RHYTHM BROOKS
After that long night of celebrating and drinking, we stumbled into Sincere's condo.
I climbed onto his lap on the couch, straddling his big thighs. With our eyes locked, I reached up slowly, my fingers brushing his face as I slid his glasses off. I set them carefully on the coffee table beside us.
“I'm so proud of you,” I told him, making him blush a bit.
“Thank you, baby.”
“I’m also so proud to be the woman you claim, because you're notjusta good man; you're smart, too, and this development project with the Cartiers is going to change your life. And I'm just so happy to be here witnessing it all.” I paused, cupping his jaw, my gaze never leaving his. “Thank you for being good to me, for changing my life like this, showing me things no one's ever shown me before. Because of you, so many unfathomable things feel possible now.”
As he stared back, his eyes softened, like he couldn't gather the words to respond with because he was that touched. Usually, he knew exactly what to say, but now his typical swagger melted into something humble and vulnerable.
Then, without a sound, he reached up and grabbed a handful of my locs, pulling my head back just enough to expose my neck. His mouth crashed down in a deep tongue kiss along my skin. His tongue swirled hot and wet against my pulse. Heat exploded between us, things turning aggressively sexy as his free hand pulled at my clothes while I clawed at his, shoving his shirt up to rake my nails down his bare shoulders. We disrobed right there on the couch, my dress hiked up and his pants shoved down just enough. My bra snapped free under his rough grip. His fingers clawed at my hips hard enough to bruise. I was so damn eager to feel his dick inside me, grinding down against the hard length of him straining through his boxers until he freed it.
I positioned myself over him, sinking down slow, inch by inch, my pussy stretching around his dick as I took him deep. As we tongue kissed, our mouths fused together in a sloppy, hungry rhythm. Our tongues slid and sucked as I started to ride him slow, rolling my hips in unhurried circles that dragged my walls along every ridge of him. His hands gripped my ass, guiding me but letting me set the pace. Our breaths mingled hot and ragged between kisses. My nipples brushed his skin with each rise and fall.
I made love to him like that, savoring the slide of him in and out, my clit grinding against his base on every downstroke, building that sweet ache until waves of pleasure rippled through me, our bodies locked in this intimate, passionate dance, whispering “I love you” against each other's lips between the wet sounds of our ride.
THREE MONTHS LATER
30
SINCERE BELLAMY
Months later, was the ground breaking ceremony for Project 83. I stood in front of a fenced-off site with cameras in my face and gold shovels lined up like trophies. There were speakers on stands, and a podium with the city seal. Banners stretched along the fencing with representations of what the project was going to become. Me and the crew wore hard hats with logos and safety vests over suits. Reporters were posted up where they could catch every handshake and every smile.
This was a big day for all of us, but it felt likemyday. Today was the proof I needed to know I didn’t sell the Cartiers or myself a dream. I took an idea that could’ve died in meetings, politics, and war, and I dragged it into the real world.
As the mayor’s rep did his speech, I looked past the podium at the land. That empty space was about to turn into concrete and steel. Families would live there. Money would move through there. Kids would grow up on a block that didn’t exist yet. This was legacy being built, not just for the Cartiers, but for me too. Formyfuture. Formyname. For the version of myself I hadn’t even met yet. For Rhythm and her kids. For the children we decided to bring into the world when the time was right.
When it was time, Legend, Icon, Saint, a few city officials, a few partners and myself took pictures with gold shovels in hand. We dug into the dirt on camera. Camera flashes popped from every angle.
Then the ceremony ended, and the crowd began to disperse and security opened a section of the gate so equipment could start coming through. Legend, Icon, Saint, and I hung back and watched the site proudly.
Excavators rolled in slow. Men with orange vests started to yell instructions. The sudden sound of engines gave confirmation that we had begun to build.
Legend looked at me, smiling like a proud father. “You proved your gangsta without touching a gun.”
I smiled, but I didn’t say what I was thinking out loud.
Because Ididpull a trigger. Just not on a body. I pulled it on careers, deals, and futures. I pulled it on people who thought they could stand in our way and go home untouched. I pulled it in board rooms, meetings, and votes. I pulled it with paperwork and leverage and pressure until people folded.
That was my lane now, and I was fucking good at it.
Icon nodded at the site. “This is big.”
“It’s bigger than big,” Saint added. “This is legendary. Our father didn’t even see this possible for this family. He would be proud.”
Legend’s eyes stayed on the machines. “You did the damn thing, Sincere.”
I nodded once. “Wedid this.”
The sound of heels behind me made me turn.
Rhythm walked up with a smile that hit me right in my stomach. She had on a fitted maxi dress and her locs hung down two inches longer than they had been when I met her. Big, black sunglasses hid her eyes from the stifling, June sun. She had a glow that made me still stare in disbelief that she was all mine.
She wasn’t timid in these spaces anymore. She stood in them like she had every right to because she did.
