan mentioned.
“You’re right. It’s not hard to send a text once or twice a week,” Octavia agreed.
“Do we need to ask if y’all communicate regularly,” Octavia asked, referring to Lynx and Fateema.
“It would be a waste of breath,” Adam said.
“We still talk every day,” Lynx admitted.
“It looked like your visit to DC was fun,” Octavia said.
“It was. Lynx showed me a great time.”
“I bet he did,” Adam said with a smirk.
“He wouldn’t have it any other way,” Joaquin added with a matching smirk.
Lynx and Fateema caught the undertones and insinuations in their friend’s words but didn’t acknowledge them.
They continued eating, talking, and eating more as they gave life updates.
Academically, everyone was doing well, although some had to work harder than others.
Octavia was in a new relationship, while Meaghan had just ended one.
“So, how serious are you and this dude, Meaghan,” Joaquin asked.
“We’re still new but have decided to be exclusive. Why?”
“Just curious,” he responded as he looked at her lustfully.
“Just curious, my ass,” Adam said. “You trying to shoot your shot.”
“Nah, I’m already breaking up one happy home.”
“Oh, shit. Spill it,” Adam urged.
Joaquin had a sneaky link that he was starting to develop feelings for, but she wasn’t ready to end things with the guy she was dating.
“You’d be crazy to date her on some serious shit. If she’s messing around on her boyfriend with you, she’ll mess around on you with someone else,” Adam told him.
“True,” Meaghan and Octavia said simultaneously.
“Nah, I don’t think she’s like that. I didn’t know she had a man until we’d fucked a few times. Her guy cheated on her, and when we first hooked up, it was on some get-back shit.”
“I still wouldn’t trust her,” Adam said.
“What’s up with your love life, Adam?” Octavia asked.
Adam had two pregnancy scares with two different women. It scared him so much that he’d been celibate for a few months.
“Are you serious?” Lynx pressed.
“Man, try having one girl tell you she might be pregnant, and while waiting for confirmation, another girl tells you the same thing. I’m paying my way through college and can’t afford one baby, let alone two.”
“Are you wrapping up?” Joaquin asked.
“The condom broke with one of them, and with the other, I drank a little too much and was reckless.”
“Yeah, maybe it’s best if you chill for a while,” Lynx told him.
“What’s up with you two? Anything new?” Meaghan asked, directing everyone’s attention back to Fateema and Lynx.
“Nothing much. I decided to major in Kinesiology and Physical Education,” Fateema replied.
“You didn’t tell me that,” Lynx said.
Fateema shrugged. “I just did. I only decided a few days before winter break.”
“You don’t want to be a physical therapist anymore?” Octavia questioned.
“I do, but it’s a lot of school. I need something to fall back on just in case I decide not to go to grad school. I have time to figure it out though.”
“I’m definitely not going to grad school unless wherever I’m employed pays for it. I refuse to collect any more debt or work myself any harder than I already am,” Adam said.
“Same.” Joaquin agreed. “Grad school isn’t even on my radar.”
“I’m undecided about it right now. I can’t see past this year, let alone two and a half more years of undergrad plus grad school. I don’t know about that,” said Meghan.
“I plan to get my MBA, but who knows how I’ll feel when I finish undergrad. I’ll give it more thought next year,” Octavia shared.
“I’m definitely going to grad school. I already have some job offers, and most companies pay for school,” Lynx shared.
“This news doesn’t surprise any of us. Your quiet, nerdy, but low-key cool ass has always been focused. By the time we graduate, companies will be in a bidding war over you,” said Adam.
“You didn’t tell me that,” Fateema said, mimicking Lynx from a few minutes prior.
“I just did. It’s not like I’m accepting any offers this early in the game.”
“Are the companies in DC?” she continued.
“Yes.”
“But don’t you want to come back to Chicago?”
“I’m open to it, Bunny. Nothing is set in stone. Like I said, I haven’t accepted any offers.”
The two exchanged a look that said they’d talk about it later while their friends watched the exchange.
“What’s going on here?” Octavia asked suspiciously.
“Huh?” Fateema responded nervously.
“What?” Lynx asked.
“Y’all heard me. What’s going on here?” she repeated as she pointed back and forth between Lynx and Fateema.
“Umm, nothing. What makes you think something is going on?” Lynx answered.
“Let’s start with you kissing at the front door,” Octavia blurted out.
“Kissing? For real?” Meaghan questioned with surprise.
“It’s about fucking time,” Joaquin declared.
“Hell yeah!” Adam exclaimed.
“Hold on! Y’all knew about this?” Octavia questioned.
“Be for real, Tay. We all knew something was up with them. How many times have we talked about it?” Adam asked.
“No, we all suspected something might be happening between them, but that was before we left for school. It’s been almost two years since then,” Meaghan explained.
“Hello,” Fateema sang. “Y’all can stop talking about us like we aren’t in the room.”
“Well, spill it,” Octavia ordered. “Start from the beginning, and don’t lie.”
Fateema and Lynx looked at each other as if waiting for the other to speak.
“I guess the cat is out of the bag,” Lynx finally said. “Tell them, Bunny. You’re much better with words than I am.”
“It started the night of prom,” Fateema began.
“Prom? As in our senior prom,” Meaghan clarified as if they’d gone to another prom.
“Yes, and we did a lot of sneaking around that summer,” Fateema confessed.
“But why sneak around when we all knew something was brewing?” Joaquin asked.
“We didn’t know what y’all knew and didn’t want things to be weird within the group,” Lynx said.
“It wouldn’t have been weird because we expected this to happen eventually,” Adam informed them.
“Do Mr. Keno and Mr. Frasier know?” Meaghan asked.
“We haven’t told anyone. This has been our little secret since prom night,” Fateema said.
“Now that y’all know, don’t start pressuring us to do or be anything. We’re good doing what we’re doing,” Lynx warned.
Their secret was no longer a secret, and Fateema and Lynx felt a sense of relief. They had no plans to tell anyone else, but at least they didn’t have to hide from the only people they considered friends.
“Fuck, I missed this pussy,” Lynx mumbled against Fateema’s honeypot.
Their friends weren’t gone five minutes before they raced up the stairs and into Lynx’s bedroom. Fateema insisted they shower first, but he couldn’t wait that long. Before she could blink, he had her naked with her legs draped over his shoulders.
“Oh God, Lynx. It feels so good.” She cried as his mouth provided her with pleasure she didn’t get to experience often enough.
Her bud lacked attention and was sensitive, so it didn’t take her long to reach her climax. She palmed the back of Lynx’s head as she drowned him in her juices.
“You taste like Heaven, Bunny. I need to feel you.”
He moved his body on top of hers and slid his dick into her wet, warm, slippery, and welcoming hole, eliciting a moan from both of them.
“I wish I could have you every day,” he whispered.
“Me too.”
His strokes were slow and deep, and Fateema’s hypersensitive pussy responded to each one by pulsing around his girth. They couldn’t get enough of each other. She came, he came, and they came together. Another round followed every orgasm.
Sleep didn’t come easy for Fateema because she’d already begun thinking about when they’d have to part ways. The end of winter break would come quickly, and once they returned to their respective schools, it would be months before they’d see each other again, so every moment counted.
“What’s wrong?” Lynx asked because her tossing and turning was keeping him awake.
“Nothing.”
“We’re lying to each other now?” She didn’t respond, prompting Lynx to prod a little more. “Bunny, talk to me.”
“Nothing is wrong, Lynx. I just… this is hard.”
“What’s hard?”
“This… whatever this is we’re doing.”
“There’s nothing else we can do until we finish school, Bunny.”
“I know, but… never mind.”
“No, tell me what’s on your mind.”
“It’s stupid.”
“Tell me anyway.”
She sighed. “I don’t know. I see girls on campus hugged up with their boyfriends. My teammates’ boyfriends are always there rooting them on. Sometimes it’s hard not to be sad we aren’t together.”
“If I could be there to rub you down after every practice and cheer you on at each meet, you know I would. That’s not our reality right now.”
“I know. That’s why I said it’s stupid.”
“It’s not stupid, Bunny. Your feelings are valid, but there is nothing we can do to change our situation. I’m sorry.”
“I know.”