8. Exodus “Yin” Tan
EXODUS “YIN” TAN
“Wǒmen dàojiāl.” Yang called as we all but barged into the house. “Māmā. Your favourite son is home and I brought the others!”
“Stop that shouting.” Mama laughed poking her head into the hall. “Come inside first before you start acting the fool—Squirrel!”
She walked by Yang with his open arms to hug Squirrel.
Sam and I laughed.
Yang pouted. “Māmā! I’m your son!”
“I know that.” Mama stuck her tongue out at Yang. “But we all know Squirrel is my favourite.
“Bro!” Sam chortled. “That’s how it is?”
“And you must be Kitty.” Mama grinned at Alisha then kissed Yin’s cheek. “Come on in. I baked cookies but before that, Yin, take Kitty to one of the guest rooms.”
Before I could reply, she walked off with Squirrel, stopped to rush back and hugged Yang and Sam then was off again.
Grinning, I picked up my bag with Kitty’s and climbed the stairs ahead of her.
“You’ll be sleeping in here.” I told her.
And while she nodded, she was staring at me in a way that told me she was thinking about something. It was something other than where she’d be sleeping.
I wasn’t sure what or how to feel about that.
Hesitating for a moment, I smiled at her and was about to leave when she caught my arm, tugged me back into the room and closed the door.
She paced, wiping her palms into the thighs of her jeans, worry on her face.
Or maybe it wasn’t that.
“You’re safe here.” I assured her.
“Huh?” She asked. “No—that’s not it.”
“Then?”
“I…” She shook her head and paced away from me. “No—that’s not right. I wanted to?—”
Exhaling, I caught her by the hips and pulled her into my chest. I rested my free hand at the back of her neck and kissed her, long and deep until her lips basically melted off mine.
Even so, I leaned her against the door and kissed her again, my tongue searching until I could suck hers into my mouth.
She whimpered.
Catching myself, I released her and back away.
“Shit.” I could barely breathe. “I shouldn’t have?—”
Backing away, I tripped over myself and fell. But I could only think about the control I’d lost, and I probably did something she wasn’t ready for.
Not really?—
Closing my eyes, I shifted backward.
“Exodus?” She knelt beside me to frame my cheeks.
“I’m sorry. You don’t deserve that.”
My chest was tight—enough oxygen wasn’t going into my lungs.
“What do you mean?” Alisha asked.
“You’re not ready for me.” I managed to meet her gaze. “Did I hurt you? I wasn’t?—”
“Exodus, you didn’t hurt me.”
“I know what you said, and you actually kissed me back. But I don’t want to take advantage. Maybe Sam?—”
“Forget Sam right now!” She snapped.
“Okay.” I licked my lips. “Can you actually tell me you want me?”
She eased in closer.
“I want you.”
A shiver ran down my spine and I hung my head.
“Only—”
I looked up at her, waiting for her to speak.
Waiting for the regret that usually followed moments like this.
“This is my first time at Mama Tan’s.” She sat beside me. “We can’t do anything to—you know? So, if anything is going to happen between us, we have to wait until we go back.”
My heart dropped.
“But um—could you kiss me again?”
Smiling, I licked my lips and leaned into her chest. I eased her against the side of the bed and gave her my mouth.
The door opened.
“Hang a sock on the knob next time!” Sam told us. “Sheesh.”
I groaned and pressed my forehead to her lips.
“Who told you to just barge in here?” I demanded. “If you don’t want to see things knock first.”
“It was a kiss, Sam.” Alisha told him, sighing.
“That’s right.” I frowned deeper. “It’s not like you haven’t?—”
“Whoa!” Sam cheered, holding up both palms. “No. I’ll tell mom you aren’t ready to eat. No wonder you couldn’t hear me calling.”
“We’re coming.” Alisha laughed. “Don’t tell her anything.”
I said nothing but helped both of us to our feet.
While Sam left us to go back to the others, I helped her with adjusting her clothes then preceded her down the stairs.
When we entered the room, all eyes turned to us. I pulled out a chair for Alisha, and we sat to one of our mother meals where she went entirely too far.
The main meats were steamed fish, beef stew with potatoes, two different kinds of lamb and duck stew.
Mama was happy—the way she laughed, shared food for each of her sons, spoke heartily.
It had been a while since she had all of her children under the same roof at the same time. With our lives, we came home but usually one or two at a time.
“Xiè xie, mā.” I leaned over to kiss her cheek after she placed some vegetables on top of the rice in my bowl.
“You look tired.” She lowered her voice to tell me while the others were talking among themselves. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m a little tired.” I admitted. “But I won’t be keeping this up for much longer. Besides, now I have Yang back and Squirrel is here.”
“And Kitty?”
I turned to look to where she was busy laughing at something Yang had said.
“I don’t know.” I replied.
“You do feel something for her, even if you don’t know what it is yet.” Mama told me in a whisper. “Just don’t close the door—give yourself a break.”
I stared at her, blankly.
“You close yourself off from all the good things, Exodus.” Mama explained. “That hasn’t made you happy, has it? Try something different—make a decision once you find out what’s going on with her. That way you’re clear-headed.”
I nodded.
“Hey, what are you two whispering about?” Sam wanted to know.
“Mind your business.” Mama told him, setting a piece of duck on his plate. “Eat.”
Sam pouted and the rest of us laughed.
Alisha set a piece of beef atop my rice then went back to her meal.
Sam and Yang smiled for they new what that action meant in our culture—especially since she’d used her chopsticks.
Neither of them spoke.
I didn’t speak either—just focused on my food, silently blushing hotter than the sun.
That night as I showered, the door opened and I looked up to see Alisha, a towel wrapped around her body sneaking in. I laughed softly, pushed some water from my face and slid open the glass shower door.
“Is this your way of propositioning me, Alisha Quinn?” I asked, softly. “I thought teachers were good girls.”
“We are—usually.” She pouted cutely. “But?—”
She stopped as if reconsidering what she was about to say. Her eyes dipped downward but not fast enough for me not to see the shyness in them, a new kind of hesitation that broke my heart.
I never wanted her to look that defeated—ever.
“Does that mean you’re rejecting me?” Alisha asked without looking up. “No, after all, means no.”
“Don’t be hasty.”
I held out a hand to her and after she dropped the towel, I helped her into the tub. As water soaked through her hair then ran down her body, I tried holding my breath.
“You are so sexy.” I whispered, pressing my forehead to hers. “How am I supposed to reject all of this?”
“Reject? All of this?”
“We’re in Mama Tan’s house, remember?” I asked. “And all of this—these lips, these eyes, these breasts?—”
I cupped her breasts while using my thumbs and index fingers to tug on her perfect nipples.
“Mm.” She moaned.
I spun her around in the water and spanked her.
“This ass.” I continued.
Her sharp intake of breath echoed softly through the room.
“Then why is it so easy for you to reject me?” Alisha asked, jutting her ass out to me.
“You’re not listening.” I was breathy. “Weren’t you the one who said we can’t do those things under Mama Tan’s roof? It’s a valid point.”
Every part of me was hard.
“The only thing keeping me in line is that my mother and brothers are all here.” I leaned in to press my hard cock to her ass. “Otherwise, I’d love to play a game with you.”
She trembled.
“What kind of game?”
I licked my lips and bowed my mouth to her ear.
“To see what I can use to make you come faster.” I replied. “My fingers. My tongue or my cock.”
“Exo—” She mewled.
“Sounds fun, right?” I drew her earlobe between my teeth before passing my tongue over it.
Alisha moaned, turned and cuddled into me under the water. She pressed her face into my throat, dragged her palms down my sides then around the small of my back.
Slowly, she splayed her fingers to my skin while her thumbs caressed up and down.
Holding her tightly to my chest, I refused to allow my brain to overthink what was happening. A part of me knew this could all be because she was scared.
And that if we crossed that line, we could both regret it later because there wasn’t any going back to what we were before.
Some regrets needed to be called into existence.
No matter how much they hurt.
Though it was hard, I forced myself to calm down enough for us to shower and get dressed.
Alisha had carried her clothes into my room and had laid them out on my bed.
But the saddest part of my day was watching that beautiful body get covered, almost as if she was hiding her secrets from me.
While she dressed, she was quiet, almost as if thinking about every life decision she’d made to bring us to this moment. From the looks of it, she was very disappointed.
She was disappointed in those choices and in me—that last part hurt the most.
I helped her with her hair—her instructing me all the way.
This was the first time I thought to do this for and with a woman. I was very confused at what the different creams and potions did.
Still, by the time we finished, her hair smelled like warm honey and shea butter.
That didn’t help my libido.
We went back to join the others for snacks and while no one said anything, their coy looks were screaming their thoughts louder than the gong of a church bell.
They knew.
That night as the house went still, Mama was watching one of her dramas she had to use a VPN to access and the others were in their respective corners, winding down.
I stretched out on my back in the grass in the backyard, my EarPods in my ear and my cell sitting beside me on the ground.