Ah… a probably time fi mi stop and just tell har wah mi want. I reach for her hand. She tries to move away, but I catch her again, gently this time. I ease her back to me, holding her steady. Her chest rises, lips part just a little.
My tone drops low, more breath than voice. “Easy… and mek mi tell yuh wah mi wah, nuh?”
She looks up at me, and I stare right back. I don’t blink. She’s the one who looks away first. Blushing. Acting like she’s not, but I see it. She peeks back up. “You see weh wi deh?”
“I’m fully aware,” I nod, slow and calm.
She tilts her head at me, chin raised, attitude simmering beneath the softness in her eyes. “So you nuh care?”
I fold my lips, glancing off to the side for a second before turning back to her. I shake my head.
“Nope,” I say. “You know mi don’t… plus—” I lean in, voice low, “—a room deh upstairs.”
“Well I do care, so no.” Her voice final.
My face drops.
A simple, “Ah,” slips from me.
I glance to the side and catch Juaqína watching. That look on her face, it isn’t anger. It’s something else. Jealousy. Hurt. Maybe both. I sigh, eyes drifting over to Junior. He’s up on the stage now. I don’t even know why I feel guilty. I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m not moving messy. I’ve left all that behind, all the old game. I made a choice. And I expect her to do the same. But she hasn’t.
“Jah Jah,” I mutter under my breath.
“You upset?” Zara asks, sliding her arms around my waist.
I turn my head, and her face already easing the weight on my chest. “No,” I answer, and the corner of her mouth curls into a knowing smirk.
“Come,” she says, soft but sure. She glances around once, then hooks her finger in my buckle and tugs. Just like that. She’s not even trying hard, and my mood shifts. It’s the way she moves tells me that she knows exactly what string to pull.
So easy she have yuh smiling. Zara got you wrapped around her pretty little finger,my subconscious whispers.
I let her lead. When we get to the room, she pushes the door open. We stumble into the room, lips already locked like we’re trying to kill the air between us.
She slams the door behind us, then turns like she wasn’t just kissing me back like her life depended on it. I grab her wrist before she can walk off. “Who yuh a’ ignore?”
She twists her arm but doesn’t pull away. I squeeze her hand tighter. “When man talk, yuh listen.”
She snaps her head toward me. “Whatever.”
That one word triggers a switch in me. I spin her around, slam her back against the wall, and kiss her so hard, her body stiffens for a second, then melts into mine like she needs this just as bad. “You ever ignore me like that again, mi swear—”
She cuts me off, biting my bottom lip. “Shut up and do wah yuh wah do.”
Say less. I grip her thigh and hike it up around my waist, grinding against her through our clothes. She gasps when she feels how hard I am already, her head falling back against the wall. Still fully dressed, tight black dress, heels still on, she looks up at me with that same damn defiance in her eyes.
“Yuh love ramp wid man?” I ask, voice low, eyes dark. “Yuh want mi make yuh lose yuh attitude?”
She licks her lips. “You talk too much.”
I spin her around, her palms flat against the wall now. I don’t even pull her dress up all the way, just shove her thong aside and free myself from my pants. My tip slides between her wetness and she jolts forward, hands bracing on the wall.
“You ready?” I hiss in her ear.
She looks back at me. “I been ready.” One thrust. One deep, punishing thrust that makes her choke on her breath.
“Shit,” she whimpers, arching her back as I push deeper. I grip her hips and pound into her, the sound of skin slapping and heavy breathing bouncing off the club room walls.
“You gon ignore me again?” I groan, gripping her hair and yanking her head back so she can hear me better. She moans something smart I can’t even make out.
