by Zane
“They didn’t try to run a game on me, Geren,” she replied, still gazing at the ceiling. “They did run a game on me. A very cruel game.”
“Look at me Tempest,” Geren pleaded. Tempest looked at him, though it was difficult. She was so confused, it was pathetic. She’d spent all that time in preparation to jump his bones, and now that he was here in the flesh, all the maggots from her past were invading her thoughts again.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Geren continued. “I’m not like the rest of them.”
“That’s what they all say,” Tempest snidely remarked. How many times had she heard that one?
“Are you convinced we’re going to fail? Are you?” Geren was just as confused as Tempest. Not about his feelings, but about her feelings toward him. “Because if you’ve already got it etched in your mind that our relationship is doomed, then it will be.”
Tempest responded without hesitation, “I want this to work.” She did want him. She just wasn’t sure she was ready. “I want us to be together more than anything.”
Geren let out a sigh of relief. He’d been on the verge of losing all hope. “So what’s the problem, sweetheart?”
Tempest sat up and positioned her back against a pillow. Geren followed suit, taking hold of her right hand.
“I guess I’ve always had a problem separating the past from the present.”
“You’re going to have to learn to let go, or you’ll never be happy with anyone.” Geren prayed he was getting through to her. She was the one. There were no lingering doubts on his part. “Whether it’s with me or somebody else.”
“You’re right,” Tempest readily admitted. “I realize that.”
“Do you want me to leave, Tempest?” Geren let go of her hand and got up off the bed. “I came over here to comfort you after a rough day. I honestly wasn’t expecting anything else.”
“No, I don’t want you to leave!” Tempest exclaimed. She sat up on her knees. The last thing she wanted was to be left alone. “Please stay with me tonight.”
Geren gathered Tempest’s face into his hands and kissed her gently on the forehead. “Not a problem. I’ll stay as long as you like.”
Tempest got up off the bed so she could turn down the covers. They both climbed in and cuddled. Tempest laid her head on Geren’s chest. Ten minutes later, they were both sleeping soundly. It was 5:00 A.M.
• • •
At 8:00 A.M., Tempest’s alarm clock blared out, interrupting the silence. She reached over Geren and slammed her palm down on the snooze button. Geren didn’t budge. She cut the alarm completely off. She had no intention of going into the center that day—not after the incident the night before. There were no scheduled group sessions, and bottom line, people would just have to understand.
Geren looked so peaceful lying in her bed, like he belonged there. She ran the tip of her index finger over the well-defined features on his face. His eyebrows. The bridge of his nose. His thick, luscious lips. They looked so damn enticing.
Her lips on his stirred him from his slumber. Their kissing became more and more intense until they were both moaning loudly.
Tempest climbed on top of Geren and started unbuttoning his shirt and gyrating her hips on his dick.
Geren grabbed her by the wrists. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” Tempest replied, pulling her wrists free and getting the rest of the buttons unfastened.
“We don’t have to do this,” Geren whispered reluctantly, offering Tempest a way out but hoping she wouldn’t take it. “I’ll wait for you.”
“I don’t want to wait anymore.” Tempest drove the point home by licking a trail across Geren’s chest, nipple to nipple. She could feel him hardening underneath her and couldn’t wait to take a ride. “I trust you completely.”
“The feeling’s mutual,” Geren replied, deciding to make himself useful by palming an ass cheek in each hand.
“Good.” Tempest sat up and lowered her teddy straps, exposing her firm breasts. Geren couldn’t help but wonder how women always made it look so easy. “Now love me like I’ve never been hurt.”
• • •
Tempest sucked gently on Geren’s earlobe, something she’d been itching to do since she’d first laid eyes on him at the club. “Tell me your dreams,” she whispered softly in his ear.
“My dreams?” Geren asked incredulously, finding it hard to believe Tempest wasn’t totally spent after the hours of lovemaking they’d put in. They’d started at eight in the morning, and it was well after four in the afternoon before they finished. He was surprised to open his eyes and find her wearing a nightgown. He must have dozed off at some point.
“Yes, your dreams,” Tempest replied, gazing into his eyes lovingly.
“You mean other than the one that just came true?” Geren flashed Tempest one of his perfect smiles, and Tempest blushed uncontrollably. “Hmm, let’s see. My dreams. Well, I want to continue to climb up the corporate ladder in my career. That’s a given.”
“And other than your career?”
“Until recently, I was hoping to find the woman of my dreams.”
“Until recently?” Tempest asked, practically grinning from ear to ear.
“Yeah.” Geren took Tempest’s hand and brushed his lips across her fingertips. “I’m pretty sure I have that one covered now.”
Tempest started giggling like a teenager. “Stop making me blush.”
“I love it when you blush.” Geren leaned over and kissed her passionately. Once they came up for air, he added, “But seriously, let me make myself perfectly clear, so there won’t be any doubts about what went down here today.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Tempest said, not wanting him to think he had to declare his undying love for her after one roll in the hay. “You don’t have to—”
Geren put his index finger over Tempest’s mouth. “Shhh, you talk too much. Do you know that?”
“Only when I’m nervous.”
“What are you nervous about?”
“This!” Tempest exclaimed, sitting all the way up and propping her back against a pillow. “You!”
“I want to be with you, Tempest. Not just today, not just tomorrow, but for the long haul.” Tempest was taken aback by the conviction in his voice, and it showed all over her face. “What do you think about that?”
“I think we should take this slow,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders. “I’m kind of rusty in the relationship department. At least, the real relationship department.”
“We can take this as slow or as fast as you want to, as long as we take it somewhere.” Geren sat up in the bed next to her, letting the covers fall away from his midsection so that he was fully exposed. Obviously, he wasn’t as shy about his body as Tempest was. “Is that cool with you?”
“Yes, that’s cool with me,” Tempest replied in a near whisper, drinking him in with her eyes. “So tell me the rest of your dreams.”
Geren let out a heavy sigh. “You just won’t give up, will you?”
Tempest punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Nope.”
“Eventually, I would like to get married and have a household full of kids. Maybe six or seven.”
Tempest’s eyes ballooned. “Excuse me, did you say six or seven?”
“Something like that,” Geren replied without a second’s hesitation. “I love kids.”
“I see,” was Tempest’s only reply.
“What about you?” Geren asked, draping his arm around her waist.
“What about me?”
“Do you want kids, and if so, how many?”
“I guess I haven’t really thought about it,” Tempest replied, telling a complete lie. She thought about it more than she cared to let on. “Since I’ve never been in a truly committed relationship, I saw no reason to even ponder the situation.”
“Well, maybe you should start pondering it.”
“It just hit me,” Tempest said, lying back down and turning her back to Geren.
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“What did?”
“I’m exhausted. You wore my ass out.”
Geren blushed and kissed Tempest on her shoulder blade. “I think it was more the trouble at the center and the hospital than me.”
Tempest giggled. “Don’t underestimate yourself.”
“I guess I just feel like I haven’t put in a full day’s work.” Geren actually felt like he had put in overtime, but he wanted to hear Tempest appraise his performance.
“Shoot, you must be kiddin’ me.” Tempest flipped over so that she could gaze up at him. “The way you just worked me over? Please! I almost needed to break out a hard hat to protect my head from the headboard!”
“You’re wild.” Geren guffawed. “Okay, it’s your turn.”
“My turn for what?”
“Tell me your dreams.”
“Aww, do I have to?” Tempest asked, poking out her bottom lip.
Geren caressed her left breast through the nightgown, wishing she would take it back off so he could see all of her. “Turnabout is fair play.”
“Other than the center, I really don’t have any.” Geren stared at her, prodding her to add more. She reluctantly continued, “I would like to make more progress with our teen pregnancy prevention program and maybe expand the center into an employment training facility for unwed mothers so they can find decent employment. Fast food places and things like that just aren’t cutting it. How can someone survive on minimum wage when they have day-care bills and have to buy diapers and baby formula?”
“Good question,” Geren agreed.
“The system really pisses me off,” Tempest said angrily.
“You’re amazing!”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I asked you to tell me your dreams, what you want for yourself, and all you can talk about is helping others who are less fortunate. I really admire that.”
Tempest stared at his dick and started rubbing it. “I’m thinking about myself right now.”
“Is that right?” Geren asked, edging up the bottom of Tempest’s nightgown to reveal her hips.
“Indeed.” Tempest decided to help Geren out by sitting up and pulling her nightgown completely off. Geren’s approval showed in his eyes.
“Should we break out the hard hat?” he inquired, licking his lips.
“Naw, that won’t be necessary for this round.” Tempest edged down farther on the bed. “You did a little favor for me earlier. I feel like I should return it.” She took the shaft of his dick in her hand and started lowering her head down to it. “After all, like you said, turnabout is fair play.”
“That it is!” Geren wholeheartedly agreed as she placed her warm mouth around him. “That it is!”
CHAPTER 13
sistahgurls
three months later
“dang, gurl!” Janessa exclaimed, returning to Tempest’s living room from the kitchen with a can of Pepsi. “I guess it’s true what they say. You can take the gurl out of the projects, but you can’t take the projects out of the gurl.”
Tempest glanced up from the television and stopped flipping through channels with the remote. “What the hell do you mean by that?”
“I’m talking about that big-ass can of used grease on your stove.” Janessa chuckled. “All the money you have rolling in, and you’re recycling grease? Shame on it all!”
“All what money? I know you didn’t even go there,” Tempest said, smacking her lips for emphasis. “You have a lot of nerve with your using-a-toothbrush-to-smooth-out-your-baby-hair-with-gel behind. If that’s not ghetto, I don’t know what is.”
Janessa plopped down on the sofa next to her and slapped her on the knee. “Dang, that’s cold! I thought social workers were supposed to go gentle on peeps.”
They both had a good laugh.
“So what’s on the tube?” Janessa asked. “Anything worth watching?”
“No,” Tempest replied. “Just some Saturday-morning cartoons and kids’ movies on all the premium channels.”
“They need to show Jerry Springer on the weekends.”
“I know that’s right! I could sure go for watching some women call each other bitches and open up cans of whup-ass right about now,” Tempest concurred, pushing the power button on the remote. “I’m about to cut this thing off so we can talk.”
“That’s cool.” Janessa got up and headed toward the stereo. “You got any new CDs? I heard the Chaka Khan one is the bomb-diggity.”
“Hmph, didn’t I just say I was turning the television off so we can talk?”
“Yeah, and?”
“Well, isn’t putting on music defeating the whole purpose?”
Janessa laughed and headed back to the sofa. “Good point.” She plopped back down. “So what’s new?”
“Not a damn thing,” Tempest sighed, picking a piece of lint up off the sofa and plucking it on the carpet. “I’m thinking about checking out that play down at Crampton Auditorium tonight. Wanna come with me?”
“Gurl, I wish you had asked me before,” Janessa replied, an edge of disgust in her voice. “I promised Shae I would go to the movies with her and her hardheaded-ass chaps tonight to see Mighty Joe Young.”
“I heard that was good. One of the teenagers down at the center was talking about it.”
“Yeah, I heard it was good, too, but I’m still not even trying to go. Shae’s kids get on my last nerve.”
“How many kids does she have? I haven’t laid eyes on Shae since high school. Since when have the two of you been hanging out, anyway?”
“Since you’ve been dissin’ my ass on account of Geren,” Janessa said sarcastically.
Tempest rolled her eyes. “You’re seriously tripping. I haven’t dissed you in any way, shape or form. Not because of Geren or anyone else.”
“If you say so!” Janessa picked up the can of Pepsi, which was still unopened. “Shae has four kids. All girls.”
“Get out of town!” Tempest exclaimed, drawn back in shock. “Gurlfriend has been spitting out about one a year, huh?”
“Yeah, and check this out.” Janessa chuckled. “She named them all after luxury cars.”
“You’ve got to be kidding! Is she married?”
“Nope! In fact, she’s never even had a steady man. She just lets them hit it once or twice and never hears from them again. I always tease her and tell her she better not even look at a dick or she’ll get pregnant. As a matter of fact, I have a theory. I think she names the kids after the type of car she gets knocked up in. She only dates drug dealers who drive fancy cars. Yet they’re all still living at home with their mommas.”
“Dang, momma’s boys, that’s bad!” Tempest watched Janessa struggle to get the Pepsi open. She wanted to laugh—her fake nails were too long to flip the top. “So what are the kids’ names?”
“Oh, yeah, peep this! Their names are Lexus, Infiniti, Mercedes, and Jaguar, but they call her Jag for short.”
“That’s too funny.” Tempest cackled, reaching for the soda. “Janessa, give me that so I can open it. You need to chill on the nail fetish. Those nails are longer than your fingers.”
Janessa flipped Tempest the bird while she opened the can for her. “The better to say fuck you with, my dear.”
“Aiight now, don’t make me have to pull those extensions out of your damn head up in here,” Tempest hissed, handing the soda back. “I guess I’ll just go to the play by myself tonight, since you have plans.”
Janessa eyed Tempest up and down suspiciously. “What about Mr. Super Lover? Why can’t he go with you?”
“First of all, what makes you think I know anything about Geren being a super lover?”
“Gurl, I was born at night, but not last night. You and Geren are fucking, or my middle name’s not Ethel. After all this time, I know you two are throwing down. Besides, I can see the difference in your eyes. Remember what I told you? The eyes are always a dead giveaway.”
Tempest decided to let that one slide, since it was true. The
y were sexin’ big time. “Geren has to work at the office all weekend to prepare for a big meeting on Monday.”
“Uh-huh, sho’ you right!”
“What do you mean by that snide remark?”
“Men always say they’re at the office when they’re really laid up in the bed with some other hoochie momma.”
“Janessa, I’m not even going to go there with you,” Tempest said indignantly. “Even if Geren is with someone else, he doesn’t owe me an explanation—our relationship isn’t that serious.”
“Okay, gurlfriend.” Janessa smirked. “If you say so.”
Tempest flipped the coin on her. “Speaking of men, what’s up with you and Dvontè?”
Janessa diverted her eyes to the black lacquer coffee table. “Everything’s straight. We see each other about once or twice a week.”
“I see,” Tempest said suspiciously.
“What does ‘I see’ mean?”
Tempest put her knee up on the leather sofa so she could look directly at her. “Janessa, I want to ask you something.”
Janessa glared at her out the corner of her eye. “So ask!”
“First, you have to promise you won’t get mad about it.”
“Just ask the damn question already,” Janessa said, sucking in her bottom lip.
“Okay, here goes.” Tempest inhaled a deep breath and went for it. “Does Dvontè ever take you out on dates, or do you just go over to his place to have sex with him?”
Janessa jumped up off the sofa and headed down the hallway. “How dare you call me a hoe!” she blared. “That’s what you’re doing, right? Calling me a hoe?”
“Not at all.” Tempest jumped up and followed her. “I was just wondering because Geren said whenever he calls Dvontè, you’re always over there, but Dvontè never mentions you two going out anywhere. Except, of course, when the four of us hang out, but that’s rare these days.”
Janessa went in the bathroom and slammed the door. “So, because Geren put his two cents in, that makes me an automatic hoe?”
“See, I knew you were going to blow this shit all out of proportion. All I did was ask a simple question, and you’re getting bent out of shape.” Tempest hesitated, then added through the door. “It must be true. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be offended.”
