by Tiana Laveen
“Yeah, but I’ve never heard you play anything like that before.”
“Well, that’s true. I heard it in the record store in the mall. I bought it ’cause it reminded me of you. I’ve been playing it all night, actually. I just turned it up a bit.”
“See! I knew I wasn’t losing my mind.”
She heard him deeply exhale. She sighed, hitching her sex drive on the man’s utter sexiness even when the fucker didn’t utter a word.
“I want you to feel like you can conquer the world with me… Do you understand? I need you to feel like you are unstoppable.”
She had no idea where that had come from, but she liked it.
“Yeah, I get it.”
“I want you to feel safe, too…like you can just be with me, and everything will be alright. That’s important to me, baby. I want to take care of you, Brooklyn.” His voice grew raspy as he exhaled more smoke. She knew that sound all too well…
She smirked. “But you said you wanted me to feel like I can do anything I want, like nothing in this world can stop me.”
“I do…and I want you vulnerable, too. But…only for me.”
Her pussy cried. This man was going to kill her. Not only did he make her lose her natural mind in bed; he made her heart bleed out, and it did so happily. Now, she was happy with her decision to step out on fate, to have a life outside of work, to trust love…
Damn, I am…I’m truly in love with this man…
“What do you have on?” they asked each other at the exact same time, causing both of them to burst out in wispy spells of laughter.
“Want me to go first?” She pointed to her chest as if the man could see her.
“Yeah…”
“I have on a white nightgown that has…um, what is this?” She peered down towards the hem. “I guess that’s magenta bows. Yeah,” She leaned back down, pressing her head onto her pillow.
“Sounds pretty…nice.”
“My turn?”
“Yes.”
“I have on some boxers. That’s it.”
“Ace, that’s not how you play the game. We’ve done this a million times now.”
“What?” He chuckled.
“You have to be descriptive…don’t make me beg.”
“As if you would. Anyway, yeah, the boxers are green with a white stripe down the sides. Hold up, let me put this cigarette out.”
She resituated herself on the bed, drawing her legs up, and stared blankly at her vanity, then shot a glance towards the black television screen.
“All right, I’m back.” She heard him shuffling around, as if he were under the sheets. “By the way, I love you.” And there. He said it. He didn’t make it into a big production, just eased it into the conversation and then had the audacity to ask her the most ridiculous follow-up question: “Have any of those big fake elephants in the museum ever fallen down? One of them was kinda leaning to the side the other day, like he was a gangster or something. I didn’t know pachyderms were like that.”
“You are the most ridiculous man I’ve ever met.” She couldn’t help but laugh, though she hated that his ridiculousness amused her so. “Ace, let me ask you something.”
“Yeah,” he said coolly.
“Well, let me take that back. It’s not a question I have, it’s a statement.”
“Tell me.”
“I…” She stopped, unable to go on. For a fleeting moment, she had been ready to unleash all of her secrets. She couldn’t allow this right now; besides, they weren’t face to face. Doing it over the phone was entirely too risky. She felt terrible about the whole thing. Here the man was, telling her his deepest feelings, and he didn’t even know her birth name. The lies were becoming too much, mounting and mounting. But her feelings for him were true. She’d tell him, she had to. This was exactly what she had been trying to avoid all her life, but it was too late now; she was in deep.
“What is it, baby? You had something to say.”
“Just…just that I love you, too.”
“Prove it.” He laughed.
“What do you mean, prove it?” She smirked, relaxing a bit now that the focus had changed. “We’re moving along, moving forward. That’s proof, right?”
“Possibly. Speaking of moving forward, I want to ask you something.”
“Mmmm hmmm…” She stifled a yawn.
“I know you don’t have family here. I know, from our conversations, you’ve spent your holidays with Ivy or other friends from work. This year, I’d like that to be different. You want to come to my mom and dad’s house for Christmas?”
She couldn’t believe her damn ears. Was he asking her what she thought he was asking her? He sure the hell was…
“You’re cooking?’
“No, and I’m done being your personal chef, at least for one night.” He chuckled.
“You shouldn’t cook so well and it wouldn’t have happened.”
“I bring you one damn home-made dinner and get turned into a kitchen slave. You’re lucky I like to do it. I liked licking that whipped cream off your breasts, too…at least you fed me in return.”
Her face flushed with heat, her stomach went aflutter. She felt like a teen in love for the first damn time.
“I want to take you home, baby.”
“You want me to meet your mother and father and brothers? Wow…”
“Why? Is that shockin’ or something? We’re together, we’re a couple, you’re my lady.”
She wrapped the sheets around her body a bit tighter. “I’m just surprised, is all.”
Silence stretched between them.
“Well, the invitation is out there. It’s your choice, of course.” She heard him suppress a yawn.
“Why do we stay on the phone when we both know we are dead tired?”
“Because we never get tired of talking to one another… I think that’s a good thing.”
“…I do too…’scuse me.” She yawned once more.
“You know, thinking about Christmas and all, my mother loves Christmas. Me bringing you there she’ll see as a real gift.” He laughed.
“Well, say no more. I was already coming, but that’s a bonus. I’ll be there. Thanks for inviting me.”
“Why wouldn’t I bring the woman I love with me for Christmas dinner?” He’d done it again; it came out of his mouth and made her heart quake. She so loved the way those words sounded. She also could tell he wasn’t waiting for an answer; it was more of a proclamation than a query.
“Why would she see me as a gift?”
“Because my mom wants me to be like my brothers, settled down, established.”
“You are established.”
“Nah, not just vocationally. She means married. She’s real funny about things like that. She doesn’t believe it’s prudent for someone like me to be running around single. She knows I’m seeing someone now, but not even that’s enough. She wants me to give her grandkids. She thinks I’m some playboy. She doesn’t like that sort of thing…goes back to her childhood.”
“Well, good for her for not wanting her son to go around breaking hearts.”
“…Don’t run arooooound, breakin’ young giiiirls’ hearts! Heeee, heeeheee!” He sang like Michael Jackson, causing her to roll over in the bed, giddy and free with laughter rumbling through her.
“You are an absolute lunatic. I think that’s what I love most about you.”
“I like how you say that. Of course, who could resist a man such as myself?” Even he had to laugh at that.
“Resist you, huh? Were you always a catch?” She toyed with him.
“I doubt it. Everyone grows up eventually. Well, not everyone but you get my point. But I’m not a playboy.”
“Where you ever one?”
“No. I don’t believe so though I’m sure there are some women I’ve dated in the past that would disagree. I dated a lot, but I’m not a cheater or anything like that. If I wanted to be with someone like that, a serious relationship, then I’d be in one.
I’ll admit that was seldom. When I didn’t, on occasion I’d get talked into it…that never worked out ’cause I really didn’t want it. With you, it’s different. I really want this with you, Brooklyn. I can say, emphatically, this is a relationship that I pursued and wanted, and you know what? That feels really good.”
She lingered, mulling over the man’s confessions.
“Let me ask you a real personal question, one that should have been asked a long time ago, actually.”
“…It must be about sex.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You’re right. Do you know the number of women you’ve slept with? Not that I’m asking for it, just curious.”
“What? Why do women ask stuff like that? No answer will be to your liking.”
“Not true! And you don’t even know why I’m asking.”
“It doesn’t matter what the reason is, because if I said I was virgin before we had sex that first time, you wouldn’t believe me, and rightfully so. If I said I’ve slept with five hundred women, you’d be skeeved out, and rightfully so. If I say I slept with forty, you’d still think that is too much. I can’t win here. I really don’t mind the question, but this is one of those set-up things, ya know?” He laughed.
“But I didn’t ask you for the actual number. I just want to know if you know.”
“Actually, I do. Do you?’
“I don’t sleep with women.”
“Real cute,” he said sarcastically.
“I thought you preferred to be called handsome?” she teased.
“I want to make love to you one day in the ocean.”
“Where the hell did that come from?” She grinned. “You just come up with all sorts of mess out the blue, no warning, no nothing.’
“It’s how my mind works, all over the place. My thoughts are just drifting around is all. I’m tired and woozy…sleepy…and horny for you.”
“Hmmm, are you now…”
She bit her fingernail, a huge grin on her face.
“Yeah…I wish I was making love to you right now actually, but I know you have work in a few hours. Before we hang up, let me paint this picture for you though.”
“I’m listening, baby.”
“We’re naked, standing up in the water close to the shore. I’m holding you real close to me. The water is crashing around us and you’re holding on to me with all of your might as it gets a little rough. It’s just us, no one else around. The sun is setting, it’s real pretty. I spread your thighs apart, hook a leg over my arm, and push my cock inside of you. You moan, like you always do when I push the head in…”
Her smile got even wider…
“I’m moving inside of you, feeling you. You’re even wetter than the ocean, and you tell me you love me…just like you did tonight. I’m kissing you all over your face, neck and shoulders. Touching your hair, tasting your warm, salty skin. I’m massaging your clit, and you’re just lulling back as I continue to thrust deep and hard inside of you, over and over, to the rhythm of the crashing waves around our lower legs. And then, I feel you shake in my arms. You have an orgasm that sends me into my own, and I cum inside of you, baby…deep inside. Yeah, I want to make love to you in the ocean, baby…”
~***~
Ace sloshed the last bit of red wine in his glass as the clock struck four in the morning. His eyes hooded and his lips felt blubbery as sleepiness knocked at his bedroom door. He blinked, feeling himself nodding off ever so slightly. Soon, Lady Slumber burst into his subconscious and tried to beat up on him with her soft and gentle fists. J. Dilla’s beats now carried Jontel’s rap lyrics and Blu sang, ‘Sun In My Face.’ Yeah…he got all of J. Dilla’s songs after hearing Brooklyn playing the CD in her car. It made him feel like he was with her when he wasn’t and he was surprised that he liked this shit. He was heartbroken to find out the music maestro was deceased; he liked the notorious producer’s style, but not more than the harmony coming out of his favorite lady’s mouth…
Brooklyn had been asleep for about ten minutes, of that he was sure. He heard her soft purr on the other end, imagining her mouth slightly open, maybe a little drool coming out of it… That thought made him smile. He fantasized about lifting her little nightgown, sliding it up around her waist, exposing her silky, smooth skin and checking to see if she had on panties. If she did, he’d gently push them aside, and bury his head between her fucking legs. If she didn’t, he’d just dive in, sucking and licking her love just the way she liked, all the while begging him to stop but meaning no word of it… He drifted further in thought, this time, about his last counseling session…
The word ‘coward’ came up again…
He kept the phone close, still wanting to hear the woman breath as he imagined her lying next to him. Placing the cellphone on his pillow, he stared at it as if it were his lover’s eyes.
“A, Brooklyn…” he whispered into the phone, knowing she couldn’t actually hear him, and that’s how he preferred it. “I need to tell you something. But, before I do, I want you to know one thing I haven’t a told a woman in years…and I mean this, with all of my heart. You don’t have any idea how hard this is for me to admit but…I’m so damn in love with you that…I’m starting to not understand the difference between right and wrong anymore. If I could change it all, make it better, I would. I think…losing you would make me not want to even get up in the mornings anymore. I never knew I could feel this way about anyone. It’s exciting and it doesn’t lessen with time, only gets stronger each day.” His eyes watered. “I’d do anything for you…anything but…tell the truth.”
He blew a kiss into the phone and disconnected the call. That night, the nightmares didn’t come to visit…
~***~
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Christmas afternoon…
“But you’ve been seeing her for months! Why wouldn’t you want her to know your true profession, Ace?” his father asked as he set another clear blue plate in the sink. The older man’s wrinkled, frail hands danced in the sudsy water, regardless that he’d been shooed away several times and told to relax in the main parlor.
“Look, it’s complicated, okay?” He rolled his eyes at the man. His mother came into the room, her hot pink housecoat wrapped around her statuesque body and a large, silver ladle in her left hand.
“What’s complicated?”
“Our son here hasn’t told his girlfriend, whom we are supposed to meet for the first time this evening, that he is a P.I.” His father nodded his head at her, urging her to jump in and take a swift kick at Ace’s toppling ego, take him down a notch of two and knock some sense into his thick skull…as if she needed encouraging. His mother’s brow shot straight up, almost running out of her forehead. She’d wrapped a burnt orange silk scarf with tiny oriental white flowers around her head, over her dark strands. She’d slept long and deep but now appeared completely alert.
“Why would you do that, Ace?” she asked calmly, much to his surprise.
Exasperated, he sighed and slapped his thigh, then leaned against the kitchen wall before being promptly pushed out of the way by a host of well-dressed caterers in stiff, starched white attire. “Because I need to, okay? Look, just don’t bring up my job, don’t say anything about it!” He waved his arms about as if he were a referee at a baseball game screaming, “Safe!”
“If you would just tell her, we wouldn’t have to worry about slipping up,” his father reprimanded. “This is disappointing. It’s not like you’re some criminal or have something to be ashamed of. That’s an honest profession.”
“That’s not the point. Look,” Ace held his hands up and briefly closed his eyes, “if you can’t respect my wishes, then maybe I shouldn’t bring her here.”
“Ace!” His mother’s voice trembled as if he’d said something truly blasphemous. Maybe he had. “How could you threaten to miss Christmas with your family?”
“No, I’d be here, Mom, just not Brooklyn.”
“Brooklyn…” His mother broke ou
t into a grin as she put the ladle down and checked on her much sought after purple punch, the one and only thing she was making herself for the celebration, and the one thing the family refused to allow her to not serve. The house would be chock full of family and friends, most of which didn’t exactly know what he did for a living in the first place. He never called himself a P.I. or private investigator and, besides his parents and brothers, he didn’t much care for his cousins and the like. They did treat him like an outsider, he wasn’t blood, they made that quite clear, yet they were always acting nosy, asking him a host of questions that he didn’t give one flying fuck to acknowledge.
“I like that name. I’ve been begging you to tell me about her, but you act so hush hush.” Now her hand was on her hip.
“I want you to form your own opinion.”
“I can, even with a name!” She laughed. “Goodness, you’d think she was in the witness protection program or something!” she joked, causing his blood to turn to ice in his veins. “Her name sounds kinda… I don’t know.” She closed the refrigerator door, smacking her lips after tasting the sweet concoction with kiwi, strawberries and sugar soaked cherries floating atop it. “…Ethnic. New York is a great place.” She sighed. “Is this young lady from there? You’ve barely told me anything about her!” she scolded again, as if she hadn’t been heard the first twenty times of the week, and now today.
“No, she’s from Texas…”
“Texas? You know Lisa is from there, too.” The woman’s eyes narrowed on him and he turned away, trying to stop her observations. That effort was surely in vain.
“Look at him, Gregory,” she teased, making Ace heat a bit. He was being ganged up on— all in fun, of course. “He’s practically sweating bullets! My baby son must really like this woman.” He risked a glance at her. Her grin was so wide, it practically split her face.
“I can’t believe it, but you actually look nervous about bringing this girl over here! That’s not like you.” His father chuckled as he crossed his arms, mirroring Ace’s stance.
“No I’m not.”
