I was antsy while I waited for Ketai to open my door for me. The fresh air was much needed when he opened the door and helped me out. We walked around to my trunk. I got ready to jump up, but he beat me to the punch by lifting me up as if I weighed nothing and plopping me down in place. My heart started to beat faster when he came to stand between my legs. I couldn’t draw my eyes away from him.
“Hey,” he whispered. His hands began massaging my thighs before he gripped them tighter. “Don’t think that I didn’t notice you ain’t give me any kind of response.”
I cleared my throat because my heart was basically in it. “A response about what?”
“My intentions. Are you trying to see if there’s something here, or would you rather entertain all them thirsty niggas in your comments?”
My head jerked back. “You been stalking my socials?”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “Just checking out the competition.”
“And?”
“And I ain’t find none, so what’s up, baby?”
I couldn’t fight the urge anymore. Lifting my hand, I stroked my fingers through his goatee. It was soft just like I imagined it would be. “Okay,” I mumbled with a soft smile. He was being so clear with me, and if I was honest, I’d never felt so safe with a man than I did with Ketai. “But if, at any point, you feel like I’m not the woman for you, then please just let me know. Don’t drag it out in an attempt to spare my feelings. I will always choose honesty over that.”
He nodded once. “Can I kiss you now? You know, to prove I mean business?”
I giggled. “Yes, you can seal the deal.”
I barely had the words fully out before his lips crashed into mine. It sucked all the air from my lungs and replaced it with a golden warmth. We melted into one another, and somehow, the kiss that started off soft and gentle turned into something feverish and hungry for more.
Ketai slipped his tongue into my mouth, and I sucked on it like the little slut I was. The moan he released sent shivers down my spine and made me pull him deeper into me. Ketai stepped back, creating distance between us with a laugh.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” he teased. I buried my face in my hands, but they were pulled down by him. “Don’t hide from me.”
He came closer, but this time, it was truly for an embrace that silenced the chatter in my mind. I inhaled his oud scent andmelted deeper into the hug. When I opened my eyes, the sun setting in the distance was all I could see.
“I love sunset. It’s literally my favorite time of the day,” I shared with him. “I want to get engaged and married at sunset. Hell, I want to do everything at sunset.”
He released me, only to turn around and see what I could. “Oh yeah? What’s so special about sunsets to you?”
I leaned forward to rest my chin on his shoulder. “I mean, for one, they are so beautiful, and no two sunsets are the same. Most people look forward to the sun rising, but I look forward to the sun setting because it means the day is ending. I like endings. In order for something to begin, something has to end.”
I could feel his cheeks lift when he smiled. “I like the way you think.”
I chuckled. “That’s a mutual feeling.”
“I’m looking forward to watching more sunsets with you,” Ketai said before we fell into a comfortable silence to watch the show. I could feel something new beginning between us, and instead of allowing my fear to have dominion over my future, I stomped it out. Only hope and faith could live here for the time being. As Ketai intertwined our fingers, then wrapped them around him, I knew there was nowhere else I wanted to be right then. Right there on the ledge with him was perfect. It was enough.
Ibarely had time to prepare myself before Free came crashing into my arms. Each step she took toward me sounded like she was running to the instrumental of Coco Jones’s “ICU”. I wrapped her in a hug, loving the marshmallow scent she chose to wear for our date tonight. No lie, I was utterly and obsessively into this girl. She was always on my mind, and when we had to leave each other, I was always looking forward to the next time I got to lay eyes on her again.
“Hey, baby. You missed me?”
She whacked me in the middle of my chest, making me laugh. “You know I missed you. It’s been like three days. I was starting to lose hearing in my eyes without you in my life.”
I tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled down at her. She was so damn cute. “Well, no more business trips for me unless you’re coming too. How does that sound?”
“Like you want us to be at the courthouse when it opens tomorrow.”
I chortled before placing a kiss on her forehead. Little did she know, I had something up my sleeve tonight that was going to reassure her that that was the track we were on. “You ain’t really about that life,” I teased her seconds before I yanked her closer to me by the front of her blouse. “Give me a kiss, baby. I was losing hearing in my eyes too.”
On command, her soft lips landed on mine. Her arms wrapped around my neck. I sank into the kiss while my hands gripped her ass just the way I knew she liked it. I could feel her pulse racing and just knew there was a pool in the seat of her panties right now. But I hadn’t touched her like that since my mom’s party. I wanted Free to know my interest in her didn’t come just from how good her pussy tasted on my tongue, or my obsession with her scent on my lips after I had her quivering and trying to suffocate me with her thighs . . .
I gripped her a little tighter, just thinking about what I would do to her when the opportunity presented itself. She moaned into our kiss, and if I were a man without control, it would’ve sent me over the edge, but because I knew how to keep it together, I pulled away. With a quick bow, I held out an arm to the blacked-out Eskimo truck waiting for us.
“Your chariot awaits, my queen,” I said in my interpretation of an English accent.
