18. Talia
TALIA
“How are you feeling over there?”
“I’m good, baby. Mmm, yes. Just like that. Oh, God.”
“Damn, you keep moaning like that and I’m ’bout to get jealous of Nicole’s fingers and kick her ass up outta here.”
“Don’t be jealous, baby. Her fingers feel damn good, but they don’t have anything on how you make my body feel.”
“I can’t tell. Shit, I don’t ever remember having you moan the way you’ve been moaning the last twenty minutes over there.”
“No, baby. That’s different.”
“How? Because you be screaming my name and hollering you’re about to have a heart attack when I’m all up in them guts and shit?”
“Izael!”
Embarrassment warmed my insides as our masseuses giggled so hard. Their asses weren’t slick. I bet they were probably wishing he was making them scream like that, especially his masseuse. She was giggling a little too hard for my liking, and his comment wasn’t that funny.
I smirked and turned my head away in the opposite direction as my masseuse moved down the backs of my thighs. It didn’t matter. He was my man, and there wasn’t a damn thing anyone could do about it, except be green with envy.
Izael and I planned a joint date night tonight. We were doing one thing that he wanted to do, and one thing that I wanted to do. It had been my suggestion for us to have a couples’ massage at Spa Estime. My man had been stressed lately, and while I didn’t know the specifics, I knew that it had something to do with a new business venture he was involved in. It was related to some luxury apartments that were being built.
I needed him to relax so that he could be on his best at all times in his business. My man was a beast in the streets. Although Izael and Tahj had done some lightweight hustling and were wild a few years, they had both gone legit. Izael was a true hustler in the business world with all his growing investments. I was determined to have his back while he built his empire, even if it included something minor like a full body massage.
Izael balked when I insisted on paying. He wanted to spoil me and pay for everything, but I pointed out this part of the date was my plan. We argued about it for a few seconds, until the receptionist and another masseuse who happened to be walking by teamed up with me. Outnumbered three to one, he backed down, stating he could never win an argument against three women. The receptionist had firmly replied with a smirk and, “Glad you know.”
He still had not shared what he had planned for us to do tonight during his half of the date night, but I was excited to see what it was. Izael insisted that we focus on building our relationship for a little while before we turned it physical again. And though I was horny as hell, I agreed with him.
That didn’t mean I would make it easy for him. I enjoyed teasing him by sitting on his lap gyrating or leaning over brushing my breasts all in his face and making suggestive comments. Still, I respected the stance that he made, and I honestly knew it was the right thing.
When he had been in my home, we had sex so frequently it felt like we were fucking like rabbits all the time. The approach we took now would tell if we had what it took to stand the test of time. This would prove if we truly had more in common than hot sex and a shared childhood history.
Our date nights forced us to talk, share our thoughts and feelings, and build on the connection we had in a different manner. I loved when he shared his dreams with me about building a family one day, and his fears about losing everything the way his father and mother had. He still didn’t understand why they didn’t work out, but I insisted the story would come in time. While Izael insisted they just broke up for no reason, I insisted there was something they weren’t willing to share with him yet, and he needed to respect that.
I refused to buy that people broke up for no reason. It would be different if they were just dating, but they had been married for years and had two sons who were in their preteen and teen years. Too much was invested between them to just decide one day, “Oh, well, we don’t love each other anymore or have anything in common. Let’s split up.” It didn’t make sense to me, but I didn’t believe that it was something he needed to stress about either.
It was my intention to prove to Izael that I loved him and that I wasn’t going anywhere. It didn’t matter what we went through, I was willing to put in the work and fight for him like he’d fought for me. I loved my man, and he was worth whatever we had to go through to earn our happily ever after. I would forgive him until the end of time without rhyme or reason.
“Izael,” I called out after another forty minutes. “Izael, I know you’re not over there snoring.”
His masseuse Denise giggled. “Yes, he is. He’s knocked out.”
“Nisey is known for giving men the hands. She’s got those knockout drops in her fingers,” my masseuse Nicole stated.
“It must be this lofi music, the waterfalls, lavender, and dim lighting,” I pointed out. I wasn’t giving that heffa too much credit on my man. Not that she probably hadn’t done her big one on Izael, but still.
I swung my legs over the side of the massage table as the masseuses walked to the door.
“See you guys around,” Nicole commented.
“Thanks, ladies. Have a good evening.”
“You too,” they called back.
I slid off the table and walked over to my man. My hands gently rubbed up the backs of his thighs and to the inside of them. I dragged his towel up over his ass as I went until I could reach his dick. I stroked it softly and then cupped it.
I clenched below with need and had a brief thought of positioning myself so that I could take Izael into my mouth. But before I could allow that thought to form good, he sat up and swung on me.
I ducked out of the way just in time to avoid getting my head knocked off.
“Damn, Zae.”
I huffed as he said, “Chè, the fuck?”
“You almost took my head off,” I explained as I walked to where my clothes hung in the oak wardrobe on the opposite end of the room.
“Did you grab my shit while I was sleeping?” he asked, holding his dick.
I smirked. “Um, yeah. I was a little hungry.” I licked my lips for emphasis.
He chuckled, shook his head, and scratched his beard. “I thought I was being assaulted.”
“By who?”
“I don’t know,” he replied with a shrug. “My masseuse. Shit, the last thing I remember is her putting them magic hands on me. I wake up to my dick being grabbed. I was about to knock her ass out.”
“Why?”
“This shit belongs to you.” He tugged his manhood firmly and got off the bed.
“Does that mean I can have some?” I asked, walking back to him with our clothes in my arms.
“Your little freaky ass is gonna get some soon enough. Trying to attack me and take advantage of me while I’m vulnerable.”
I shoved him as he took his clothes from me. “Boy, you’re killing me with all this victim mentality.”
“Ain’t that what women usually say?”
“I have claimed no such thing. Here, zip me up.” I turned around and gave him my back so that he could zip my bodysuit in the back.
He did as I asked before getting dressed himself.
“You still not gonna tell me where you’re taking me?”
“Nope. That’s what you get for assaulting a nigga in his sleep.”
“Ugghh! I can’t stand your ass.”
He chuckled as I headed for the door.
* * *
“Zae.” I squealed gleefully and clapped my hands together as he pulled into the parking lot of Paint the Night. It was a sip and paint establishment with live jazz musicians, and they served a different meal each night. You never knew what they were serving until they brought your food out. It was never anything too exotic or crazy, but they did warn you if you had certain allergies to bring your own food. They also allowed you the option to bring your own bottle or choose one from their establishment.
“Did I do well on my selection?” he asked and looked over at me.
I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close. Our kiss was slow and intentional. The car was filled with the sounds of our lips smacking as we devoured each other’s mouths. When I finally pulled back, I replied. “Yes, sir. You did well.”
“Good. After that relaxing massage, I pray that I don’t fall my ass asleep up in here,” he mumbled and turned off the engine.
Izael rushed around to my side and opened the door for me. He took my hand in his and helped me out of the car.
“Have I ever told you that I absolutely adored, respected, and admired my brother’s old friend Izael? But the man that’s in this relationship with me has stolen my heart and shot it to the moon.”
He chuckled and took my hand and brushed his lips across my knuckles.
“Damn, girl. Just to the moon? I was hoping to send that muthafucka out of orbit.”
“You’re so damn close, Zae. I’m thinking that’s gonna happen the next time you blow my back out.”
He laughed with his head tilted back and led me into the establishment. We stepped into a large warehouse with concrete floors, overhead wooden beams, track lighting, and exposed pipes. Though it had an industrial look to it, the hanging plants, oversized windows, and large stage with the band already playing gave it an elegant and romantic appeal.
“These are your dinner cards with your names on them. When you go inside, find the table that has matching cards, and that’s where you’ve been placed for the night. There are two assistants to every three tables, and there are four people assigned to a table. You’ll enjoy your meal first, and after everyone has finished, you’ll wash your hands at the large utility sinks at the rear of the room. When you’ve returned to your table, your assistant will bring all your supplies to the table so that you can get started,” Alleyna, the greeter, explained.
“Is there a particular project that we will be doing tonight?”
“Yes, the theme is ‘Bubbly Chocolate Rose’ for date night. If you prefer to freestyle, simply let your assistant know that and she will get you set up with a blank canvas.”
“Perfect,” Izael commented.
“And your champagne will be brought to your table once you have settled in, Mr. Ellis.”
“Oooh, champagne, huh?” I teased as we walked away from the greeter. “Why not wine?”
“Because my baby deserves the best.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t BYOB.”
“I started to do it, but your nosy ass would have asked so many questions until you figured that shit out.”
I laughed and hit him on the arm. “I’m not nosy.”
“Try telling that to someone who hasn’t known you for almost all your life.” Izael winked and kissed me on the forehead.
“Are we late?” I saw people moving around in the large room beyond, but most people were already sitting at a table.
“No, baby. We’re right on time. Come on.”
We settled in, and shortly after receiving our champagne, we were served herb buttermilk southern fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits, corn on the cob, green beans, and garlic butter mashed potatoes. With the good food, great company of the other couple at our table, and the jazz band playing, I felt so satiated that I didn’t think I’d be able to paint.
“Look at you. I forgot you knew how to draw,” I gushed as I leaned over and looked at Izael’s canvas toward the end of the session.
In the hour and a half that we had been painting, I’d barely managed to finish painting my pre-drawn scenery, and he had created one from scratch. I had focused so intently on applying the right colors to the chocolates and champagne and filling in the intricate lines of the roses that I hadn’t bothered to look at what anyone else was doing.
“Ahh, I do a little sum’n, sum’n,” Izael muttered as he put the finishing touches on his painting. He drew a bowl of chocolate roses with strawberries inside of them and two glasses of champagne, one with lipstick. They were on a large silver platter beside a pool.
“That looks good, bro,” Marlon, the other man at the table complimented.
“Thanks, bro. But not half as good as what your wife did,” Izael replied.
Sonya, Marlon’s wife, had gone all out and created an entire setting. She painted a room with a fireplace in the background, a charcuterie board lying in front of the fireplace, and two glasses of half-full champagne. Two droplets spilled from a champagne bottle laying on the floor just a little out of the scene.
“She loves this shit, man,” Marlon confessed.
“You need to quit selling insurance and sell your paintings,” I interjected.
Sonya’s eyes sparkled. “We’re working on that now.”
“Good luck to you with that.”
We made a little more small talk before the evening was over and Izael was driving me home.
“You sure you don’t want to come up for a nightcap?” I asked.
I was definitely feeling horny after all the champagne that I drunk and the romantic evening I enjoyed.
“No, baby. What I’m going to do is walk you up, see you safely inside, and give you a kiss that will leave you begging for more. But we’re going to do this. We’ve got this. Ours is the stuff that dream relationships are made of, and I’m determined to give us our best shot.”
“Aww, you’re so sweet.”
He kissed my lips again before he came around to my side of the car and helped me up. True to his word, Izael checked my house, walked back to the door, and left me with a kiss that had my panties wet.
“Good night, baby.”
“Good night, Zae.”
“I’ll call you when I get in the car.”
“Okay.”
It was our custom to talk on the phone until he arrived safely back at his place. Sometimes, the conversations went a little longer, but mostly I would fall asleep, and he would end the call.
My heart danced in my chest. He was right. Our relationship was the stuff that dreams were made of. I was thankful after all the losers, God had blessed me with the man of my dreams, and he was placing a new dream in my heart every single day.