9. Salem
Lourdes was back. Lourdes was safe for Koi. There was no attachment or emotions there, and she could avoid staring at the one man she wanted. That was how I knew she would be here tonight.
I leaned against the brick warehouse with one foot propped against it and the other resting on the ground. I had a bag looped around one hand and a drink tray sitting on the hood of her car.
I held the smoke in my lungs before I slowly released it. I took another pull on the blunt and held it in again. It calmed my nerves, and I was nervous as hell when it came to Koi.
I heard the laughter as it poured out of the building when the doors opened. Koi was usually one of the last ones trickling out of the building, unless, of course, I was the subject matter.
I put the blunt out and tossed the butt into the pedestal ashtray beside me. I pushed off the wall with one foot and grabbed the drink tray off the hood of her car and rested my hip against it instead.
I didn’t have to wait long because she came out five minutes later, giggling with Chelsea. Her friend spotted me first. A tiny smile turned the corner of her lips up, she waved her fingers at me, and then stated, “Koi, your friend is here. Hi, Salem.”
“Hey, Chels.”
“Will I see you tomorrow?” Chelsea asked me.
“I’ll be here in time for class.”
“Good. You’re a hot request around here.”
“I told you I would be,” I replied and winked at Chelsea. She hugged and kissed Koi before she walked over to her car.
Koi stood in front of me with her head slightly tilted. “Hey. What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you. I brought you dinner because I figured your ass hadn’t eaten.”
She giggled. “I planned to, but the staff meeting got me caught up.”
“Yeah, I know. I heard Professor Jimenez talking about it earlier.”
“Mm. So you figured I wouldn’t eat.”
“Exactly.”
“And you went and got me dinner.”
“I did.”
“And you knew I liked The Oyster House, how?”
“I pay attention to your little ass, baby. You were talking about it with some of the girls in class one day.”
She eagerly took the boba tea from my hand and sipped it greedily. Her eyes closed, and she moaned.
“Exactly what I needed.”
“Not surprised. You drink one in class every day.”
Koi met my gaze, and I saw something in hers. It wasn’t just desire but also gratitude. She appreciated that I paid attention to her wants and needs and that I noticed the small details that mattered to her.
“To what do I owe this pleasure? The visit, I mean,” she hurriedly corrected herself. Koi embarrassed easily.
“I thought we could break bread together and talk.”
“Where? In my car? Because I don’t see another one here. What did you do? Catch an Uber?”
“Nah. I live in those apartments over there,” I explained and bobbed my head at the loft apartments across the street.
“That explains why you were at the coffee shop that day when I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
I nodded. “So, you wanna get out of the public eye or what?” I asked, knowing that she was concerned about people seeing us together.
I knew that it wasn’t cool to play on her insecurities, but I wanted her, and I wasn’t above using opportunities that played in my favor.
So, yeah, she was right. I could be manipulative when I wanted to be.
She looked around as one car after another pulled out of the parking spot. I saw her biding her time as she pretended to think about what she wanted to do. Finally, she replied, “Okay,” after the last car pulled out.
I took her hand and was surprised when she didn’t pull it back. We jogged across the middle of the street when the flow of cars eased up a little bit, rather than waiting for the light to change.
After we had settled into my apartment and washed our hands, we sat down at the low-slung table in my living room with our backs pressed against the bottom of the couch. We both sat on pillows on the floor, crushing our dinner.
“I always wondered what these loft apartments look like. The chrome and black decor fits you perfectly, and I love these hardwood floors. What are they, cherrywood?”
“Yep.”
“And that view from your balcony overlooking the park across the street and the waterfalls a block away is priceless.”
“Same thing I thought when I snatched this place up.”
“How does a college student afford a place like this? And don’t tell me the modeling jobs. I know my friend pays, but she’s not paying you that well.”
I smirked. There was no better time than now to share my background with her. After all, she had shared her troubles with me already. I set my fork down and pushed my food away.
“I haven’t always been this upstanding citizen you see before you.”
She giggled, but then her eyes widened, and I knew she was trying to decipher if I was serious or not.
“My moms had me at eighteen, and she was a single parent. I was her only child, and it was always the two of us. I knew she dated, but she never brought anyone around me, and she wasn’t out there like that.
She started treating me like the man of the house.
When I started noticing how hard she was struggling, I decided to do something about it. ”
“How old were you?”
“Fifteen.”
Koi set her fork down and chewed her food slowly. Turning to face me, she pulled her knees to her chest. I glanced down at her feet. She had beautiful feet, and it was for that reason that I had sucked her toes that night. I mean, I wasn’t a foot man or anything, but she could get her toes sucked.
“Let me guess. You started selling drugs?”
“Yep. For two years, I did my shit. Made sure she could pay the bills, buy groceries, and had some extra money in her pockets. Everything extra, I stashed.”
“Did you drop out?”
I stirred my food but didn’t take a bite.
“Nah, she didn’t play that shit. She knew what I was doing in the streets, and she didn’t turn my money away.
But she did threaten me to beat my ass if I dropped out.
The plan was always for me to go to college.
Only, I got hemmed up when I was seventeen, and those dreams were lost. I got caught with twenty-five g’s, and I was charged with possession with intent to sell.
I spent the next three years of my life in prison.
“I got out at twenty and spent the next year of my life trying to figure out what to do. I had money, but I had saved that for something greater than college. I didn’t qualify for grants or shit.
I got wind of this program for ex-cons. I hooked up with the man in charge of the program, and he was a reformed dope dealer too.
He understood what I was going through. Anyway, the program paid my way through college.
All I had to do was maintain an A average. ”
“That’s why you work your ass off.”
“Exactly. So, I used my money as a down payment on the home my mama wanted to buy. She made me use some to get this place for myself. With the rest of it, I stashed it until I’m ready to launch my business.”
“What business is that?”
“Promise you won’t laugh.”
“No. Dreams are important. I would never downplay them.”
“I want to start a coaching business. Public and motivational speaking is where my primary focus will be, but I’ll also provide career coaching for ex-cons like me.”
“That’s cool, Salem. Why would you think I would laugh?”
“People don’t always take my shit seriously, ya know.”
“I do.”
“I know. That’s why I like you.”
She dipped her head and laughed. I tilted her chin back up and stared into her eyes. “I’m serious. You can lust after a person and want to do all sorts of shit with them, but to build something substantial, you first gotta like that person, and I like the hell out of you, Koi Hall.”
“I like you too, Salem Gates.” The way that she said it was almost as if she couldn’t believe that I genuinely liked her. I still held her chin, and I used it to pull her closer. Koi didn’t resist but waited for me to kiss her.
I kissed her sweetly and softly. It was torturous, making me struggle with patience. I wanted to throw patience away and get right down to business.
“Hey, when you gon’ let me get in Koi’s pond?”
Koi bit her lip with a bit of coyness before she surprised me by making the first move. She pushed up from the floor and straddled me.
She looped her arms around my neck as we continued kissing. I pulled back and stared into her eyes when I touched the buttons of her tank blouse, asking for permission. No words were spoken. Koi gave a simple nod, and I unbuttoned her blouse.
While I was busy removing her blouse and bra, she was tugging my T-shirt up.
We broke our kiss long enough for her to stand and reach down for me.
I removed the rest of her clothes and admired her beautiful body.
My hands grasped her firmly and pulled her to me.
I let her pull my sweatpants down, and when I stood before her in the nude, I lifted her into my arms.
“Do you have protection?” she asked.
“I do. We gon’ have to talk about this later and share our charts. ’Cause I ain’t into wearing rubbers with the woman who belongs to me.”
She giggled and blushed. “How many have belonged to you?”
“Zero until now.”
“So you always wear condoms?”
“Always. And I will for you, but tonight only,” I explained as I carried her into my room. I laid her on my bed, and I grabbed a condom from the drawer.
“Let me,” she suggested, licking her lips.
I gave it to her, and she kneeled before me. Setting the condom aside, she took me into her hands and met my gaze. Those perfect, plump lips wrapped around my dick, and I clenched my teeth to hold on tight.
She sucked on the head and worked her hands up and down my shaft until she grew comfortable. Slowly, Koi worked her way down my length until it became too much.
“Choke on that shit, baby girl,” I mumbled.
She pulled back and spat on the head a couple of times before she worked it down my shaft. Taking me into her mouth again, she slid up and down my dick, hollowing her jaws, and making loud suctioning noises.
“That’s it, baby.”
Koi pulled back again. “You like it nasty, daddy?” she asked, making my nuts ache.
“Fuck yeah, ma.” I agreed, grabbing the back of her head and pulling her down again.
She sucked the shit out of my dick like she was getting paid to do it. Working her hands along my length and alternating with playing with my balls, she almost had me nutting in her mouth in no time.
Koi pulled me out again and asked, “How nasty do you want it?”
“Show me what a nasty bitch you are, baby.”
She spread her legs, shoved two fingers inside of herself, and sucked my nuts into her mouth. “Aww fuck!” I groaned, jacking my dick upward in a fast motion.
I knew I was gonna cum if I didn’t stop her.
I pulled back and snatched her little ass up.
Reaching down, I grabbed the condom and handed it to her.
When she rolled it down my length, I gripped her wrist and held her hand in place.
I didn’t want to lose her touch, and I needed her to remain still for a minute.
“The sooner you let me go, the sooner you can be inside of me,” she whispered.
“Yeah. I know,” I replied, trying to steady myself and calm down.
I knew that if I weren’t careful, I would explode as soon as I got inside Koi. When I finally released her, I lay on the bed beside her, kissing her and caressing her. I didn’t want to rush this, because I understood that she was taking a big risk with me.
Her skin was soft and smooth, and her moans were subtle and sexy. It wasn’t long before I had kissed my way down her body and back up again. I tasted her and sampled every inch of Koi and every nook and crevice.
I loved her taste and knew that I could become addicted to her. She lay on the bed satiated after I had feasted on her. She was already sweating around her temples, and her hair was plastered against her temples.
“I need you inside of me now,” she demanded.
I climbed onto the bed and spread her legs. I lowered myself over her, stared into her eyes, and kissed her as I eased my way into her tightness.
“Gahdamn, woman. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were a virgin.”
“It’s been a while.”
“How long?”
“Last summer.”
“Not after tonight. From now on, it’s you and me, baby girl,” I vowed as I pumped inside of her. “You’re so tight and wet.”
“And you feel sooo good inside of me, Salem. Mmm,” she moaned. “I can’t believe I denied you this long.”
I made slow, sweet love to the woman I had been infatuated with since I first laid eyes on her. And when she came, it was with so much passion and intensity that I knew she belonged to me.
“I’m ’bout to lose it, baby,” I confessed in her ear as I dug up into her. My body was completely aligned with hers.
“Wait,” she commanded, pushing against me. I pushed up and stared into her eyes. She pushed me again and pleaded with me. “Give me that nut, Salem. Please.”
I sat back facing her, and she pushed me onto my back. Rolling the condom off, she tossed it onto the floor and knelt between my legs. Koi took my dick in her hands once more and secured a tight seal with her warm lips.
My hand rested on her head as she bobbed up and down on my dick. I felt my nut rise, and I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to release than this.
It exploded into her mouth, and she sucked and sucked harder until all I saw was floaters.
My hips pumped furiously off the bed as I gave her what she had begged for.
When I finished, she sat back on her heels, grinning at me with just a little cum on her chin.
The moment that she saw where my eyes dipped to, she self-consciously rubbed her chin, clearing my nut away.
My fucking dick jumped when she slipped her finger into her mouth and sucked the remnant off.
Koi lay on my body, and I wrapped her in my embrace. Our kiss was passionate, reassuring, and a firm acceptance that what was would always be.