“Tell me what you want, Harlowe.”
“I want all the corny shit,” I confessed. “Dates that actually mean something, movie nights, flowers for no reason, somebody who really sees me and shows up for me.” My chest squeezed, and I finally admitted the thing that I guess I always knew. “Basically, I want the love you already give me. but for real.” I barely got my sentence out before Hasheem’s mouth crashed onto mine. I tightened my grip around his neck as our tongues tangled with one another’s.
Hasheem laid me down gently. The cool mattress hit my back. Hasheem came down with me, settling between my legs like he’d been there a hundred times. My thighs fell open forhim without me even thinking about it, like my body already knew the assignment. His hands slid down to grip my hips as he reached toward the little glass bowl on the nightstand and grabbed a condom. I didn’t even see him open it, just watched the wrapper hit the floor.
“Can I have you all night?”
“Yes!” I moaned, desperate to feel him inside me again. He pushed that beautiful, thick dick deep inside me and my brain short circuited. I knew then there was no way in hell we were making it to that sunset mixer, and I’d be lying if I said I cared.
The first thingI did when I opened my eyes was reach for Harlowe. I’d had a little rest, and I was ready to pull her back underneath me. I wanted her right back where she’d been all night, taking deep strokes of this dick. I’d lost count of how many times I slid into Harlowe last night. Three? Four? All I knew was by the end, her voice was gone, my dick was drained, and the only thing I wanted to do was stay in this bed with her wrapped around me.
My hand hit nothing but cold sheets. Her side of the bed was empty. For a second, my stomach dipped, thinking maybe she’d woken up regretting everything we’d done. I didn’t put it past Harlowe to have woken up, seen me, and sprinted her ass back to Azalea County. If anybody was gonna wake up and tryto act like last night was a mistake, it’d be her. I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling, letting everything replay. Her back arched perfectly on my dick. The way she moaned my name when I was hitting her spot. The look in her eyes when she told me she wanted me.
Yeah. No part of me was regretting any of it. Marcus was gonna talk his shit. My mama was gonna do that little church sigh and ask a thousand times if I was sure. Everybody was gonna have their opinions, but none of that made me wanna stop. It just meant I was going to have a few conversations when we got home. I glanced at the clock. It was almost ten.
“Damn,” I muttered, swinging my legs out the bed. “That tight ass pussy knocked me out.” I glanced around the bedroom before making my way into the bathroom to brush my teeth. She wasn’t in the bathroom either, but the damp floor told me she’d been here at some point this morning. My chest tugged again. Had she taken a shower before fleeing to the damn airport?
“Don’t start this running shit, Harlowe.” I splashed a little water on my face and brushed my teeth and tried to get my head straight. We’d crossed a line last night, yeah, but I wasn’t the only one that leaped. Harlowe had met me there every time willingly. When I was done doing my hygiene shit, I grabbed some shorts and a T-shirt from my suitcase and pulled them on, still listening for any sign of her. The TV wasn’t on. The other shower wasn’t running. Nothing.
If she wasn’t in the bedroom, and she wasn’t in the bathroom, the only place left to look was the patio. I didn’t even get halfway there before her voice started sailing through the air.
“Hey, loves.” She waved at her camera in full influencer mode as I approached. “It’s vacation day three.”
My shoulders dropped, and just like that, my whole body unclenched.
“And I have some vacation book recs for y’all.”
Her back was to me when I slid the patio door open, but I could see the whole setup. She had her tripod propped on the little table with her ring light clipped to the top. She was sitting crisscross on a lounge chair in pajama shorts and a T-shirt that readI speak fluent Urban fiction. I leaned on the doorframe and just watched her do her content thing. She pointed at nothing like she was holding up a book and smiled at the camera.
“This one is enemies to lovers on a group trip. This one is spicy. Y’all know how I like it.”
I almost laughed.Yeah. I knew.
“Alright, that’s it for now. Make sure y’all drinking water, minding your business, and reading Black romance. I love y’all. Bye.” She did the little hand wave and tapped the screen.
“You been standing there long?” she asked, turning the phone toward herself to check the video.
“Long enough.”
“Took you long enough to wake up,” she said, turning around. “I was about to come poke you with the tripod.”
I stepped out onto the patio. “You ain’t miss me that bad,” I said. “You was out here boo’d up with your books.”
“My books don’t snore.”
“I don’t snore,” I shot back, and she gave me aboy, pleaselook as I made my way over to her, letting my gaze drag over her neck and shoulders. Purple marks were blooming right where my mouth had been.
“Damn,” I said, my thumb brushing one at the base of her throat. “Look like you got in a fight.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “Don’t talk to me,” she muttered, swatting at my hand but not really moving it. “Hope you’re proud of yourself. I look like some silly high school girl.”
“Hell yeah,” I said proudly. “You?”
Her eyes ballooned as she followed my hand to the scratches she’d left on my chest. “Oh my God, Hasheem. I’m sorry.”
“You ain’t gotta apologize for getting good dick. I’m not apologizing for giving it to you.”
Her eyes glanced up at me for half a second and something flickered through them that had me trying to gauge what it was. Was it regret or second thoughts? That was really what I needed to know. She went quiet, fingers rubbing down her thighs just to have something to do.
