The Club #2
The weight of the world had always rested on me since I was a teenager.
I never stopped to question why; I took it as my due in life.
But somehow I’d missed the fact that through my brothers, through my friends, I’d been blessed with ways to share the burden.
Lessons came to you every day, you just had to be ready to receive them.
I was ready to receive them today; I was ready to let things change. The urge to follow Gisele to her room and fuck her until we forgot our names had been hard to contain, and her walking away awakened something in me.
Now I had to process what this all meant for me, for her, for the club.
“Not gonna lie, this shit feels low-key exciting,” I said after I let my brothers shoulder the burden with me.
“This nigga… How is this shit exciting?” Pedro asked.
“Are you surprised? This is the man that learned fireplay by practicing on himself,” Moses reminded us. With a final grasp he let go of my hand, and Pedro patted my shoulder and stepped back.
“Listen, I might still be in my feelings, but never forget, I am that man.”
“Yo! Niggas get sentimental one time and they bounce back even more annoying—a tragedy,” Pedro said, the fucker making things lighter just when I needed it.
Urgent knocking stopped our laughter. Pedro opened the door and Deacon busted in, his eternal smirk directed at me for a change.
“Yo, Q, you wanna come outside and see this.” He dapped up Pedro, Moses, and me, then chuckled.
“What’s up, D? What do you know that I don’t?”
“Your woman…she outside wearing leather, in the public scene area. Something tells me you have no clue.”
The fuck?
If I had the time I’d erase the smirk off his face, but there was no time to lose. I sprung to my feet, ignoring whatever advice was coming from behind me as I made my way to the courtyard.
“I mean, you came to play, so…maybe you don’t start shit till you talk to her first?” Moses said, catching up to me.
For his sake and mine, I stayed quiet. The roiling in my stomach had stopped because it was now made of stone. My heartbeat slowed down and everything moved in slow motion. My feet were the only thing going at the pace I needed to go.
“Nah, let him go, he’ll learn.” Pedro shook his head with the wisdom of a married man. Had I just said I was grateful for them? Fuck that, they were slowing me down.
In less than a minute I stood in the courtyard. There was Gisele, standing next to Vincent.
Breathtaking in a strapless leather dress, every inch of her skin glowed. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and her face had the most makeup I’d ever seen her wear.
It was her aura that left me gasping for air. Her shoulders were pulled back, back straight, her sumptuous lips framing a mysterious smile. Gisele was here to play and she wanted me to know that shit.
As soon as my body was next to hers, my heart rate elevated. My fingers wrapped around her neck as the softness of her curves pressed against me, her gasp fueling my need to carry her out of here and take her somewhere private so I could show her how much trouble she was in.
“Gisele, are you trying to play games with me?” The words were only for her.
“Master…I thought you’d like the surprise.” She matched my volume and calmness and that shit revved me up even more. I couldn’t help pressing closer to her, my hardness rejoicing in the luxury of her curves.
“Oh, so we playing? Okay, cool. You want to see me play? I’m about to carry you out of here.”
“Well, Master, everyone is staring at us already, so…”
Fuck everyone else and what they thought. My adrenaline spiked through the roof as I finally let the gnawing hunger in my gut take control.
“Fuck them. This is just you and me.” A man of my word, I gathered her in my arms, her solid weight the calming blanket I need. Her second gasp whispered in my ear was a sweet fucking reward.
“Ohh shit… Um, do you want me to intervene?” Vincent asked, eyes wide, mouth gaping, lips moving as if he couldn’t decide to laugh or be outraged.
“Oh no, Master and I are just going somewhere private to have a little chat.” The calmness in her tone didn’t fool me. I swatted her ass, the leather containing the jiggle I desperately wanted to see.
“Oh!” Gisele’s exclamation sounded like retribution and sweet, sweet victory.
“Oh shit, he gone gone.” Moses’ surprise cut through the cacophony of pure determination currently protecting me from outside stimulation. Gisele was right—a low hubbub filled the courtyard with several people surrounding us, expecting a public scene.
“I knew it. Problem is, he ain’t know it yet.” Pedro pointed at me, shaking his head as if I was a lost cause. Fuck it, we needed privacy.
Ignoring the bullshit, I made my way to my office, Gisele’s puffs of breath against my back activating every cell in my body, fueling me to keep pushing.
Pedro and Moses’ words bounced around my brain as we crossed the threshold into my office.
Maybe I was gone, but Gisele was the opportunity I never knew I deserved. It had taken me a minute to realize none of my regular rules would apply with her. Her presence, her being demanded more from me than my usual coping mechanisms to keep my heart protected.
Nah, she sang her way into my heart and now it was up to me not to wreck hers and mine. But how the fuck was I supposed to do that? No book, no school could unteach the things I saw at home.
I took my time letting Gisele go, the leather of her outfit slipping against my chest until she was back on her feet.
“Master.” Her gaze pierced me, her stance proud.
“We going in here.” With her soft hand in mine, I guided her toward the corner of the office. I pressed the hidden button, the panel to my private room whooshing open and giving us access.
“What…wait, what is this?”
“My private playroom.” I held my breath, watching her pick up on the details.
The room had a king bed in the middle with metal posts surrounding it.
Three sides of the bed had hooks and chains and restraints.
In a corner was my custom-made St. Andrew’s cross, polished Pala Pala wood gleaming adorned by matte black wrought iron.
A camera stood in the corner opposite of a large standing mirror and several shelves full of toys, while different wicker lamps I’d collected through the years filled the rest of the walls.
Kinky Black art gave the space a touch of otherworldliness.
Everything in here was wood and cream and rich ochre tones, a space for exploration and connection.
“It is so you.” Her wonder settled in my chest. Hope wasn’t a friend of mine but with Gisele, I felt it all the damn time.
“Thank you, Peace.”
Gisele paused caressing the cross, whirling to face me at my words.
“You haven’t called me that in a while.”
“Apparently, I was being a coward.”
“Oh?” Kicking her heels off, Gisele padded around the room, the plush carpet muffling her steps.
“You scare me, Gisele. You fucking challenge me to evolve. Constantly.”
“I get that. You do as well. I thought I knew…”
I chuckled in solidarity.
“Same here. I thought I had it figured out.”
“And we did, and that was valid for what we needed before each other.” Gisele shrugged.
Goosebumps erupted all over my arms as she genuflected, resting herself on her knees, palms up facing me.
Her gorgeous brown eyes focused on my face, heat crawled up my neck, and suddenly air was a hot commodity.
Fuck me.
She was it.
I was on some bullshit all this time because I’d understood she was it. But understanding and trusting are two different things.
“Oh, boa menina, I’m so honored you had patience. I fucking get it now. I do.”
The soft carpet yielded as I approached her. Supple skin under my thumb, a streak of red smeared over her cheek as I trailed her lipstick away from her plump lips.
“You want it all, don’t you, boa menina?”
“Yes, Master, I want it all.”
Gisele on her knees, eyes filling with tears unlocked that final barrier.
If my Heaven wanted it all, then she would have it all.
That was my main purpose moving forward.
All the other shit was noise if my Gisele and my family were good.
Then I would be good. The shit was that simple and I had been making it complicated as fuck.
That stopped tonight.