I leaned into him, and I thought about what would happen between us tonight. I was certain the other two couples would be making love. If Harlem was ready to go there, I was willing to as well. It was just hard to imagine that happening in these frigid temps.
“It’s late, and it’s cold. I’m about to hit the sack,” Jenna announced as she stood.
“Wait on me, sugar. G’night, Harlem, Baby, Eli, and Isla,” CJ remarked, following his wife.
Within seconds, we all said our good nights, and we headed into our tents.
Harlem slowly peeled my gloves from my hands after he zipped our tents up. He had turned the Big Buddy propane heaters on to warm up while we sat outside and ate, so it was nice and toasty inside, and there was proper ventilation to protect against carbon monoxide poisoning. He kept his eyes pinned on me the entire time that he removed my gloves. He rubbed my hands between his, blew on them, and took his time kissing each of my fingertips.
I loved how attentive he was toward me and how intentional he was in everything that he did for me. Harlem made me feel seen and cared for. The thought that I loved him popped into my head again, but I bit my tongue to keep from speaking those words. I felt like I had known him all my life, almost like there was no one else before him and me; there was just him and me.
My boots and coat were the next thing to be removed, followed by my jeans and sweater. I wore thermals underneath my clothes, and while thermals themselves weren’t the sexiest, my pink and cream ones were super cute and accentuated my curves nicely.
“What’s on your mind, beautiful?”
“Just thinking that this is nice and wondering what’s going to happen tonight.”
He cupped my face, kissed my forehead, and then stared into my eyes. “What do you want to happen tonight?”
“I’m not sure. I’m torn.”
“I didn’t bring you up here with any expectations, Tegan. I brought you up here on a couples’ date weekend to have fun, enjoy ourselves, and build on our connection. I don’t want you to put any pressure on yourself.”
“What if I want to?”
“Then we can, but I want our first time to be extremely special. I don’t take you for granted. I cherish every part of you, and I want to take my time building something special that will last forever. I have no plans on being out of your life or fucking this shit up. I want you, Baby, very badly. But when it happens, it will happen, not because my best friend and brother might be smashing their women in their tents,” he explained, pointing to our right where their tents were.
“Are you sure?” I asked, feeling slightly relieved.
There was a part of me that thought he might want to have sex because this was the perfect setup for it, especially being that we were on a couples’ trip. But like Harlem, I, too, wanted our first time to be special.
“Completely. I’m vested in us, Baby.”
“So am I.”
He pulled me closer to him, rested his hands on my waist, pressed his forehead against mine, and we rocked side to side. There was no music, just the warmth in the tent and the music in our hearts. I knew that this man was meant for me.
I vowed to myself that I would relax and enjoy the weekend. I would not worry about expectations or the possibility of what could be. The only thing that mattered was what was.
14
HARLEM
MAKING LOVE TO THE ONE – ONE WEEK LATER
The shop was loud as everyone talked about the upset between Jamil “Shooter” Perry and Dave “The Heat” Runner last night. It wasn’t expected, and everyone who bet money on it had lost. I chuckled because I wasn’t into betting on sports. I trusted no man, because I knew for the right price, anything could go wrong. It was any given Sunday for real in all sports.
Boxing was the one sport that I thought was still pure and hadn’t been impacted by the greed and nefarious schemes of the elite, but that was no longer true. Monte’s phone rang at his station.
“That’s my girl. Hey, Raque. Would you press answer on my phone and put that on speaker, please?” Monte asked Raque who was at the station right in front of his.
He was kneeling on the floor, cleaning spilled oil. It was all over his hands because he tried to catch the bottle of oil as it spilled and fell from his station.
Raque pressed the answer button and placed the phone on speakerphone before she returned to her client.
“Wassup?” Monte asked loudly as he kept cleaning the oil.
“Hey, baby. I got your text message about you being hungry. I just hopped out of the shower, and I’m waiting on you. You know I just came from work, and I didn’t wash my bootie or my coochie, ’cause I know how you like your food a li’l seasoned. It’s ripe and raw for you, baby. Come on and eat, sweet daddy.”
