9. Izael
IZAEL
“What’s up, man?” I asked Jaylen when he stepped into my office.
“The James Beard award ceremony is a little over two months away, and look at this,” Jaylen instructed, setting his iPad on my desk.
I looked at the iPad, and instantly, my stomach knotted up when I saw the familiar yellow and pink website of T’s Tasty Temptations .
“ …River & 3 rd has a line that extends around the corner and across the block and a waitlist that is six months long. I was surprised that with all the five-star eateries in the city, anyone would want to wait that long for a reservation. The website isn’t user friendly. Rather than links that take you to the menu, reservation, or about us pages it has a series of pictures that you must determine which one to click to find the menu or reservation pages.
I entered the restaurant expecting to be greeted and seated by a ma?tre d’, but instead, I found a large black chalkboard with patrons’ names listed on it and a table number beside each party. Cute enough, I guess, but with the prices they charged, I want someone to lead me to the appropriate table. Reading street signs and following the street markers that are posted at various intervals throughout the restaurant made me feel like I was touring a foreign city.
Every area of the restaurant is Instagram ready and provides several photo ops for those looking to see and be seen. You already know that T isn’t in that group.
The servers were friendly, the restaurant was clean, and the atmosphere was lively and engaging, but…and this was a big one, the food was highly overrated. Y’all already know this is my third time going to this restaurant. They say the third time’s the charm, or it’s three strikes, and you’re out. I’ve tried, y’all. I honestly did, but…for River & 3 rd , it’s the latter.
Each night, River & 3 rd offers a different menu selection. There are three items that you can choose from with the menu revolving around some variation of a lamb, chicken, or fish dish. Tonight’s meal was biryani chicken.
I do not recall filling out a W2 for a job. I worked for my food. I added pepper, salt, and hot sauce and stopped just shy of asking them for some mace, star anise, poultry seasoning, cardamom, and Garam masala.
Y’all know the saying, “If you ain’t sneezing, it ain’t seasoned.”
I mean, come on, people. We’re in the South here. I mean, come on, sir. If you’re going to give me chicken biryani, don’t feed me something that tastes like it came out of one of the dozen chains of Mango Bhavani, the Indian restaurant chain that we all know ain’t worth the cardboard boxes they’re served out of. And for the prices, it definitely was questionable.
People don’t believe the hype. My complaints (not to be mistaken for compliments) to the chef. Chef Adler, you get one star from me. River & 3 rd gets two and a half out of five stars for me.
Its only saving grace was the friendly staff because looking for my own table, eating bland food, and paying out the poonani for that was simply not worth the experience.
For me, it rates two and a half silver chef spoons.
Chef’s Kiss,
T.
“What the hell is this bullshit!” I growled.
Jaylen grabbed the iPad just before I slammed it down.
“My bad, man,” I muttered as I rubbed my temples.
“Yeah, I knew that wouldn’t improve your mood.”
I was already in a bad mood because the renovations on The Sweet Spot, our other location, were taking longer and becoming more costly than we had planned and budgeted for. I received the call today about a leaky roof, and they would need to do repairs to that, which added another five grand onto the budget.
“I wish that I could find whoever T was. Man, I swear I would catch a case.”
“Shit, you think this is bad? You should’ve seen me trying to calm Adler down.”
“He doesn’t deserve this. He’s an excellent cook,” I replied.
“Yeah. Well, I’m heading home to my woman so I can chill for the night. I’ll sleep on it and figure out something overnight. I always think better after a good night’s sleep.”
My stomach growled. “Yeah, and I do on a full stomach.”
I pulled my hand down my face, shut my computer off, and grabbed my keys. Jaylen and I walked to the parking lot, dapped each other up, and headed in our different directions.
* * *
“Hey,” Talia greeted me when I stepped into the apartment.
Her face was lit up beautifully with happiness and tugged at my heart. I could no more be sad around this girl than a kid in a candy store with an unlimited budget.
“Wassup, girl?”
She hopped off the couch and made her way toward me in her lavender night shorts and crop top.
“How was your day, baby?” she asked, tipping up on her toes to kiss me on the lips.
It had been two weeks since we first had sex, and neither of us regretted it. It seemed to have been the only thing missing between us since we already had a good friendship and trust between us. The intimacy took us to another level that we both wanted and needed.
Our only point of contention was that she wasn’t ready to tell her brother the truth. I didn’t like hiding or sneaking around behind his back. I wasn’t that nigga. I had no problem owning my shit, but she was hellbent on waiting. It made no sense to me, but I wanted to protect her heart and mind, so I would give her what she thought she needed for a little while.
I wrapped my arm around her and set my computer bag down on the breakfast bar. I wrapped my other arm around her and pulled her close against my body, loving how she fit against me. She was warm, soft, and smelled sweetly of lavender and vanilla.
Her energy, her scent, and the softness of her touch relaxed every part of my being. All the stress of the day and the frustration about T’s Tasty Temptations fell away with my baby in my arms.
I pressed my lips against hers and enjoyed the pillowy softness until I wanted more. Pressing into the kiss, I didn’t relent until Talia opened her mouth for me. She tasted of cinnamon.
“Big Red,” she stated, laughing. It was her favorite gum as a kid.
“It’s better now that I’ve got my woman in my arms,” I answered her previous question and nuzzled her neck.
“Mm. I’m glad I could make it better. What made it so bad?”
“A lot of changes on a reconstruction project for one of the restaurants, a negative review, over budget…What isn’t wrong? But I don’t want to focus on that. What about you? How was your day?”
“It was okay. I’ve spent the day cleaning and creating new recipes to share on my blog. I had lunch with my mother, and that was about it. Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
“Good. I have a sampler platter I want you to try.”
I washed my hands, changed into a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt, and returned to the living room. We ate barbeque short ribs, calamari, chicken strips, French fries, and a spring roll.
I was stuffed when I finished and just pulled her into my arms. We reclined on the couch and watched Survival of the Thickest since it was her night to choose our Netflix and chill movie.
We finished two episodes before my fingers found their way underneath the hem of her night top. I was reclined on the couch, and Talia lay between my legs with her head against my chest.
I fingered her nipples and rolled them back and forth until they were stiff peaks. I slid my hand into her shorts and fingered her pussy until she arched her back and moaned.
“Take your top off.”
She sat up and removed her top and let her titties fall free. When she lay back against me again, I slid my hand back into her shorts.
“Put your hand in here with mine,” I instructed.
She slid her hand into her pants with mine. I grabbed one of her fingers and slid it between her lips.
“I want you to see what I enjoy, how silky and wet you are,” I whispered.
“I already know.”
“Then let me see you pleasure yourself.”
She lifted one of her legs and slid two fingers into her pussy. Her hips gyrated tightly in the small space that we had. Talia bit her bottom lip, closed her eyes, and pushed her fingers in and out of herself.
“Take off your panties and your shorts, baby.”
She removed her fingers, and I grabbed them and slid them in my mouth. When I finished sucking her juices off her fingers, she removed her pants and shorts and then lay back again.
This time, she thrust three fingers into her pussy while I caressed her titties. I basked in the sound of her wetness as her fingers pumped in and out of her pussy. Her moans were soft and sensual in the dark room with nothing but the flash of the TV as the scenes changed.
“I’m about to cum, Zae.”
“Go ahead, baby.”
She pumped until she came as she pressed her head against my shoulder.
“That’s it. Give daddy those fingers, baby.”
She reached back over her shoulder, and I leaned down and sucked them clean. When I finished, I lifted her off me and moved into position between her legs. I hooked her legs over my shoulders and sucked her clit while slipping two fingers into her pussy. I scissored them until she cried out at the pleasure she received.
Talia lifted her ass off the couch to feed me. I kept my eyes on her as her eyes fluttered closed and popped open again with different actions I took on her body.
The only thing I wanted was to protect this girl and make her happy. I got joy from the simplest things that Talia did, whether it was snorting when she laughed at something stupid on TV, dancing when she created a new recipe, or simply smiling when she opened her eyes and saw me first thing in the morning. She put a longing for more and joy in my heart.
I was moving forward in this thing we were doing. We hadn’t exactly stated what it was, but we were enjoying one another. I knew that I freaked her out when I told her that I loved her, and she hadn’t said it back to me yet, but I knew she did.
I did love Talia. That was the crazy shit. I’d known it for years. Cee-Cee had known it, too, which was why we broke up. It wasn’t a bad break, but she had simply told me one day that she knew she would never have my heart.
Cee-Cee was the one who first told me I was in love with Talia. As much as I wanted to deny it, she called me out on my bullshit, pointing out how differently I behaved when Talia came around. She said I always watched Talia when she was in a room, seemed to seek her out in a crowd, and talked about her at the oddest and most random times.
I hadn’t realized it, but when I thought back, she was right. Cee-Cee said she wanted to set me free, but I told her that Talia and I weren’t like that. She said that we should have been, and we shouldn’t allow Talia’s family or Tahj to define what we were to each other.
Even now, as I loved on Talia’s body, I wondered how long it would last. I always had that niggling doubt that I could make anything work with a woman for long. Even the greatest love affairs fell apart. They always did. My parents were living proof of that. As much as they’d loved each other and couldn’t keep their hands off one another, they couldn’t keep it together.
“Baby, are you okay?” she asked after I made her cum.
I hadn’t realized that I had laid back on the couch and become lost in my thoughts.
“Yeah. Why?”
“You just checked out on me after you made me cum.”
I caressed her cheek. “Sorry. I was just thinking about my parents.”
“Everything good?”
“Man, I don’t know.”
“Talk to me,” she whispered and lay between my legs with her head on my chest.
“I don’t understand how two people who seemingly loved each other so hard, had everything they could want, and seemed perfect for each other could just fall apart.”
“Have you ever talked to them about it?”
“Yeah. My parents both claimed that they grew apart. How the fuck does that shit happen?”
“I don’t know, baby. But sometimes people do. Sometimes, they find that they have nothing in common, and it becomes more painful to hold on than to let go. Why are you letting that bother you? It’s been twenty-one years.”
“What if it happens to me, Chè? What if I love so hard, and one day, I find myself alone the way my mom is? My pops moved on, but he’s been doing that for years now. It’s like he can’t settle into a relationship or peace or happiness. He can’t make a family for himself. What if I have that same problem?”
Talia turned around and folded her arms on my chest. Resting her chin on her forearms, she stared into my eyes.
“You don’t have to worry about that. You know why?”
“No.”
“Because I don’t ever plan on going anywhere. Our love won’t fall apart, and we won’t outgrow each other. We’ve known each other almost our entire lives. I know everything about you, Zae—the good and the bad, the right and the wrong. I accept you as you are. And you do the same for me. That’s how I know that you won’t be like your dad. You won’t have a hard time settling down. And you know something else?”
“What’s that?”
“Your dad already has a family. Even if things don’t work out with him and what’s her face…”
“Staci.”
“Yeah, if things don’t work out with them, he’s still got you and your brother. You’re his family. And I don’t know what happened between your parents. Maybe they didn’t want to share all the ugly details with you guys. But what I do know is that I’m going to fight for you. I’m not letting you go that easily, and I would like to believe that you would fight for me too.”
I lifted her chin and leaned forward.
“I will always fight for you, Chè,” I declared before I leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
Talia moved and tugged at my basketball shorts. Her hands stroked my dick, and it jerked in her hand as she pulled it near her mouth. When her lips closed around me, I almost fucking nutted in her mouth.
Her mouth was hot and closed so tightly around me that it created an impenetrable seal. She hummed around me, creating little vibrations from the depths of her throat that lulled me into a false sense of comfort and peace.
I rocked forward and back, working my way to the back of her throat. But then she began to do these little tricks with her fingers on my nuts just before she pulled me out. Talia moved down to suck my balls into her mouth. I rested my hand on her head and forgot about every problem I’d thought about before.
“Oh, shit, baby. That’s it.” I groaned as her hand continued to jerk my dick in rapid motions.
I felt my nuts tighten, felt that shit about to explode.
“Baby…baby, get on this dick. Get on this dick, baby,” I pleaded.
She didn’t want to get off a nigga’s balls. She sucked them like she was the one about to cum.
“Please, Chè. Get on this dick now.”
She pushed back and hopped up. My baby straddled me and wrapped those thick ass thighs around me as she held onto the back of the couch with one hand and held my dick with the other. Slowly, she worked her way down my length. I grabbed her titties and buried my face between them as I licked along her cleavage. She was starting to sweat there.
“Ohhh, Zae. Give it to me, baby.” She hummed as she rocketed up and then slid down my shit again.
My nigga was harder than a brick going up inside of her. I could have sworn I could break some shit with my dick because it was so damn hard. My hands wrapped around and gripped her ass tightly and massaged it.
“That’s it, baby. Whose pussy is this, Chè?”
“Yours, Zae.”
“Whose, Chè?”
“Yours,” she cried as I thrust up into her.
I showed her little ass no mercy, and within minutes, I flipped her off me and had her facing the back of the couch with one leg looped over my arm and the other knee barely positioned on the couch.
I tore that ass up as she screamed and punched the back of the couch. “Damn, Zae. Nigga, you’re tearing my shit up ! I ain’t gonna be able to have no kids!”
“You gonna have whatever you wanna have one day. But today…you ’bout to get this dick. Now take this dick, and shut your pretty ass up with all that complaining gahdamnit!”
I jackhammered her pussy so hard I turned that shit into a construction site. There was no way no other nigga could ever go up in her shit after me and be comfortable. He’d know that her shit belonged to someone else, and he would never be a good fit.
“I’ma get this ass next,” I mumbled as I pulled the hem of my T-shirt up and wiped the sweat from my face.
“Nooo!”
“Yes, I am. Don’t tell me no, Chè. Whose pussy is this?”
“Yours, Izael!”
“And whose ass?”
“Yours, baby,” she whimpered.
“Good girl,” I replied and slapped her hard on her ass while I continued to thrust up into her.
The couch hit the back of the wall several times. I knew it would leave a mark on the wall. Nothing a little paint couldn’t handle. Tonight, I was getting this pussy, and I wasn’t letting anything stop me.
If we were only meant to last a little while, I would enjoy the time we had.