The Declaration
GISELE
A light feathery touch woke me from deep slumber. As my brain and body roused, the good soreness trickled in, reminding me of last night. My body had never been handled, pleasured, and filled as it was last night. Every single inch of my muscles ached with delicious exhaustion.
After another round in Jo?o’s playroom—a round that left me hoarse from the good dick he gave me—we snuck out of the club like naughty teenagers back to his house.
Jo?o drew a bath for me, massaged my arms and feet, then carried me to bed for another round of languorous, messy, passionate sex.
He’d made love to me until I became a boneless, sticky, incoherent mess.
“Jo?o, Lord, please, I cannot, I’m not… Yes, right there, I beg you, ahhhh!”
“That’s right, boa menina, I warned you what it would be like. I warned you you’d be addicted to this dick,” Jo?o had grunted as he emptied himself inside of me.
Now the evidence of all that pleasure lay between my thighs and marks of his passion adorned my body. He’d made me his and I made him mine.
Last night we became us; a sacrament performed in flesh and passion, we anointed each other with the labors of our desire.
“Wake up, boa menina, I let you sleep long enough.” Jo?o’s rumbly voice settled deep in my stomach, awakening more than I’d bargained for.
The softness of his lips grazed my naked shoulder and I felt him everywhere.
You’d think the soreness would be enough for my private parts to want a week’s break, but already my body was readying itself for him.
“Good morning, Jo?o,” I grumbled, unable to hide my smile.
“Mmhm, don’t tempt me. I can smell you getting ready for me, but I have plans for us.” The sharp sting of his palm on my ass was immediately soothed by his massage.
“We have no plans this morning, why can’t we sleep a little longer?” I pressed my butt closer to him, feeling his response to my movements. Good, maybe if we took it slow, we could…
“Behave, boa menina, I have somewhere to take you and I don’t want to be late.”
“Where are we going at seven in the morning on a Sunday?” The urge to pout overwhelmed me but I knew my Master liked me obedient.
“I know you want to sleep and I promise we’ll get a nap later, but this is something we both need. Do you trust me?”
A few months ago, this question would have made me pause. I would have studied his expression, seeking the smallest tells, studying how vulnerable answering yes would make me, but now… Now I just followed my instinct.
“Yes.”
Large stained glass windows stood majestically, welcoming people as they crossed the intricate doors of the nameless building in front of us.
The morning breeze played with my ponytail as Jo?o guided me toward the entrance.
I had stopped asking questions about ten minutes into the drive after I got the look from Master.
I felt like a little kid, asking “Are we there yet?” I just didn’t know where there was.
To distract me, Jo?o explained to me how he wanted to incorporate an additional way to communicate in public for the two of us.
“I’ll teach you these next few days. Whenever I do this, I want you to come close to me.” He touched his side with two fingers and I nodded, intrigued.
“Sometimes we’ll be in mixed company and you calling me Master instead of Jo?o or your boyfriend won’t make sense.”
“Oh…so you’re my boyfriend now?” I asked, keeping my tone even to hide the way my heart skipped several beats.
“The moment I came inside you, I declared my intentions.”
This man… I shook my head, brushing my hand over my mouth to hide the grin that wanted to escape.
The tension that existed before had been intoxicating but unsustainable.
Now ease reigned and giddy anticipation surrounded us.
The sexual tension of the unknown had turned into the knowledge that it would always be mind-blowing between us, and the certainty of our feelings were the rock holding it all together.
“I need more than ejaculation as a declaration.”
“I agree. My declaration is not over…that was just the beginning.” Lord, when I prayed to You for clarity, I did not expect You to work so decisively, but thank You.
“Good. Now that that’s settled, the next gesture I’m teaching you today is your strikes, in case you forget who’s in charge in public. Strike one.” He touched his ear with one finger, then showed me strike two and three.
“I don’t think you’ll need that gesture, Master.” I grinned as he caressed his chin.
“We’ll see.”
Now we stood in front of our destination, surrounded by people of all walks of life, all greeting each other as they entered the building. The vibe was one of joy and fellowship.
The doors swung open to a vestibule with soft seating and a table with coffee, muffins, and fruit. Two large double doors sat on both sides of us, giving me the feel of a church.
Before I could ask, Sir Spiritual aka Moses approached us with a welcoming smile.
“Jo?o and the beautiful Gisele, welcome to The Grace Collective. This is a place of fellowship and worship for everyone. We’re non-denominational and non-hierarchical.
We get together here on Sundays and evenings during the week to fellowship in community, and our mission is to take care of our neighborhood and our siblings in faith. ”
“Oh, this is…” I turned in awe to Jo?o, who stood stoically next to me, his eyes trained on my every expression.
“You need a church, and I once upon a time enjoyed going to church with my family. I don’t want us to only embrace the things that make me who I am.
You…you bravely left your Church because you no longer felt like that was a place you could fellowship in peace and safety.
Moses…the man has been trying to get me to join him some Sundays and I’ve always said no.
But I’ve always known this was a safe space.
I guess I just needed you by my side to realize it… ”
The gift of his vulnerability warmed me from inside, light beaming through my pores as I received his token of love. Church for him brought difficult memories of his mother, of a different time. But he was willing to try something new with me. Something new for both of us.
“I’ll give you a second. On the right, we have our Reading and Contemplation room.
Each Sunday we have five to six readers who bring their text to share with us, then we open the floor for discussion of what we learned.
The readings can be religious or philosophical, rooted in faith or in understanding of our communities and ways to be better human beings.
The second room is the Quiet Reflection room.
We have a choir that opens the floor, then quiet time begins, and we end the session with singing. ”
“This is so lovely. I’ve been looking for a church home and this…
this is what I need right now.” Jo?o squeezed my hands and my eyes flooded with unshed tears.
Emotion threatened to overwhelm me and with Jo?o by my side, it was safe for them to flow.
Hand in hand, we went into the Reading and Contemplation room, to be in fellowship together.
The man knew how to declare his love.
JO?O
My declaration was not done at Grace Collective. After a nap bookended by me tasting Gisele’s pussy until she screamed my name before God’s, I picked a summer dress for her and asked her to join me downstairs when her legs had stopped shaking.
“Where are we going?” she asked, perplexed when I guided her out of my house.
“To Jardel’s for Sunday BBQ.”
Her joy vibrated out of her skin as Jardel opened the door and Solange enveloped her in a hug.
Jardel stared at me from the side and nodded, apparently satisfied with whatever he’d seen in my face. This nigga really thought he knew me.
Maybe he really did.
“It is so nice to finally meet you! I have been asking Jo?o when we would all get together, but you know him. ‘ Solange, don’t bother me, I’ll let you know when I’m ready,’ ” Solange said with a passable baritone.
“He sounds just like that!” Gisele said, winking at me, and I touched my finger to my ear, my lower body stirring when her tinkling laughter drifted to the backyard where the rest of our family waited.
“Oh, shit…she’s the one.” Jardel nodded at the departing women as they joined Sal, Devon, Joaquim, Nevaeh, and Jonathon.
“Yeah, she is,” I answered, no longer able to contain the ethereal happiness that filled me today.
“Damn, it’s good to see you smiling, irm?o.” Jardel gathered me in an embrace, and for a second, I leaned on him.
“It feels good too.” I pounded his back as Joaquim approached us.
“Why am I the only one on the grill? Then if I burn this picanha, y’all won’t let me live it down.”
“‘Cause nigga, how have you been doing this for years and you still can’t get the temperature right?” I asked as my youngest brother threw his arm over my shoulders, the lanky tall ass, and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“Regular cranky Jo?o is back! I got to tell Jonathon and Nevaeh!” Joaquim bellowed as we joined the others.
“We’re right here, love, we can hear you.” Jonathon came forward and presented his fist to me. “She is perfect for the family, she’ll fit right in. She gets my sense of humor, which is the most important trait needed to truly succeed in life.”
“Oh Nkulunkulu, Jonathon, please! You gonna scare her and she just arrived.” Nevaeh pressed a kiss to my cheek as she pulled Jonathon and Joaquim away, correctly interpreting my face. I loved them, but they got on my nerves sometimes. All the time—but it was all love.
This was my family, and there was no declaration of love if they were not present. When I texted Jardel, Joaquim, and Sal last night after Gisele’s adorable snores started filling my room, they had immediately agreed to plan the get-together, eager to finally spend some quality time with her.