Chapter 21 Rhythm Brooks
RHYTHM brOOKS
Kodi’s call came through right as I merged onto the expressway, and I knew he was angry before I even answered. He’d been texting all morning, swinging between attitude and guilt trips as if that was supposed to get me back.
I hit accept anyway because I didn’t want him blowing my phone up once I got to Sincere’s place.
“What, Kodi?”
“I just want to talk,” he griped.
I exhaled. “I don’t have time to talk. I’m on my way somewhere, and I’m almost there.”
“You always got somewhere to be now.” The envy and resentment in his voice were new. He wasn’t used to watching my life from the outside, and now that he was, he was livid.
In the last month, my life had changed. I had more income than I’d ever had.
I moved me and the kids into a new place.
I got a new car. It felt foreign being able to make big moves on my own.
I rented my first and only apartment with Kodi.
Every step after that had been made with him.
Now me and my kids were in a three-bedroom condo, and the first night Kinsley slept in her own room, I didn’t want to get up the next morning because I didn’t want that feeling to end.
“You not gone talk to me? You too busy?”
“I’m talking,” I said. “What do you want?”
He hesitated, like he didn’t even know how to say what was eating at him. Then it came out. “I just don’t get it. For years, I did what I had to do. I took risks. I made sure y’all was straight. And now you got a little money coming in and it’s like you don’t need me for nothing.”
“Kodi—”
“Nah, let me finish. Because you’re playing me like I’m crazy, but you moving like I’m disposable. Like all those years don’t mean nothing.”
“You are not disposable,” I said. “But we are not together.”
“You decided that,” he snapped. “Without even giving me a chance to fix it!”
“It’s me deciding what I can’t live with anymore.”
He ignored that. He always ignored the parts where I made sense.
“And then my son talking about some nigga picked him up from school,” he continued. “KJ was bragging about how nice the nigga’s car was.”
I bit back my laugh, but I made a mental note to check KJ.
“That nigga wouldn’t have had to pick your kids up if you weren’t in your feelings, punishing me through them,” I said.
“You don’t put no man around my kids.”
“You sound stupid,” I snapped. “You cannot keep failing and then get mad when I solve the problem. I don’t have the option to sit around and wait on you.”
Kodi breathed hard into the phone. “You got that little art shit poppin’, got your new spot and new car, and now you don’t want me.”
“I’m not doing this,” I told him as I pulled up to Sincere’s building. “I’m getting off the phone.”
“Don’t hang up on me,” he warned.
“I’m hanging up!” I spat. “Bye, Kodi.”
“Fuck you, Rhyth—”
I ended the call, tossed my phone into the passenger seat, and sat there for a second, getting myself together. It was Valentine’s Day, and I wasn’t taking that attitude inside Sincere’s condo with me.
It sounded cliché, but every day felt like Valentine’s Day with Sincere. After the week I’d had, I didn’t have the energy to do too much tonight.
Kodi had been punishing me for leaving him by not being active with the kids on the days he knew I needed him most. And tomorrow I was one of the artists for Aria’s event at Voss, Black Love Gallery After Dark.
It was going to be an after-hours gallery night with candlelight, R&B, and statement art.
So, I told Sincere I wanted tonight to be low-key.
I walked into the lobby and spoke to the person at the reception desk. They already knew me at this point.
The receptionist let me up, and I got on the elevator. When the doors opened, I walked down to Sincere’s condo, checking my reflection in the dark glass of the mirror on the wall.
When Sincere knew I was on my way, he left his door unlocked. So, I was able to walk right in.
Then I stopped.
Rose petals were scattered across the floor, leading from the entry deeper into the living room.
Red balloons floated above the furniture in clusters, and heart-shaped balloons were mixed in, hanging close to the ceiling.
Candles were lit on the coffee table and along the console, and on the wall, in gold balloon letters big enough to read from the doorway were the words: WILL YOU BE MY GIRLFRIEND?
My mouth fell open. I turned my head slowly, taking it all in. It was excessive in the best way.
Sincere stood in the middle of the living room holding a huge bouquet of red roses shaped into a perfect dome.
A ribbon stretched across the roses with the same words printed on it.
He looked good too, with a fresh haircut and his beard lined up perfectly.
His stare drove so deep into me, with a look that made me feel like he was already inside of me.
Behind him, I could see movement in the open-concept kitchen.
A chef was in there cooking, and a delicious smell was already filling the condo.
I blinked at Sincere as I slowly left the doorway. “Sincere,” I said, then giggled. “I told you I wanted low-key.”
He lifted the bouquet slightly. “This is low-key for me.”
I rolled my eyes, still giggling and blushing. “I’m already your girlfriend. Why did you do all this?”
He walked toward me with his eyes locked on mine. “Because you told me to ask you properly.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. This man’s efforts always got me.
“And I wanted to do it on Valentine’s Day,” he continued. “So, this day can be our anniversary.”
“That is so corny,” I laughed. “And it’s cute. It’s corny, but it’s cute.”
He held the roses out to me. “So, what’s up, Rhythm? You have to answer the question.”
I took them and looked up at him again. “Yes. Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend.”
“Good.” His hand settled on my waist, and he kissed me slow and sure.
I pulled back from his kiss with the roses still in my arms, and my eyes took him in like I needed to make sure he was real.
“Sincere…” I shook my head, smiling even as my throat started to tighten. “Thank you.”
He waved it off immediately. “You don’t have to thank me.”
“I do,” I insisted. “I’m serious.” I stepped closer and pressed my hand to his shirt, right over his heart, because I needed him to feel what I was saying. “Thank you for everything you’ve been doing for me since we met. You’ve been making me feel seen and so loved.”
He tried to brush it away again, but I kept going. “You’ve been making me feel like I matter, like I’m not just somebody trying to survive and hold things together. You make me feel like a woman.”
Sincere let out a low breath and turned his head like he was fighting a smile. “Rhythm…”
His eyes locked on mine, and he just looked at me. Not like he was admiring how I looked, but like he was reading me and letting himself feel it too. “You’re the wishes on the birthday candles I blew out as a kid.”
“Sincere, that is...” My voice broke. I tried to keep smiling through it, but my eyes burned. Tears rushed up fast, and I couldn’t stop it. One tear fell, then another, and my throat tightened so bad I couldn’t even swallow it down.
Sincere’s face shifted immediately. “Hey,” he said, reaching for me.
I shook my head, wiping at my cheeks and laughing again because it was embarrassing and beautiful at the same time. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.”
I looked up at him, tears still coming. “Nobody has ever made me feel this loved… Nobody.”
His eyes stayed on mine like he was taking that sentence personally, like it just became his responsibility. He stepped closer and pulled me in, holding me like he understood what it cost me to say that out loud.
After we finished the chef’s immaculate dinner of the finest cut of steak, lobster, shrimp, and shareable sides, I took Sincere by the hand and led him to the couch. Then I dropped to my knees between his legs and tried to give him my best head game because he deserved it.
I wrapped my lips around his dick and sucked him deep into my mouth.
I moved my head up and down, taking him all the way to the back of my throat each time.
My tongue swirled around the head when I pulled back, then I sucked harder on the way down.
Saliva dripped down his shaft as I bobbed faster, hollowing my cheeks to create more suction.
He groaned low in his throat as I sucked his dick with everything I had.
I used one hand to stroke the base while my mouth worked the rest, twisting my grip slightly for extra friction.
His hips bucked up a little, pushing more of him into me.
I hummed around his length, and the vibration made him curse under his breath.
I loved how he filled my mouth and how his dick throbbed against my tongue.
"Fuuuck. Thank you, baby," he moaned. He laced his fingers into my locs and guided my head, controlling the pace now.
He pulled me down harder, then lifted me up, fucking my mouth with shallow thrusts.
I could hardly breathe, but I was willing to sacrifice oxygen for his pleasure.
I relaxed my jaw and let him use me, gagging softly when he hit the back of my throat.
Drool escaped the corners of my lips as I became eager for his release.
His grip tightened on my hair as his body tensed.
He thrust up one last time and came. Hot spurts filled my mouth.
I swallowed every drop, gulping it down without spilling.
But I didn't pull away. I kept sucking his dick, licking along the sensitive underside now that he softened a bit.
He squirmed on the couch, and his thighs twitched under my hands.
"Shit, baby!… Fuck!" he barked, trying to push through the overstimulation.
His dick jerked in my mouth from the intensity, but I persisted, sucking gently at first, then building back up.
I worked him with my tongue and lips until he got hard again.
Once he was fully erect, I released him and climbed onto his lap.
I lifted my dress and straddled him on the couch, lining up my pussy with his dick.
I sank down slowly at first, feeling him stretch me open.
Then I started riding him, bouncing hard and fast. My hips ground down on every inch, taking him deep inside me.
I rolled my pelvis in circles when I bottomed out, clenching my inner walls around his length to squeeze him tight.
He gripped my hips, helping me lift and slam back down. Our bodies slapped together with each thrust. I leaned forward, and our mouths crashed in a messy kiss. Our tongues tangled as I rode him harder. I could feel my juices coating his dick and dripping onto the couch.
"I love you," I whispered against his lips.
"I love you too," he replied, pulling me closer as I kept riding him with abandon.
I broke the kiss, pulling back just enough to watch his face as I slowed my pace.
I shifted onto my toes, bouncing up and down his dick with deliberate slowness.
Each rise lifted me almost off him, then I dropped back down, taking every inch deep inside my pussy.
The motion made my thighs burn a little, but I kept it up, grinding at the bottom to feel him press against my walls.
His eyes locked on mine, half-lidded with pleasure.
I listened to his moans spilling from his lips every time I sank down.
A smile tugged at my mouth. I felt proud, knowing I did this to him.
His hands roamed up my sides, fingers digging into my skin as he held on.
He looked completely overcome, his body arching slightly under me, breaths coming in sharp gasps.
His dick throbbed inside me with each bounce, and I clenched around him, drawing out more of those sounds I loved.
Seeing him like that, lost in how good I made him feel, was a true work of art up close.