by S. K. Lessly
“Ugh!!!” I growled, starting to slowly get up.
“Where are you going?” she asked, her voice coming out scratchy, her arm tightening on my chest.
“We have to get up soon,” I told her not wanting to open my eyes to see what time it was.
Lauren moaned and draped her leg over mine. “No, we don’t. I paid for two night just so we can sleep in.”
“Really?”
I felt her nod her head.
I leaned over and kissed the top of her head.
“Yesss,” I said then blurted like an idiot. “And that’s why I love you.”
I tightened my eyes shut right after the words left my lips.
Shit…
I felt her body stiffen and at first, I thought she was going to make a comment about what I had just said or make an excuse to get up. I wanted desperately to take them back. But I played it off and kept my breathing even and heart calm. I was such an idiot. What we did last night, the intimate connection we shared had my mind and heart all messed up. There were many times during our love making that I wanted to tell her just how much I loved her. But I held back. She wasn’t ready for that and fuck I wasn’t ready to tell her.
I couldn’t believe I let that shit slip. But luckily, she didn’t move. She didn’t say anything either. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I knew one thing for sure, those three words would never leave my lips again. At least until I knew for a fact she felt the same way.
Luckily sleep claimed us both, saving us from having to address my cluster fuck of a mouth.
I woke her up later that morning, with my face buried in her neck, my cock buried in her pussy. I went slow and easy this time, taking care of the aches and bruises I knew I gave her hours before. After that, we dozed again then rose for the day.
We decided not to head home right away. She told me she hadn’t see the city and all its glory since she moved to New Jersey and wanted to do the tourist thing. I had no problem with it except we didn’t bring any clothes.
Lauren smiled at me. “That’s an easy fix. We can go out and grab something from the many shops close by, then come back here to shower and change.”
I grinned at her. “It looks like you thought of everything.”
She shrugged. “What can I say, shopping solves everything.”
I laughed. “I bet it does.”
We threw on our clothes from last night, caught a taxi to Madison Ave, which was literally around the corner, and stopped in a few stores to grab a few items. I decided to stop at the first place I saw, which was Calvin Klein. I purchased a simple white Calvin Klein T-shirt and cargo shorts that went with the sneakers I wore, as well as socks and underwear. Lauren found a sundress she could throw on at another store a few buildings down from Calvin Klein, and a pair of comfortable shoes she could wear since we were touring New York City. I also purchased a backpack so we could store all of our clothes from yesterday to carry with us through the city.
We rushed back to the hotel, showered and changed our clothes. Afterwards we checked out, grabbed a quick bite to eat around the hotel then found a taxi to take us into the city and became tourists for a day.
We walked along Battery Park, in the daylight this time. We took the ferry to the statue of Liberty and took pictures. We visited the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center and took pictures and remembered that day and how it impacted us and the world. We both had been young when it happened, but not too young to understand the significance it had on our history.
I remembered the brave men and women who tried to help the victims at ground zero, the ones that dug through debris and torn metal for any survivors they could find. Lauren had told me how she cried watching the news footage of that day. Watching the people jumping to their deaths, knowing how far up they were and the fact that they had no other choice but to jump tore at her.
“I don’t believe in suicide,” She explained somberly. “God wouldn’t put you through anything you couldn’t handle in life. You just need the right people and Him to guide you and help you through all of the difficult times in your life. But that day, the pain, the despair, hell not to mention the heat from the fires at their backs they must have endured. I don’t think I would’ve been able to stop myself from jumping either.”
It was a solemn moment for us, hell for everyone that stood around us staring at the two memorial pools located in the footprint of the Twin Towers. Two thousand plus names of men, women and children who lost their lives in the attack during 9/11, the World Trade Center bombing were engraved in bronze parapets surrounding the pools. Lauren and I stood there, our arms wrapped around each other tight giving silent prayers to those that lost their lives and the families of the victims.
After a comforting silence, we moved on, deciding to walk around a little bit more, not wanting our day to end on a sad note. We caught a taxi to the Central Park zoo and took in the animals and gorged on popcorn, hotdogs and ice cream.
When we finally made it back home, it was around seven in the evening. I wanted to lounge around the house with Lauren for the rest of the night but I couldn’t. Samson and the guys at the station had made plans for my birthday tonight. Samson claimed that turning 30 was a mild stone and that meant getting drunk and acting a fool. I was all for it a few weeks ago. But after the night I had with Lauren, nothing could compare to that. I wanted more.
I had asked her if she wanted to go with us and she quickly shook her head.
“Uh, no thanks,” she admonished then squinted up her face. “No telling what they have planned for you and I don’t want to be anywhere near you all.”
I laughed, knowing she had a point and just asked her to stay until I left. She told me she would and I jumped in the shower for a few minutes, to wash off the zoo smell, toweled off then dressed. I threw on a pair of black jeans and a simple black button-down cotton shirt. I had developed a five o’clock shadow since I hadn't shaved in two days. I started to get rid of the gruff but Lauren stopped me.
“No, don’t,” she exclaimed then ran her fingers along my cheeks and jaw. “I like this. It makes you look rugged and hot.”
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer to me. “Yeah, how hot?” I bent down and kissed her neck. She shivered slightly and tilted her head to give me more space to roam.
“Very hot,” she whispered and moaned when I bit her sensitive flesh. The sound of her arousal caused my dick to twitch in my pants. I started to back her up against the wall of my bedroom when I heard Samson and his loud ass horn outside my house.
I groaned and rested my head on her shoulders. She laughed and rubbed my back a few times before she stepped out of my embrace. She took my hand and led the way downstairs. I started to pull her to my front door but she pulled up short just outside my kitchen.
I frowned at her knowing exactly why she stopped. “You do know you don’t have to walk out of my back door?”
She nodded but didn’t make a move toward me. “I know, it’s just better this way is all. Have a good time and happy birthday.” She turned to head to the back door but I grabbed her hand.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” I pulled her to me and we embraced with our lips. I deepened our kiss immediately, wanting to get my fill of her and maybe continue what we started upstairs but again I was interrupted by the asshole outside. This time he was calling me on my cell, the vibration causing me to pull back from her beautiful kissable and fuckable lips.
I swear it’s like he knows what I’m doing and is trying to cock-block, the fucker.
I kept Lauren close to me when I pulled out my cell and answered the call.
“Yeah?” I barked through the speakers, not caring the least if I sounded irritated or sexually frustrated.
“Come on, man!” Samson’s voice boomed in my ear.
“I’m coming. I need five more minutes,” I told him.
“Five more minutes? You’re such a fucking prima donna,” Samson replied tersely.
I hung up on him.
“You better get going,” she said softly as I placed my phone back in my pocket. My arms snaked around her waist again and I pulled her closer to me, resting my forehead against the top of her head.
“I’m trying to, you just feel so damn good. You sure you don’t wanna come with us?”
She nodded. “Yes, I’m sure. Besides, Samson and the fellas wouldn’t be too happy about me tagging along. You know they are going to try and hook you up with someone tonight so you won’t be lonely on your birthday.”
I shook my head. “I hope I’m not alone tonight.” I pulled back from her, my eyebrows raised in question.
She smiled at me, which only made my brows crease.
“Have a good time tonight. I’ll see you later.” She pulled away from me and started for my back door. Yeah that shit wasn’t going to fly.
“Does that mean I can call you when I get home?”
“Uh no, don’t call me.” She shook her head, stopped and turned back around to face me. She gave me a wicked smile before she walked back into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a kiss that was both soft and sensual.
I gripped her by her hip and backed her against the closest wall around us immediately getting lost in her taste, in her touch.
When we finally parted, we both were panting and exchanging predatory looks. She was still in the dress from earlier and I knew for a fact she wasn’t wearing any panties. I could probably get in a quickie before…
Honk… Hooonk…
I groaned again and dropped my chin to my chest. Lauren laughed and patted me on my chest.
“Oh stop. Here...” I lifted my head to see Lauren with her keys in her hand. She fidgeted with the ring, removing a key. She held it up in front of me. My eyebrow rose in question as I reached for the key.
“Being as though you’re my neighbor, it’s only fitting that you have a key to my place. It'll let you in through the back. I figured it was only smart you have it, you know, just in case anything should happen.”
I couldn’t help the shit eating grin that appeared on my face but I managed to stomp down my elation. “Yes, that makes sense. Great idea.”
“Also,” she continued. “If you remember the year I was born, the alarm won’t go off on you.”
“Ah, yes thank you for that information. I wouldn’t want that to happen.”
She kissed me briefly then backed away just as my gotdamn phone buzzed again.
She laughed softly and shook her head as she headed to my back door.
“Have a good time, and drive safely.” She called back just before she closed my back door. I followed her, making it to my back porch in enough time to see her enter through her back door.
I stood there for a few minutes just staring at the key she gave me. That was an utter surprise. Her reasoning was logical. It actually made me feel better knowing I could get to her if something did happen. But shit, it was also convenient as hell. Now I didn’t have to wake her to let me in on the days I got off shift at the ass crack of dawn.
I shook my head and walked back into my house, locking the backdoor and heading to the front. I placed her key on my key ring making a note to get a copy of my keys made for her too.
Once I finally climbed up into the cab of Samson’s truck, he started complaining about me taking forever. I tuned him out thinking about Lauren. I wasn’t sure if she and I were going too fast or not exchanging keys, regardless of the reason behind it. What I did know was how I hadn’t felt this happy in a long ass time.
That night I had a blast hanging out with my friends, as usual. We drank like crazy and of course they tried to get me to take someone home with me for the night. But I kindly told them to fuck off. In not so uncertain terms, I told them I had that already covered.
Everyone peppered me with questions, everyone except Samson that is, but I kept my lips shut telling them that it’s new and I wasn’t sure where it was going. Which, was true. I had no clue where this -whatever Lauren and I were- would lead. I just hoped things would only get better.
When the uber dropped me off at home, I immediately went to Lauren’s house. I turned off the alarm then reset it and climbed the steps to her bedroom. I stood in the doorway and watched her. The streetlight reflected through the one window facing the bed and I could see her silhouette clearly. My heart started to beat emphatically and my breath quickened with the anticipation of touching her, of being with her.
I stripped as quickly as I could and nestled my body against her. She moaned and turned into my arms, resting her face underneath my neck and arm over my chest. I kissed her forehead and closed my eyes, contentment and peace overwhelming me right before sleep took me.
26
Paul
Weeks had passed since my birthday and I had to say, shit had been getting better, which was why I was sitting outside on my patio contemplating my life. Lauren and I were spending an enormous amount of time together, despite the extra shifts I’d been working at the station. I was deliriously happy and I knew I wasn’t the only one. I could see it all over Lauren, she felt the same way I did. My life was finally falling into place. All I needed to do now was settle my past so I could concentrate on my future.
Sabrina was refusing to sign the divorce papers. I had no clue why she was prolonging our end. We both agreed that we had been over for a very long time. We needed to let our past go and get on with our own lives. There was no need to keep up with marriage counseling or anything. That ship has sailed the moment she told me she cheated. In all honesty, it was over a long time ago. I just finally came to grips with it that night at the beach. I didn’t love her and I knew she felt the same way. Logically, the next step would be divorce, correct?
I was ready to start a new chapter in my life. Consequently, Sabrina, for some reason, was holding up the process. Maybe she thought I would change my mind or that I would miss her and come after her to work things out. And, hell, maybe I would have if she hadn't cheated on me. But now, after I had a taste of what it was like to fall in love with your best friend and be treated, desired and wanted by someone who only wants the same in return, there’s no way I was going back to being miserable.
Being with Sabrina all those years hadn't been all bad. We had a lot of great moments together. I had thought for sure we would last two lifetimes. We had loved each other, I knew that for sure. Back then, I couldn’t see myself with anyone else but Sabrina. I felt she knew me, inside and out, and I knew her. I believed our love would stand the test of time. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
For the past few days, I’d compared my relationship with Sabrina to my friendship with Lauren and fuck it was a huge difference. Lauren treated me differently, handled me differently. She saw me differently, which was huge for me.
She made me feel things I’d never felt before in my life and at first, I chalked it up to those beginning flutters you get when a relationship was new. You found yourself feeling different than what you felt in a previous relationship but after the dust settled, you’d realize nothing changed. The misery was the same you felt in previous failed relationships.
But this wasn’t the case with Lauren. Lauren made me feel more alive, wanted, needed and desired more than any other woman had in my life. She knew me; she understood me.
I could come home from work in a foul mood and Lauren would ease the tension in my body with just her smile; do you hear me, with just her smile. It amazed me how just seeing her would lift my spirits. Being with her was effortless and easy. She was my best friend, someone I could talk to that wouldn’t judge me. She supported me, encouraged me, and made me feel on top of the world.
It pained me to come to this conclusion, but I was never in love with Sabrina. I had loved her, don’t get me wrong, but I was never head over heels, deeply and truly in love with her. I knew that to be true because what I feel for Lauren was more than what I felt for Sabrina. My body aches for her. My heartbeats for her. My so
ul longs for her. The woman who was made for me.
It was time to tell her. I couldn’t waste another moment. I didn’t want to hide how I felt for her from myself, from her or anyone else. I wanted her to know just how much I was in love with her. Regrettably, I couldn’t tell her tonight. No, tonight was all about Samson.
Melissa had decided to throw a thirtieth birthday party for Samson at a hall located in Nutley, NJ and no matter how much I wanted to blow off this dinner and be with my woman making sweet love to her all night, I had to attend this shindig. Besides, Samson hated shit like this. He would roast my nuts if I skipped out on him.
So, I sighed and rose from my patio chair and sauntered inside to take a shower and get dressed. Lauren had some errands to run this evening, namely find something to wear for tonight, so I couldn’t talk her into riding with me. No matter. It gave me solace and a hard on to know I would be seeing her soon.
About two hours later, Samson came up to me at the bar of the hall and ordered a beer from the bartender manning the open bar set up. I was leaning against the wall next to the bar, sipping on my own beer, watching the party goers as they mingled about. There were over fifty people here, co-workers of Melissa and Samson, as well as family and friends, scattered everywhere milling around, dancing and eating.
As I said, the party was being held at a simple hall, with a huge main room large enough to fit about one hundred people comfortably. Hardwood floors stretched throughout the hall and dark wooden panels adorned the walls. Melissa decorated the hall with black and purple streamers and placed balloons everywhere.
Two buffet tables were positioned in the corner of the hall, filled with fried chicken, baked macaroni, potato salad, corn on the cob, ribs, sausage links, baked beans and some other shit Samson said I had no business questioning. However, from the smells coming from some of the covered dishes, I had to argue.
