by Tiana Laveen
“Mmmm, Zake!”
He pumped his hips faster and faster, in and out of her hot, snug satiny box… turning his hips clockwise, then counterclockwise, bucking, swinging, and swaying. Her nails damn near pierced his skin as she dragged her fingers up and down his shoulders and neck. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, intent on testing out what checked all of her kinky boxes. He wanted to learn her. Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. He wanted to ravish her body to the point where there was nothing she could do but surrender. He took notes in his mind—from how she sounded when she came, what she tasted like when she rained, and how she rested once tamed…
This is the final nail in my coffin. If I died in this pussy right now, I’d be happy…
“FUCK! You feel so good, baby!” he roared, wrapping his arms around her knees. He drew her ass up towards his chest while pumping with all of his might. She held onto his wrists; her full, succulent lips parted. Stunning and powerless…
He licked his thumb then slipped it between her legs, circling it along her swollen pink butterfly.
“Your big fucking dick is destroying me! Shit!” Sweat streamed down her face as she came again, this time shivering and shaking so badly that the bed moved right along with her. He devoured her mouth as she came, swallowing her cries of ecstasy, pressing his weight into her, still thrusting within her, going deeper and deeper until there was nowhere else to descend. They were a united mess. Connected. Meant to be…
He held out for as long as he could but didn’t have much left. As if sensing his moment of weakness, she began to squeeze her pussy muscles, massaging his thrusting dick, compressing, and hugging it tight.
“Promise!”
She kept on, delight in her darkening eyes.
Too late now. There was no going back. She felt too amazing, and he had to cum. Last man down…
“Ahhhh… Ahhhh… AHHHH… Baby!” He detonated, the harsh bursts propelling him forward. Jerking in and out of her at rapid speed, he couldn’t stop if he tried.
He plunged deep and fast within her, cumming hard. Finally spent, the last drop gone, he lay on top of her, breathing hard, everything hazy and crazy around him in blue and gray blurs. Soon, he felt her stroking his short hair, while Kid Ink’s ‘F With U,’ ft. Ty Dolla $ign, played in the background.
They lay there for he didn’t even know how long, but it felt good to just be there, flush against her smooth body, hearing her heartbeat against his cheek, and then realizing the sun had set hours ago. Whatever time they’d spent in that bed, and there was no doubt it had been at least a couple of hours, it was still too damn short for his liking.
He drifted lower down her body, made a pillow of her lower stomach and pelvis, and fell asleep to the tune of ‘Loyalty,’ by Kendrick Lamar, featuring Rihanna. When he awoke, he didn’t have any idea if one more hour or two damn days had passed, but what he did know was that he craved her like an addict. She was a wicked temptation, and he refused to deny himself.
She was asleep, the glow of the computer casting light on her gorgeous face.
So fucking pretty. I almost hate to disturb her. This can’t wait though. I’m about to wake her ass up…
“Ouuu! Shit…” Her eyes fluttered open as he entered her. Her back arched from the bed as if she’d been brought back from the dead with that first, hard thrust… “Gutter, you make me feel so good ’nd dirty, baby…”
He moved slowly, pacing his lunges, then sped up. Balls deep. Impaling that pretty little pussy.
She screamed. Clawed. Begged. “You fuck like a rockstar. Oh yeah, that’s right—You ARE one…”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Broken Promises and the Big, Bad Wolf
Blood dripped on the floor and Promise hissed and slipped her finger into her mouth. Her shipment of prayer candles had arrived, but several were broken, the glass scattered all over.
“Damn it!”
She made her way to the ladies’ restroom near her office, rinsed her finger and regarded herself in the mirror. She smiled—something she kept doing for several days now. All the damn time. Rebecca was entrusting her with even more responsibility, and she’d received a raise. She and Gutter had also been spending a large percentage of their free time together, and everything had been rather uneventful as far as public interference until last night before he headed to Jersey.
They’d gone to the theater to see Hamilton. It didn’t take long before he was recognized by the crowd, despite him wearing a beanie and dark shades. And that was when the cameras and cellphones began to click. The requests for autographs commenced, and a frenzy ensued that was only subdued by the theater staff asking everyone to please take their seats.
She shook the thoughts out of her mind and headed back to her office to bandage her finger, then return the broken candles to their vendor for a new supply. She grabbed her broom and dustpan from the small coat closet and made quick work of getting the glass off the floor. When she was almost finished, her cellphone rang.
“Hey, Aria, I’m a little busy right now. Can I—”
“Girl! Have you been online?”
“No, I’ve been busy. Why?”
Her friend huffed and exhaled, as if she should be ashamed of herself for not wasting precious time on social media every waking minute of her life.
“Promise! Girl, you have to PAY AT-TEN-TION! Gutter changed his status from ‘single’ to ‘in a relationship’ on his website, under ‘About Me’! Now, your name isn’t there or anything, nothing like that, but the internet is buzzing!”
“Okay, well, that’s fine but—”
“Oh, but lady, there’s MORE. Don’t get it twisted because not only that, you’re on his fucking social media!”
Her heart began to beat like a damn stick against a drum. She and Gutter had discussed going away on a romantic trip in the future, and she’d confided in Aria and her brother that the man was buying her a shitload of expensive gifts: perfumes, a gift card to Sephora, and a few gorgeous pieces of jewelry she’d been eyeing on her phone from Etsy. The sneaky bastard had been looking over her shoulder one day while she perused the wares and took a video of her browsing. Most notably, however, they’d even talked about being exclusive, but she didn’t figure he’d put anything in stone so soon after their chat. She was the one who’d broached the topic, then felt a bit silly afterwards.
That sort of thing could have put him off, but she didn’t want to waste time dating someone indefinitely, so she’d asked him straight out what his intentions were. Much to her surprise, he had been open to the conversation, not shying away from it in the least. He’d told her he didn’t see himself as a forever bachelor, and that he’d meant what he’d said on their first date about him wanting to get married and settle down one day. They hadn’t been just words to get into her panties.
“Let me check. I’ll call you back.”
“Okay, call me right back, Promise. Like, right back!”
“I will.” Promise quickly disconnected the call then went right to the online platform. She rarely even checked her own social media accounts, let alone posted much. Navigating to Gutter’s official verified account, which had over 1.2 million followers, she looked at his latest posts.
There he is in Jersey today setting up for the show this weekend.
There he is shooting his music video from last week.
And then BOOM. That other post.
Finger and heart throbbing, she slipped into her office chair like a wet sock, feeling warm all over. A few nights prior, they’d gone to a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, the kind of dive they both liked, and they sat next to each other in the booth. Wrapping his big, muscular arm around her, he had brought her close, pulled out his phone, and taken a selfie of them kissing. Now, here it was. Posted for all to see. He had a caption:
Some people are human versions of a silver lining.
I PROMISE.
She tapped on the photo and realized she was tagged on it.
Shit. Oh, my go
odness…
She clutched the frills of her high-collared lacey white shirt, and her stomach fluttered with all the feels.
My page is private. Thank God. But then she noticed over fifty DMs in her inbox. One appeared to be from a well-known entertainment blog.
Oh, shit. I’m not even going to click on that right now.
And she didn’t bother clicking on the others just yet, either.
She re-read his caption several times, and then she started to review the comments. Some were asking about the woman in the photo. Normal questions like that. Some were nice comments, such as what a good-looking couple they were, while others stated how happy he looked. Some of the remarks were judgy, rude, and trollish. She simply rolled her eyes at those. She didn’t see any responses from Gutter to any of them, but of course she knew he was very busy with a concert, a hosting gig, and some interviews in New Jersey.
Just then, her phone rang.
“Did you see it?!” Aria yelled. Promise burst out laughing, retrieved a bandage from her desk drawer and wrapped up her finger at last.
“Yes.”
“That’s all I get? A stinky ass, ‘Yes’?”
“I mean, I’m in a bit of shock right now.” And giddy. Definitely giddy. “Naturally, I’m touched by this. You know I was ready to move on and have a relationship again. I’ve had several since my divorce, but it’s been almost two years since the last one.”
“You could have almost any man you wanted, Promise. Guys just gravitate towards you.”
“Some do, some don’t, but regardless, I just wasn’t actively looking. I never in my wildest dreams would’ve thought it would have been with Gutter though.” She chortled. As she drew quiet, she noticed Aria too had gone silent. “What’s wrong?”
“Girl, he’s claimed you now. You know what this means? You have to tell him.”
Darkness churned inside her. The lustful and giddy flutter of her stomach quickly transformed to tightly wound knots.
“Aria… don’t. I didn’t tell you what happened that caused my divorce with Trevor for you to throw it in my face.”
“I’m not throwing it in your face, Promise. I said last week when you told me, I would never do something like that! I’m just sayin’ because he’s famous, and you need to tell him. Don’t make me say the rest… You already know what could happen.”
A lump formed in her throat as she pulled on the hem of her knee-length black skirt until it practically unraveled.
“I plan to tell him,” She choked out the words. They were more of a hope, than a guarantee.
“Good. Okay.” Aria seemed to sigh with relief. “So, are we still on tomorrow night for drinks?”
“Uh, yeah,” Promise looked over at her laptop, the words on the screen about an autopsy now a blur. “We can meet at The Dead Rabbit at eight.”
“I’ll be there.”
They wrapped up the conversation with a bit of inconsequential small talk. But she was barely paying attention, her mind troubled.
“…Okay, talk to you later,” Aria stated, having a hell of a time mustering an upbeat tone.
“All right, bye bye.”
Promise placed her cell phone slowly down on her desk and closed her eyes.
It was so long ago. If I tell him, it could ruin everything… She looked down at the floor and noticed a few pieces of glass that had missed her broom when she’d swept up the mess. They glinted in the light, like beacons summoning her. Getting to her feet, she grabbed the broom once again. As she swept the glass into the pan, she peered closer at the largest piece and read the only legible miniscule writing etched across it:
St. Jude Thaddeus –
Helper of the hopeless and desperate…
The doctor placed her iPad away and quietly left the room, closing the door softly behind her. Jennifer sat on the table in her patient gown, her toothpick-thin legs dangling off the edge. The thick blue veins of her pale, bare feet provided a backdrop for her faded red rose tattoo with vines, inked across her bony ankle.
“So, that’s all they can do is change your medication to a higher dose? More pain meds? Again?”
Jenny looked up at him, nodded, then grabbed her bright orange silk scarf that lay beside her. He observed her place the square of material gingerly over her lap, then fold it into the shape of a triangle. Placing it on her head, she tied it up, ending up looking like a fragile princess in shades of tangerine and imperfection.
“You look strange without eyebrows and eyelashes. Like a White Whoopi Goldberg.” They shared a moment of mirth.
“They fell out again.” She shrugged. “The radiation zapped them. I had ’em when you came back home. I had a lot of shit that I no longer have. Like, I had ten more pounds on me, too. I also still had a sex drive. In fact, I had a Pornhub subscription.”
He looked away and swallowed the urge to laugh. He didn’t wish to encourage this mess. “I haven’t watched any smut in months. That’s proof I’m already half dead.”
He could no longer hold in the laughter. Jennifer began to cough, and he quickly grabbed one of the little white paper cups nearby and filled it up with water from the faucet. She nodded in appreciation when he handed it to her, then gulped it down. Just then, his cellphone vibrated. He slid it out of his jacket pocket.
Promise.
His lips curled with happiness. He hadn’t been back in town long, and he couldn’t wait to see her.
“It’s her… isn’t it?”
He looked into Jenny’s eyes and nodded as he answered the call.
“I could tell. You lit up.” Jennifer grinned.
“Hey, beautiful.”
“Hey, Gutter. I missed you.”
“I missed you too, baby. What are you doing?”
I’m just at work and knew you came back today, so I just wanted to welcome you home.”
“I was going to be callin’ you in a bit, anyway. Hey, can I catch you in about ten or twenty minutes or so? I’m at the doctor’s office with m—… with Jenny.” He could see his mother lift her head and look at him from out of the corner of his eye.
“Yes, no problem. I need to talk to you about something. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to take you up on your offer from before, and stop by tonight if that’s okay? Besides, I’ve yet to see your place. I’m long overdue.”
“Yeah, sure. It’ll have to be late in the day, but I’d love that.”
“Great. I’ll let you go. Please tell your mother I said hello.”
“All right, baby. I’ll call you in a bit.” He ended the call and looked back at Jenny. She was still staring at him, her tired eyes now full of light and hope.
“Promise said hi.”
“You were gonna say mom… You were gonna call me your mother.” Her voice quaked like a damn volcano, and out poured the lava. Tears.
He crossed his arms and took a deep breath, then looked about, not certain where to rest his eyes. Where to go.
“You don’t have to say it, Zake. It just… it’s just great that you were so close… It almost slipped out, huh? I almost had it.” They were quiet for a bit, but every second that passed felt like an eternity.
“Jenny… you’re my mother. I tell people you’re my mother. I acknowledge you as my mother. I’m trying, here, okay? That’s the best I can do.” He looked down at his shoes, hating the way she was now looking through him, as though he was some open door and she dared to walk through.
“Gutter, I don’t have much, but what I have, I’m giving’ to you, Zachary, and Zina.”
“I don’t want anything.”
“You don’t even know what I have to tell me you don’t want anything. I’m using all of my money for the unpaid hospital bills. What I’ve got will only help a little, money-wise, but—”
“I already took care of the hospital bills last week.” He swallowed, feeling a bit itchy about the back and shoulders as the words left his mouth. Confessions of a serial bill-paying son. “You don’t have any damn hospital bills. N
ot anymore.”
“I wish you wouldn’t do shit like that. That’s not right.”
“I wish you wouldn’t expect me to be someone I’m not. That’s not right, either. This isn’t just about you. It’s about me. I’ve told you that a hundred times.”
“Money doesn’t get rid of guilt.”
“What? I don’t feel fuckin’ guilty. What the fuck do I have to feel guilty about?! I’m not the one that—”
“I’m talking about ME! It’s not gonna pay off my fuckin’ guilt!” The veins in her neck extended as she yelled. “You’re trying to do what ya think a good son would do, even though ya hate me! It’s not about me. I know that. That’s obvious,” she hissed. “It’s what makes Zake, AKA, Gutter, mega big ass supa fuckin’ star from Red Hook, New York, feel good, right?! I’ll feel like shit ’til the day I die and beyond, Zake! I was a horrible fuckin’ mother! JUST SAY IT!”
“I already did by not fuckin’ with you for over ten years! I didn’t even acknowledge your existence! My actions said it all, and I’m a man of my fuckin’ word!”
Silence came in and had a seat. The bitch refused to budge for a long ass time.
“I’m giving you a bit of a bigger chunk, ’cause you’ve been here,” Jenny stated, continuing on with her original train of thought, her voice calm and subdued again. “Runnin’ around, using all your gas, canceled shows from the tour, loss of revenue… I know you don’t need my money, and it’s pennies compared to what you have, but I need to do this, Gutter.” She waved him off before he had a chance to protest again. “I have other things I want you to have that have far more sentimental value, but as far as my money, since I hear you’ve paid off the medical bills, it’s only a little under ten thousand, but it’s yours.”
“Give it to Zina. She needs it, probably.”
Jenny rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Never. Her husband will just take it. Zina has been avoiding me, and I don’t think it’s her fault. I told ya that her husband reminds me of your father, only worse. He’s controlling. He doesn’t want her caring about anyone else but him.”
