by Evelyn Sola
“You’re a good cook,” she says between bites. I grab a napkin and wipe the side of her mouth. She’s playful as she reaches out to my plate and takes one of my potatoes. She surprises me when she doesn’t eat it but offers it to me instead. I don’t look away as I wrap my lips around her fork and purposely moan as I pull the fork out of my mouth.
“I swear I heard you moan yesterday at the party when you kept watching me as I was eating.”
“You probably did. I couldn’t keep my eyes off you the entire night. You drove me crazy.”
She blushes but remains quiet. I know what’s on her mind, and I’m relieved when she doesn’t broach the subject.
When we finish eating, I clear our plates and load them in the dishwasher. When I turn around, she’s off the stool, but she’s back in a few seconds, holding her purse in her hand. She sits back down and pulls out a package of birth control pills, takes a pill out and washes it down with the rest of her water.
Despite having fucked her twice upstairs, seeing her take that pill has reawakened my body. I leave the now clean sink, walk around to where she’s sitting, pull her out of the stool, and wrap my arms around her body. She folds herself into me, and when she moans, I know she can feel my erection through my basketball shorts.
“You have a lot of stamina for an old guy,” she says.
“I wasn’t too old when you were riding my dick thirty minutes ago.”
She tries to move out of my arms, but I easily restrain her, spin her around, lean down and kiss her soft lips.
She stands on her tiptoes to kiss me back, but that’s not enough. I put my hands under her and lift her. She’s weightless in my arms as she wraps her legs around me.
“Spend the night with me,” I tell her. “Please.”
She acquiesces with only a curt nod. As soon as I set her down, she pulls out her phone and types a text.
“Just letting my mom know I’m spending the night with a friend. I don’t want her to worry.”
“Come.” I pick her up again, loving the feel of her legs wrapped around me, and carry her up the stairs and back to my bedroom. I dump her on the bed, and dive on top of her, laughing at her shriek of surprise.
“You’ll pull your back doing that, oldie.”
I climb under the sheets with her and quickly pull off her panties. “You won’t be needing those,” I say as I toss them across the room.
I grab the remote next to my bed and turn on the TV, and because I know she’s crazy about Christmas, I turn on Christmas carols, satisfied when she starts humming along to Nat King Cole’s version of “The Christmas Song.”
“You won’t need those either,” she says, pulling at the waistband of my shorts.
“Whatever my lady wants,” I say, stripping out of not just my shorts, but my t-shirt as well. She does the same, and soon, she’s naked while I’m holding her in my arms.
My dick hardens as I stroke right below her navel. I move lower, and spread her lips apart, and just like the last two times, she’s hot, wet, and ready. She puts both hands on my chest and pushes me onto my back, but she doesn’t straddle me like before. She kisses her way down my body and slowly licks the tip of my dick. She teases me mercilessly, and when I don’t think I can take it anymore, she surprises me by taking my entire cock into her mouth.
“Damn,” I say as I look at her bob her head up and down on my cock. I get even harder and feel a tingle at the base of my spine, so I pull out of her mouth.
I don’t give her any time to question me as I flip her on her back, quickly getting on top of her.
“I need to have you, Miranda,” I say as I look at her in the eyes.
“Have me, Nick.”
“I want you with no condom. I saw you take the pill, and I’m clean. You’re the first woman I’ve been with in about a year.”
“I’m clean too.”
Relieved, I slide inside with no barrier and almost come just at the first sensation.
“I knew you’d feel good. And taste good,” I say as I suck on the base of her collarbone.
CHAPTER 10
MIRANDA
The morning light brings the full realization of what I’ve done. I reach over and feel the empty space next to me. I finally look at the clock when I notice that the shower in the bathroom next door is running.
“Shit!” After letting my mother’s boss fuck me in his bed, with no condom the last time, I fell asleep and slept for seven hours straight. Still groggy from both the sex and sleep, I sit up in the bed as I come to grips with the events of last night.
I’ve slept with a man I just met. Not just any man, but the one my mother works for. What if he does this kind of thing all the time? What if I’m just a notch on his belt, and he gets some kind of thrill out of sleeping with young women?
This house is barely furnished. What if this isn’t even where he lives, but where he brings his conquests?
“Smart, Miranda. Really fucking smart.” Having no time for a pity party, I run around the room picking up my discarded clothes. After dressing, I look at the messy bed and decide to fix it. I smooth out the crisp white sheets, noting a spot in the middle of the bed, bringing back the memories of our joined bodies just a few hours ago.
My cheeks flush at the thought. I close my eyes briefly and remember every kiss, every touch, every damn sensation. When I hear the water shut off, I put the heavy comforter down and smooth it as much as possible.
Nick walks out of the bathroom, a pillow of white mist behind him before he shuts the door.
“Good morning,” he says, crossing the room and kissing me on the lips.
“Good morning,” I say, avoiding eye contact as I find my socks.
“I was thinking we could go out for breakfast. I’d cook, but I forgot to get breakfast food when I was at the store yesterday.” He walks into his closet and picks out another white button-down shirt and a pair of gray slacks.
“I can’t,” I say quickly. “I have to be at work at ten, and I need to go home to shower and change. I’ll grab something when I get home, so don’t worry about it. I’m not even hungry right now.”
“I left a toothbrush for you in the bathroom if you want to freshen up.”
“Thank you,” I say wondering how many extra toothbrushes he has.
“Are you sure you don’t want breakfast? I can have something delivered,” he says a few minutes later when I emerge out of the bathroom.
“I can’t. I have to get home.”
He nods, and after putting socks on his feet, he takes my hand and we walk down the stairs together. We’re both quiet as I put on my boots, coat, and hat. He walks me to my car, and after kissing me in the middle of his driveway, he opens the car door for me.
“What time do you get off work?”
“Eight,” I tell him as I start up the car.
“Will you come back tonight?” I look into his blue eyes and shake my head.
“I can’t. I have some family stuff I have to do.”
He nods sadly. “Text me when you get home.” He kisses me one more time and closes the door. He stands in the driveway, finally leaving my sight when I make a left turn onto the main road.
Once I reach a red light at the intersection, I lay my head on the steering wheel, still not believing what happened between me and a man I met just two nights ago. When I get home twenty minutes later I’m relieved to see both of my parents’ cars are gone.
I cannot let what happened last night happen again.
CHAPTER 11
NICK
Two hours after Miranda left my house, she still has not texted. My plan was for us to go out to breakfast and talk about how things between us would work, but she shut me down. She tried to avoid looking at me, but I could see the uncertainty in her eyes. I could tell from her body language she was having second thoughts about our night together.
After finishing my coffee, unable to stop myself, I pull out my phone and send a text.
Me: Did you get home
okay? You didn’t text me.
I slide the phone in my pocket and continue my search for more coffee almost colliding with Mona Moore on my way to the kitchen. She sidesteps and turns to the coffee machine.
“Mona,” I say. “Good morning. I hope you had a nice Sunday with your family.” She purses her lips and nods, yes. It’s the first attempt I’ve made at informal conversation since the accident involving the mug. Part of me wants to tell her I know her Sunday did not include her daughter since she was with me, naked and spread wide in my bed. The more mature part of me knows I’d never say such a thing, so I try a different tactic.
“Did you have a good time at the party Saturday night? It was nice to see everyone outside of the office.” She looks at me, her eyes sharp as she gives me a once-over, likely trying to figure out why I’m being so talkative.
“I did.” That’s all I get. She turns back to the coffee machine, no longer acknowledging me.
We stand there while the coffee brews, neither one of us looking at the other as I try to think back to our first meeting and how I possibly could have offended this woman.
“Any plans for Christmas?” I ask, trying again.
Before I can think back to my first week here, her phone moves across the counter and the name Miranda flashes across the screen. I almost pick it up, but Mona’s hand snatches it before I can.
“Hey, baby girl. Did you have a good time last night?” The coffee finishes brewing, and I pour myself a mug as I do my best to eavesdrop. I open the fridge and pretend to look for creamer.
“Okay, baby. I’ll meet you at the mall when your shift ends, and we can do some Christmas shopping. I know exactly what I want to get for your father, but I’m going to need your help with your brother’s gift because I have no idea.” She stops talking, and I hold my breath until she speaks again.
“Sounds good. Love you too.” She ends the call and walks out of the kitchen. Like a fool, I check my phone and find nothing. No missed calls. No text messages.
Irritated, I return to my office, close the door, and try to focus on my bid for a construction project that starts this summer, but I can’t concentrate on anything right now.
The only thing I can think about is last night. The sounds she made when I first sank into her. How her brown eyes would roll to the back of her head when she came. The feel of her small hands stroking my hair and gliding down my back.
I knew I should have tried harder to miss out on that fucking party Saturday night. I don’t know what the hell possessed me to go after her like that, but I don’t regret it. If only the circumstances were different.
The hot liquid is bitter in my mouth, and my stomach growls loudly in my office, reminding me that I skipped breakfast. My phone finally buzzes, and when I pull it out of my pocket, I breathe a sigh of relief when the name I’ve programmed for her flashes across my screen.
“Hey,” I say, doing my best to sound calm.
“Hey,” she says back.
When she remains quiet, I check the time and say, “Are you on your way to work?”
“Yeah.” An awkward silence falls between us, and I feel a sense of dread take over. “Listen,” she continues, “last night was really nice, but I can’t see you again, Nick.”
“Why not?” I ask as my heart rate accelerates.
“Because you’re thirteen years older than I am, and you’re my mother’s boss. I can’t continue to lie to her.”
“We won’t lie. We’ll tell her and go public.”
“Go public? What exactly does that even mean?” she asks, and for a second, I’m reminded of how young she is, but then I also remind myself that I don’t care.
“I never intended for you to be a secret. We’ll tell the truth. We met at the party, and now we’re dating.”
She doesn’t speak for a while, but I can hear her breathing into the phone.
“Have you ever dated a black woman before?” she asks, her voice small. I pull the phone from my ear, close my eyes, and count to ten.
“Do you really care about that? Or are you just making excuses? In what reality do you live, Miranda? We’re in the twenty-first century. Who gives a shit about that? I don’t. Do you?” I lean back in my chair, totally unprepared for her to throw that roadblock at me this morning.
She takes a deep breath and says with a tremor in her voice, “I’m sorry. I can’t. I’ll never forget you or last night, but one night is all it was. I have to go.”
She ends the call before I have a chance to respond.
CHAPTER 12
MIRANDA
He hasn’t called or texted in the past two days, but he’s all I’ve thought about. Hours after breaking things off, I found my heart in my throat when I checked my text messages. There were three bubbles indicating he was typing a message. I held my breath and waited, but a message never came through.
I spent the entire first night awake, reliving the night before in my mind, wishing I were back in his bed. Kissing him. Tasting him. Feeling him inside of me. Thankfully, work has been busy. Unfortunately, today is my day off, but I’m hoping they call me and ask me to come in.
When I’m working, I can focus on customers and keeping the store organized, but when I’m home all I do is think of how my life has completely upended in a matter of hours.
I lie in the middle of my bed, which is much smaller than his, and stare at the ceiling. It’s almost lunchtime in the middle of the week, and I’m dressed, ready to go to work should I receive the call. I made sure to let my manager know I’d be available, which is why when my phone buzzes on my nightstand, I let out a whoop as I reach for it, only to be disappointed when I see Mom flashing on my screen.
“Hey, Mom,” I say, doing my best to sound upbeat.
“Hey, baby girl. Did they call you in for work?”
“Not yet.”
“Do your mom a favor. I left my lunch at home, and I don’t have time to go out today. Can you bring it for me? I want to show you the pictures from the Christmas party anyway. You look so pretty in them.”
My stomach drops at the thought of going into the office and possibly seeing him, and I curse the fact that I’m not at work this morning.
“Sure,” I mutter. Desperate for any information about Nick, I ask, “No problem, but how come you won’t have time to go out for lunch?”
“I have a meeting with the boss I need to prepare for. He’s doing a bid, so we need to discuss budgets.”
“You two getting along better?” I ask. “He didn’t seem all that bad at the Christmas party.”
She’s silent for a minute. I can imagine her face now. It’s probably pinched as she thinks about her boss.
“Trust me, he was on his best behavior the other night. The man has the manners of a pack of hyenas. Thank God I barely see him, and the few times I did see him today, he was walking around here like someone kicked his puppy.”
My heart constricts at her words, and my head spins at the thought of being responsible for his sadness.
“Oh,” I say, all emotion gone from my voice. “I’ll be there in about twenty minutes with your food.”
^^^^
I inhale and exhale about a million times after parking my car next to my mother’s. In and out. All I need to do is go in, give my mother her lunch, turn around and walk out. That’s what I tell myself as I walk across the parking lot and through the front door.
I tell myself the plan again as I ride up the elevator to the third floor. My heart is in my throat as I cross the threshold and am greeted with a smile from Sherry. Luckily for me, she’s on the phone and can’t engage in conversation.
My plan to drop off the food and leave is derailed the moment my mom sees me. She not only takes the food from me, but she grabs my hand and practically pulls me to the kitchen. She points at a wall in the corner while she sticks her food in one of the microwaves. I do my best to pretend to be interested in the pictures, but when I see the photo of all the employees, with Nick and Joe Bain in the
middle, I can’t look any further. The quick glance doesn’t stop me from noticing how handsome he looks, and how it was just a day after that picture was taken that I was naked in his arms.
“Mom, I’m going to go.” She takes her food out, but before I get a chance to leave, Sherry runs into the kitchen to tell her she has an important call on hold.
“Shoot! Sorry, baby girl. I’ve got to go. I’ll see you at home.” She snatches her food and runs out of the kitchen before I can form a response. I turn and gaze at the picture of Nick one more time. Since the room is empty, I reach for the photo and trace my finger across his lips.
With a heavy sigh and a heavy heart, I walk toward the door only to collide with a muscular chest. I start to fall backward, but a pair of strong arms grab my hips, steadying me.
Even before I lose myself in his blue eyes, I know who those hands belong to. We’re both quiet, but when he rubs small circles on my hips with his fingers, I part my lips and inhale. I can feel the heat in my body rise as he looks down at my lips. When he removes his hands from my body, I feel empty, and when he walks back to the door, I become lost.
My heart hammers inside my chest when he sticks his head out the door and looks in both directions. He promptly closes the door, and with two purposeful strides, he’s in front of me, his hands cupping my face as his lips capture mine.
It’s like water after being lost in the desert. Lost completely with just one kiss, I open my mouth to him and welcome him home. I wrap my arms around his neck and stick my hands in his hair, moaning into his mouth as he deepens the kiss. He tastes of coffee and comfort.
He abruptly ends the kiss, leaving me stumbling and holding on to a table for support. I put both hands on my cheeks to erase the blush that I know has pinkened my skin. We’re both panting, desperate for breath as we stare at each other.
“I want you to go to my house and wait for me,” he says, his voice rushed and desperate. “Please, wait here for a second.” He practically runs out of the kitchen, leaving me time to calm my beating heart by drinking cold water.
