22. Pretty
DECEMBER – ONE WEEK LATER
“You sure you want to go to this event? I can think of a million ways that we can have more fun than this,” Drew suggested, clasping our hands together.
He kissed my knuckles and winked at me.
“Yes, we have to go. It’s this big deal, according to Lauren, and it’s important that we be there. Besides, Henri, my benefactor, will be there. He asked me to go, and I can never tell him no. If it weren’t for him, I have no idea where I would be. I owe that man my career.”
“All right. Do we have to stay long?”
“One . . . two hours tops, Drew. Can you give me that?”
“Baby, I can give you whatever your heart desires, including this stiff wood.” He lowered my hand and brushed it over his erection.
“Behave, Drew. I promise if you behave for a couple of hours, I’ll blow you off on the way home and make it worth your while.”
He kissed my lips and replied, “Any time with you is worth it all, baby.”
I smiled as the light changed, and he continued driving us to the art gallery. We pulled up, and I saw numerous cars in the lot, including my mother’s.
“What are my parents doing here?” I asked, scrunching my face up.
Drew shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe she’s supporting the arts.”
“Maybe. I mean, she does love a good painting or sculpture, but this isn’t really her jam.”
We climbed out of the car and headed inside.
The diamond chandelier shone on the gleaming hardwood floors, and every surface sparkled.
Tables were set up and covered with black linen tablecloths and matching chair covers from one side of the room to the other.
The front of the room was reserved for dancing, as the few people who weren’t mingling were dancing.
There were four pieces of covered art on easels up on a stage. A woman sat at a piano in the corner playing a classical piece, and people moved around the room mingling with each other.
It was a semiformal affair, and I spotted my mother across the room speaking with Lauren and another artist. Maman looked elegant and regal in a cream-colored two-piece vest pants suit.
Her top had a floral piece on the left shoulder.
It was sensual in that it didn’t connect with the top on the left side but left her slightly exposed from the left arm to just above her left breast. Her hair was pulled up in a chignon.
Lauren was beautiful in an olive green and gold halter neck jumpsuit.
“Baby, I feel somewhat overdressed,” I declared, looking around at the other guests who were all dressed similarly to my mom and Lauren.
“You’re perfect. I couldn’t have styled you better myself.”
I giggled and smacked his chest. “You did style me, crazy.”
I wore a black cocktail dress made of tulle. It had a high-low hem ruffled skirt and a plunging V-neck that also plunged sharply in the back. My long sleeves were sheer, and my dress was paired with black stilettos with a wide sheer bow at the ankles.
We moved around and mingled. Every time I drew close to my parents, someone would stop me to talk, and Henri held my attention the longest. By the time I made it to my mother, an announcement was conveniently made for everyone to take our seats.
All I managed was, “Maman, what are you doing here?” while I hugged her, to which she gave a tight smile and waved goodbye.
She tugged my dad away from a group of artists he was chatting it up with, and they took their seats two tables away from ours.
Lauren took to the stage and smiled at everyone. She thanked them for coming, gave a brief spiel about the beauty and importance of the art community, and then turned her gaze my way.
“Now for the real reason of tonight’s event—Mr. and Mrs. Mercier, would you please join me on the stage?”
I was so confused as I watched my parents walk up onto the stage and then saw my siblings and their significant others file in through a side door. I looked at Drew, who shrugged again.
“Tonight is all about showering you with love, my dear. It’s all about you, Pretty,” Lauren announced.
She gave a light speech on the impact I had in the art community, my works, my volunteerism, my donations, and the relationships I’d built.
When she finished, my parents shared how they knew I had a gift when I’d taken my oldest brother’s crayons at the age of three and drew an entire garden on the living room wall while my mother napped, not knowing I had woken from my nap.
They went on to talk about investing in me and how thankful they were for Henri.
A host of people took to the stage and discussed how important I had been to them and the impact I’d had on their lives.
They shared how grateful they were that I was out and involved once more after suffering a tragic loss.
I rolled my eyes, but no one knew about the betrayal but Lauren and my family.
I was still confused as to the purpose of the event, even after Henri explained what he first saw in me and how it was a pleasure to open a new world for me.
It wasn’t until Drew moved from my side to the stage that I realized this was more than a recognition event for me.
Four high school students, who I mentored in the past, took to the stage and stood behind each easel.
“Pretty, this event is all about you—because my heart, my soul, my mind is always all about you. I created this event as an homage to you and the lives that you’ve touched, but mostly to tell you that you are my world.
Since meeting you, my life has become brighter, more vibrant, and exciting.
You’ve brought harmony, joy, and peace into my soul and my life. Things make sense with you in it.
“Sweetheart, I don’t want to go through another day without knowing that you are my future and my wife. Pretty, . . .” He kneeled on the stage, and my hand flew to my mouth.
Each student revealed a beautiful portrait of flowers they had each painted that formed a word. They spelled out “Will you marry me?”
After each painting was revealed, he spoke into the microphone. “Pretty, will you marry me?”
I shrieked. “Yes!” and ran to the stage as everyone laughed, applauded, and cheered around us.
He met me on the steps of the stage and lifted me into his arms. We kissed, and the whistles grew louder as we deepened the kiss.
“Hey! That’s my daughter!” I heard my father call out in warning, which made everyone laugh harder.
Drew carried me to the stage, and he placed a beautiful platinum engagement ring on my finger. It had a two-and-a-half-carat diamond and ten diamonds on one side of the diamond and ten on the other side, creating a crescent shape. It was stunning.
“Oh my God. It’s so beautiful, Drew!”
Everyone rushed onto the stage to congratulate us and to see the ring. “Damn, girl. Can your finger hold up that big rock?” Chloe asked.
I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “You’re doing too much, sis.”
“Girl, that ring is doing!” Lauren squealed.
“Glad you got someone on your level, big sis,” Maxime declared.
We laughed, and I turned my attention to the other guests who congratulated us.
My heart was so full, and I thanked God that He allowed me to be healed and whole so that I could accept love in my life again.
At twenty-nine, I was too young to be giving up on marriage and a family, but Drew had shown me I didn’t need to.
“Damn, girl. You feel so fucking good. I don’t want to pull out,” Drew murmured in my ear.
I couldn’t find the words to let him know that I didn’t want him to either; I could barely breathe, let alone speak. Everything that he was giving me was exactly what I needed. All of him, every single inch, filling me up and stroking the throbbing places within was the answer to my prayers.
I clenched my legs around his muscular back, and I squeezed tightly.
Even when I pumped my hips upward, my legs tightened around him to ensure we stayed connected.
I refused to let go because it felt too good.
I wouldn’t let go of his body, the encounter, or even the orgasm that catapulted me to the edge. Why should I?
Drew gave me everything that my soul, my heart, and my body needed.
He pushed up with his beautiful, powerful arms covered in tattoos and hovered over me.
I looked down the expanse of his chest, slick with sweat like someone poured baby oil on it, and my eyes rested on that juncture, that place where his body connected to mine.
He was such a beautiful specimen in all his glory—the narrow triangle of his waist and curly pubic hairs that grazed my own with each stroke and swivel of his hips.
That long, beautiful appendage that he dipped into me mesmerized me; that singular appendage that kept us connected made my mouth water.
My shoulders were firmly planted against the bed as he held my lower body within his arms and took pleasure in driving into me.
My muscles clenched around him, but it did nothing to slow him down.
I felt myself on the brink of another orgasm, but I wasn’t ready.
He knew it, and his eyes pinned me in place, daring me to let go.
He awakened new sensations in me as he pummeled me, faster and faster.
I knew my body would be sore in the morning, but I didn’t care.
He kissed the base of my throat softly before he lay above me, closing the space between us.
I felt all of him inside of me. Body to body, his nuts slapped against me, bringing a new heat that had not been there before.
My legs clasped around his back, needing the closeness we shared that allowed us to speak a language unheard by anyone other than ourselves. The depth of his thick dick filled up my insides. I swiveled my hips, my behind grinding into the sheets. His jaw clenched as he struggled to contain himself.
Just when I thought I was about to bring him to his knees, he pulled out and flipped me over onto my stomach.
“Not yet.” His warm breath against my ear tickled as he lay on top of me. His hands grasped my ass and pulled it apart, nudging my legs apart as well. This time when Drew entered me, he did so with more force than before, reaching his fingers underneath me to stroke my kitty.
“When I stroke that kitty, let her purr for me, baby.”
“Ahhh!” The explosion was so close, and the sweet relief of what he was doing to my body only compelled me closer to the edge. He had once again taken the upper hand, forcing me to be the one to surrender first.
My breasts moved up and down in swift movements underneath me with every thrust he gave. Needing to bring him the release that I had already experienced, I reached between us and stroked his balls.
The pumping movements he had been making before grew more unchoreographed, less defined. I knew I had him. Clenching my thighs tight, I rolled my hips again, releasing soft purrs and begging him to “make this pussy cum now.”
Within seconds, I could feel his body grow still above my own. His fingers that had been stroking my lips before, were now holding onto them tightly. After several seconds, his fingers stroked my lips again and then dipped inside my entrance, to match the rhythm of his dick within me.
My breathing sped up, like Drew’s, and I was not able to fight the feeling any longer. It was what we were both seeking, what we had both come here to find.
He turned me onto my side to face him. “As long as I have your love, baby, I don’t need another championship or victory. Your love is so much more than all that.”
“I love you, Drew.”
“Not even a tenth of as much as I love you,” he whispered.
We locked our lips together and dragged out our kiss. It had been an amazing evening and night, and Drew was everything my heart needed.