Khalid

by Celeste Granger

  “I don’t think so,” Khalid smiled. “She won’t move from that spot for a while.”

  “Okay.”

  Racquel walked lightly passed the dog, and to the door, Khalid indicated. She turned the knob and opened the door. It was a handsome dressing room, and just as he said, there was a wrapped gift waiting for her on the table.

  “He’s got to stop doing this,” Racquel mused as she padded towards the table. She shook her head as she considered the circumstances. Racquel intended to tease him mercilessly about the gift already being there for her as if he anticipated her arrival. Racquel untied the turquoise bow from the box. It was just like the bow that tied the boxes she received right before the benefit. She opened the box to discover a bathing suit inside.

  “It’s cute, too,” Racquel smiled as she lifted the suit from the box. She went to the dressing area, shedding the clothes she wore and replacing them with the suit he bought her. There was a thick white robe that hung in the dressing area. Racquel donned it before stepping out into the backyard.

  “You’ve got to stop buying me things,” Racquel chastised as she joined Khalid by the grill.

  “Why?”

  “Is that your favorite word, why?”

  “I find it useful,” Khalid replied, pulling the meat from the grill.

  “Because you’re always seeking knowledge,” Racquel replied.

  “The heart of the matter is how I would put it, but yes, I want to know what’s at the bottom of the situation, not the superficial things that lie on top.”

  “Makes sense,” Racquel agreed.

  “I’m glad,” Khalid smiled. “I hope you’re hungry,” he said, padding over to the table and setting the tray down. “Let me get the rest of our dinner.”

  This was the first time Racquel was alone with Queen. Rocky was hesitant to sit down, but she trusted Khalid, she trusted herself to handle the situation. Racquel padded over to the table and visually checked in to see what Queen’s response would be. There was none. Queen didn’t even lift her head. Racquel figured she and Queen had an understanding. As long as Rocky and Khalid were okay, Queen and Rocky would be okay, too. Suddenly, the backyard was flooded with music, smooth R&B.

  When Khalid returned, he had fresh bread and a tossed salad and plates to accompany their entrees. He joined Racquel at the table. This time, Queen did lift her head, smelling the food that was now much closer to her.

  “I’ve got you, girl. Don’t worry,” Khalid replied, cutting a piece of the steak and holding it out to her. Queen lifted her frame from the pillow and padded over to Khalid. She didn’t reach for the food until he extended it, giving her permission to take it. Once Queen had what she wanted, she laid down next to him and ate.

  “You could have at least waited until we said grace, Queenie girl.”

  “Will you pray with me,” Khalid asked, returning his full attention to Racquel.

  “Yes,” she answered.

  He turned his hand palm up on the table, and Racquel laced her fingers through his. They closed their eyes together.

  “Creator, we are grateful for the food and the hands that have prepared it. Bless the food, so it is nourishment to our bodies, minds, and souls. Amen.”

  “Amen.”

  Khalid started to serve Racquel. “Let me.”

  He sat back and watched as she fixed his plate and then hers.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  They ate together, their first meal.

  “This is good,” Racquel hummed as she reached for more grilled lobster.

  “I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” Khalid replied.

  “I hope you didn’t think I was one of those girls who would only eat salad in front of you,” Racquel smiled, reaching over with her fork, and taking his last piece of steak. He didn’t protest but smiled instead.

  “I’m glad you’re not,” he trilled.

  The couple finished their meal and cleared the table together. When they returned to the patio, Khalid hit the switch, lighting the firepit as they returned to the table.

  “So, what’s for dessert?” Racquel asked, resting her back against the chair and crossing her legs under the table.

  “You,” he replied with no hesitation, his hooded eyes raking over her. “Me.”

  Racquel’s eyes hooded in response.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Oh, really,” Racquel smiled.

  “Well, at first I thought we could watch old movies on the big screen, but I wouldn’t be able to focus,” Khalid answered.

  “Why is that?” Racquel purred.

  “You’re making it difficult for me to keep my hands off you.”

  “You don’t want me to be too easy, do you?”

  “What’s the challenge in that?” Racquel hummed.

  “There is none,” Khalid agreed.

  Easing his chair back, Khalid stood up and extended his hand to her. Racquel eased her chair back and accepted his hand. Khalid helped to lift her to standing. They padded across the yard, Racquel’s bare feet feeling the soft grass underneath them.

  “I’m already in my suit, but you are,” Racquel’s voice dropped off as she untied the robe and let it fall to the ground.

  Before Khalid could only imagine what she would look like wearing the white one-piece with a peekaboo teardrop cutout slightly exposing her cleavage and the high rise cut showing off the thick of her thighs. He didn’t have to imagine anymore.

  “Oh, my,” Khalid uttered as anthracite eyes took her in wholly.

  “But you’re still dressed like that,” Racquel pointed out.

  “Not for long,” he uttered.

  Reaching down to the tail of his shirt, Khalid lifted it over his head, discarding it on the grass. He moved closer to her, then slowly lifted Racquel’s hand to his chest. The strength she imagined from a distance, and experienced only once, she felt up close. It was a wicked reminder of how she felt the first time they were flesh to flesh. Khalid’s raven skin was smooth, except for the rigged veins that trailed along his musculature. Racquel felt the thump of his heart against her hand. It matched the thump of her heart, beating hard in her chest. Racquel’s eyes momentarily left his as she looked down at her hand against him. They shared a moment, a thread of connectivity weaving between them. Their hands moved together, lower down to his ripped abs. Racquel traced them, each one, and her jewel screamed. Khalid never allowed his eyes to leave hers.

  Racquel continued to be mesmerized by Khalid. He released her hand, placing it claimingly on her waist, but she continued to trace her fingers lower, finding the edge of his jeans, trailing a single finger lightly against the fabric. She lifted her other hand, unsnapping the button and lowering the zipper. Her eyes trailed upwards to find Khalid staring down at her, his eyes vacillating from her orbs to her lips and back to her orbs again. Khalid’s eyes returned to her mouth as he lowered his lips to meet hers. He moved his hands over the back of her neck then kissed her deeply. Khalid’s slow drugging kisses were an intoxicant, and Racquel found herself willing to drink more from him, her thirst becoming insatiable as their mouths melded together. When he moaned against Racquel’s lips, her jewel thumped ferociously in response. Racquel leaned in and kissed Khalid even more intensely, keenly aware of her own eager response to the flame of his kiss.

  Racquel’s hands continued to trail the edge of the fabric around his waist, easing what kept him hidden from her off his hips, Khalid’s jeans and briefs falling to the ground. His lips pulled away from her.

  “Now, I’m like this, and you’re,” his words fell off as he stepped out of the last of his clothing.

  “Do something about it,” Racquel hummed against his mouth.

  She only had to say it one time as Khalid eased the white straps from her shoulders. His hands didn’t stop moving until her beautiful body was fully revealed to him. He held her balance as Racquel stepped out of the bathing suit. This time, she reached for his hand. Khalid willingly follo
wed her, his eyes admiring her curvy silhouette as Racquel walked on tiptoe to the beachfront entry of the pool. Looking over her shoulder, a sexy smile eased across Racquel’s pouty lips as she released Khalid’s hand, sashaying further into the water. Khalid stood where he was watching her, admiring her, longing for her. When Racquel disappeared under the water, her exquisite form moving effortlessly through the water, Khalid felt a hard thump in his chest and a hard thump in his loins.

  He moved in her direction, slowly walking towards the deeper water. She surfaced like a mermaid, the turquoise water running over her face and then cascading from her. Khalid reached for her coiling her into him. But she was totally wet, Khalid was not. Racquel smiled as she hoisted herself, aided by the buoyancy of the water, and pushed Khalid down by the shoulders until he was fully submerged. He took her down with him, and their bodies danced in the multicolor water until it was hard to breathe.

  They emerged together. They were both smiling, but the smiles didn’t last long. This time when Khalid reached for Racquel, he made sure she couldn’t get the jump on him by pulling a fast one. He reached for her wrists, and once he had them, pinned them behind her.

  “Ah,” she gasped as his form moved in on her form, and his mouth found hers once again. The passion they shared was indescribable, their energies merging as their auras danced around them. Khalid released her hands and then trailed hot, lingering kisses down the length of her neck. Racquel felt her yoni thump in response. But he was not going to be the only one giving pleasure. She reached for him as well, taking the thickness of his manhood in her hands. Racquel pulled her mouth away from his as she slowly stroked his length, pulling in her bottom lip and releasing it slowly between her teeth. She was driving Khalid mad.

  His hands found the fullness of her breasts, and his eyes blazed into hers as he fondled them, squeezing them both until Racquel’s nipples were pert. He lowered his frame even more then closed his mouth around one and then the other, licking and sucking on her areolas. Racquel groaned loudly as her puss moistened underneath Khalid’s touch. Her stroke of his throbbing member intensified. Her groans fueled him on, and he languished at her breasts, feasting as though he’d never eaten. The thunder between her thighs pulsed hard in response.

  Racquel held his girth in her hand and stroked Khalid’s already hard member. They were both panting, stealing kisses, and longing. Khalid refused to let their longing go unabated. He lifted her to him and Racquel’s legs wrapped around his taut waist, but not before she guided his thickness into her womanly folds. The warmth of her womanhood held Khalid as he pushed in to her hilt. Racquel’s head fell back between her shoulders as she felt his turgid masculinity fill her fully. Racquel flexed her yoni, squeezing and relaxing her inner walls and then squeezing them again. That feeling of intoxication consumed her as she moved along his length, arching her back, moving her hips, hitting all the right spots. She rode him rhythmically, swirling her hips in a circle and then back the other way, filling her puss like she craved it.

  “Damn, beautiful,” Khalid murmured as his virile manhood throbbed inside her.

  Khalid couldn’t take anymore. He had to have more of her. He thrusted within her his need coming through forcefully, their bodies turning in the water as he pressed Racquel’s back against the pool’s wall.

  “Uhhh,” Khalid exhaled, as though relieved from the pressure building up inside him. She met every thrust with a push of her own. Khalid lifted her higher, and she rode him hard, even though the speed of their fuck remained slow and painstakingly intense. His moan excited her, and the walls of Racquel’s yoni tightened as the first nectar from her jewel coated him. But she wasn’t finished. She rode him even harder as he slow fucked her to near madness. Khalid felt the press of gism trying to spill from him. He held back as long as he could, not wanting their bond to end. She laced her fingers around Khalid’s neck and pulled him into her, panting against his cheek. His breath was jagged as well, as the two souls merged into one, their bodies convulsing and echoing the convulsion as they reached their climax together.

  “I love you, Racquel,” Khalid whispered.

  Those words sang through her spirit as she held on tightly. And without hesitation and no reservation, Racquel repeated the words that sealed their bond forever.

  “I love you, too.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Two Weeks Later

  From that night on, Racquel and Khalid were like school kids, both crushing on each other. They were newly in love, having acknowledged their deepest feelings, and all was right with the world. They talked every night, long conversations that bonded them even more. Racquel shared about her father, what it was like when she lost him, and how she still struggled to be okay every day. Khalid listened and offered a shoulder to cry on and lean on when she needed it. They spent nights at his house and hers. And those rare occasions when they couldn’t be together, it felt strange for either of them to sleep alone.

  “I want you to come to Sunday dinner at my folks' house,” Khalid suggested.

  “Babe, it is Sunday,” Racquel smiled.

  “I know.”

  “I haven’t seen your parents in years,” Racquel replied.

  “They would love to see you,” Khalid affirmed.

  “How do you know?”

  “They told me when I told them about us.”

  “You told them?” Racquel quizzed. “What did they say? What did your mother say?”

  “You can ask her when you see her later,” Khalid replied. “I’ll pick you up at six.”

  He didn’t give Racquel any chance to object. Khalid was good at that. She shook her head as she hung up the phone. Dinner with the Ali’s was a foregone conclusion apparently. Had this been the first time she’d met them, Racquel probably would have been a lot more nervous and a lot more uncomfortable than she felt. Her and Khalid’s current relationship status, though, stood in stark contrast to their previous meeting.

  “This should be interesting,” Racquel mused.

  “I haven’t heard from you in a few days, ma’am,” Naomi fussed when Racquel picked up the phone.

  “I’ve been busy like I’m sure you have.”

  “Not as busy as I would like,” Naomi whined.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Tareef has been out of town on business, again,” Naomi sighed. “You wanna come over later and gorge on pizza and ice cream? Yes, before you ask, my visitor is here, and I am lonely, cramping, craving, and miserable.”

  “I wish I could, but I’ve been invited to dinner.”

  “Where ya’ll going? Some place fancy?”

  “We’re going to his parents’ home for Sunday dinner,” Racquel replied, suddenly feeling bad for not being able to be with Naomi during her time of need.

  “Ah, the Ali’s? That must mean your relationship has progressed to the next level,” she observed.

  “It has,” Racquel flushed.

  “That’s good, Rocky,” Naomi smiled. “I’m so happy for you.”

  “It will happen for you and Tareef, too,” Racquel replied.

  “We’ll see,” Naomi countered. “But don’t let me hold you. We’ll talk soon.”

  “Love ya.”

  “Love, you, too.”

  Of course, Khalid was on time picking her up. Racquel fussed over what to wear as she’d done for their first date. She wanted to make a good impression, a modest good impression. Racquel wore a simple black dress that Khalid approved of when he saw her.

  Racquel had never been to the Ali home before. Her encounters with Khalid’s parents had been at school functions. Although she knew of the family’s financial status, her eyes widened when they pulled up to the estate. Khalid activated the rod iron gate and then drove down the circular drive to the front of the house. After parking the car, Khalid helped Racquel, closing the door behind her.

  “You good,” he asked as they walked together to the front door.

  “As long as I’m with you, I am.”<
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  “Then, you’ll always be good, beloved.”

  Khalid reached up and guided Racquel’s chin until she faced him. He kissed her softly on the lips as the door to the house opened.

  “Welcome,” Pauletta greeted after quietly clearing her throat.

  Racquel flushed embarrassedly.

  Khalid turned to face Pauletta, offering her a wink and a smile. She smiled in return and ushered the couple in. Racquel looked around as they meandered down the long marble hallway that led to the dining room. Rocky could feel nervous energy settling in her stomach. She reached for Khalid’s hand, and when he folded his into hers, Racquel held on tightly.

  The whole family was there. Racquel should have expected it. She always knew the brothers were close. It made perfect sense for the entire family to gather and hold on to family tradition.

  “Hey, family,” Khalid greeted.

  When he did, everyone turned in Khalid and Racquel’s direction. She squeezed Khalid’s hand just a little bit tighter. He squeezed hers back as a silent indicator; everything was going to be fine. Khalid moved them forward, as the men at the table stood up to acknowledge their presence and greet their brother and his guest.

  “Mom, Dad, you remember Racquel.”

  “Ah, yes,” Omar smiled. “Ms. Alexander, it’s good to see you again after all these years.”

  “It’s nice to see you as well, Mr. Ali.” She accepted Omar’s extended hand.

  “Racquel, so glad you could join us,” Aziza smiled, and when she opened her arms to receive Racquel, Rocky willingly stepped in and hugged Mrs. Ali in return.

  “Thanks for having me,” Racquel answered.

  “You are always welcome in our home,” Aziza added.

  As the couple made their way further into the room, Racquel scanned the luxurious space noticing that there were other women at the table, presumably dates, or maybe additions to the Ali family. Charity, Cairo, and Aya made their way to her. They knew all too well what it felt like to be the new person in the room.

  “Hi, I’m Charity, O’Shea’s wife,” Charity greeted, extending a warm hand to Racquel.