Chapter 12 #2
I searched drawer after drawer, trying to locate a lighter. It wasn’t until I pulled out the last drawer that I found one. With it, I made my way through my home, stopping in front of the glass doors that led to the backyard.
The views from up top were immaculate. Berkeley’s lights twinkled in the background. The pool glistened in the dark. I turned on the heater, warming the water. It was October and the weather was nice when the sun was up. At night was when the chill settled in.
I landed in the dining room where there was a full-sized bar at the furthest end. The bottom of my chilled glass rested on the treated wood. Cognac melted the frost. I filled it halfway and gripped the sides. My glass, my blunts, and I exited my home shortly after.
The difference in my marble floors and the concrete was striking. I conquered the distance from the sliding doors to the steps of the pool. The water had warmed swiftly. I lowered into the water, sitting on the edge of the third step. Only half my body was in the water.
Flick.
Flick.
I placed the fire at the end of the blunt. It fired up with ease. I pulled in, inviting the smoke into my lungs. Slowly, I exhaled, releasing what was left of it.
I pulled the blunt away from my face, staring at its construction. Indigo was a perfectionist in more departments than he cared to name. I appreciated his skillset, especially at the moment.
A sip from my glass put me closer to where I wanted to be. Mentally.
The city of Berkeley needed someone who was truly in their corner. Daniels’ greed would be the death of the good in the city. I couldn’t watch Berkeley crumble and fall before my very eyes. There was too much good in the city. Daniels was destroying it and erasing our history in the process.
Gentrification was on the rise. Our communities were being torn down and replaced with modern, over-priced housing that forced residents out of their environments because they couldn’t afford to live there anymore.
Schools were closing every year. The attendance rate was declining. And, children were hungry.
Meanwhile, Daniels’ main concern was the New Berkeley. One that didn’t include everyone. It included the fittest who survived the changes being made at a rapid rate. It didn’t include the elderly, veterans, disabled, or the lower-class.
My mind drifted so far away I could hardly catch my thoughts. It was the end of the blunt and the empty cup that brought me back to reality. Still, I was in no shape to return to bed. Sleep wouldn’t greet me at the door. More troubles would. Berkeley’s troubles would.
I submerged my body in the water. I didn’t plan on coming up for air until something felt better.
“He does it too.”
Her voice was the calm I’d been longing for. I heard it through the water in my ears and around my head. I ended my ninth lap to find her near.
Royce bent down, her toes stopping where my hands gripped the end of the pool.
“Who?”
“My brother. When he has too much on his mind and his troubles won’t let him get a good night’s rest.”
“It soothes me.”
“So can I.”
I couldn’t deny her. She stood tall. I watched in amazement as she turned, heading toward the other end of the pool. On the way, her hands lifted over her head, pulling my shirt along with them. By the time she touched the first step, her body was bare. My dick was hard. My troubles were gone.
She lured me with her gaze. Gracefully, she lowered her body. No panties. No bottoms. No top.
“I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Sit down, Ishmael.”
“Ro–”
“I’m not trying to strip you of your power. I trust your leadership. I trust your guidance. I trust you. But, I need you to sit down. I need you to allow me this moment. I need you to understand that this is where my power lies. And, I won’t let you strip that from me. Or you.”
My ass was on the concrete and my dick was out of my briefs before she could further explain.
Royce hovered over me. Slowly, she lowered her pussy onto my hardness. I swallowed back the taste of weed. I needed to taste her on my tongue.
“I don’t like begging, Ishmael.”
“You don’t have to for something that is yours.”
“It felt like it.”
“I’m sorry, my baby. Fuck.”
Her shit engulfed me. I rested my head against her chest, unable to maintain my gaze. The sound of her heartbeat lulled me to a safer place. A quieter place. A place where my problems didn’t exist.
Royce’s ability to govern me so effortlessly when her pussy was exposed and her walls were surrounding me needed to be analyzed. I was powerless. All that I had was transferred the moment our bodies connected.
“Ish,” she moaned, grabbing my chin.
We were nose to nose. Mouth to mouth. Eye to eye.
“My baby–”
She rolled her body, tugging on my dick with each stroke of her pussy.
“When I said I’d handle it, I meant you, too.”
Her breasts were against my chest. Hard like rocks. Yet soft like pillows.
“Worry me.”
She made her mark on my heart.
“Worry me with your troubles.”
Her pussy was petitioning for my eruption.
“Worry me with your fears.”
She rolled slowly.
“Worry me with your desires.”
Her voice cracked with emotion.
“Worry me with your concerns.”
Royce was indescribable.
“Worry me. I can handle it.”
She released my chin. Her right hand wrapped around the pole beside us. Her feet flattened on the ground beneath us.
“I can handle you.”
Up.
Down.
“Slow down, my baby.”
Royce didn’t listen. That hard head of hers was going to make a soft dick.
“Roy–”
She covered my mouth with hers, stifling my objections and my groans.
“I love you,” she mumbled against my lips.
Hearing the words pour from her soul inflated my chest. It was an honor to be loved by someone so special. So ravishing. So remarkable.
I vowed, at that moment, to never break her pretty heart or hurt her pretty head. Royce deserved an uncompromising, uncomplicated love. I’d give her that. I didn’t care for her to struggle in order to prove her strength to me. She exposed me to her resilience each day.
“I love you,” I breathed against her, “I knew the moment I saw you.”
“So much.”
Her body bounced, coating me with her creaminess. Her pussy was wetter than the water near us.
“Royce… I’m going to cum, my baby.”
“Please,” she urged.
“You have–”
“Shhhhhh.”
Her strokes quickened. A hand rounded my neck.
“Mmmmmm.”
Marry me, my baby.
I closed my eyes, shoving the words back down my throat.
I’d known Royce for nearly three months.
I couldn’t remember a day I didn’t imagine her in a ring I’d purchased with promises of forever.
I couldn’t remember a day I hadn’t gazed at her beauty, finding my wife in those eyes.
I couldn’t remember a day that visions of her in a white dress didn’t cross my mind.
She was my destination. I wanted nothing more.
“Fuck.”
My toes curled forcefully. My grip around Royce’s waist tightened. My semen sprouted from my shaft into her awaiting oasis.
“Fuck, baby.”
Her arms rounded my body. She laid her chin on my shoulder. I pulsated inside of her.
“I love it here… in your arms.”
I closed my eyes, allowing her words to land right where they belonged.
“Thank you. Thank you for taking a chance on me. Thank you for taking good care of me. Thank you for not running the other fucking way. Thank you for seeing my flaws and my faults and choosing to stay anyway.
“Thank you for sacrificing time with the people you love to be here for me. Thank you for being here when I step through the door. You don’t understand, my baby. That shit just does so much for me. To me.”
“I’ve been asking for someone to come into my life who understands me. I wasn’t sure how long that would take. But, that night I met you… I knew I wasn’t asking for too much.”
“You helped a stranger. Your selflessness wouldn’t let me forget you. Even if you hadn’t walked in my office days later, I wouldn’t have let you slip away. I would’ve found you. As soon as this shit was over, I would’ve come for you.”
“I know,” she admitted.
“I want you to cum, Royce.”
“And, I want you to rest. Tonight isn’t about me, Ish. It’s about you.”
“Every night is about you, my baby.”
She shook her head. “Not tonight.”
My flaccid dick fell from her pussy as she stood.
“I won’t fight you on this. I’m tired, Ish. I can’t sleep until you can.”
I removed my soaked briefs, knowing I wouldn’t win this battle.
Royce grabbed ahold of my hand. She led me into the house. I pulled the doors closed as she waited. A yawn pulled her lips apart as our journey to the bedroom continued. As much as I wanted to shower, I knew Royce wouldn’t last much longer.
It’ll have to wait.
She wanted me in bed… skin to skin. Chest to back. Nose to neck. Deep in my slumber.
I pulled her into me, wrapping my arm around her neck. My lips grazed her ear.
“When I ask you to marry me, my baby, don’t deny me.”
Chuckling, she responded, “I have no plans to.”