23. Izael
IZAEL
THREE WEEKS LATER
“Thank you for coming to dinner, baby.”
“You’ve been a hard woman to track down lately. Any time you answer your phone, or if I find you on the other end of mine, I’m definitely not missing that call.”
She laughed that husky, beautiful laugh that I always adored.
“Talia, it’s good to see you, too, and on my baby’s arm no less.”
“Thank you, Ms. Amanda. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you,” Talia stated as she hugged my mother.
“Oh, I’ve been busy, honey. Traveling the world and enjoying life.”
“You deserve it. You’ve worked hard all your life,” I stated.
She smiled up at me and patted my cheek.
“Your brother and Celina are already in the backyard on the patio,” she stated.
My mama was a beautiful, dark-skinned woman who stood at five foot three and weighed roughly 130 pounds with long, wavy hair that fell to the middle of her back that she usually wore in a bun and dark brown eyes that sparkled like diamonds in a pool of black gold. Her beauty was breathtaking.
We followed her out to the back patio, where Rashad and his wife sat. My brother hopped up when he saw us, dapped me up, and gave me a side hug, and then he turned to Talia and pulled her into his embrace.
“Always good to see you again, beautiful. Glad the two of you got it together,” Rashad stated with a smirk at me and a wink at Talia.
“Thank you, Shad,” Talia stated.
We all turned to Celina, who appeared to be extremely engrossed in something on her phone.
“Celina,” I greeted with a nod.
“Oh, hey, Zae. Hi, Talia,” she greeted.
She barely looked at either of us before she turned her attention back to the phone. I couldn’t lie. I didn’t much care for Celina, but she loved my brother and took good care of him, so although she could come off as rude and condescending, for his sake, I tolerated her. Celina wasn’t a bad person; she just thought she was better than us. She had been raised that way—to look down on other people who hadn’t grown up in the comfortable, luxurious lifestyle that she had.
“Dinner will be served shortly. How have you all been?” Mama asked when she took her seat at the patio table with the rest of us.
“Life’s been good. I can’t complain,” I stated.
There were other murmurs around the table of similar outlooks. My mother checked her phone and smiled.
“Looks like dinner has arrived and my announcement as well.”
“Announcement?” I asked.
She nodded and patted my shoulder as she stood. “I’ll be right back. Be patient.”
I looked at Rashad. “Shad, what’s she talking about?”
“I don’t even know, man. She just invited us over to dinner. She said she missed us and had something she wanted to tell me.”
“Damn, I hope everything is okay with her.”
“Don’t think bad, baby. Your mother’s fine. Based on her expression, I can tell it must be good news,” Talia stated and grabbed my hand to give it a little reassuring squeeze.
I leaned forward and kissed her lips. “Thank you, babe.”
We sat around the table and made small talk before my mama reappeared with a man behind her. He was a light-skinned man who stood an inch or two over six feet with light eyes and curly hair. His ass kind of reminded me of my pops but without the rough edge, one of them pretty boy niggas. I wondered who the hell he was, but before I could ask, Mama made it clear.
“Everyone, this is Kendrick. Kendrick, these are my sons, Rashad and Izael. This is my daughter-in-law, Celina, and I’m hoping my future daughter-in-law, Talia,” Mama introduced as she went around the table.
“And Kendrick is…” Celina stated, shaking her head from side to side with her neck stuck out.
Mama set the platters of food she had been holding down, and Kendrick followed suit. She held her hand up and showed a big diamond ring that hadn’t been there before. My guess was she put it on when she stepped back into the house to greet this nigga.
“My fiancé,” Mama announced.
“Congratulations!” Talia stated.
“Aww, Mama Manda! Congrats!” Celina gushed.
“The fuck?”
“Rashad, watch your mouth!” Mama chastised him with a firm look when he finally reacted.
Kendrick looked on but wisely kept his trap shut.
“It’s nice to meet you, Kendrick,” Talia stated and stood to shake his hand.
Interestingly enough, Celina followed suit, and both ladies gave him a warm and welcoming smile as Mama stared at Rashad.
“Aye, big homie. It’s nice to meet you, but we need to talk. I didn’t even know my mama was dating, and now, she’s introducing her fiancé. I can’t lie. It’s a shock, so my brother’s reaction ain’t too far off from how I feel,” I stated when I stood to greet him.
“I respect and understand that. I’ve told Amanda for a while that I wanted to meet you all. That was long before I proposed, but she insisted on doing things her way. I respect your mother, and while I didn’t think that this was the best route, I won’t go against her wishes. I only want to make her happy.”
“Kendrick and I met at work. He’s a cardiothoracic surgeon. This is who I’ve been traveling with for the last year whenever I’m on vacation,” Mama announced.
My mother had become a traveling nurse when I graduated high school and had only recently, within the last two years, stopped traveling and was stationed at one hospital.
“Why don’t we all enjoy this meal and get to know each other over dinner? Food is always a good source of joy,” Talia stated to break the tension.
We agreed and sat down. It took a while before Rashad finally broke down his barriers. But I sensed, like me, he could tell that Kendrick was a good person, and he genuinely made my mama happy. That was the only thing that mattered to me.
Before we left, she walked us to the car. I hugged and kissed her.
“I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have sprung it on you all this way.”
“It’s good, Mama. I want you to be happy. Daddy told us what he’d taken you through all those years ago. You deserve to find someone too,” I conceded.
“Thank you, Zae. I love you.”
“Not as much as I love you, Mama. Shad will come around.”
“I’m not worried about Rashad. That boy’s always in his feelings when it comes to me. I know he’ll come around. But, Zae?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Take care of that girl’s heart,” she stated and jutted her chin at Talia, who sat in the car.
“Always, Mama. Always,” I repeated and kissed her on the cheek.
“Thank you for being the peace in the storm, baby,” I commented to Talia when I got into the car and pulled off.
“Always,” she replied, kissing my cheek.
I chuckled, thinking those were the same words I’d just repeated to my mama.
“So, when are you going to give up that apartment?” I asked.
“Why should I?”
She winked at me with a little sass. I reached over the console, grabbed her hand, and linked our fingers together.
“Because you belong with me, in my home, in my bed, and in my heart,” I explained and pulled our hands up to my lips and kissed her fingers.
“I thought I was already in your heart.”
“Damn straight, but I miss coming home to you.”
“Nobody told you to be in a rush to move out of my place.”
I sighed. “That was because I’d found out the truth. I couldn’t keep looking in your face every day knowing the truth and not saying anything. It was the same as lying.”
“I’ll be ready to move in with you soon.”
“When?”
“When the time is right, baby. Trust me. We’ll both know when that is.”
She winked at me, and my heart burst with joy.
“You spending the night with me tonight?” I asked as I drove down the street.
“Sure am.”
“Good. Because I hear your body calling me,” I stated and launched into R. Kelly’s lyrics.
Talia giggled her ass off as I drove while I sang off key. When we stepped into my house, all that giggling stopped. I lifted her into my arms and carried her up the stairs to my bedroom. My lips meshed with hers, and our tongues tangled together. Our breathing was harsh and heavy, and when I lay her on the bed, I could smell the scent of her arousal.
I peeled her jeans off and removed her legs from her panties. Talia unbuttoned her blouse but didn’t remove it. Her breasts spilled out of her bra the minute I unlatched the front clasp.
I sucked her nipple while I pinched the other one. Her moans were loud, and her arousal was evident in the slickness of her lower lips and thighs when I reached down to drag my finger between her pussy lips.
This woman was everything I’d dreamed of and more. As a matter of fact, I hadn’t ever had any dreams as good as the reality of Talia. She was my portion, my reason for being, and the purpose of my life. I realized now that I lived to love her. I was created to be her protector, her lover, and her friend. I didn’t give a fuck who else didn’t agree or couldn’t see it that way. I knew in my heart that we were meant to be.
Initially, her brother hadn’t been happy with us being together, and her parents weren’t upset but a little reserved. However, everyone had become more supportive of us.
Her parents had come to my house to have dinner with us, which she cooked. They laughed, and we all had a great time.
At the end of the evening, her father pulled me aside and said, “I know you’ll do right by her, son.”
I promised him that I would never allow anything to come between us again, and I would never be the reason she cried tears. That shit was a lie. Because as I thrust inside of her now, tears poured down her cheeks.
“Ohh, baby. Give it to me harder,” she purred as she grabbed my biceps and held on like she was clinging to life itself.
“You sure, baby?”
“I can take it. Don’t hold back.”
That was all I needed to hear. I gripped her ankles and shoved her legs back. With force, I rocked my hips forward and annihilated her ass. Talia’s body shook, her breasts swayed, and she hollered until she became hoarse. But I didn’t let up or ease off her ass one bit.
I pumped into her so hard and so forcefully because I wanted her never to doubt that all of this belonged to me.
“I’ve gotta cum, Zae,” she cried out several minutes later as her face was awash with tears.
“Give it to me, baby.”
Her pussy clenched around my dick, squeezing and stroking it as I moved in and out of her slowly. I watched as she convulsed all around me with that hot, pink meat. When I pulled back, I saw the evidence of my release as well.
I rubbed her clitoris, and aftershocks rolled through her body.
“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up,” I stated and carried her into the bathroom.