I didn’t want to start our date off talking about the Hawaii idea, so I told Tameka about a new potential partner I had for the club.
“So I met with an investor earlier today. Actually, he walked into the club and talked to me about some ideas he had for expansion, and they sound good. Of course, I didn’t tell him that. I told him we could meet to go over the details, but he has the funding to expand the club into franchises in places like Atlanta and Las Vegas,” I divulged.
“That does sound good, Jeb. Do you think you will work with him?”
“If the paperwork looks right, I’m all for expansion. But the club here in Lafayette, our small little city where the brand originated, I’m keeping full control of it,” I said.
“Yes, definitely,” she replied, looking at me with a look of amazement in her eyes. “I’m happy for you. What’s the investor’s name?”
“Oh, it’s Trey Cox.”
“Trey Cox? The drug dealer?”
“He’s not in that business anymore. He has gone legit, and his dealings are clean.”
Trey was known to have illegal dealings back in our college days, but he had since changed his life and started investing in real estate and stocks. People still assumed he was selling drugs because he had become quite wealthy from his investments.
“You might want to check into that before you sign anything with him,” Tameka said with a look of distress on her face.
“Baby, don’t worry. I will check with both law enforcement and my lawyer before any deal is made.”
“Well, I hope everything checks out,” she said, and her smile returned.
“Thanks. I’m going to just take it slow and see where the details take us, okay?” I said.
“Okay.”
I started to sweat as the night went on. I was high off of Tameka’s presence, but for some reason, I had become neurotic and obsessed with telling her about Hawaii. After a beautiful night overlooking the city, catching up on our day to day lives, it was finally time for dessert. I knew Tameka was going to order crème brulee as it was her favorite. So I figured that was the perfect time to tell her about Hawaii.
When the waitress brought her dessert over, she squealed in a way that I had never heard nor witnessed before. Tameka gleamed with excitement, and I felt like that was my cue.
“Do you know how committed I am to protecting you, Kevin, and Eva?” I asked. Without giving her a chance to respond, I reached into my suit jacket, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to her. “When you open this, I want you to receive it knowing that I’m doing this to protect our peace.”
Tameka looked surprised and curious all in the same breath. She picked up the envelope and fiddled with it as if she was feeling for what was inside.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Open it up and see.”
Tameka tore open the envelope and sifted through the plane tickets. Her eyes widened, and her face lit up with enthusiasm when she read the destination.
“Hawaii!! Baby? Is this what I think this is?” She flung herself into my arms. “We’re going to Hawaii?”
My heart damn near leaped from my chest knowing she didn’t know the reasoning behind those tickets.
She grabbed my cheeks and held my head in her hands. “When are we going, baby?”
“Look at the tickets and see,” I said as I photographed the smile on her face into my memory. Her feelings would change after she saw the date.
She glanced at the tickets as her eyes searched for the dates. When she did, she shot me a look of confusion.
“I’m confused. The departure date is the day before our wedding.”
“I want us to say our vows on the beach.”
“In Hawaii?”
“Yes. Just me, you, and the kids,” I said.
Her face went from pure bliss to bewilderment.
“So are you saying that you want to ditch our plans for the wedding here and go to…wait, are you asking me to elope? Hell no!”
“Tameka, hear me out.”
“No, I hope you can get a refund for these tickets because I’m not eloping. I will happily honeymoon in Hawaii, but I’m not getting married there just so other people can be comfortable in their skin. What about how I feel?” she asked angrily. “Did you think about that before you bought these damn tickets?”
“Listen, with all the hectic, chaotic stuff that’s been going on lately with Rodney and my father, I don’t want that to take away from our special day. I figured we could pack our bags, hit the beautiful beaches of Hawaii away from all of the drama that this town has to offer, and be happy during what is supposed to be the best days of our life,” I said sincerely.
She looked at me as if she was searching my soul for the truth. Her head dropped as she fiddled with the tickets in her hand.
“Having our wedding here is important to me. We should say our vows in front of our friends and family. I know that everything hasn’t been great with your family not accepting me, but I can’t do that. If you don’t want to get mar—”
“I didn’t say that,” I cut her off. “Baby, I don’t want you to have to deal with the rejection, the hate, the bullshit, and I saw this as a way for us to get around that. Will you at least consider having our wedding somewhere else?”
“Has someone said they would do something horrible on our wedding day?” she asked with a worried expression on her face.
“No, no, noooo,” I reassured her as I drew her to me. “I just don’t want to take any chances,” I said as I lifted her face up to mine and kissed her lips.
“Kemara and Channing got married right here in Lafayette,” she argued.
“Yeah, and that was after she was kidnapped, attacked, and his father and brother ended up in prison,” I reminded her.
“Jeb, is there something you’re not telling me? Should I worry about my safety? What about my kids? Are they safe in this city?” she asked frantically.
“Baby, calm down. There are no threats against you, and you are perfectly safe. I just want to avoid all the people from my past as I step into my future with you,” I said sincerely.
She looked back down and sighed. “Well, I really wish you would’ve talked to me before you went and bought these tickets because I’m not eloping. I’m not running from anyone. We will get married right here in our hometown on this same soil that for generations our ancestors were divided on. I want us to be united on this same land,” she added with conviction.
Tameka shifted my perception with those few sentences. I loved the way she thought, and I smiled and kissed her lips to show my appreciation of her reminding me of what was important.
“Our love is too revolutionary for a town like this. Let us show them that love always prevails,” she said as she stroked my face.
I grabbed her and pulled her into me as I caressed her face with my massive hands. Being as gentle as I could, I kissed her, knowing that this was fate. We were always destined to be.
“It would ruin me if someone messed up our big day,” I admitted.
“I understand your worries, Jeb, but there is nothing anyone can do to mess up what’s meant to be. You have to trust and have faith, babe.”
“That’s just it. I have faith in you, but not the people in this town, especially not the ones I used to have dealings with.”
“Is their hate stronger than our love?” she asked, and I digressed.
“Nothing is,” I said and took the tickets from her and put them back in my jacket. “I’ll get the dates changed, and we’ll use them for our honeymoon.”
Though I wasn’t sold on the idea of having our wedding in town, I couldn’t deny that she made a very strong argument for it.
The drive home was quiet. As soon as I turned the key to enter the house, the light from the candles reminded me of the plan I’d cooked up with Channing to create a romantic paradise at home. The candles created a pathway for the rose petals that led up the stairway.
“Baby, how did you do all
of this?” Tameka asked.
“I have my ways,” I replied.
She was still soaking in the beauty of the living room and staircase when I led her upstairs to our bedroom. Channing had followed the directions nicely. I was impressed. He created a heart shape with the rose petals in the middle of the bed, and candles illuminated the room with a glow. “Mine Forever” was written out inside the rose petal heart on the bed with chocolates.
Tameka leaped into my arms, and we both fell on the bed. I started to peel off that yellow strappy dress I had been eyeing all evening. I loved the way she looked in that dress, and I would forever remember her in it, but I liked her naked even more. I greatly appreciated the black lingerie she had on under her summer dress but wanted it off.
I buried my face in her breasts and traced my lips around her nipples. Her fingers dug into my back as I inserted my fingers into her pussy and then brought them to my lips to taste her. She was dripping wet and delicious, and my cock pulsed because of it.
I repositioned her on the bed and lifted her legs above my head. I licked from her thighs to her southward lips and finally her clit. She tensed as my tongue found its way into the mouth of her sacred temple. I drank from her pussy as if I were worshipping her, thanking her for showing up in my life. When I paused from drinking her elixir into my being, I was ready to sink deep into her.
I slid my cock inside, and we aligned with the same cadence. She gasped a beautiful gasp and hugged me tighter, and I let out a ragged moan and went deeper into her body. Making love to her for the second time tonight was magical.
“You’re so beautiful,” I whispered as I nibbled on her earlobe.
She supported my face with her hands, leaving wet endearing kisses all over my face. “I want to ride you,” she moaned out between kisses.
I maneuvered our bodies until she landed on top. She seemed to toy with the idea of engulfing my entire dick in her mouth or sitting on my cock. Riding me won out, and her slick pussy slid down my throbbing rod, and she began seesawing back and forth.
I knew she was close to climaxing, so I took my chance to make her cum all over my dick. I yearned the feeling of her drenching me with her juices, so I turned her onto her side and found a way to enter her from an angle that would make her erupt.
“Jeb!” She began to call out my name, and I wasn’t going to be able to hold in my passion for her much longer.
Anytime Tameka uttered my name, I felt the type of chills that would equate to someone hitting a pressure point within. It was a weakness, and I was amused and enticed by her calling out my name as I aimed to please her.
“Jeeeebbbb. Jeb, baby,” Tameka screamed.
“Yes, baby! Do you like that?” I asked as I rocked, pumped, and massage her insides with the goal of triggering her explosion.
She didn’t respond verbally, but her body reacted. I went for her lips and kissed her, and that’s when I felt her body tense. She was about to release, and so was I. Her grip tightened around my manhood as she yelled out my name.
“Jeeebbbb.”
“Tameeekkaaa.”
We climaxed at once. We were in sync.
Making love to Tameka felt as natural as breathing. I laid down next to her and brought her into my chest. She cuddled in next to me and interlocked her fingers with mine. I kissed her hand and noticed the ring on her finger. It looked stunning, and I was so proud that I was the one who gave it to her.
Chapter 5
Tameka
I woke up in complete bliss. Jeb had literally rocked my world last night, and I wasn’t ready to sober up from that feeling. Dinner had been great, the lovemaking excellent, but I was still bothered that he was so nervous about our wedding being sabotaged by some of his family or friends. It chipped away at a piece of me to know other people’s opinions affected him the way they did.
I didn’t give a damn about what anyone else thought, and I just prayed that deep down he didn’t either. With him fully in my corner, I could deal with whatever anyone said or did, but if he had doubts, well, that changed everything.
Since I’d been with Jeb, I morphed into a completely different woman. My parents noticed that I smiled more with my mother stating that Jeb “agreed with me.” Everyone could see the glow up. Now, I was wondering if being with me had done the same for him.
I looked over at him lying next to me in the bed and kissed his forehead. He snored gently as I watched his peaceful slumber. I eased out of bed and threw on some clothes so I could head to the grocery store to get the ingredients I needed to make breakfast.
I succeeded in making it out of the house without waking Jeb up. After I returned from the store, I began preparing breakfast—washing the fruits and veggies, to make a veggie and turkey omelet, one of Jeb’s favorite breakfast foods.
“Someone’s up early,” he said when he meandered over to me wearing only boxers.
“Did you miss me?” I asked.
“When I woke up, and you weren’t in bed, I couldn’t go back to sleep,” he said as he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed the nape of my neck. “This looks amazing, baby.” Jeb’s eye’s widened as he looked at the omelet I slid onto his plate.
“Good, after we eat, maybe we can go back to bed for a few hours,” I said as I turned to face him. “…to sleep.”
Jeb sat at a chair at the table, pulled me down onto his lap, and fed me a bite of his omelet. “We can go back to bed, but I don’t need more sleep.”
“Well, I have parent-teacher conferences to go to after work, and I’m already exhausted, so I need some rest.”
“Oh, I forgot about that. Do you want me to come with you? I have some work to do at the club, but I could run out for a few hours.”
“No, babe, you’re fine. I’ll talk to you about it when we get back home.”
“Okay, I have that meeting with Trey today, and I don’t know how it’s going to go.”
“You’re going to get the deal,” I assured him.
He wrapped his arms around me tighter. “The way you believe in me is a turn on. Are you sure you’re trying to get some rest this morning?” he asked.
“Yes, I am. I believe in you more than you know. But I’m also really tired from last night, so you have to let me get some sleep,” I whined, but I knew there was not going to be any resting going on once we made it back to our bedroom.
***
“Keviiiiin! Evaaaaa! Let’s go! I don’t want to be late!” I yelled so they could come down from their rooms and we could head to their parent-teacher conferences. I stopped screaming for them to get moving once I heard their heavy feet hit the staircase.
“Do y’all have to be so hard on these floors? You both have lead feet, and I have absolutely no idea where you got that from,” I fussed.
“Is that so? Absolutely no idea?” Jeb said as he followed the kids down the stairs. He was home for a short break before going back to the club to meet with Trey.
Kevin and Eva giggled at Jeb’s sarcasm as if they were all in on some secret, and I was the odd woman out. I smiled at Jeb’s attempt to hit me with that jab.
“Y’all are cute. Seriously. But I am in no way heavy-footed. Try again!” I exclaimed in my high-pitched-I-couldn’t-be-less-bothered voice.
“What’s cute is you ignoring the facts,” said Jeb as he hugged me from behind. I rolled my eyes and decided not to pay him any more attention as we were going to be late if we kept treading along at the pace we all were going.
I turned around to face him and hugged him back. “I’m ignoring you today, babe,” I stated as I leaned in and smelled the inducing aroma of his cologne. I looked up at his face and kissed his lips. “I need a parking space that doesn’t require me to walk an entire mile or two just to reach the school’s front doors, so that means I have to be somewhat on time.”
Moans and groans ensued from the peanut gallery soon after our kiss. “Can y’all go somewhere private and do that?” Kevin said in a look of disgust. He then pulled Jeb to
the side, and exclaimed, “Be glad I like you, man,” as if he were warning Jeb about getting all lovey-dovey with me.
“Kevin, just learn to look the other way like I do. You have to be mature about these things, and since you don’t have that gene yet, turn your head. Simple,” said my oh-so-mature twelve-year-old daughter.
Jeb and I laughed at all the fuss about a kiss and a hug.
“I can’t wait for the day where this all changes for you both,” I teased, knowing the day would come for them to get their first kisses. “Well, maybe I can wait. Come on, though. It’s time to hit the road!” I motioned for the troops to move out.
Kevin and Eva ran out the door and climbed in the car.
“Have a great meeting, baby,” I told Jeb. “I can’t wait to hear you tell me about all the great ideas you and Trey come up with for the new club.”
Jeb smirked. “Yeah, fingers crossed,” he said as he lowered his long torso just to kiss me again on the lips. He parted my lips and slipped his tongue inside my mouth while pressing his lips to mine in a lingering kiss. His heartbeat against mine let me know our feelings would forever be mutual.
“It’s already yours. Claim it,” I said, giving him a reassuring smile. “I have to go now.” I didn’t want to leave him, but I turned to walk out the door, so I could make it to the conference on time.
Jeb’s hand slapped my ass, and he wore a devilish smirk. “See you soon, babe,” he said.
I quickly snapped my head back to look at him. I twirled around swiftly but with just enough grace to keep from smiling, which proved to be excruciatingly difficult. I wanted to let him know I didn’t mind the slap on the ass and that I’d keep leaving like that if it meant more ass-slaps, so I kissed him for a third and fourth time then forced my way out of the door.
I hopped in the car with the kids and drove to their school to meet with both of their teachers. I was beyond enthused now that both kids were in one place. Kevin had finally hit elementary school, which was next door to Eva’s junior high school, so I didn’t have to worry about racing across town to get Eva by the time the after-school program closed.
Safe Place Series Page 17
