20. Koi
TWO WEEKS LATER
I parked my car in the side lot because the front lot was filled.
There was a large turnout in the community today.
I had been here earlier for the grand opening, but then I had to rush to the other side of town for a meeting with an art gallery owner who wanted to do a showing of my work at his gallery.
That was two and a half hours ago, and I was just now making it back to this side of town. I headed inside the center and walked around. There was a large crowd even after all this time. I knew everyone was excited about the center in the community.
Not only was Salem offering career coaching for men who needed a second chance in life, but he would also hold monthly home ownership seminars to help people who wanted to purchase their own home but didn’t know where to start.
In addition to the home-buying workshops, he would hold monthly workshops on home improvement and landscaping for those who wanted to improve their skills. All of that was being displayed today.
I found him standing with Nate and another man. He held his arm out for me, and I instantly went to him. He curved an arm around my waist and greeted me with a kiss before he made introductions.
“Baby, remember the guy I told you about who was in charge of the program that I got into when I got out of prison?”
“Yes.”
“This is him, Donald Carver. The man who changed my life. Don, this is my lady, Koi Hall.”
Donald smiled at me and extended his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Professor Hall.”
“It’s just Ms. Hall now.”
“Maybe, and maybe not,” Donald replied, causing me to frown.
“Baby, I’ve been talking with Donald extensively about some other things we had planned for the center. Aside from the speaking engagements I will do and the career coaching, we want to offer career courses.”
“Seriously?” I asked in surprise.
“Yeah. Don and I had been talking about it for a while, but I wasn’t certain what the reception would be. Don researched the demographics, and we interviewed and surveyed the community. We found that there’s a high level of interest.”
“That’s great, baby. Have you thought about how to finance the courses, what you’ll offer, accreditation, and where you’ll get your staff from?”
I saw the looks that Donald and Nate both exchanged, and I grew curious as I looked back at Salem.
“Yeah, we’ve taken care of everything except for who will teach the classes.
That’s where you come in. Donald and I have been working on getting grants.
We’re certain that we can be approved for them, but I was hoping that you would be interested in teaching some courses.
In your spare time, of course,” he added when my eyes widened in shock.
“You want me to teach?” I asked and pressed my palm against my chest.
“I couldn’t think of a better person.”
“I hadn’t thought about teaching again when I left CSU. You know that.”
“No pressure, baby. I just thought you would be a wonderful addition, along with Professor Jimenez. I haven’t asked her because I wanted you to be the first person.”
She had been the only one to reach out and check on me after I left the school. I would love to work with her again.
“How do you know she’ll be interested?” I asked.
“When I first floated the idea by her when we were doing a research project in her class, she mentioned that she thought something like that would be successful and that she would even volunteer to help out in that type of initiative.”
“Then I think you should contact her, baby.”
“You sure?”
“Definitely.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll do whatever I need to support you. You already know this though.”
“Told you she was the best,” Salem stated, returning to Donald.
We continued the conversation before we moved around and mingled with the crowd.
It took another three hours before we wrapped up the opening day festivities and returned home. It had been a great success, and I couldn’t have been happier for my man.
He was in the bedroom, taking his clothes off.
“I’m going to run us a shower, baby. After that, I was thinking that we could have dessert and go to bed. I know that you’re tired.”
“A’ight,” he replied.
I watched him for a while before I walked into the bathroom.
He had come so far and done so much. There had been a time when he hadn’t expected to accomplish all that he had.
I learned over the last few months that his grandfather had invested in his future, and that was how he had been able to accomplish so much.
His grandfather had been well off and turned over his holdings to Salem, not leaving his father anything. Salem used all that he had to make wise investments and continued to grow his wealth with sound advice from Donald and his mother.
I had been skeptical about meeting her and how she might feel about her son dating an older woman. But she had embraced me with open arms and been receptive to the impact that I had on her son. We got along great, even to the point that we shopped together and had monthly spa days.
Salem had taken what he had and invested it into my dreams as well.
I had been hesitant earlier about taking on classes at his center, but I knew that I would be an asset to him.
All the negative thoughts that filled my mind when he first asked me stemmed from my experience at CSU.
I knew that would not be the case under Salem’s watchful eye.
My man had made a way for me to live all my dreams. Having a gallery of my own where I would soon display and sell my paintings, sculptures, and pottery, and then having a space to teach classes to those who wanted to learn pottery and sculpting was beautiful.
Teaching was in my heart, and it was what made me the woman I was.
But I was also an artist, a creative whose true passion could not be denied.
He had found a way to weave the two things into one.
Hosting classes where I could teach my passion for art was a beautiful dream.
But now, he was offering me an extension of that dream by allowing me to teach college courses again.
“What you thinking ’bout?” Salem asked as he climbed into the shower behind me. He grabbed me and pulled me up against his body.
I felt his semi-erect dick pressing against the back of one of my thighs. I rested my head on his shoulder. “You.”
“What about me?”
“You never cease to amaze me. You gifted me with a space to bring my art and teaching together in one place, and you made that a reality for me. Now here you are offering me the opportunity to teach college courses again.”
“I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed. It’s something that you can do once a week or once a month. If you’re truly interested, I will let you set the schedule.”
“I know you will, baby. I’m just thinking about all that you have accomplished. You have focused your love on me so much that you even brought my dreams to life. Sometimes, frustration and depression take hold of me when I think about all the relationships of my past and the time I wasted on them.”
“You need to get your head out of the past, baby. They were nothing more than opportunities for you to be strengthened so that you could grow into what we have. They prepared you for me and the way that I would love you.”
I smiled and turned around in his arms. The water cascaded over our heads, and I locked my arms around him while kissing him.
In Salem’s arms, I was safe and complete.
The only thing I wanted now was to give to him the way he had given to me.
I vowed to spend all my days loving him, appreciating him, and honoring him for how he taught me the meaning of true, unconditional love.
I didn’t know how I thought that my life would ever be okay again without him in it. Life couldn’t possibly go back to being the same once I had a taste of Salem Gates.
“You tend to get anxious when you think about your past. I just want you to focus on me and our love, okay?”
“Okay,” I mumbled against his lips.
“Let that be sufficient, okay?”
“It already is, baby.”
He kissed me and ran his hands gently down my back. Salem’s hands took their time caressing and stroking every part of my body. He turned me around so that my back was toward the back of the shower.
He backed me up against the shower wall as he continued kissing me. I lifted my leg to lock around his waist, but he grabbed my thigh and lifted it higher.
Salem dragged his lips away from mine.
“I want inside,” he growled before he bit my shoulder.
“I need you inside, Salem.”
He shifted, and I reached down and grabbed his erection. It was thick and heavy as I pressed him against my entrance, and he slid right inside. He grabbed my other leg and lifted it until it curved around his back.
My back slid up and down the wet shower tile as he thrust deeply into my body.
I cried out at the way he filled me up. The feeling of basking in his love was incomparable to anything I had experienced in life.
If I had to go through a lifetime of heartache again to get here, I would do that.
If I needed to sacrifice everything I held dear all over again, I would do that.
He was so damn worth everything I went through before him.
His hand moved to cup underneath my chin. He pressed my head back against the shower wall as he continued to grip me in a way that I couldn’t move my head one way or another. His thick, long tongue slid inside my mouth.
“Oh, God, Salem,” I moaned as he thrust deeper when he broke the kiss.
“Is this what you need, baby?”
“You’re all I need,” I cried out. His hands were all over my body, even as he kept me pinned against the wall. “I can’t hold it!” I shrieked.
“Let it go, baby.”
“Oh, shiiid!”
“Let it go, baby. I’m here to catch it all,” Salem coaxed as he gyrated his hips.
“I’m not ready,” I whined. I didn’t want to cum yet because he felt so good inside of me.
Salem pulled me away from the shower wall, and he bounced me up and down on his dick.
My head fell back as he nipped at the skin at the base of my neck.
I rocked my hips in tightly controlled circles again until I felt the need to release on him.
My body clenched tightly, and my pussy convulsed all around him.
“Ooohh, Salem!” I screamed.
“That’s it. Give me that pussy, baby,” he coaxed as he smacked my ass. And I gave it all to him. Salem gave a few more powerful thrusts before I felt his hot seed shooting up inside of me.
When we finished, he washed our bodies, and I grabbed a towel to dry myself with. Once we were dry, he lifted me into his arms and carried me to the bed. After I applied my oils and he applied his lotions, he lifted me once more and carried me to the bed.
We lay there together, naked and spooning.
“You make life worth living, Koi. I’m so thankful that I have you.”
“You give my life purpose and new meaning beyond teaching, Salem. You have taken a broken woman and made her whole again. I love you,” I whispered in the dark room.
He let me turn around in his arms, and he held me close. Never had I felt happier, safer, or more relaxed than whenever I was in his arms.