by Vera Roberts
She kissed the inside of Eli’s thighs, intentionally not placing her mouth where he wanted it the most. Eli moved his hips upward, non-verbally telling his wife what he wanted her to do. No. she was going to tease him. She was going to lap her tongue against the inside of his thighs. She was going to breathe in his musky scent. She was going to place kisses around his shaft, but never venturing there.
Eli closed his eyes and sighed heavily. Faith always knew how to get him going. All she had to do was lick her lips and she knew he would be thinking about her full lips for the rest of the day. He loved to kiss them, feel them on his body, hear them part while she screamed his name over and over.
She finally placed her mouth on him and Eli thought he was going to explode. Her full lips gently sucked the bulbous head, her tongue swirling around the slit and tasting his pre-cum. Her mouth was so hot and delectable, her tongue hungrily swirling around his full length, taking him all the way in and out. The flicks, the licks, and the kisses she gave him were porn-star legendary and Eli only wished he wasn’t handcuffed.
She suckled on the swollen tip before she took the entire length of him inside of her mouth, causing her husband to lose control. He saw the stars, the moon, the earth, the sun, the universe. It was horrible; he was tied up. Each flick of Faith’s tongue made him lunge forward. His chest rose up and down, trying to stave off the impending orgasm. No use. He tried to curl his toes and clench up his thigh muscles. That didn’t work.
A few more flicks of Faith’s magical tongue combined with the rapid-fire motion of her hand, and Eli shot all over her mouth and neck. “Fuck!” He gave a guttural groan and collapsed against the bed.
“That’s it, Daddy,” Faith purred as she milked his cock, “that’s it. I wanna taste your hot cum, baby.” She placed her mouth back on Eli again and deep throated him, swallowing everything he had to offer. She then moved her way back up to her husband, placing tender kisses on his washboard abs and finally to his neck, where she buried her face. “One hole down,” she nibbled on his ear, “two more to go.”
There wasn’t a doubt in Eli’s mind right there—or even ever—that his wife was worth the five-carat yellow canary diamond ring he upgraded her to on their anniversary. He only wished he’d gotten the ring for her sooner.
Two
Simone stepped out into the cool April morning. The forecast said it was going to be sunny and they were correct. They failed to mention how it was going to be around 60 degrees. Maybe it was the Texas heat she was used, to but Simone didn’t care for the obvious weather change that New York was known for. The East Coast residents loved to boast about their four distinctive seasons and accompanying weather changes.
Simone begged to differ.
She moved back to New York at the height of one of its worse winter storms in years, a move that still made her wonder what the hell she had been smoking. She could remember January in Georgia being cold, brisk even. But what she was experiencing in Manhattan at the moment was nothing less than pure and utter bullshit. She remembered why she moved to Savannah, Georgia instead of staying in New York. The weather.
Simone stepped out of the cab and briefly looked down at the street. There was snow on the ground. It was the month of April and there was still snow on the ground.
Nevertheless, she bundled herself up and put on a brave face. She was the face and CEO of Simone Harris Events or SHE for short, a full-scale event planning service she’d created fresh out of college. She was one of many wedding planners in New York and she knew her work was cut out for her.
The wedding planning business was fast-paced and high-stress. It was also cutthroat. The stories of businesses planting fake stories about their competition and stealing lucrative clients were not unheard of or surprising. Simone couldn’t say she was innocent in any of it; she had been guilty of doing the same many times over. Hunt or be hunted.
She walked into her business and was greeted by her assistant, Pepper, who immediately handed Simone a hot coffee and warm blueberry muffin. “What’s on the agenda today?” Simone asked as she strolled to her office.
“We have a jam-packed day, Moni!” Pepper handed her boss a schedule. Pepper was a short White woman of average size. She wore purple frames and kept her blond mane up in a tight bun. If there was anyone who was more excited than Simone about wedding and event planning, it was Pepper. “We have a meeting with a new bride, Delilah, at noon. Then we have a fitting with our March bride, Lisa, at two. And finally, we have a vendor meeting with Nicola D’Amato of Madre’s at four.”
Hearing Nicola’s name made Simone smile. She was always so warm and receptive to anyone and everyone she came across. Several years later, Simone could think of the short Italian woman with a loving fondness. “Oh yes, Nicola, I remember her.” Simone smiled. “I used to date one of her sons.”
“Oh? Which one? They’re all fine as hell!” Pepper laughed.
“Eli,” Simone fondly remembered. “He’s the second-youngest. Let’s see there’s Nick, Kieran, Joey, Eli, and Tony. We dated a little in high school, three months.”
“Three months? Wow, that’s forever in the high school world.” Pepper smirked.
“It felt like it. We broke up because my parents got divorced and my sister and I went to stay with my mother back in Houston. We never really kept in contact, though.” Simone shrugged.
“No Facebook or anything? Everyone has Facebook nowadays.”
“I never thought about adding him or trying to reconnect with him,” Simone wondered why she didn’t. “I guess it never really crossed my mind.”
“Well, now you have the chance to reconnect,” Pepper tilted her head, “and see if he’s still single?”
“I’m sure he’s married with a family by now,” Simone smiled.
“I’m not talking about you. I was referring to me.” Pepper grinned.
“And that’s why I said that.”
****
“Okay, so today officially kicks off wedding season,” Joey began at the weekly meeting with the staff at Madre’s, “we’ll be dealing with stressed-out brides, cheap event planners, and all sorts of drama.”
“I love this time of year!” Nicola D’Amato clasped her hands together and bounced in her flats.
“Because of that, we have to be on top of our game, all right? Professionalism at all times. If a bride yells at you, show them the door. If a customer wants thousands of dollars for a few hundred bucks, negotiate and throw in a few freebies. Always keep the tea and pastries coming. Offer fresh fruit if they’re not into pastries. And remember to smile and be friendly, no matter how much you want to strangle them.” Joey smiled.
“That’s not nice, mio figlio,” Nicola politely warned her son.
“And neither are some of those brides,” Joey offered. “Any questions? All right, if there are no questions, this meeting is over. Have fun and let’s make some money.”
After everyone dispersed, Nicola met privately with her sons. “We have a busy day today. Several wedding planners in both locations. Joey, I want you to go to the Long Island location and meet with the contractors there. I’m going to the NYC location today since I need to meet with my girls at the non-profit. So Eli, that leaves you here at the Manhattan location to handle business.”
“That’s fine,” Eli scanned over the itinerary for the day. The day was busy with various appointments and the walk-ins. He did recognize one name from the list—Simone Harris. Could it be? Could it be the same Moni from high school? The coincidence would’ve been incredible. “Simone…”
“What’s up?” Joey asked.
“No, I’m looking at the list here.” Eli pointed to the list. “I’m wondering if this is the same Simone Harris I used to date in high school.”
“It might be a common name?” Joey guessed.
“It might be,” Eli smiled. “I wonder if it is her, though. That would be a trip.” Eli remembered fondly. Simone was his first love and he occasionally wondered what she was up
to. “She always went against the grain.”
“Well, as you’re strolling down memory lane with her, I hope you don’t let her talk you into a cheap deal.” Joey stood up and gathered the paperwork. “We have a lot of business to do.”
“I know, I know.” Eli agreed. “Business as usual.”
After the meeting, Eli went online to look up Simone. A quick search of her name pulled up several results. Her event-planning company, SHE, was first in the search results. He went to the website and was astounded to see a picture of Simone in the right corner. She was more beautiful than he remembered.
She had light blonde hair pinned at the top of her head. Her lips were lightly painted with a soft pink lipstick that contrasted with her honey almond complexion. Eli smiled as he remembered a past conversation he had with Simone, convincing her there had to been some White in her family because he had never seen a Black person that light-skinned before.
“I’m Creole,” he could recall her saying to him with her Texas accent.
Her parents moved to New York for a job position her dad took in the airplane manufacturing industry. She arrived on campus in the middle of the school year and the moment she stepped foot on the campus, every teenage boy had his eyes set on her. Even the nerds who weren’t into girls were vying for Simone’s attention.
Eli sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin. He was going to see his first love again for the first time in many years. He occasionally wondered how she was doing, if everything was okay with her parents. Now it was time for the two of them to play catch up.
Three
Simone knew Madre’s was a big floral shop. She couldn’t imagine it was this big.
It was located in downtown Manhattan, on one of the busiest intersections. An island by itself, Madre’s was a huge store, standing over two stories tall and was designed like a home. It was located in a renovated two-story brick building with several windows.
When Simone stepped inside the store, she was greeted with the sweet scent of eucalyptus. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, letting the calming scent course through her body. Within moments, she felt relaxed and was ready to negotiate.
“We intentionally placed the eucalyptus there,” Eli came out from behind the counter, “to calm down the brides as they walk in.”
“Smart move,” Simone opened her eyes and a smile grew on her face once she recognized him. “Eli?”
“Moni, is that you?” He gave her a warm embrace and then pulled back from her. “How have you been? You look great!”
So do you, Simone thought. Eli D’Amato. His dark hair was trimmed, a far cry from the ponytail he rocked when he was younger. He’d put on some weight, but that was a good thing; he was always so skinny in high school. There were several tattoos on his muscular arms and he completely filled out his simple attire of jeans and a shirt.
And those warm, hazel eyes. His eyes were always so welcoming and loving, turning strangers into best friends within a few minutes. Out of the five brothers Simone could remember, Eli was always the friendliest one. Not that the others weren’t but there was just something special about Eli. He was always willing to go the extra ten miles for someone.
A quick scan of Eli’s frame and Simone felt her heart get lodged in her throat. She knew it was too good to be true. Glaring back at her was a platinum wedding band. Maybe it was white gold. Hell, it could’ve been silver. It didn’t matter. Whatever metal it was, it said one thing loud and clear: unavailable.
“I’ve been good. I moved back to New York recently and am trying to build my business here after being gone for so long.” Simone warmly smiled.
“Oh yes, you’re the head of Simone Harris Events?” Eli lightly licked his lips. “I read your profile online. Very nice company you’ve built, Moni. Very nice.”
Simone hated the nickname Moni. Only a few people called her that but she specifically remembered how Eli would huskily say it to her during their youth. He would whisper it; almost tongue-fucking her ear with his low grumble. “Are you okay, Moni?”Eli stopped moving and looked down at her. “I’m not hurting you, am I?”
She snapped her thoughts back to the present. “Well, you haven’t done too badly yourself.” She looked around Madre’s. There were several small tables and chairs with portfolios and faux centerpieces on them, all different from the last table. The glossy painted walls boasted several pictures of A-list celebrities, athletes, and other noteworthy people with Nicola and her sons.
“I would take some credit but this is really my mom’s doing.” Eli stood next to Simone as they looked at a picture of Nicola standing next to a high-profile Hollywood actress, “she had the vision and just needed the money to do so.”
Simone inhaled a deep breath of Eli’s cologne. She didn’t like it. She didn’t like how it made her nipples stand at attention. She didn’t like how it made her G-string panties dampen with desire. And she definitely didn’t like the soft contraction her sex made. She exhaled and quickly refocused on the subject at hand. “The lottery helped, I’m assuming?”
“Big-time,” Eli shoved his hands in his pockets, “but it was really my mother’s vision. She always loved flowers and I could remember her gardening in the backyard whenever she had a free moment. She was always trying to fix up the house in some nice way.”
“Yes, I remember,” Simone nodded. Although Eli and his family didn’t have much money, one would never know that by the way the house was done. Nicola always did arts and crafts, creating beautiful things and constantly making little knick-knacks. She still had the doll Nicola had given her years ago—a creation made out of buttons, corn silk hair, and wood.
“Did you want anything to eat? Drink? We have pastries and tea.” Eli asked.
Simone turned around and smiled at Eli. “You have pastries and tea?”
“Yes.” Eli’s hazel eyes sparkled. “Compliments of the house.”
Simone met Eli’s eyes and a slow smile spread on her face. It seemed that he always knew what angle the light would hit his face so the focus would be on his eyes. “You always knew how to pull out all the stops.”
“You always seemed to bring it out of me,” he quietly spoke.
“I could say the same about you,” Simone smiled.
Over pastries and tea, the pair conversed about their lives. Simone learned Eli was married and had a son. Eli found out Simone and her family moved a few more times before they settled back in Houston. Simone learned the updates of all Eli’s brothers and their respective situations.
“So why did you come back home? It seemed like you were doing pretty well in Savannah.”
There was a major reason why Simone high-tailed it out of Savannah. She could still hear the whispers of people calling her a home-wrecker and a whore, when that was the farthest thing from the truth. Apparently just having a simple dinner and conversation with a betrothed client was seen as blasphemy in the Bible belt. “I just needed a change of scenery.”
“I hear that,” Eli took a sip of tea. “I wish I’d traveled a bit more before I got settled down.”
“You never left Staten Island?” She nibbled on a cookie.
“I’ve been to a few places—L.A. to visit Kieran, Italy to visit our relatives after mom won the lottery, visiting other states for their flowers.” Eli shrugged. “But I always wanted to travel a bit more.”
“Doesn’t Faith want to travel?” Simone inquired.
“She does but she’s afraid of leaving Nathan for too long,” Eli’s eyes lit up when he thought of his son, “I can’t blame her, though. I don’t like leaving him alone too long, either.”
“Sounds like he’s got you both wrapped around his little fingers.”
“Oh, definitely,” Eli pulled out his cell phone and showed Simone a picture of Nathan and Faith, “would you want to leave this face?”
Nathan was a beautiful child. He was a replica of Eli with tawny skin and hazel eyes like his father. She almost wanted to caress the photo and briefly wond
er what children between the two of them would look like. Just as her mind wandered into that thought, Simone quickly snapped herself out of it when she noticed Faith was in the picture. “You sure do make some beautiful babies…” she murmured.
“Of course, I do. I’m a D’Amato.” Eli smiled.
“How old is your son?” Simone asked.
“He’s four. Just entering pre-school.” Eli smiled. “So unbelievably smart, it’s ridiculous. It’s like he knows how the world works, already.”
“He knows more than I do.” Simone laughed.
