Chapter 6
6
C ameron
“Ay,” I said as soon as the two of us were in my truck and I had started the engine. “I wanna ask you a question, but I need to preface it by saying that there’s no shade. I’m not asking to judge you, just to clarify.”
“Okay.”
“Are you a woman who keeps a roster?”
Her eyes widened before quickly morphing into a squint. “What? Why would you even ask me that? You know I moved here after my relationship of ten years went south. I was with the same dude for ten years. Why would I all of a sudden have a roster?”
“Because you gave yourself to dude for ten years and it went nowhere. I don’t know. Maybe you want to try something different. Maybe you decided that the all the eggs in one basket thing doesn’t work for you. I don’t know. Like I said, I’m not judging. I’m just asking for clarity.”
“Well,” she adjusted the oversized white headband on her head, “I don’t have, nor do I desire to have a roster. Vince hurt me. I can admit that. But even with all of the hurt, wasted years, wasted time, wasted love…” She let her thoughts trail off. “Even with everything that I went through with him, I’m not giving up on having a love like my parents had-- one where both people are committed to one another and monogamous. I would never want to have a roster. I would never want to be on somebody’s roster. Why? Do you have a roster, Cameron?”
“I have,” I admitted. “I didn’t call it by that name, but for all intents and purposes, that’s what it was, a rotation of women.”
Neither of us spoke for a few moments. I turned on the radio to fill some of the silence.
“Does your question have anything to do with the fact that you were getting jealous over Brent whispering in my ear?”
I took my eyes off the road for a second to glance over at her. A sneaky smirk played on her full lips.
“Wasn’t nobody jealous.”
“Cap!” she said, basically vibrating with joy.
“Why does the thought of that make you so happy?”
“Because it’s been a long time since somebody’s been jealous over me. Thank you for that. Even Brent noticed. I think he knows we’re having sex.”
“First of all… you’re welcome. If your old guy wasn’t jealous about you, then I don’t know what the fuck was going on with him.”
She blushed so hard at my words that I could practically feel the heat radiating from her. I let her have a moment to collect herself while I kept talking.
“Secondly,” I continued, “fuck Brent. He’s the biggest damn hound on Jackson Island. I’d bet money that he was bothered by the fact that he didn’t get to shoot his shot first. So, thank you for having good taste and picking me.”
“You’re welcome.” Her giggle was light.
“Ay, Jackson Island is a small town, and I’m only here for a finite number of days. Would it be selfish of me to ask if it could just be me and you, doing this… summer fling thing? While we’re having our… summer fling, I’m not trying to share you. I don’t want like Tuesdays and Fridays while the next dude gets Mondays and Saturdays, and the third—”
“Shut up!” She punched my arm.
It didn’t hurt, but I still pretended to swerve a little bit. “You better stop playing, girl. I’m about to run us off the road.”
“Why are you acting like I’m sleeping with the entire county? If you wanna be exclusive just say that. Don’t try to act like I’m for the streets.”
I gave her thigh a firm squeeze. “Ay, I wanna be exclusive with you… this summer.”
“You don’t have to qualify it, Cameron. I get it. You keep calling it a ‘fling.’ I know what a fling is. Anyway, I just got out of a miserable ten-year relationship. I need to give myself time to deal with that.”
The Cameron Field Summer Skills and Fundamentals Camp was a large undertaking. Initially, when I came up with the idea to host a basketball skills camp, I wasn’t sure I would get much of a turnout. Honestly, Jackson Island’s population had been shrinking for a little less than a decade. When the pandemic hit and people were able to do their jobs from home, anywhere they wanted to, the population had picked up. Young families and people who wanted a life close to the water bought up property and land. But once those remote workers were forced to return to offices in large cities, miles away from the beach, the tides had started to turn again. To say I was surprised by how many kids hit the website when the interest form went out would be a huge understatement. Applications came from all over South Carolina and even as far away as Savannah, Georgia. We had to turn down hundreds of kids, but we accepted even more. In an effort not to have to turn local children away, we decided to break the camp down into four sessions that were staggered by two weeks. It kind of sucked for the kids who weren’t in the first session, because they wouldn’t have as many weeks to learn and grow, but it was the best we could do.
The community center had two gymnasiums with full-size basketball courts and one gym with a smaller half-court. We had moved the athletes from session one to the second court with their coaches. We were about to greet the new athletes of session two.
Just like with session one, the majority of young hopefuls were brought to camp by their mothers. And the mothers had clearly decided that it was the day to do their big one. Women of every shape, size, color, race, and creed poured into the gymnasium. While most of the athletes wore the practice gear they’d been issued along with the sneakers of their choice, the mothers were on something totally different. Some came in what could only be termed club clothes —revealing tops or dresses, shorts, or skirts that barely covered the ass cheeks. Others came dressed the way I presumed that they believed WAGs dressed—five-inch heels, full face, full hair, and appropriate body-hugging dresses with slits that gave you a peek at the leg but still made you use your imagination.
I didn’t judge, but that didn’t keep the other members of my coaching staff from judging.
“Damn.” One of the coaches blew out a soft wolf whistle while taking in a mom wearing a bright red romper. “Who’s her kid? I’m tryna be extra nice to that little nigga today. I want him to take me home for dinner. His mom is looking like what I’m tryna eat.”
I had to get my chuckle out before I could correct him. “Come on, Coach Marlon. Let’s keep it professional. The kids and their parents are our clients.”
“I get you Coach Cameron, but you gotta admit that baby is working with a lot right there.”
While I agreed with his statement, I did find myself comparing the nameless woman to Brooklyn. Unfortunately for her, she came up short.
“She ain’t trying to take you home for dinner, Coach Marlon. They do all this extra shit to try to take the big homie home. They want Coach Cameron at their dinner tables, in their beds and in their bank accounts. They ain’t thinking about the rest of us. They ain’t wear that shit to take home a regular nigga. They’re trying to take home an NBA nigga.” Coach Dave schooled his counterpart.
“Well, shit,” Coach Marlon kept his voice low, “it’s a hundred of them and only one of him. Somebody gon’ have to lower their standards.”
We all laughed, but soon enough Will gave me a light push.
“Go on out there and greet them, cous’. It’s time.”
With the microphone in my right hand, I walked up to the bleachers where the action was. There were parents, athletes, and others milling around, sitting down and even chatting.
My voice was raspy when I spoke. “Welcome. Welcome.”
The voices began to die down and those who were walking or standing took seats.
“Welcome to the first annual Cameron Field Summer Skills and Fundamentals Basketball Camp .” I chuckled lightly. “Yo, that’s a mouthful.”
There was laughter from the crowd.
“Parents,” I began again, then looked around with a sly smirk, “or should I say… moms.”
There were catcalls and hoots from many of the women in the bleachers.
“I see a lot of moms and I don’t have a problem with that at all. When I was coming up, my mom took me to and sat through a lot of basketball stuff to get me where I am today. Your athletes need your support and encouragement, moms. Even if you don’t understand everything about the sport right now, your presence is needed. As your athlete grows, they will appreciate the sacrifice of your time and your effort.
“Now, let me give everybody a quick rundown of what the day is gonna look like, then those of you who need to head to work can get out of here. For those who planned on staying for the duration of your athlete’s first day of camp, let me say that I welcome you to do so… today. Get a feel for how the program will run. Observe how the coaches interact with your athlete. Get comfortable with what each day in camp will look like. However, after today, we’re going to ask that upon your arrival each day, please drop your athlete off in the gym and make your way out. We have found that athletes perform better with less distractions. After today all practices will be closed.”
Mumbles and grumbles moved across the bleachers for a few moments. I was cool with it. We were above capacity in the program. It was our hope that some athletes would drop. If parents didn’t like the rules, they were free to take their athlete and bounce.
I lifted the microphone again to bring their attention back to me because I wasn’t done speaking. “Having gotten that out of the way, there’s one more piece of pertinent business to cover. If you haven’t turned in the completed official Camp Cameron medical forms for your athlete, please make sure that you see Nurse LaTara. She’s waiting in the lobby to accept and record completed forms. Any athlete without a medical form on file with us will not be able to stay today.”
Another round of mumbles and grumbles went up. I really didn’t give a damn. The medical forms had been available for four months. For some parents, nothing was ever a priority until it was a necessity. No form, no camp. That was the bottom line. I couldn’t bear the liability of an athlete having an undisclosed medical issue.
Two and a half hours after camp began whistles began to blow around the court.
“Lunchtime!” The voices of the coaches yelled out to the boys.
I found the microphone for the second time and sauntered back over to the bleachers.
“Parents and guardians, we’re gonna break for an hour. This will give the athletes an opportunity to have lunch as well as give their minds and bodies a short rest. In an effort to promote teamwork and bonding, the athletes will eat with their teams. You all should feel free to step out and to grab something. We’ll reconvene at one o’clock p.m.”
I didn’t stick around to watch the crowd disperse. I already knew what it would be. There were going to be women shooting their shots and they wouldn’t care that kids were present. Instead, I rushed out of the gym through a side exit and slipped into my office, locking the door behind myself.
“Who are you running from?” came the feminine voice from behind me.
I was already grinning when I turned around to face her. She sat in my chair with a grin of her own and a large wooden basket resting atop the desk. “What are you doing here?”
“I brought lunch.”
It dawned on me that the large basket was actually a picnic basket. “Word?”
She sat up in my chair, her elbows on the desktop and her face cradled in her palms. “Yeah. I realize this is not very… summer fling of me. I know flings are all about lust and sex. And in our case, thunderstorms. But I’ve always wanted to do this—”
I interrupted her. “Have a summer fling?”
She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling, while simultaneously huffing out a sigh. “No, not have a summer fling ,” she mocked me. “Entertain. When I was with my ex, I wished for a life with friends and laughter. I wanted opportunities to entertain and hang out. Now, I’m here on Jackson Island, and I feel like I have a tribe. I live in a beautiful guest house with a beautiful backyard. I can go up to the big house and watch the sunset. My summer fling is giving me dick on demand. I basically have everything I used to long and wish for. I’ve always wanted to plan and prepare cute lunches with picnic baskets and checkered tablecloths. Lucky you, you get to reap the benefits of that.”
“Shit. Say less. Pull out the food because my stomach is touching my back. I’m hungry as hell.”
She set the basket temporarily on the floor and pulled out a pink and white checkered tablecloth which went over the desk. Once the tablecloth was placed, she started taking Tupperware out of the picnic basket. Every time she took out a covered dish, I lifted the lid. First came a bowl filled with fried chicken legs. Next a container of deviled eggs. Then a creamy pasta salad. Finally, two mason jars filled with what looked like a colorful seven layered salad or something. She took out a thermos and two plastic cups.
“What’s in the thermos?”
She cocked her head to the side. “Sweet tea.”
I looked over at her, and our eyes met. “Brooklyn, anytime you wanna do some shit like this… pack a picnic basket filled with food, pack a bookbag filled with food and bring it to my office, please feel free to do that. We don’t have to define what kinda summer fling this is, lil mama. If this is a summer fling with sex and good eats… I’m with it. Shit, next time if you want to hide out in here and serve me food while you wear nothing but an apron, you can do that, too. Come for breakfast. I’ll tear that ass up, eat your food, then go out there and help these kids with a fucking smile on my face.”
She laughed heartily, until the door to my office flew open. Tiara stood in the open doorway.
Shit! I thought I locked that! I thought to myself in frustration.
“Hey, Cam…” she began, then noticed the food and presumably Brooklyn. “What’re y’all doing?”
“Having lunch. What do you need?” I watched Brooklyn grab a colorful plastic plate and begin to load it with food for me. A grin spread across my face knowing that soon I would be eating.
“So, is this a romantic thing or something? Are y’all dating?” Tiara’s eyebrows were furrowed, and her mouth was twisted with a grimace.
“What do you need, Tiara? I’m pretty sure you came through here for a reason.”
“I did, but now I have other questions.”
“Let’s stick to the original question. What brought you here?”
“Are you and her—”
I cut her off. “Ain’t nobody about to answer your nosy ass questions. What did you come in here for?”
She threw her arms across her chest and fell back on her right hip, jutting her left leg out. That stance immediately let me know that she had an attitude.
“What?” I repeated, throwing my arms up in frustration. “What?”
“Nothing.” She turned on her heel.
“Lock the door behind yourself,” I directed.
She slammed the door so hard that the entire frame rattled, but she didn’t lock it. Instead, it was me who walked over to it and locked it. I double-checked it this time. Then I stepped into the bathroom that was attached to my office, took a piss, then washed my hands. When I returned to my desk, not only a plate of food, but also a cup of sweet tea awaited me. “Sorry about that.” I took a seat in one of the chairs in front of my desk.
“Fuck that girl.” Her tone was nonchalant, as she never even looked up from where she was fixing her own plate.
I barked out a laugh. “Damn, Brooklyn. I see you, mama.”
“It’s obvious that she wants her… old thang back.”
I took a bite of a juicy, succulent chicken leg while contemplating if I should engage in a discussion about Tiara. “You know about that?” I decided that ignoring it wouldn’t make it go away.
“Yeah. One Sunday I went to brunch with Carrington and your parents after church. She was there. She mentioned to your mom that she was almost part of your family. Your mom did not look pleased.” Brooklyn chuckled lightly.
“Nah. My moms can’t stand Tiara. She thinks Tiara is opportunistic.”
“What do you think?”
“I know she’s opportunistic.”
“Ethan seems like a nice guy. I thought it was rude how she spent Friday night playing in his face.”
My shoulders hunched up and down in a noncommittal shrug. “We all grew up together. He knows how Tiara is. Anyway, I don’t wanna talk about Tiara. I wanna talk about how much I appreciate you making sure I ate today. I’mma have to repay the favor by making sure I eat tonight.” I winked at her and watched the blush crawl across her creeks.
She kept her face on her plate but slowly pushed at a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her face. “I didn’t do this for… that.”
My voice was low and husky. “I know. But that’s how I want to repay you. Is that all right?”
Her pink manicured fingers moved through her hair again. She lifted her eyes and grinned at me. “Okay.”
I wasn’t sure if Brooklyn thought I was just talking shit or not. All I knew was that when I showed up at the sliding glass doors of the guest house, she seemed surprised to see me there. That didn’t deter me.
“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” I admitted, looking down at her. She was flat on her back, naked from the waist down with her legs spread open.
My large hands wrapped around her thick, creamy thighs and pulled her to the edge of the bed. The pressure from my fingers left impressions in her soft, subtle skin. I smirked to myself as I dropped to my knees while simultaneously throwing her legs over my shoulders. I didn’t hesitate before licking Brooklyn from the bottom of her pussy to the top.
“Cameron.” The way she moaned my name was breathy and sing-songy. She made my name into a tune. I liked that shit, so I licked her the same way again hoping to get the same reaction. She hummed before repeating herself. “Cameron.”
I used my entire tongue—flattened it, flipped it upside down, finally grabbing her clit between my lips and sucking it. Brooklyn pushed her pelvis toward my mouth, while both of her hands found the top of my head. She rocked her body against my mouth, feeding me pussy in a way that made me feel like she was enjoying the space we were in. I opened her legs wider, ate her more intensely, because something about Brooklyn made me want to not only please her, but pamper her too. It was probably the fact that her heart was big as hell and the dude she was with prior to me gave her his ass to kiss.
“Oh my goodness, I wish it was raining on me right now.” Her words floated down to my ears wrapped in breathiness.
I licked, sucked, tongue fucked and ate her until her legs began to shake. Moments later, I was rewarded for my efforts with the creamy essence of her goodness saturating my tongue.
“My turn,” she told me huskily once she had come back to earth. She took the position on her knees and when my dick disappeared between her pretty, puffy ass lips, I let her take me to paradise.
Brooklyn gave me a secret smile as we stood side by side at the double sinks in the bathroom of the guest house.
“What’s up?” I moved the toothbrush she had given me across my teeth and gums.
“I don’t know.” Her shoulders lifted and fell in a quick shrug. “I’m just… I don’t know… happy. These last few years have really sucked for me-- losing my parents so unexpectedly and abruptly. Connecting myself to somebody who would do me the way that my ex did me. A lot of times, it felt like life was kicking me while I was down. Now, I finally feel like I’m in a good place. I’m happy.”
Brooklyn’s heart was fucking gold and her energy was so bright. I couldn’t believe that she was able to retain such a beautiful spirit in the midst of all of her personal trauma. All I wanted to do was wrap her pretty, sweet ass up in bubble wrap and protect her against all future bullshit.
The two of us were failing spectacularly at being a summer fling, but I didn’t mention that to her. She was bringing picnic lunches up to the gig and my heart’s biggest desire was to protect her and keep the smile on her face. For all intents and purposes we were in a relationship.
“This summer fling needs more lust and less emotions,” she quipped with another smile.
“Say word!” I agreed. “Shit, if we keep this up we’re gonna end up married.”
She laughed aloud. “I know. I feel very drawn to you. I’m concerned about what’s gonna happen at the end of the summer. I’m going to have to let you go.”
“No doubt. I can’t make a living on Jackson Island.”
“And I’m just starting to make a life on Jackson Island. I’m not leaving it.”
“So, you think we should fall back off of one another.”
She rinsed off her toothbrush. “I just told you that I’m having fun. Why’re you trying to kill it?”
It was my turn to chuckle. “I’m not trying to kill your fun, baby. I just don’t want to do anything that’s gonna hurt you in the end.” I took a breath while I rinsed off the toothbrush she’d given me. “You’ve had enough hurt. If I can help it, I’m not trying to add to that.”
She stared up at me with her brown eyes soft and her lips slightly parted. I was about to bend my head and kiss her when a voice sounded through the guest house. Clearly we had neglected to lock the sliding glass doors.
“Brooklyn!” the voice called.
It was my sister.
Brooklyn left the bathroom with me hot on her heels. As soon as we bent the corner, we ran straight into Carrington.
The shocked look on her face was quickly replaced with a devious smile. “What the hell is going on here?” She put her pointer finger to her chin and tapped a few times before pointing at the two of us accusingly. “I knew you two were doing it. I knew it when you showed up at mini golf together. My friend and my twin. Yay.” She clapped her hands.
Brooklyn reached out and grabbed Carrington’s hands mid-clap. “This is a summer fling, Carri. Don’t get excited.”
Carrington twisted her pink shaded lips to the side. “Cam doesn’t do… flings. I don’t care what the tabloids say; my brother is a lover boy. He doesn’t use women.”
“He’s not using me,” Brooklyn insisted.
At the same time, I said, “Nobody’s using anybody.”
“We’re having fun and enjoying each other. Now, what do you want? Why are you here?”
Carrington turned up her pert nose in a sign of disgust. “Uhl, did I interrupt or something? What’s with the attitude?”
“Sorry.” Brooklyn chuckled lightly. “I just wasn’t expecting you.”
“Well, you’re the one who keeps badgering me to bring the dress over so you can see what needs to be done.”
“You brought your wedding gown?” Brooklyn’s excitement was evident.
Her happiness made my heart do some really weird shit in my chest that made me uncomfortable.
“Ay, I’mma go ’head and get out of here. You have a little more than an hour until sunset if you plan to come through and watch it.”
Brooklyn’s gaze was heated as her eyes rested on mine. “I do.”
Without thinking about the fact that Carrington was watching us like a hawk, I wrapped my arm around Brooklyn’s waist, pulling her to me. Then I kissed her lips, caressing the side of her face in the process. “See you in a minute.”
“See you.”
“Summer fling my ass,” I heard my sister mumble as I headed for the sliding glass door.
Later that evening on my deck, Brooklyn sat in my lap. Her back was against my chest with her legs straddling mine. I held one of her breasts in each of my hands as I lightly stroked her nipples. Every so often, I dropped kisses on different spots on her neck. She smelled so good. And more than that she felt so good. She felt so right.
“How are you gonna make my mother’s old wedding dress into Carrington’s dream dress? Do you have any ideas?”
It was getting closer to the golden hour. The sun was so low in the sky. It wouldn’t be long before it slipped below the horizon.
“I have tons of ideas. This island is my muse. All the creativity I couldn’t find before, I found it here.” She removed my right hand from her breast, lifted the hem of her dress, and placed my hand on her pussy, as she wasn’t wearing panties. “I want you to make me cum while the sun sets. Then tomorrow, it’ll be your turn.”
Brooklyn had a way with words. Some of the things she said shot straight to my dick. Some of things fucked with my head. I started slowly playing in her pussy. I rubbed my thumb lightly over her swollen bud.
“Your birthday is coming up.” Her words came out in a low moan. “Carrington says she’s throwing a barbecue at your house.”
“She is.”
The lubrication increased, causing my fingers to slip-slide around in her honeypot in the best possible way. I eased two fingers inside her. As she began to ride them, her words slipped away, replaced by hums, mewls, and whimpers.
She was faster than the sunset, coming vocally and with force as the sun continued to chill patiently over the water. Her essence was all over my hand. I brought it to my mouth and sucked the taste of her from my fingers. Before I could suck every finger, Brooklyn turned around to face me and straddled me again. Then she leaned in, capturing my mouth in a deep kiss.
While we were still kissing, she stood slightly and tugged at my shorts. I lifted my ass and pulled down the shorts, freeing my dick. The second she realized it had bounced out of my drawers, Brooklyn sat on it. She sunk down slowly until she was back in my lap and my dick was buried to the hilt inside her.
I loved fucking Brooklyn. There was something so primal about the way she was during sex. I’d fucked a lot of women. Some played games and pretended to be less experienced or more experienced than they actually were. Some were open to everything. Some were open to very little. Some were pliable. Some were aggressive. Brooklyn fucked like she was learning herself—like each sexual experience allowed her the opportunity to discover more about herself.
At the moment, she sat on my dick unmoving but kissing me hungrily.
She broke the kiss, giving me a sly grin. “Your dick curves perfectly, boo. I can feel you in my stomach. It’s so good.”
“What would be good is for you to bounce on that motherfucker.” She squeezed my shit, doing a pussy-tightening technique that I loved, but that caused my next words to come out through clenched teeth. “He loves to drown, but he likes friction, too. Give ’em some friction, Brooklyn.”
She bounced up and down on my shaft until she complained that her quad muscles burned. At that point, I bent her over the railing and beat it from the back until both of us caught up to the orgasm we were chasing.