by Love Belvin
“I didn’t fly your ass out to be a dick,” Sadik grumbled as he stood then grabbed my hand and positioned me in front of him. “Come greet my lady properly before I fuck you up in front of Kee.”
Without a moment of dither, Julius howled a laughter as his wife shook her head and rolled her eyes. Julius raised his arms as he trekked my way, his head tilted to the side.
“The grizzly’s about to strike,” he murmured before engulfing me into his arms. “It’s lovely to see you again, Bilan,” his tone completely humble.
I reciprocated his greeting, still shocked by his sudden presence. When we broke apart, I caught Sadik and Keisha receiving each other.
“Brother!” Julius proclaimed as he extended his arms toward Sadik in approach.
Sadik welcomed him with a dap. “You guys get settled in yet?”
“No,” Julius answered. “Kee was beastin’ to see the property before we unpacked. So we threw on our swim shit and came out here to check it out.”
“There’re drinks and appetizers here if you’re hungry.” Sadik then turned to me and murmured at a level meant just for me, “I think it’s about time for us to nibble on something, too. We skipped lunch.”
Still flustered, all I could do was giggle dryly as my eyes swept between the three of them.
“I hope you’re okay with this,” Keisha propose to me, obviously picking up on my state of surprise.
I didn’t want to be rude. “Oh, my god! Yes! I’m totally fine. Just surprised—pleasantly surprised, though.” I tried cleaning up as Sadik rubbed my lower back in comfort. “Really.” I held my palm out pleadingly.
“Perfect!” Julius singsonged, using humor as he slapped his hands together and went to the table of food. “Drop your bags, boo,” he told Keisha. “We’re on a six-star vacation, courtesy of an Ellis. Eat and drink all you want!”
I laughed and Sadik rolled his eyes. He then turned to me, putting his back to his friends.
“Richards called saying he needed to talk, and in a circulatory manner mentioned being stressed with work and the election. I offered him a ride out. Luckily, they were able to get a couple of days off and it worked out with childcare. I wanted to surprise you.” He observed me closely. “You sure you’re okay with this?”
I nodded, maintaining my smile. “Yes. Just don’t get the surprise part. You could have given me the heads up. It could’ve saved me from being caught molesting you.”
He yanked me into his arms, our bodies slapping. “It’s your job to molest me. Yours and only yours. Doesn’t matter who’s around.”
He sealed that declaration with a kiss, and of course, I couldn’t resist it.
“Nah,” Julius chirped behind Sadik with a mouth full of food. “Fuck that!” He waved us over. “Now, I ain’t gone stress you with the shit I need to say, but you ain’t gone dry hump the woman in front of my lady. I need some bro time. Sit.” He pointed to our loungers. “Eat. Everything’s on my buddy. Exhaust his funds injudiciously.”
Again, I spat out a laugh and Sadik rolled his eyes.
I began my way over. “How are the kids?”
“We’re on the exclusive island of St. Justin,” Julius groaned while chewing. “Those damn creatures don’t exist for the next two days!”
Keisha laughed, nodding while holding a shot of tequila in the air. “You’ll learn—especially if you have a second child.”
I lay back on the lounger, facing the water. Sadik sat near my legs facing the table and the Richards, parting them so he could have more room on my chair.
“A toast to fortune materialized.” Sadik raised his shot glass in the air. “Good friends and the woman I’d battle a thousand wars just to lay at her feet.”
My chest dropped and eyes nearly popped out of my head when he kissed the unsanded top of my foot.
Sadik…
“Ah, shit!” Julius cried, waving of the sentiment. “She really got my nigga’s head wide the fuck open,” he shrilled.
Keisha and Julius took pictures and shot live videos on IG, showing the moon reflecting off the water, tiki torches lined festively, the small live band, white silk cloth with gold straps hanging from the canopy, and the beautifully laid table set for four. I glanced up from my phones occasionally as I typed up a proposal for my dispensary. Earlier, I received a draft of the new employee policy that needed approving. I was able to get this and more in while waiting on Bilan. I was happy the Richards had something to keep them busy. I couldn’t blame them for savoring the ambiance. It was all a dope vibe.
“Yo, this how y’all been having dinner each night?” Julius returned to the table, taking a seat.
I snorted. “No. Just thought you and Kee would enjoy the ambiance.”
“Shit, enjoy? You kidding me?” He rubbed his palms against his legs anxiously. “I ‘on’t know how I’m gonna top this when you ain’t around.”
I laughed. “Knock it the hell off.”
“Oh, here she is!” Julius shouted over my head.
I turned as Bilan was toeing down the torched pathway to the canopy. She was stunning in a fitted tank dress, her skin bronzed with some shimmering coating, and her hair pushed back from her face. I stood to receive her as she drew closer.
“Hey,” she murmured as her tempting scent drifted into my nose, shooting down to my groin. “Sorry I took so long.”
“Is he okay?” Keisha asked, taking her seat next to Julius.
“Yeah,” Bilan answered as I pulled out her chair. “He was unusually fussy tonight. I didn’t want to leave him like that so after Camille bathed him, I gave him a bottle and rocked him asleep on the beach.”
My eyes widened.
“Oh, wow,” Julius remarked.
Bilan nodded. “He wouldn’t stop fussing until we stepped outside. He burped a few times. Took over five minutes for him to fall out.”
“Awwwww…” Keisha cried. “You remember those days, Jules?”
“Yup.” He nodded dramatically. “It gets better. He was probably gassy then got worked up until he exhausted himself. He’s fine.”
It was good having tenured parents around at a time like this because I knew Bilan was uneasy about being away from Sadik. The last thing I needed was her to be in paradise feeling an ounce of stress. I was confident the baby was fine.
I rubbed her shoulder comfortingly leaning back in my seat. Bilan glanced back at me then leaned into my touch with a smile.
She whispered, “I’m trying.”
I knew she was. My mother said it’s difficult for new moms to separate from their babies. I guess I needed to be patient with her. It was hard to do when I had an agenda for her myself.
Julius snickered when I reached up to brush my lips against hers. I withdrew and glared at him for being an ass. Then I wiped her gloss from my mouth.
“Sadik, you know he’s still adjusting to you having a woman,” Keisha tried explaining his immaturity. “We may have seen him on dates or with someone he was seeing, Bilan, but we’ve never seen him in love. And believe it or not, Julius used to be unable to keep his skeleton hands off of me when we met.” She nudged him as I cracked the hell up.
“The hell you laughing at, Ellis?”
“I remember those bony ass hands nibbling on the biscuits my mother’s cook sent when my parents visited.” I tried sharing while cracking the fuck up. “Your hungry, pole-looking ass would eat the whole damn basket.”
“Stacy?” Bilan asked.
I nodded. “He used to come in from practices and inhale most of them shits before I could.”
“Those shits were good as hell! I would’ve married Stacy just for that skill, bruh!” Keisha and I shook our heads as Bilan laughed. “I’m dead ass, yo!”
“Stacy wouldn’t have given you those gorgeous babies Keisha did,” Bilan teased.
“Shit,” he droned. “Them biscuits would’ve been my babies.”
“Are we ready to order?” The waiter arrived at the table.
We spent the next f
ew minutes ordering our food. Throughout the appetizers and main course, Julius kept us entertained with his silly ass sense of humor. Bilan allowed me to feed her without much fuss, likely distracted by his banter. She seemed to have eased up considerably.
Dessert was served a few feet away on oversized beanie bags. They were large enough for Bilan to join me on mine as we sat at a bonfire, enjoying sweets and drinks. Julius and I indulged in cigars.
“These tarts are sooo good,” Keisha moaned to the right of us.
I’d have to peer over Bilan to see her, so I didn’t bother. As she and Julius mumbled about one thing or another, my eyes were out to the black water and attention was on several things at once. Rory mentioned men squatting around my father’s warehouse. If it was Popov, how would that reconcile with his arrangement with the FEDs?
He could compromise his deal if engaged in a war…
Bilan’s soft, warm lips brushing against mine snatched me out of my thoughts. I could see her eyes observing me while our noses touched. “I love the taste of a lit cigar on your lips.”
“Lit?”
“It’s muskier when it isn’t. I love it so much, I always want to smoke.”
“Why?”
“Because you do. And it’s…” She swallowed, her lips centimeters from mine. “…sexy. You’re sexy.”
My face opened in a smile.
Bilan kissed me again. “It’s not funny. It’s only weeks away from one year since I lost my body to you, and I hate that I can’t control my attraction to you.”
“I hate that’s all you can’t control regarding me.”
“You own my body; we saw that two nights ago,” she whispered against my lips. “What else is there left?”
“I’ll let you know when I get it.” I pushed my tongue in her mouth.
Bracing herself, her palm rested on my abs where her nails dug into my exposed flesh. Bilan tasted sweet and in need. Our tongues rolled against each other. Her delicious breaths hitting my face as the violin cried out behind us. It was pure bliss.
“Hear ye, hear ye!” scratched the vibe like nails on a chalkboard.
Bilan’s tongue ripped from my mouth. She whipped her head around, wiping her mouth. My eyes rolled up and forehead lifted in jest, though no one could see. There was no need to be offended by my friend being my friend. Keisha was right: Julius didn’t know me as a man in a legitimate relationship. He never had to vie for my attention when I was with a female companion. No one held my attention as intensely.
“It’s finally time for me to announce my reason for needing to meet with you…other than leeching off your wealth to woo my wife,” Julius announced.
I sat up in my seat to give him my attention. Bilan adjusted her body so she was still affectionately attached to me. She pulled the cigar from between my fingers and drew from it with the confidence of a veteran. I was happy to see she didn’t inhale this time, but peeped her attempt at appearing as a maven. I couldn’t bear another man having the joy of her wanting to impress him to the degree of mimicking him. The thought made me murderous. It was why living in a world where the kid, Derrick, existed was intolerable. He stimulated her enough to open her legs and offer her pussy. My appetite to be her only was ravenous to the point of obliterating him.
“Okay, Ms. Bilan!” Keisha cheered her on.
I stifled my chuckle from my Nalib posturing because of me. On the low, I enjoyed it. I hoped Bilan’s jealousy was a trace of her love for me that I craved.
“Well, I’m here to announce I’ve finally made my decision as to my chief of staff in the event I’m elected mayor in two weeks.”
Ahhhh…
I sat back in my seat. This was the important news he called about a couple of nights ago. I knew something was weighing on my friend, but not exactly this.
I nodded for him to go on.
“And after countless conversations with you over the years about this occasion in my career, I’m clear on needing your counsel.” He cracked a wise-ass smirk. “I need you as my consigliere.” Jules wiggled his brows then busted out laughing when I hit him with the glacial stare. Then I waited for him to finish amusing himself. “All jokes aside; there’s no other person equipped to guide me into this critical and life-changing role other than you. But…” I felt Bilan stiffen next to me. That conjunction may have concerned her, but not me. Like Julius said, we’d talked about this numerous times. “Due to your exhaustive schedule and various enterprises, I had to ‘officially’ choose a chief of staff on paper, and that will be Sofia Cruz.” His eyes settled on me emphatically.
Keisha’s regard swept between the two of us with caution.
Bilan took another pull of the cigar then grabbed her wine glass, likely oblivious as to the shift in energy. “What does that mean?” she addressed me as though they couldn’t hear her.
“It means Sadik is way too busy with his own businesses to take on the official role,” Keisha tried to explain while Jules gaped at me, communicating something other than what was being said. “He cannot oversee the staff, sign off on paperwork, handle the press, and all the other demanding roles of a chief of staff. Jules would need an in-office professional for the role. He’d be foolish to not have Sadik on his team with all his public policy knowledge, resources, and general vision for community building and…mobilization.” She shrugged.
“It’s not just that,” Julius interjected with rare emotion.
I addressed Bilan. “Given the nature of my father’s industry and my family’s sordid reputation, it wouldn’t be…appropriate for me to have such an essential role in his political career—”
“It doesn’t matter in my book!” Julius screeched defensively.
This was a sore spot for him. His loyalty ran thick with me. He knew of my long ago, secret aspirations of public service. It was a significant point of our bonding at Blakewood.
“I believe that was a sagacious decision, Richards,” I finally added, wanting to relieve him of the constant guilt. “You will do well in your fight to improve your hometown.”
Julius stood, his expression solemn. “So, we’re cool?”
I mirrored his action, after gesturing for Bilan to let me up. “Of course.”
Our palms met in a firm shake.
“This means no decisions are made or actions committed without your approval,” he qualified. “Sofia’s contributions will weigh equally, and when there’s conflict, I’ll tip the scale. I’ve already explained the parameters to her and typed it up in my proposal. She’s given me a definitive yes.”
“That’s wonderful, man.” I saluted him. “I’m proud of you.”
“My man!” He gave me another dap. “Now, let’s hope my ass gets elected.”
“For sure.” I patted my chest while giving a neck bow. “It’ll happen.”
Keisha jumped from her seat, cheering while clapping her hands. “The deal is done and the band is headed our way! We have to celebrate!”
She grabbed Julius’ hands and they began to dance. The band had drawn closer to us: a guitar, bongos, and maracas blended nicely for a rhythmic tune. Bilan appeared at my side, her eyes low and lips curved into a smile as she held the cigar.
“Congratulations, Mr. Ellis.” My arms roped around her ass when her chest met mine. Bilan kissed me, using her right hand to cup the back of my head. “Now, I have to think of ways to reward you.”
I chuckled at her brazenness, although it was attributed to the wine she had at dinner. Gazing into her eyes, I couldn’t articulate how beautiful she was under the Caribbean moon. It was different from her usual splendor. Her high cheekbones were more pronounced; those freckles bronzer. The beach did her well.
“I can,” I informed, pulling her closer into me.
“So can I.”
“Let me hear your suggestion.”
Huskily, she giggled. Fermented grape scent hitting my face as her palm slipped between us, groping my dick. “This…” Her hand moved to my arm behind her. Bilan directed it
to the underside of her ass cheek and near the crease. “Here.”
My eyes burst wide and mouth smacked closed while I tried controlling my shocked-humor.
She bit her lip, glancing away as she giggled. “Just kidding,” she tried unconvincingly. I didn’t contest her. When she got up the courage to find my eyes again, she asked, “What’s your suggestion?”
“For you to exchange vows with me tonight.”
Bilan’s bright eyes dimmed and chiseled cheeks descended, all signs of coquetry and tipsiness gone.
∞7∞
His expression was gravely stoic, but for those intense eyes. Sadik was serious. Marriage. Tonight. Here?
My regard swept around, landing over my shoulder on the Richards, who clearly caught wind of the ultra-alpha’s demanding request. Their expressions were similar to mine: shocked and uncomfortable. When I glanced back to Sadik, his chin dipped impatiently.
Why?
Why would he do this again? What was the big deal about waiting? It was a question I’d never ask because he’d return it with the usual or something to bring about those now, all too familiar thoughts of the lack of reciprocity between us. And it wasn’t true. I now felt there was no way of convincing him of that.
Except to finally give him what he wants…
I pulled in a deep breath through my nose, nostrils widening and eyes piercing him.
I exhaled, conceding, “Let’s do it.”
Why not? There was nothing after Sadik. He was it for me. With his resources, determined attachment to me, and family’s means to hunt me down if I tried taking his child from him, he was the end game. As hilly as this relationship had been, I wanted in his heart. I fantasized about being his forever. That reasoning made my submission simple.
“Tonight,” he made clear.
I nodded. “Tonight.”
“Now.”
My heart stopped beating for about seven seconds. However, folding was not an option. I rebounded quickly.
Chin in the air. “Now.”
“Oh, shit!” Julius mumbled. “How do we make this happen?”
Sadik’s bulleting eyes finally left me and he motioned to one of the uniformed men standing just off our lounge area.
