Ms. Shelly giggled. “Go on, Alicia. I got them.”
“Are you sure, Ms. Shelly? I can go put the clo?—”
“It’s what you pay me for, Mrs. Alicia. Go on. I got them.”
I smiled and nodded as I picked up the basket and kissed my babies on their cheeks. I headed upstairs to the master suite and went inside. Leo was stretched out in the bed still, looking like a Grecian god. I stood, watching, as his chest rose and fell with each breath he took. He had a sandpaper-colored complexion, beautiful brown eyes, a head full of soft, sandy-brown curls, full lips, and a neatly trimmed goatee. My husband was every woman’s dream. I knew Leo loved me, but lately, things had been a little tense. Since I gave birth to our two-year-old, Carlee, his time at home had become less frequent than before. He still made it home for dinner and played with the kids for a little while, but then he’d retreat to his man cave and stay in there until the kids were down. I was all about him having his peace, but as a husband and father, I felt he could do and be more for our family.
They said the spark left marriages after having children. I tried not to let the spark die, being that both of our careers were in high demand, but Leo wasn’t meeting me halfway. I didn’t ask for him to get me pregnant three times back-to-back, but since Carlee was unplanned, I felt as though he withdrew more now than he did before.
I hated it.
I wanted the love we shared when we first met, when we couldn’t stay out of each other’s faces or go a day without talking on the phone for hours. Our anniversary was a week away, and I was going to bring back the spark we seemed to have lost between my pregnancies.
I set the basket of laundry on the floor and walked to the edge of the bed. I stared at him for a moment before climbing on the bed and crawling up his tall frame. I placed small kisses on his chest, then trailed kisses down his stomach until I removed the blanket and slid his boxers down. My mouth watered as I looked at my favorite thing on him. I wrapped my palm around it and circled the head with my tongue before wrapping my lips around it. I could feel him stir, and a soft moan escaped his lips, which prompted me to go harder.
“Oh, fuck, Ali!” He groaned, palming the back of my head. I sucked and slurped him for a good four minutes before he lifted and pulled me on top of him. He slipped my gown over my head, ripped my panties, then mounted me over him. I slid down on top of him slowly as his hands grabbed my hips to help guide me. Once I hit the base of him, we both groaned, and my hips activated.
“Mmm, baby.” I rocked my hips until I got a steady rhythm and rode him as if time raced against us. He wrapped his lips around my erect nipple, making me roll my hips and wrap my arms around his neck.
“Shit, baby.” He moaned, grabbing my ass and helping me bounce. His arms came under my thighs, and he pivoted, laying me on my back and slamming into me.
“Mmm, Leo!” I yelled, my nails digging into his back.
“Mmhmm, I miss the fuck out of this pussy, baby. I need you to cum on it.” He whispered in my ear as his lips went to my neck and sucked.
“I love you,” I breathed out. He pounded into me until I came and screamed his name, and he followed behind, dropping his seed on my stomach. We both waited until we caught our breath before he lifted his head and slipped his tongue into my mouth.
I pulled away and smiled at him. “Mmm, good morning, my love.”
“A good morning, it is,” he replied, smiling down at me. We stayed wrapped in each other’s arms, kissing like long-lost lovers, until he finally removed himself from me and headed toward the en suite bathroom. I lay in the same spot, feeling content and happy.
“Our anniversary is next week. I figured we can go up north to the cabin for a few days, . . . just us,” I called out. I heard the toilet flush, then him returning with a warm washcloth to clean me.
“I would love to do that, baby, but what about the kids? You know I don’t like us leaving them with Ms. Shelly for too long.”
“Ms. Shelly will only have them for one day. My mom agreed to keep them Saturday and Sunday.”
“Hm. I’ll see if I can make that happen.”
“Please do. We need this time. Don’t you agree?”
“I do, but we both have to be realistic. Our jobs are demanding?—”
“The trial will be over by Tuesday, and I’m sure your colleagues can handle any fires that may occur.”
“Why do you do that, baby?”
I frowned. “Do what?”
“Make it seem as if my job isn’t as important as yours.”
“That is not what I’m doing, Leo. We haven’t spent any quality time together since Carlee was born. We never do anything on our anniversary anymore, and let’s not talk about regular dates. I rarely see you, and when I do, it’s always short-lived because you’re either in your man cave or out with your work buddies. I just want us to get back to us. I don’t want us to lose sight of what’s important in our marriage.”
“Look, I don’t want to argue. I’ll see what I can do, alright? I have to get ready for work.” He walked back inside the bathroom and closed the door as I sighed in frustration. I hoped afterwaking him up with good sex, he wouldn’t fight me on this, but obviously, I was wrong.
My mother never told me that marriage would be this hard. It was work to get in and work to stay in. The only problem with staying in it was that the other partner never put forth the effort to stay in. I had no doubt that Leo loved me, but his lack of companionship and communication were starting to hinder our love. I was stretched thin and all out of options for getting us back on track. If we didn’t make it to the cabin for our anniversary, I was going to check out of this marriage. I wasn’t going to be the only one trying and giving my all without reciprocation.
I loved my husband to life, but I would not be the only one trying. And that was on my life.
