by Vera Roberts
“Excuse you!” Bobbi felt her cheeks become red and hot. “I’m usually not that um…you know, vocal in bed.”
“No?” He slightly cocked his head. “You’re normally quiet?”
“I’ve been taught that being loud wasn’t good so I’m just quiet about it,” she admitted.
“Oh. Well then,” he slid inside her and Bobbi let out a soft moan, “I guess we gotta change that, don’t we?”
~~~~~
“Dude, these are like the best pancakes ever!”
Quinn watched his Bobbi pour homemade blueberry syrup on her pancakes and take a bite. “I’m glad you liked them,” Quinn smiled, “specialty recipe.”
Bobbi quickly swallowed. “How do you get them so fluffy?”
“Ah, there’s the magic,” he sipped his orange juice, “you have to beat the eggs first to make them fluffy, and then add everything else.”
“I see,” Bobbi nodded. She quickly finished her plate and Quinn took it away. “So what’s on the menu for today?”
Quinn looked out the window. It was a crisp and chilly day in Los Angeles but the sky was beautifully clear. “I was thinking we can go out and get some vitamin D.”
“Outdoor sex?” Bobbi asked.
Quinn raised an eyebrow. “Um, no, but if you want to get down…”
She stuck her tongue out. “What are we doing?”
“Catch.”
~~~~~
“I’m so gonna hit you in the face!”
Bobbi stood a safe distance from Quinn in his large backyard as she casually bounced a baseball in her hand. Quinn squatted lower and held the catcher’s mitt out from his face. “No, you won’t.”
“Dude, if I break your face, the Dodgers are going to kill me.”
“You’re very confident in your pitching,” Quinn nodded. “I like a woman who’s confident.”
“Whatever!” Bobbi laughed. “Here it goes but if I poke your eye out, you better not blame me.” She wound back her arm and threw the ball. It bounced and limped over to Quinn.
Quinn still had his arm out, despite the baseball was ten feet from him. “Okay, that’s a good start. Let’s try another one.”
“I was distracted!” Bobbi defended and laughed. “Too many pancakes.”
“It’s okay you suck, honey.” Quinn smiled. “We can’t be good at everything.”
“Oh, what?” She smiled. “For your information, I’m good at a lot of sports like tennis, basketball, and I can even play a little football.”
“And apparently you suck at baseball,” Quinn nodded.
Bobbi narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend. “I got something for that ass.”
“I sincerely hope you do!” Quinn hit the mitt and extended his arm again. “Let’s go.”
Bobbi wound her arm back and threw another pitch. The ball landed in the mitt and Quinn nodded. “That’s my girl. Let’s keep it going.”
For the next several minutes, Bobbi threw pitch after pitch to Quinn. Finally after the last one, she was exhausted. “Dude, my arm is jelly.” She sat down on the plush grass. “How do you do this every night?”
Quinn grabbed a couple bottles of water and sat next to her. “For the love of the game. Plus, your techniques really do work some magic.”
“That’s why they’re paying me the big bucks,” she took a swig of water, “I can do it when no one else can.”
“You are one of the best,” he looked over at her, “why did you go into physical therapy?”
“I wanted to become a doctor but I couldn’t handle the thought of surgery. I wanted to show there are other ways to relieve pain without relying on painkillers, especially in athletes where the rate of addiction is super high.” She shrugged again. “So I went into physical therapy. I was contemplating opening my own clinic when I got the call from the Dodgers.”
Quinn nodded. “Do you think you’ll still open your clinic?”
“I don’t know,” she looked out into the bright Los Angeles sky, “traveling during season takes up a bunch of my time and the off-season is very short. I know it’ll be successful as all heck but it’s just a matter of putting that much effort into something. I wouldn’t be able to travel with the Dodgers or any other team. I would have to stay put here.”
A brief silence passed between the pair before Quinn spoke again. “I don’t want be a reason you don’t open your clinic.”
He was and they both knew it. Opening her clinic meant she would have to quit the Dodgers and be in Los Angeles full time while Quinn traveled during the season. She knew how long, grueling the schedule was, and maintaining a commitment long-distance relationship was hard on any couple.
Bobbi exhaled a deep breath and chewed her lips. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.” He looked over at her. “But I’m putting it out there in case that is an issue. I don’t ever want to be a reason why you don’t pursue your dreams.”
Bobbi wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She’s never had a man who was fine with her goals and dreams, and didn’t mind playing a background role so she could pursue them. It made her feel surprisingly uncomfortable. “Okay,” she took another swig of water and stood up, “ready to start pitching again?”
Quinn caught Bobbi’s deflection and let it slide. They’ll revisit the conversation again when she was ready; he just hoped it would be soon. “Let’s go.”
~~~~~
Quinn’s shower was what dreams were made of.
It was heaven beneath her fingertips. From the open shower to the large Jacuzzi-style bathtub to his and her private toilets and sink, Bobbi felt like going to a spa each time she stepped foot inside Quinn’s master bathroom. He’d plopped down a considerable amount of money for the renovations and décor, and it was money well-spent.
The imported Italian marble to the shower itself that sprayed in many different directions, Quinn spared no expense. It was humorous to Bobbi. Quinn could be rather frugal with his money and often wore the same pair of sneakers down to the bone until he had to get new ones. But when it came to his home, it was truly his castle.
“May I join you?”
Bobbi turned around and found Quinn naked and glistening with sweat. Her eyes traveled down to his hip dents and back up to his bluish-green eyes. “Come on in, cowboy.”
Quinn stepped inside the shower and stood behind his girlfriend as she let the water beat on her. “I feel like a car wash,” she giggled as the sprayers got her sides.
“That was the point,” he stood closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, “the point was to get every nook and cranny cleaned.”
“Hmm…” Bobbi leaned against the smooth hardness of her man. He feathered kisses along her neck and playfully nibbled on her earlobe. His free hands softly squeezed her breasts and Bobbi felt him poking at her from behind. “How many other women got the car wash treatment?”
“Just you.”
She turned around and looked him with shock. “What?”
“I don’t run a brothel here,” he giggled, “I like my private space. It’s also why I don’t host a lot of gatherings here other than close friends and family.”
“So why me?” She asked. “And not the others?”
“Because I love you,” he declared with such authority, Bobbi felt it in her spine, “and I only want my woman here with me.”
Quinn’s words left Bobbi shook and speechless. She mouthed her mouth but no sound came out. When she finally did speak, she could manage a few words. “I see.”
Quinn swept his lips over hers and backed her against a wall. The shower rained on them as their lips found each other’s repeatedly with more passion than before. Quinn trailed his lips down to Bobbi’s neck and lightly sucked on it while his hands smoothed all over her body. “I love everything about you,” he murmured.
Snippet from Bad and Bougie: Feeling Some Type of Way 2
“I found a place for a studio,” I cautiously began over breakfast, “it’s not too far from here on Fair
fax.”
“Oh?” Ian briefly looked up at me from his tablet. His reading glasses were at the bridge of his nose and his eyes full of serious awareness. How is that he made me aroused and he’s only just looking at me? I think my man could make me aroused with a potato sack on his head. “What did you find?”
“I took pictures!” I took out my iPhone and showed him the pictures of the studio. The hardwood floors. The floor-to-ceiling mirrors. The open windows. Even the ventilation system. I had it all covered.
I waited on baited breath as Ian carefully swiped through the pictures and only blinked at them. Not a definite no. Not a solid yes. Just silence.
“It looks good,” he finally revealed after moments of agonizing silence. Gosh, I’m so dramatic. Or as Eli D’Amato would say it, dramatical. “We should swing by and take a look at it over the weekend.”
“Great!” I beamed. That was the easy part. Now here was the real test. “There’s also one other thing I wanted to talk to you about.”
“And the hammer drops,” he swiped on his tablet, “lay it on me.”
“Well, I was teaching a class the other day and a potential client came in. He’s a rapper, Dolce Gabbana.” I paused and waited for Ian to show any interest (or displeasure) at what I was saying. Nothing, so I continued. “He wants me to dance in his video.”
Ian immediately stopped swiping and took a bite of his lobster eggs. He slowly chewed as his eyes returned to crinkling and silently questioning why his girlfriend was ruining his breakfast. “What are you going to be doing exactly?”
“Well, just the typical stuff.”
“Show me,” he put away the tablet, “if you’re going to be shaking it in a video, I would like to see a sample of it first.”
My eyes narrowed at him. “Are you saying that because you want to see me shake my ass right now?”
“That’s exactly why I’m saying it,” he chuckled, “don’t be shy now, baby. Let’s go.”
“All right, all right,” I wiped my mouth and stood up. I scrolled through my Sex Me Up playlist and picked “Kiss It Better” by Rihanna. I waited to feel the beat and once I did, I forgot Ian was even in the room. I closed my eyes and my body had a mind of its own. I twisted and turned along the guitar riffs, gyrating and slow winding at the right moments.
Ian’s eyebrows raised when I mouthed ‘fuck yo pride’ to him. It was more than a song and me asking for permission. I was telling him how things were between us. He wasn’t dating an airhead bimbo like he’d used to. On the same tip, I didn’t want my newfound feminism to be a wedge between us.
It was my body, but it was Ian’s reputation. Whatever I did (or didn’t do) would indirectly reflect on him. Would he truly be comfortable knowing his girlfriend was shaking it in a rapper’s video? Would people stop going to the Ferguson because of it?
Would I ever stop being so damn emo? Find out the next episode of Lame and Dusty.
I suddenly heard the music stopped and turned around. Ian held my phone and tapped his manicured fingers on top of it. “I like it,” he said.
“Soooo….” I searched his eyes for answers and received nothing. “Does this mean you’re okay with it?”
“I think it’s wonderful. I would love to see the finished product!” He revealed his warm smile.
I was expecting Ian to tell me hell, no and give a thesis paper of why it was a bad idea. Instead, he wholeheartedly agreed. Dare I say, he seemed excited about it. “Really?”
“As long as you don’t come home with glitter and all that on you, I’m totally cool with it.” He grinned.
I rushed over to him and sat on his lap, placing a series of small kisses all over his face. “I, Genesis Dominique Kimbrough, hereby solemnly swear to you, Ian Daniel Ferguson, that I won’t come home looking like a sparkly vampire, whenever I have to do a special show.”
Ian slowly chewed his food as floating question marks surfaced in his eyes. “Sparkly vampire?”
“Oh God!” I clenched my eyes shut and felt them rolling hard to the sky. “Please tell me you have an idea what I’m referring to?”
“Not a clue,” he shook his head.
“Um, Twilight?” My eyes widened to Bratz dolls proportions. “The greatest book series ever followed by the greatest movie series ever?” His eyes remained a firm blank. “Team Edward? Team Jacob?”
“Oh, okay,” he finally nodded and I breathed a sigh of relief, “now it sounds familiar to me. I think a former fling might have mentioned it.”
“Did you watch it with her?”
“No, I was too busy trying to fuck her to care what she liked,” he admitted. I can’t knock my man for his honesty. “Besides, I don’t think that would’ve been anything I liked. The vampires I grew up on were a bit more….manly.”
“Oh?” I took up his Pepsi challenge. “And who were your vampires, Mr. Man?”
“The Lost Boys,” he said with a smirk so sexy, I almost jumped over the table, “I would name names but I have a good feeling you wouldn’t know who in the hell I’m talking about. So, the other vampire movie I liked was Interview with a Vampire starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.”
My jaw dropped to the floor. “Shut up! Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt made a movie together?!”
“Yes,” Ian nodded, “and believe it or not, there were pagers, fax machines, and not everyone owned a cell phone.”
“Brat!” I stuck out my tongue and he chuckled. “So, were they super hot in it?”
“You know that’s not a question I can answer,” he replied, “so I guess you have to watch it for yourself.”
“It’s a date!” I got up from my chair and firmly sit on my man’s lap, “we’ll have a Twilight movie binge…”
“Oh God why…” He groaned.
“And then we can watch your old people’s movies,” I stuck out my tongue again. “Deal?”
“Deal,” he softly moaned in my ear as his lips placed a series of kisses on my neck, “I have some time to spare before I had to Sentiment.”
“Oh?” I felt his hands wander all over my body until they landed in front of my tank top, where he slowly began to unbutton it. “And what do you have in mind?”
“You keep sticking your tongue out at me,” he nibbled on my ear, “I want to see what you can do with it.”
Exclusive snippet from Soul Infinity Crew:
“Hey Coco,” Natalie greeted her with a seductive pout and wink, “how are you doing?”
Coco eyed Natalie’s attire and had to bite back an eyeroll. Her chest and butt were barely covered. If Natalie wanted to solidify her reputation as being fast in the tail, she had no competition. “You’re looking mighty slutastic, Nat.”
“I would normally bristle at the obvious misogyny but I’ll make an exception for you, Coco.” Natalie shimmied her way to her. “I was wondering if you could help me with a grade.”
“Thousand, minimum.” Coco sat beside Olivia, who started applying makeup to her face, “make all arrangements through Ryan.”
“That’s why I wanted to talk to you.” Natalie sat next to Coco. Coco and Olivia locked eyes with each in delicious amusement. “We could have an arrangement and cut out the middle man.”
“If you’re implying what I think you’re implying, paraphrasing Drake, ‘I don’t cuddle for free.’” Coco remained as Olivia applied the concealer, “you will pay just like everyone else.”
“You’re not giving me the friend hookup?” Natalie was aghast.
“I am giving you the friend hookup,” Coco softly nodded, “my normal rate is two thou. Be blessed I’m even entertaining your thirst-trap self.”
“Coco…”
“Woman, you whine more time and the rate skyrockets to 1500. Take it or leave it.” Coco replied.
“Fine.” Natalie huffed and stood up. “I’ll be right back. I need to make a phone call to my dad to give me the money.” She left the room.
Coco waited until Natalie was out of earshot. “Why are you friends with her?”
r /> “Honestly,” Olivia began to apply purple shadow to Coco’s lids, “I’m not sure.”
“You know she tried to get with Ryan and he turned her down?”
“Yeah, she told me.” Olivia shook her head. “Never mind she’s known I had a crush on him forever.”
“Luckily for her, he turned her down.” Coco softly shook her head, “if he accepted her offer, I would’ve kicked his butt myself.”
“Well, he hasn’t asked me out,” Olivia tried to hide the disappointment in her voice, “so I don’t know what difference it would’ve made.”
“You know he likes you, right?” Coco replied. “Come on, Livvie. Let’s not act like you have no idea.”
“Everyone says that and yet, I go home alone every day.” She replied.
“Yeah, but he texts you first thing in the morning and the last thing before bed.” Coco remained as Olivia applied the foundation. “Me thinks he likes you.”
“Anyway!” Olivia laughed. “So, where’s Miss Sage? I thought she would be here.”
“She has a photo shoot and then she’ll meet us there.” Coco replied. “She’s gearing up for New York Fashion Week so there’s a lot of prep involved now.”
“Oh my gosh! That’s exciting!” Olivia beamed. “You’re dating a model!”
“Soon-to-be-supermodel,” Coco was proud. With long legs, light almond skin, and sparkling green eyes, Sage was on the hot list for every major designer to model their clothing. Coco even received a lot of free high-end fits herself. “Only the sky is the limit for her.”
“I’m so proud of her and you!” Olivia carefully applied the eyeshadow. “I wish I could have the same courage as you two, being free and all.”
“Nothing’s stopping you, baby.” Coco replied. “Nothing at all. Hey, you have parents who support you no matter what. I don’t have that.”
“Susan and your dad don’t support you?”
“No, they always have my back. It’s the other one,” Coco replied. “I tried meeting with her the other day to tell her I’m queer and she acts like I was interrupting her photo-op so I just left it.”
“Oh no!” Olivia frowned. “I’m so sorry, Coco.”