Chapter 26
I should have known better than to trust Trey. The fuck boy had a history of last-minute excuses dressed up as responsibility.
“My kids come first” was noble in theory, but tonight it felt like a convenient escape hatch.
One minute I was adjusting my sweater in the mirror of this ridiculously luxurious Aspen cabin while imagining a cozy weekend of wine and being fucked all over this cabin.
The next minute I was staring at my phone while the line went dead.
Stood up.
In Aspen.
Alone.
I told myself I didn’t care. I have my own money. My own business. My own full life. A man canceling doesn’t dismantle me.
Still, the embarrassment burned especially as a fine ass married could stood there pretending not to hear what just happened.
Attractive don’t even begin to cover it.
He’s tall and broad shouldered. I know a six-pack rested beneath the Nike tech fleece with the kind of quiet confidence that makes you instinctively straighten your posture.
She’s luminous. Brown skin glowing against the winter light.
Eyes sharp and observant. There is something about her that feels both powerful and soft at the same time.
When we realize the cabin is double booked, I come in hot. Defensive. Because pride is the only thing I have left after that phone call.
“There’s no way we’re double booked,” I snap. “Y’all must have the wrong cabin.”
He answers calmly and respectfully despite my temperament. The humiliation crawls up my neck but instead of pity, they extend me grace.
He steps away to call the concierge. She stays.
Zaria.
That’s her name.
We sit across from each other and somehow end up laughing. It surprises me how easy it is. There’s something familiar about her. The way she studies me without judgment. The way her gaze lingers just a second too long before she pulls it back.
It’s the way they both look at me. Not like I am an inconvenience. Like I’m interesting and they need to know more.
By the time he comes back with the “system glitch” explanation and tells us we can either stay together or leave, neither of us hesitate.
“I’m not leaving,” we say in unison.
Roomies it is.
After they retreat to their room to unpack, curiosity eats at me.
Who are they?
I pull out my phone and type his name first.
Calil Black.
Well shit. That escalated quickly. Esteemed Chemical Engineering professor. Brother of basketball legend Caleb Black and tech mogul Calla Black. Articles. Photos. Charity events. Old interviews.
Then I search her.
Zaria Black.
Founder and CEO of Soleil’s Sanctuary. Healthcare innovator. Advocate. Speaker. There are magazine covers. Panel discussions. Awards. Headlines about expanding clinics nationwide.
And then I see it.
A feature about her journey and living authentically. About transition and building a sanctuary for others because she once needed one herself.
Zaria is a transwoman.
I lean back against the headboard slowly. Now I’m beyond intrigued. I’m aroused. I often venture over to trans-porn and it always makes me orgasm so nasty.
I also ask myself if chemistry I felt was imagined. I don’t think it was. The way my thighs clenched when she smiled at me was very real. And knowing her story doesn’t diminish my curiosity. It deepens it. There is something powerful about a woman who fought to exist as herself and won.
I finish unpacking and change into a soft oversized tee. I decide to go tell them goodnight. Keep it neighborly. Casual.
As I step into the hallway where their room is located, I hear it.
A moan.
Feminine. Breathless. Unrestrained.
I freeze.
It’s Zaria.
My pulse jumps.
I should turn around. This is not my business. They didn’t sign up to room with a peeping Tom but the sound of her pleasure pulls at me. My feet move closer and I noticed their bedroom is slightly ajar. I take another step closer before I can talk myself out of it.
Through the narrow gap I see them. He has her facing the wall with the perfect arch in her back.
It’s like watching art in motion. He’s pumping into her at the perfect pace.
Her head is down as she cries his praises.
He has one had wrapped around her throat and the other stroking her rigid girth.
I would give anything to feel the pleasure they’re feeling.
They’re not fucking frantically. He’s making love to her in a way that speaks of history and trust.
Another soft sound leaves her lips and my thighs press together instinctively. The moisture between my lower lips now a reminder that I don’t have on panties.
I know I should walk away.
I don’t. I run my hand under my tee. I let my fingers circle my pulsing clit. I watch just long enough to feel my body shift from exhaustion to need.
This weekend was supposed to be about proving I didn’t need anyone. Now? I’m not so sure.
Something tells me being double booked might be the most interesting thing that has ever happened to me.
Another moan slips from Zaria’s lips. She’s taking him so perfect. Rolling her hips back on him. I forget how to breathe.
I know I’m being a creep and shouldn’t be here.
I know that.
But the intimacy unfolding in that room is magnetic. The way he touches her like she’s the most sacred artifact. The way she opens for him without hesitation. I’m watching reverence in real time.
I continue to pleasure myself. Rolling my clit between my fingers gently. Letting the pressure build between my thighs. Fuck. My body is floating.
Then it happens. Calil’s head turns—slowly.
His eyes lift from his wife’s body and land directly on me.
For a split second I think I imagined it. That maybe the angle is wrong. That maybe he can’t see me through that narrow opening.
But then his gaze sharpens. He sees me.
Every nerve in my body lights up at once. I expect anger. Shock. Maybe even irritation. Instead, his mouth curves into a knowing smirk.
It’s as if he’s not surprised at all.
Like he wondered how long it would take.
My pulse thunders in my ears. I can’t move. My orgasm is raging through me. I let it. I couldn’t pretend I was just walking by if I wanted to. He caught me with my hand in my cookie jar.
He doesn’t stop pleasing her and he doesn’t stop looking at me. Instead, he winks. A single, deliberate wink. Heat floods my face so fast I feel dizzy.
Oh my God.
I finally jerk back from the door like I’ve been burned. My heart races wildly in my chest. My breathing comes in short, uneven pulls as I hurry down the hall as my bare feet move silently against the hardwood.
Did that just happen?
He caught me watching.
And instead of shutting the door or calling me out—he acknowledged me and watched my orgasm tear through me. It’s like he invited the moment.
I slip into my bedroom and close the door behind me, leaning against it as if the wood is the only thing keeping me upright.
My body is buzzing.
Embarrassment tangles with arousal in a way that makes my skin feel too tight. I press my palms to my cheeks as I try to cool the heat there. It doesn’t work. It only reminds me of the look in his eyes.
Confident.
Unbothered.
Aware.
Zaria. The sound of her voice still echoes in my head. The way she arched into him. The trust in her body. The power in her surrender. My thighs clench again—harder this time.
I push away from the door and cross to the bed slowly. I need to be touched and lavished in a way that masturbation and my rose can’t fulfill. I sit first. Then lie back against the pillows and stare at the ceiling.
This weekend was supposed to be about Trey. About proving I could still want a man who claimed he wanted me back. Yet I find myself lying here with my pulse racing over a married couple who looked at me like they would fulfill my every need.
I slide my hand down my stomach until my fingers are slipping in and out my soaked pussy. My breathing shallow. I close my eyes and let the images replay. The soft light on her brown skin. The rhythm of their bodies. The way he looked at me while loving her.
A soft sound escapes my own lips before I can stop it.
“Ahhhhh.”
I don’t rush myself. I let the tension build and crest and pull me under. Mt release is intensified by the curiosity. The heat and wicked thrill of being seen.
When it is over, I lie there in the quiet as my chest rises and falls slowly. Snow drifts past the window outside. The mountains stand still and indifferent.
But inside this cabin, something is brewing. I curl onto my side. A small smile tugging at my lips as sleep finally pulls me under.
Double booked.