by K. S. Adkins
She did this so I’d have new memories.
“Tired?” she asks when I stop.
“Come here,” I say pulling her to me.
“Are you okay?” she asks putting her arms around my waist.
“Sing to me,” I ask her. “Anything you want, just let me hear your voice, just me.”
“Okay, Rome,” she whispers then closes her eyes to think on it. When the lyrics register, I tighten my grip and she rests her head on my chest.
“At last…” she begins singing so slowly I can feel it over my skin. Hiding my face in her neck, I just listen and feel her all around me. With tears in my eyes, I spun her and brought her back to me where she continued to sing for me. When the end was close, she lowers her voice, looks at me finishing with a smile. Our eyes were locked, unblinking. Something just happened but I didn’t know what.
“Wow,” she says now that it’s totally quiet.
“Yeah,” I say pulling her toward my room. “I want to show you something.” Following me she climbs on my bed like she’s done it thousands of times before. In my dreams it always happened like this, maybe it did in hers too. Turning on my DVR I scroll down to my saved section. I wanted her to see I’ve been trying to learn how to be a good boyfriend. Letting her read it and come to her own conclusion she pulls me down next to her and pulls on my lip with her fingers.
“You don’t need it,” she whispers. “Delete it, unless you want to watch it.”
“I think I need it,” I tell her. “I know nothing, I’m so far behind.”
“Do I look like I’m complaining?” she asks sitting up. “Those movies are fiction, Rome, they aren’t real. We’re real. Do what feels right to you, for us. Watching you come into your own has been amazing because I’m coming into my own too. The Notebook isn’t you,” she says smiling. “No more than it is me. We are seriously better than that.”
“I think there’s something wrong with my chest, Doc,” I fake hurt by grabbing it.
“Oh God!” she says scrambling over to me. Taking one look at the smile on my face she lights up then smacks me in the shoulder. “Ass,” she laughs curling up next to me.
“No seriously, my heart, it’s beating so hard I feel like my chest can’t hold it.”
Pulling my arm around her she tips her head back and says, “That’s love, Rome.”
Wrapping my arms around her I lean and whisper, “I know, just making sure you did.” Then she took my hand and placed it over her beating heart and if I hadn’t known before, I did now.
My friends invited me out to Kensington Park to spend the day in the sun. I was told to bring my suit, comfy clothes, and my A-game. When my friend Brandt told me there would be beach volleyball, I was IN. Hello? Tall chick who loves to spike right here!
Driving out with Brandt and Geoff with the stupid traffic on 275 we made it there in two hours. I didn’t care though because I needed to get away from campus and blow off some steam. After claiming my spot, I laid out my towel and put on my sunscreen. Shedding the cover up, I stretched out to get my vitamin D until game time. Chatting, laughing and having a blast, I heard loud music and screaming and looked over to see none other than Roman and his crew of misfits causing chaos, as usual. How in the hell they managed to roll a keg to the beach was beyond me but what intrigued me was the fact Roman wasn’t participating. In fact, all he was doing was eye-balling me.
Geoff pulled me up for game time and taking my spot in the front row, I stretched my arms out ready to throw down. Then Roman and two of his cronies asked to join and just like that it was on. Setting Brandt up he slams the ball down easily getting a loud cheer from me. Then Roman’s friend blazes one to me and I jump high, connect and drive the ball home hitting Roman in the feet before he could react. Adjusting my suit, he narrows his eyes at me but I ignore it. Jesus, it’s a bathing suit and mine covered far more than the other girls; plus I looked good in it and knew it. When Roman was set up, I brace for my jump when he sends the ball toward me so fast I couldn’t react. Then I felt it and directly after I was on my back in the sand. He was the first to make it to me and sitting up I push him off with an ‘Ow’.
“It’s recreation not competition, Peterson,” Brandt yells at him. But Roman for some weird reason ignored the bitching to focus on me. “You alright, Teach?” he asks while I hold my nose.
“You almost broke my nose,” I accuse him. “What the fuck was that for?”
“Come on,” he says walking me over to my blanket. “Sit down,” he says grabbing ice from the cooler and holding it on my face with his hand.
“I’m fine,” I snap. “Move, I want to play.”
“Take a break,” he says grabbing a towel and wrapping it around me.
“I’m hot, stop it,” I grunt pushing the towel off. For the next sixty seconds it was a battle of wills. He tried covering me up I kept throwing it off.
“I don’t like them looking at you,” he growls at me.
“Who?” I ask looking around for perverts and finding none.
“Everyone.”
“Try no one,” I argue. “Am I offending you Roman? Is my wearing a swimsuit making you uncomfortable? Oh shit, did you just realize I was a girl?”
Grinding his jaw he got up and stomped off but not before I saw his massive hard on. No way it was for me, not possible. Right? I’d never know either because he grabbed his stuff and left directly after.
It’s funny how when you’re happy you choose to think about happy things. Some of my best memories in school had Rome in them and I promised myself that I wouldn’t ever forget that again. Yes, he had some sharp edges but even back then he was a polished diamond underneath. Rome went out of his way to protect me when he thought I needed it (I rarely did, but whatever) but now that I know him better I can see past the bad to the good hiding behind it.
Waking up in his bed was a nice change too. Rolling over to a beautiful man who loves you, has loved you always, is not a bad way to wake up. Having to take an early shift today, as well as tomorrow, to make the barbecue work, I slowly sneak out of bed to snag a shower. Singing to myself and running my hands between my perfectly sore legs I let out a moan when I felt him slide in behind me.
“Morning, beautiful,” he says kissing the back of my neck. Turning to face him I cup his balls and whisper my own good morning. “Last night was the best night of my life,” he says massaging my ass.
“Mine too,” I agree.
“How do we top it?” he asks with a smirk.
“Rome,” I tsk him. “If I’m anything it’s creative.”
“You’ve got ideas, don’t you?”
“Yep,” I say kissing his nose. “Now wash me because I have to go to work.”
He washed me thoroughly and before I kissed him goodbye I dropped my key in his hand. “I get off an hour before you do,” I remind him. “Let yourself in.”
“I’m fucking hard,” he growls grabbing himself. “Quickie?”
“If you can hold out, I promise to give you another new memory,” I tease sliding my shoes on. “Here’s a hint, there’s lube involved.”
“Lube?” he chokes out.
“Uh huh.”
“Work is going to fucking suck.” He groans.
“Tonight will too, promise,” I laugh closing the door behind me. Luckily work was work. A lot of minor emergencies, nothing catastrophic and when I took my lunch and was delivered flowers, I had the time to squeal about it with anyone that would listen. I’ve never received flowers before. Opening the envelope, I see it was a sympathy card with butterflies and a cross. Then I read his note:
My balls hurt.
#29
I laughed so hard I fell out of my chair.
Rushing home, I grab another shower, this one quick, put my flowers in a vase and get ready. Setting the stage and securing it, I strap my shoes on and let out a nervous laugh. I was really going to do this, for real. Checking the time, I light candles, turn the music up and cover myself in body glitter. Wait
ing in the kitchen, I sneak a peek toward the door before slamming wine right out of the bottle to calm my nerves.
When the door opens and I hear him come in, I close my eyes and squeeze my legs together to hold off the desire. If this went the way I thought it would, tonight we could very well die in pleasure, but oh man, what a way to go.
“Kandace,” he says in a deep voice. “Come here.”
Slowly stepping out of the kitchen and certain to exaggerate my steps by dragging one foot behind the other, I saunter up to him, run my hands from his chest to his sac and squeeze.
“Oh God damn,” he whispers. “Oh God damn, God damn.”
“Hi honey, how was your day?” I ask bending over to help remove his shoes. Speechless, I like it. Walking around him in a slow circle I lean in and nibble on his ear, “Ever see one of those?” I ask pointing to the corner.
“No,” he stumbles. “Not in person.”
With my nerves gone and my confidence at one hundred and fifty percent, I pull him over to the chair I set up for him and sit him down. “Enjoy the show,” I say to his lips before giving him a quick bite and hitting the remote. Music moves me in many ways, one of them is sexually. The right song coupled with the right man had me eyeing my pole with pure carnality. Tonight I wanted my skin all over it. When my breasts touched it I wanted it to pierce my nipples, my legs and arms would train it, show it how I wanted things done. But music was the key to all of this. In this case the song was Drowning by Banks and the second it started and my hand stroke the chrome, I was close to coming.
This song was us and I knew he’d take it all in. Working my body and watching him, my moves were deeper, filthier. I was liquid. Climbing up with just my hands and hooking my right leg, I release my hands and run them over my breasts and look over to him. He was clutching his thighs, suffering, needing me to finish him off.
Sliding down and cat crawling over to him on my hands and knees, I slither up and bury my face in his lap. Right on cue, he grips the back of my head and moans. Undoing him, I slowly bring his cock out to where I can suck it. Without any warning, I lick my lips and taste him. Thrusting up into my mouth, I welcome him home.
But not for long, no.
Rome wasn’t getting off that easily.
Pulling away, I stand up to remove his jeans and underwear. That done, I straddle him and watch as his hands run up my thighs and squeeze when they reach the top. Just then the track switches over to Cherish the day by Sade and Rome was losing the ability to stay still. Letting him play between my legs, I hold his head in my hands and just feel.
“Kandace,” he moans in pain which delights me. “Fuck, I need you, baby.”
“Tell me,” I whisper into his mouth.
“I fucking love you,” he says sliding his tongue in.
Without hands or help, his cock was straining to get to me and just a slight adjustment on my part and I was able to sink down never breaking our connection. A slow grind started immediately. Rome was gripping me everywhere, hair, neck, hips and waist.
“Come for me,” I tell him wrapping my legs around the back of the chair to take him as deep as possible then bear down.
“God damn,” he says dropping his head back and digging his fingers into my sides. “Only you,” he pants. “God damn, only you.”
“This is all yours,” I promise him. “The past doesn’t matter, we do. Give me all of you.”
With a powerful roar I feel him grow impossibly harder before exploding inside of me. Letting out my own cry I fall forward clutching him, needing him as close as possible. Never in my life have I ever been that open to anyone and I knew why I never had been before. I was saving it for him.
When my thighs started to hurt and the music had stopped, I moved off of him slowly. Rome in that moment looked like a prisoner that was just tortured. He was physically wiped out. Prompting him to follow me upstairs, we blow out the candles on the way. Not bothering with make-up removal, I crawl into bed next to him and tell him, “I loved my flowers, thank you.”
“How long did it take you to learn how to do that?” he asks with pure admiration in his voice.
“Four years,” I tell him cuddling into him. “You are the first, the only, that will ever see it.”
“You give the best memories,” he says starting to doze. Pulling me even closer he nuzzles my neck and mumbles, “Tutor, doctor, ninja, stripper. God damn,” before passing out.
I’ll never forget thinking the girl would never need me for a God damn thing. She was totally self-sufficient and around here that was rare. Practice ended twenty minutes ago and I knew from memorizing her routine she’d be coming from a tutoring session. Last night it started snowing and hasn’t stopped. We’ve got about seven inches and in the last hour the snow turned to rain then the temp dropped. Campus was an ice rink. With a book in her hand and wrapped up like she lived in Alaska, she came through the doors stealing my breath. Even hidden, she was gorgeous and I wanted to know what was underneath fucking bad.
Clearly she hadn’t been aware of the ice because she screamed “Fuck!” before slip sliding and finally crashing. Her book stayed in the air longer than she did and sliding over, I drop to my knees to help her.
“From where I was standing that was pretty graceful, Teach. Nice language by the way.” I say trying to help her up.
“I broke my fucking ankle,” she moans. Biting the tip of her glove and pulling each one off she covers her ankle in protection. “Just go, Roman,” she snaps. “I’m fine, I’ll crawl to the clinic.”
This would be the only time she’d let me carry her and I didn’t want to put her down. I didn’t care who saw us, I just liked that she needed me. Two hours and several curses later, I helped her up to her apartment and watched her trying to use her crutches. When Kandace wasn’t studying, tutoring or bitching me out she had a foul mouth that I loved. I won’t lie and say her having to use crutches wasn’t beneficial to me because it was.
It also drove her nuts.
Last night was hands-down the highlight of my adult life.
All of my minutes with her were memorable, but she had a fucking stripper pole in her arsenal. A man doesn’t forget a woman working a pole. She worked that shit like a pro first and me second. I’m no stranger to fucking but this surpassed fucking this, was pure magic. The way she worked me over, Christ… I have never felt that way and know that’s because of her, it was love and trust, it was our unique bond. It was ten God damn years in the making. No female has ever made me feel desired, needed and off the charts aroused like she does. Her body moved like she was boneless, she just flowed and she awed me.
Grocery shopping was not one of my favorite things to do, especially with a stiffy. Crowds were not my favorite thing to be around and being away from her, hurt. She went in early so she could get home in time to start cooking dinner. We both were excited to have our families under one roof. Checking out and stopping at Lush to grab my pay, Jules and Max had their heads together (literally) when I came in.
“Rome,” says Max calling me over. “Do you want a copy of this tape?”
Jules had it memorized and Max wasn’t too far behind. When I heard Kandace tell Michelle I waited ten years with need in her voice and, while he was serving his time for a crime he didn’t commit I became a doctor, a good one. So when I tell you that I’m going to deviate your septum, bust your mouth open, snap your collar bone and severely blacken both eyes, we’ll just call it doctor’s orders, kay? But then she nailed it with, You came here to violate the restraining order. I know your type, bitch. The second he was within ten feet of you, you’d have called the cops. Momma’s here to make sure baby girl doesn’t make it to the phone. I memorized all of it. She did this for me.
“Yeah,” I tell him pulling up a chair to watch it again. “I want a copy.”
“I’m military,” says Jules taking notes. “I know the basics of karate but our girl is a black belt. A black-fucking-belt. She’s like a white Jet Li!”
; Laughing at them both, I wait for Max to burn my copy before getting ready to leave. “She loves me,” I blurt.
“Duh,” says Jules smiling.
“Congrats,” says Max in that awkward way he has.
“Sorry,” I mumble. “Still getting used to it.”
“Feels good, right?” she asks getting out of her chair to approach. “Never felt anything better,” I tell her returning the hug she forced on me.
“Hands off my wife,” he says with no anger whatsoever.
“She started it,” I tease letting her go.
Three people actually call my phone, one I just hugged who pays me, another is my grandma, who won’t call while driving and Kandace. Answering, I hear a lot of noise but plug my ear hoping to hear her better. “Kandace?”
“Where are you?” she asks breathless.
“Lush,” I tell her. “Talking with Jules---“
“Have them bring you to me, say my name when you get here and leave now, Rome.”
“What’s wrong?” I rush out.
“It’s Clara,” she says quickly. “Get here, Rome, I’m doing everything I can. I love you.”
Running for the door I knew that they were right behind me. When I threw my door open, Max jumped in the driver’s seat and Jules pushed me into the back. “Get me to Kandace!” Gripping my phone, my mind was a mess of events and I couldn’t focus on a single one. Even with Max flying, it felt like we were crawling. Jules did her best to calm me down, reminding me that my grandma was in the best of hands, but I needed to see both of them. The second we hit the front of the ER, I ran in and told them I needed Kandace. Ushering me back to the waiting room, they told me they’d let her know I was there and that she’d be out as quickly as possible.
Jules also walked off for a bit and when she came back she told me Kandace personally was working on my grandma. My fucking heart stopped. “She’s the best, you know that,” she reminds me. I knew she was but I needed her right now and I was so God damn conflicted I didn’t even realize they had sat me down. Hours went by, hours. They must have called the crew because Bishop, Venessa, Rogan, Tony, Lina, Rafe, and Macy all showed to offer me support. It was appreciated but again, I just needed Kandace.
