13. Solomon
“Okay. It’s story time,” Beauty said, walking into the living room where I sat surfing the channels to find something for us to watch.
After our cooking session with Marcille, we sat and dined over roasted chicken piccata with lemon sauce, steamed asparagus with honey drizzle, and garlic mashed potatoes.
Temple was quiet for most of the dinner, only speaking when I’d ask her something. She seemed happy and excited when we were cooking, but something must have been heavily on her mind once we sat down to eat.
“No movie?”
She shook her head. “I have questions, and you have the answers.”
“I’m with that.” I turned the television off and summoned her to me. She walked over and sat beside me. “Talk to me, love.”
“Before you were a cop, what did you do?”
I leaned back and studied her. God, this woman was beautiful. That stunt she pulled in the great room almost had me about to give in.
I had to pray heavily and talk myself out of going into her room and giving her what she’d been begging for. She didn’t realize how much sex was a part of my love language. I could do it all day, every day and never get tired of it.
My near-death experience changed me. While I still had those urges, I was now able to control myself way more than I used to.
“I worked a few dead-end jobs before becoming an unofficial bodyguard for my cousin and his friends. Back then, they were into a lot of things. Some legal and illegal. I knew I wanted to be a cop after high school, but I wanted to help my family first. Made a lot of money doing so, too.
“After I graduated from Saginaw Valley, I went straight into the academy. It took a few years before I got out of rookie status, but when they finally gave me my time on the streets, I took them by force. I won’t lie to you.
I wasn’t a squeaky clean, by-the-book cop.
My cousin and his friends were heavy in the drug game and needed my protection.
I was their mole until I forced them to get off the streets because I knew I didn’t want to be a cop forever.
“I wanted to make detective, and the chief was playing on my top. So, I was already getting my team together to transition from a cop to owning my own security company. The night of the robbery solidified my decision to leave.
“The money I made from my cousin and his crew, plus the money I made in the force, allowed me to make a smooth break. I already had a business degree and a bachelor’s in technology, so once I opened my business, my pops ran an ad, and I got a lot of contracts.
Now, here I am four years later, and my business has turned into a multi-million-dollar company. ”
Temple nodded and relaxed against the couch. “So, how does a man who owns a security company know a world-renowned chef?”
I smirked. Now I knew why she didn’t talk much at dinner. She was processing everything and trying to understand how her man could do what I did, without having to ask directly.
Since she couldn’t, she had to inquire what her analysis of me couldn’t understand.
“I secure celebrities, baby. From politicians to rappers and singers, and even chefs. When Marcille came to the United States, he hired my company by word of mouth. Since I knew he was back home, it was a perfect time to call him over to set up the perfect date for us.
“I didn’t know you knew who he was, but that just made the experience that much better.”
“Wow. I have to say that I’m very impressed. Not by the money you make, but just your ambition, survival, and generosity. I just knew before you started your journey to God, you were a heathen.”
We laughed.
“I was doing a lot. Way too much if you ask me.”
“You said you were a sex addict. How many partners have you had, and how did that become a thing?”
“You really want to know that?” I asked, smirking at her.
“If you want me to marry you, then yes. I need to know everything about you and your family. I have to make sure I’m not marrying into the sanctified lunatics.”
I laughed aloud at that. “I feel you, baby . . . Two hundred and four.”
She almost choked on the champagne she sipped. I patted her back to help her regain her breath, then took the glass from her and set it on the table.
“Two . . . what? How, Solomon?”
“Some of them were four or five at a time since I was sixteen.”
“Sixteen!” She screeched. “Like, you really were just out here laying it low and spreading it wide. Where the hell were your parents?”
“They didn’t know, Beauty. I used to be a master manipulator. It’s how I was able to protect my family on the streets.”
“Is this some master manipulation you pulled on me? To fly me across the country, get me to fall for you, and marry you just to fuck me to satisfy your sexual appetite?”
I frowned slightly. “I’m not that guy anymore, Temp. I don’t need to manipulate you to fu—have sex with you. I genuinely want to get to know you, spoil you, and give you the world, and don’t have to lay a finger on you until you’re ready.
“My vision for my life has changed. I want to be a one-woman man and give my wife the world. I hate that you feel that way, but I’m only being honest with you, and now I feel like you’re judging me.”
“I’m not judging you, but over two hundred women is crazy, baby.”
“I know, . . . but since you wanted to know my life story, I’m going to tell you everything you want to know. I just need you to have an open mind, and let me know if it’s too much, and I’ll chill.”
“I want to know, so I’m going to listen. I was only caught by surprise. You were just so young when you started out.”
“I was. When I was fifteen, I met this girl. She was eighteen and like some sort of madam. She had a harem of girls who she used to trick out. At the time, I didn’t know how old she was or that she was into that kind of stuff.
“I met her at a house party one of my friends had and just assumed she was around our age. Anyway, me and her talked, and before the party ended, she had me in the bathroom while she was on her knees giving my virgin behind the best head of my life. From that day forward, we linked up almost every day. I’d lie to my parents about having after-school studies just to link up with her.
“Fast forward to my sixteenth birthday, she invited me back to her spot. Here I was thinking she still lived at home with her parents, but she finally revealed her age to me and that it was her house we were in. I didn’t care because I had already caught feelings for her.
“For my sixteenth, she threw me a party at her house, but there was nothing but girls there. They were friendly, bought me a cake, and sang happy birthday to me. Then right after I blew out the candles on the cake, things shifted. Clothes were being removed, girls were kissing girls, and drinks were flowing—”
“Oh goodness. That girl turned you out,” she said, tossing her head back.
I chuckled. “She did. I had sex with eight girls that night while she sat and watched. I had never experienced anything like that in my life, so it kind of spiraled from there.”
“And where did your parents think you were on your birthday?”
“Staying at a friend’s house.”
“And what happened to this sex demon?”
I shook my head with an amused look on my face. “She was murdered a year later by some dude she was with before me.”
Temple’s mouth formed into an O of surprise. “Damn. Were you sad about it?”
I nodded. “I was. She was the first girl I fell in love with.”
“And Sharika? When did you two hook up?”
I smirked. “Shereece. We hooked up in the eleventh grade. I tried the whole monogamous thing with her until I found out that she was giving it up to anybody who wanted it. After our breakup, I didn’t get into relationships anymore.
That’s when I stopped hiding that sexual urge to hit any woman I chose to.
“It was bad. It’s what God revealed to me on my deathbed.
I could hear His words vividly and repeatedly while in a coma, saying, ‘turn from your wicked ways, and you shall have everlasting life.’ I wanted to live more than I wanted to die, so once He spared my life, I promised I’d try hard to do better.
Now here I am. It’s still a struggle, but He sees and knows my heart.
“That’s why I need a woman in my life to balance me. To give me a home, a family, and be my helpmate. I’m choosing you, baby. I just hope that you’d choose me back.”
“Why me?” she asked softly.
“I think He knows why. I saw you in a dream before I even knew your name or what you looked like. He told me I’d find a woman who I’d fall in love with at first sight. As soon as I saw your face, our souls connected, and it was then I knew you’d be Mrs. Matthews.”
“No STDs?”
“Syphilis and gonorrhea. Nothing else.”
“I need to see your updated MyChart.”
I swiftly picked up my phone and went to the app. I pulled up my most recent results and let her scroll through them.
She smiled lightly, then moved closer before straddling my lap, handing me my phone back.
I closed my eyes tightly, groaning because I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle a second round of her dry humping me.
“Baby, . . . spare me. Please,” I begged.
She giggled. “I promise I’m not on that.”
“Then you need to get off him.”
She rolled her eyes playfully. “Relax . . . Make it happen then.”
I looked up at her in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Marry me then. Here. I can’t promise you I’d be able to hold out any longer.
I want you, Lo. Not just the sex, but I want to be with you and give you what you seek.
I can tell you’ve changed a lot just from the story you told me.
I want you to have everything your heart desires the most. I still have a ways to go on my righteous journey, but I promise to do better—be better for you. ”
My heart felt like it grew wings, flew right into hers, and made itself at home.
“You don’t know what those words mean to me, baby. Are you sure you’re ready?”
She gave me a confident nod. “I’m sure. Lucky number two-oh-five in this bih!”
That pulled a deep laugh from me, and I kissed her lips to seal the deal.
“Then it’s done. Tomorrow, we’ll go on your shopping spree, and you can find you a nice dress. Then get everything set up. You want to do this during the day or at night?”
“The earlier the better.” Her hips gyrated, and I stopped her.
“You’re not playing fair, Beauty.”
“Okay! Okay. I’ll stop.” She tittered. “We can’t tell anyone yet, though. Ma Lula, my aunt, and my sisters will murder me. Once we get home, we can start planning a real wedding. Are you okay with that?”
“I’m with anything as long as you got my last name.”
“Then it’s settled.”
“And the club?” I had to ask because once she became my wife, that club had to become a memory.
“I hadn’t been back there in almost a week. Since you came and chopped my sponsor in the neck.”
“Bump that nigga. Answer my question, love.”
“I’ll resign as soon as we get back home. Pinky promise.”
“Thank you. If you want to still dance, my cousin’s best friend’s wife owns a dance company. I will compromise you dancing in music videos rather than taking your clothes off for men.”
“You’d do that?”
“Absolutely. You becoming my wife is a compromise for you, so I have no problem with returning the favor.”
She smiled. “You’re going to make a great husband.”
“I plan to.” I brushed her hair out of her face. “Let’s get some sleep. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”
“Okay.” She stood, and I followed, going around the villa, making sure it was secured, shutting down the lights, then saw her to her room.
“Good night, my love.”
“Good night.”
I kissed her lips, then headed to my room. I didn’t expect the night to turn into this, but I wasn’t mad at it at all.
After my shower, I knelt beside the bed, talked to my Homie for a good forty minutes, then got in bed with a smile on my face, knowing that I knocked down one of my biggest goals, and praying that I continued to knock down plenty more.