by Love Belvin
“Why do you say that?” His voice was a mere low baritone pitch. By this time I was pushing his shirts up to his hard chest.
“Because if you were, I could do what I’ve wanted to do for some time now,” I informed. I’d begun licking his chest and making my way down to his stomach.
In an aroused state, he let out a sharp breath and chuckled as if he was then being tortured. Then he murmured, “Oh, yeah? And what’s that?” Although he knew damn well where I was going.
At that point the conversation was done. I was headed south of the border as I licked his abdomen and was unbuckling his belt and jeans.
When the second telephone call came in with another ring tone he mumbled a string of profanities while reaching for the phone to answer it.
Damn that phone!
I stopped to let him take the call.
“Peace…Peace,” he answered his cell in a thick Brooklyn accent. I could hear a wispy voice on the other end but couldn’t make out any words. Azmir asked, “…anybody hurt?” as I lifted myself off of my knees. Then again, the voice from the phone came through. Azmir’s face tightened as he listened intently. “Alright. I’ll be right there. Lay low!” he ordered.
“Ray, after we take Ms. Brimm home, I need to go over to the spot off of Crenshaw,” Azmir called out.
“Yes, sir,” Ray replied in acknowledgement.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, disturbed by the abrupt change in plans. Although we didn’t exactly plan to go back to my place together, it was understood that we would.
“I’m sorry,” he said before burying his face in his hands. Instantly, he shuddered in his seat and screamed, “Fuck!”
I paused as I didn’t know what to say. I’d never seen him up in arms like this. There was silence for a few seconds before he said, “I’m sorry. That was my peoples telling me that my barbershop in the “C” is on fire right now and it doesn’t look good.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Azmir,” I replied in a low sympathetic tone.
He sat back in his seat massaging the bridge of his nose in between his eyes. He looked so perplexed. I didn’t know what to do. After a few more seconds of awkwardness, while looking out the window, he placed his right hand on my left thigh. I took it as a sign that he was ready to let me back in. Although it was a huge risk, I moved closer to him and lay on his chest. He followed up, folding his arm over me. We rode that way all the way to my house. Once there, he got out to walk me to the door.
After I opened the door I turned to him, “I really do hope everything turns out okay.”
As soon as those words left my mouth I felt reduced to a teenager who couldn’t find the appropriate words for the occasion. He kissed me on my forehead, said he’d call, and promenaded back to the car.
I didn’t hear back from Azmir that night. I had gotten a text from him the next morning while at the airport. It read:
Enjoy the island, Sweetheart. Happiest of birthdays!
I smiled but couldn’t help but still feel disappointed by not seeing or speaking to him since he dropped me off the night before. I was ready to take our intimacy to another level. What I didn’t want him to know was something I hadn’t quite shared with Michelle; I’d never really gone down on a guy. I’d licked and maybe even engulfed once, pulling out immediately but that was just a method of foreplay when I was drunk fucking Tyquan. I’d never inhaled or sucked with the means to an end in mind. With Azmir I wanted to, I wanted to make him loose control while melting into my mouth. I wanted to match his sexual dominance and skill, even if that was damn near impossible. I wanted to try. How could I go wrong? If I couldn’t pleasure Azmir orally it wouldn’t be for the lack of trying. But it never happened.
The flight out was cool. I took out my iPhone, went into the iPod app, threw on my sunglasses and slept practically the entire flight. The girls chatted it up in anticipation of our vacation. I knew that I was being rude but didn’t care. They were used to my reclusive propensities. They made due as if I wasn’t there.
Michelle hated that trait I had but I explained to her a while ago that the girls were not exactly my friends. They were just long-term associates. They put up with me out of respect for Michelle and I did the same. We had good times together, but for the most part that was it. A part of me thought to try to be a part of the group seeing we were vacationing in celebration of my birthday but I was in a funk thinking about Azmir.
Our limo pulled up to the Atlantis resort. I didn’t think much of it until we arrived at our rooms, or I should say my room. It was a huge suite. We stayed at The Cove. I didn’t pay attention during checkin as I didn’t make the accommodations. The bellman took us up to our rooms and mine was the first stop.
As we ascended on the elevator he said, “We are going to the club-level suites. Should you have any needs, please feel free to contact the concierge.”
Damn, they went all out for my birthday, huhn?
“Here’s the first suite,” the bellman said as he unlocked and opened the door.
The suite was immaculately oversized. Because it was a corner suite, there was a wall-to-wall ocean view. Everywhere you looked you saw blue. Simply amazing. The bathroom had shiny marble floors and an all-glass shower. It was like something in a brochure only better. The bedroom had a huge king sized bed with a sitting area and the same beautiful view of the ocean. While I was admiring the room it dawned on me that there was only one bedroom and one bed. I wondered where in the hell were these broads sleeping because I wasn’t sharing a bed!
“Where are the other beds?” I asked as politely as I could.
“Oh, this is the birthday-girl’s suite. We have our own,” Britni said. “Damn, I’m ready to see our suite now. Let’s go, little man!” she continued.
“Hell, yeah!” April concurred.
“You stay here and unwind. We’ll have lunch out at the pool in a couple of hours. I’ll call you with our room number,” Michelle spoke up as she was the last to leave the room.
“Wait. All of you are sharing a suite and I’m in this massive one by myself?” I quizzed.
“You’re the birthday girl. Just relax and enjoy. If you get lonely I’ll come running, sweetie!” she said cheerfully as she hugged me.
Shortly after she left the room and then the suite, I went out in the living room and admired the view. The more beauty I saw the lonelier I grew. I didn’t think I’d enjoy the next five days no matter how good the girls’ intentions were.
After unpacking and then a shower, I threw on a bikini and a sarong and headed down to the restaurant as Michelle instructed. The grounds were breathtaking. I loved hearing the island music and the tranquil energy from the staff and fellow tourists. On my way down, I saw a group of guys admiring me. One even had the nerve to hiss me reminding me of The Clan, adding to my pining of Azmir Jacobs. Everything reminded me of A.D. I didn’t know if that spoke volumes about my warming to him or if I hated the sentiment altogether. I just kept with my stride until I saw the girls sitting at a table.
I sat at the table in awe, “Damn! Ladies, this place is fly! I have to give you all props on this one!”
“Okay. Can we let her in on the surprise now?” April asked.
“No. Let’s hold off a little,” Michelle gently advised.
“What surprise? Shelly, you know I don’t like surprises,” I scolded.
“Don’t sweat it, Na-Na. Take it all in,” she said just before giving April a nasty look. The waiter coming to the table interrupted my line of questioning.
After lunch we walked around the resort to make ourselves acquainted. We ended up in a club. The music was a little too pop for my taste but the energy was definitely nice. After about an hour, I was ready to leave but could see the girls were all enjoying themselves. April found herself a local with friends. She came over to us with a brown skinned, muscular framed guy with locks. He had the brightest teeth I had ever seen. She was grinning from ear to ear.
“L-a-d-i-e-s! This is Bobby. He
and his friends are going to another club off the resort and are inviting us to tag along. Are we interested?” she screamed over the music.
“That depends,” Michelle responded. “Are they buying drinks?” she flirted.
“If that’s what you want,” Bobby agreed with a thick West Indian accent.
“You down, Na-Na? It is your birthday after all,” Michelle asked being politically correct.
“By all means, you guys go and enjoy. I haven’t been able to get that hot tub out of my head. I’ll catch up with you later,” I offered.
If Michelle didn’t know me as well as she did she’d decline on my behalf, not wanting to be rude. But she knew better.
“Okay…if you insist. Just as long as you’re doing something you want,” she said and they walked off. I was two seconds behind them trying to finish my drink.
I flew back to my room to see if I got a text or e-mail from Azmir. Nothing. With that, I grabbed my iPhone and headed down to the Jacuzzi. I knew my girl, Mary J, would comfort me with her “Share My World” album. I had a buzz from my drinks at the club. Now it was time for me to stretch out in the hot tub and zone out.
I began to think of my relationship with Azmir. I didn’t understand how he could give me such a touching card and beautiful and expensive jewelry all to leave that abruptly and not call. I couldn’t help but doubt everything he said that night at the restaurant. As I was doing a little introspective thinking, I started going over what this relationship meant to me. Did I want to give it my all? Had I fallen in love with Azmir? Did I still have too many guards up with him?
Could I let him in?
The one thing that was clear was that it damn sure felt good being with him. He made me feel so protected and well kept. I knew I had gotten on him in the past about doing extravagant things for me financially, but I just didn’t like it as much as other women would. Was I pushing him away? Did my father’s departure leave me fucked up and unable to thrive in a relationship?
Damn! I knew I wasn’t getting any younger and needed to find someone to share a little happiness with. At least, that’s what Michelle had kept preaching to me.
I had to have been in there for over an hour when a bellman asked how I could stay in such hot water for so long. I didn’t realize it had been that long. I ended my train of thoughts with remembering that Azmir hadn’t attempted to contact me since we parted ways so it really wasn’t all that necessary to wreck my brain trying to readjust who I was.
I left the hot tub and decided to tour the resort some more. This place was ridiculous! I couldn’t help but to wonder how much the ladies spent for this trip. There was so much life and high energy given off here. The music…and the people who seemed to have left their troubles far behind was so much to take in. I walked through the casinos listening to the slot machines go off one after another. There was a comedy club and a theater. The décor was fascinating.
I moseyed my way back to The Cove and allowed my curiosity to get the best of me. There was one guy alone at the desk. I guess in this late hour there was no need for any more. I asked the gentleman the price of my room per night. He asked my room number and began typing away. This was taking longer than I had anticipated. I would’ve hated for the girls to have walked up on me. I could tell by the look on his face that there was a problem.
“Our system is frozen. It could be daily maintenance,” he murmured as he pressed keys and then looked up to me and informed, “But I can tell you that the Sapphire suite runs between $900 and $1,500 a night,” he reported. The phone rang in the middle of his answer. “I’m sorry. I have to take this,” he said before answering the phone.
I walked off as soon as he took the call. I was floored. I couldn’t believe they shelled out that much money for my birthday. Did they each take out a loan? Or did they max out their credit cards? I knew they were all professionals, but they didn’t have bank like that! We were due to stay for five nights. That means they paid up to fifteen grand for our hotel stay alone?
What the hell?!
I went back up to my suite to call Michelle’s room to see if they’d gotten back from the club. I got no answer. I decided to hit the sack. Between the day’s travel, stressing over Azmir, exploring the resort and then finding out the astronomical cost of this vacation, I was hella exhausted.
The next morning I was awakened by the sound of the telephone ringing. As I sat up to gather my bearings and remember where I was, I reached for the telephone. It was the concierge. Evidently, Michelle requested that I be awakened and notified of our spa appointment.
“What time is the appointment?” I asked.
“It is at nine a.m., ma’am,” the concierge answered.
After hanging up I looked over at the clock on the nightstand that read a minute after seven. I lay in bed for a few minutes to gather my thoughts. Azmir was leading them. I told myself at that moment that I needed to let feelings about what had happened the night before I left go until I returned home. In the meantime, I was at a luxury hotel on a beautiful island that apparently cost the girls a wad of cash.
I jumped up, washed my face, brushed my teeth, threw on leggings, a T-shirt, and sneakers and ran over to the fitness club. I spent an hour in there between the elliptical and working on my abs. After I was done, I returned to my suite to shower and then met the girls at the spa there in the resort.
We had most of our services done on the beach while the soothing breeze flowed over our bodies. The soft music played low as to not interfere with the natural sounds of the ocean waves. This was such a serene experience, adding to my concerns about the cost of this vacation. While we were receiving manicures and pedicures I broached the subject.
“Wow! First the lavish suite now spa treatments on the beach. This feels like the lifestyle that hip-hop artists rap about. What did I do to deserve generous friends like you guys?” I teased.
“Well damn! Can we tell her the secret and get it over with already?” April asked while her petite pale fleshed frame relaxed in the spa chair. Her straight blonde extensions were blowing in the wind. Though I never shared it, April’s traditional European features were flawless.
“Why should we not after that outburst, April!” Michelle barked.
“You can’t keep a damn secret to save your life, girl. Lisa was right!” Britni hissed.
“What in the hell do you mean, Lisa was right?” April responded and an argument ensued from there.
As they went back and forth, I asked Michelle about the surprise. “Well, Na-Na, this trip was sponsored by a true admirer of yours,” Michelle said with a huge smile on her face.
“Admirer…Azmir?” spilled from my mouth as it hung open. Apparently, I yelled because the other girls began giving their two cents.
“Yeah girl, everything! The flight, the suites, the spa treatments, food—you name it!” April contributed.
“He was very generous, Na-Na,” Michelle attempted to inject a little grace.
“Why would he do this?” I asked looking at Michelle, yet speaking rhetorically.
“Why the hell would he do this? I hope it’s because of that sweet trap you’re throwing on his ass. Shit, that’s what I would chalk it up to! You know, girl!” Britni said as she high five’d April.
“I know that’s right, girl!” April followed up. “You are fucking him right, aren’t you, Rayna?” April asked as she and Britni looked to me for a response.
I ignored their gold-digging, no-man-having asses. I looked at Michelle. “Shelly, my room alone is at least a grand a night. If you do the math and add up all of our rooms that’s damn near twenty grand!” I exclaimed as April and Britni listened absorbedly.
“Oh, no Na-Na. We’re all sharing a suite. He was insistent on you having your own. You know, for privacy. Even he knows how introverted you are,” she informed as she made gestures with her eyes to make reference to Britni and April. That was code for he knew I didn’t get down with them like that. But my question then was why would he pay
for them?
“We originally planned to take you back to North Carolina and hang out there for the weekend but when I called Azmir to be sure we weren’t interfering with any plans you two already had he told me you hadn’t even mentioned your birthday. Although he didn’t exactly say it, I think he felt a little slighted. He thought this would be a good way to get back at you for being so undisclosed.”
She gave a contrived laugh to lighten the moment. A laugh that I’m sure wouldn’t have been provided had we’d been alone. Michelle stayed on my back about giving Azmir a chance.
“Ummmmm…Rayna, you never answered my question. What’s that chocolate like in bed? Does he melt in your mouth?” April asked while laughing with Britni. I could tell Michelle’s patience was running low.
“I think that’s three too many mimosas for you, April!” Michelle warned.
“Why would you wanna know? I thought all you tricked were old, rich Italian men on their death beds,” I reciprocated.
Britni and Michelle belted out huge laughs. Even the masseuse chuckled at that one. April, though upset, kept her chicken-head ass mouth shut at that one. I put my sunglasses back on and lay back in my chair trying to process what I had just learned.
After our spa treatments we had brunch at a deli there on the resort. As an act of peace, Michelle convinced us to participate in water sport activities. But just before, she pulled me aside and gave me a maternal verbal lashing. She suggested that I suspend my mixed feelings about Azmir funding this trip because it was done out of benevolence. I reluctantly agreed and immediately began working on my disposition so that I could enjoy the luxury vacation. Besides, a part of me was relieved that Britni and April didn’t pay for this so I didn’t have to reciprocate.
We parasailed, snorkeled, and took a boat around the island. We even had time for a bus tour around the island, viewing other resorts and the impoverished areas. It was sad to see the clear contrast of beauty and poverty in one small vacinity. That truly amazed me. Michelle had a slight emotional breakdown experiencing it. I tried to console her as she silently wept right there in the tour bus. It was slightly embarrassing but I understood how my dear friend was extremely sensitive. In all, we had quite an adventurous day. We took lots of pictures and even video’d some of our excursions.
