One good reason, p.33
One Good Reason, page 33
I’m not the fairy tale type of girl, Rossi. And I appreciate the concern, but I promise… I got me boo.”
“Are you sure? You care about him. I saw the way the two of you interacted that day at the game. You’re smitten Tali and I don’t want you to end up hurt. God knows these kids can’t deal with another person skipping out on them.”
“Of course, I’m smitten. He’s amazing in everything that he does. And believe me, as amazing as he is, I have no problem walking away from him. What I won’t do is walk away from this center or these kids. He’s not that fucking amazing,” I deduced, hoping that Rossi understood that I had me.
“Okay,” he finally sighed. “I just don’t want you to receive the same fate that Dah did. She stayed for years praying that he would change, and he never did.”
“And that’s the difference between us. I’m okay with who he is in the present. Law doesn’t have to change for me.”
“Put me in my place then girl,” Rossi sassed.
“No. It’s not like that at all. Like I said… I’m not that fairy tale type of girl. I care a great deal about him but if we were to end, my life would not be put on hold.”
“I wished Dah had that same mindset. It would’ve saved her years of heartache.”
“She’s pregnant. Clearly, she got over that shit quick.”
“I guess she did.” He giggled like a childish schoolgirl.
“Since you’re in here… all up in my business. I need you to send that box off to Quan for me. Gema is leaving in the morning so I wanna slip out an hour early so I can take her to dinner.”
“I can do that. I mean now that I’ve been promoted to Project Coordinator, I have spare times on my hands.”
“You do, huh?” I teased.
“Yes…” he sang. “You don’t know how much that means to me Tali. I so appreciate you for recognizing my hard work.”
“Anything for you babe.”
When I said I was making changes at the youth center, I meant just that. Rossi had served as an administrative assistant to the director for years. That role stifled his creativity; I saw that and did something about it. My goal was to elevate the entire team starting with my assistant. I created the position and promoted him under the guise of him finding and training his replacement. With my focus being on the tech school, I needed people at the youth center that I could trust to make sure it ran smoothly. My next step was to step down as director and put Marsha in my position.
The further we got with the tech school, the more I desired to be a permanent fixture there. I planned to be there full time, so I needed to make sure I left the youth center in good hands. By the time my day had started to wind down, I grabbed my things and slipped out.
“We gon’ bring her back the weekend cause Bonnie wanna go to Savannah to see JR,” Willearl let me know.
We’d gotten Gema bags packed in the trunk of his car and I was busy saying my goodbyes. Him, Bonnie, and Louise showed up right on time. This morning when I got up, me and Gema went to Grits and had breakfast. When they pulled up to the house, she was just getting ready to take a nap. I invited them to hang around so she could get at least an hour of sleep, but she declined and said she would sleep on the road.
Unlike the last few times I packed her up and set her off, this time felt different. I wasn’t having anxiety about her being out of my presence. I don’t know if it was because she would be staying with Louise or because we had seemingly buried the hatchet, and everyone was getting along for her sake. Whatever it was, I wasn’t bothered this time. I prayed over her this morning while we were out at breakfast and had been at peace since.
“Just let me know what time,” I finally answered Willearl. “I wanna make sure either me or Mrs. Jessie will be here.”
“We will call you when we figure it out.”
“That works for me. Gema, you ready to hit the road?”
“Ummhmm. Willearl said he gon’ stop me by the fish house. I want some of that pan trout.”
“Fried hard.” I finished her statement for her.
“You know how I likes it.” She laughed.
“Of course I do.” Reaching in my pocket, I pulled out the wad of money Law had given me for her and tucked it in her jacket pocket. “That’s for you?”
“I’on need it.”
Pursing my lips, I cocked my head to the side. “You try telling him that.”
“He ain’t gon’ listen to me.”
“And you think he listens to me,” I pouted.
“Nope.” Stuffing her hand in her pocket, she pulled the money out and tucked it in her bra. “Safer up here.” She patted her chest.
“Louise, I wrote down the schedule for her medicine. I know you prolly don’t need it, but I did it anyway. I checked her sugar this morning… Do it again before she goes to bed. If it’s low, give her some candy. The past couple of nights it dropped so we been monitoring it real close.”
“Okay. I’ll keep a watch for it.”
“Give me a kiss girlfriend, so y’all can get on the highway.”
Puckering her lips, Gema leaned in and met me halfway. “I love you, Bertha Mae.”
“Ummhmm. I loves you more. Tell that man I said I love him too and take care of you like I told ‘em.”
“I will. Keep that phone in case I decide to call.”
“Jessie turned the ringer up.”
“Alright. Y’all be careful and let me know when y’all make it.”
“Alright Tali,” Willearl said.
Closing the back door, I tapped the top of the car and walked away. Pushing the front door open, I kicked it closed with my foot and slid out of my shoes. “Harvey, where you at?”
“Kitchen,” he yelled out.
“Gema said take care of me like she told you to.”
Law spun around and pecked my lips. “Don’t I always.”
“That’s debatable.”
“Bullshit!” he called out. “Yo’ ass been riding me all night. What’s up with that?”
Hopping up on the island, I crossed my ankles and stared at him. “Guess who I met yesterday?”
“The pope?” He shrugged dismissively before adding. “How do I know who you met if you haven’t told me.”
“I met your ex.”
“Dah?”
“Yep,” I popped.
“How did that happen?”
“She stopped by the center to see Rossi and Marsha.”
“Cool.” He nodded.
Slanting my eyes, I stared at him. “You don’t care?”
“Am I supposed to?” he tossed back.
“You were with her for six years. You mean to tell me you don’t care that she stopped by.”
Sitting the bottle of water down on the counter he turned and leaned against the fridge. “I stop concerning myself with Dah the day she left. Am I happy to hear that she’s alive and possibly doing well? Of course. I don’t have any ill intent toward her. The fact that you think I’m supposed to jump for joy is what’s bothering me.”
“I didn’t say that, Harvey.”
“Then why have you been on my ass since yesterday?”
“I haven’t.”
“Bullshit. You showered without me last night. Not to mention yo’ ass fell asleep on me and I didn’t get my fix. Woke up with a hard dick and instead of you being in bed tucked underneath me, I found you on the couch.”
“Fine!” I groused. “Rossi said somethings yesterday and I guess I let them get to me.”
“Things like what?”
“To sum it up, he’s worried that I’ll end up on the same receiving end as Dahlia. He’s scared that when this is over between us, I’m going to leave them like she did.”
“When this is over?” Law repeated. “You’re ending things with me already?”
“I’m not ending things,” I clarified. “I’ve prepared myself for when you end it,” I huffed. “But I’m not ending it.”
“Why would I end things between us Talitha?”
Craning my neck, I glared at him. “Are you serious?”
“Very fucking serious.”
“Harvey.”
“Howard. You’re evading the question. Why would I end things?”
“You don’t want anything serious,” I bellowed out instead of saying what was really on my mind. I knew he was going to be the one to call it quits. The shit was inevitable at this point.
“We discussed that. However, am I not allowed to change my mind?” he pondered.
“I never said you weren’t allowed to change your mind. Do I think your mind has changed in a matter of months? No, I don’t.”
“That’s still not addressing the situation at hand, Talitha,” he groaned like I was annoying him.
“What situation Harvey?” I all but yelled.
“Why would I end things?”
“I don’t know… shit!” I huffed and tossed my hands in the air. “Maybe because you don’t want anything long-term and if we get too deep into this, you’ll want to end it.”
“Is that what you think?”
“It’s what I know,” I retorted.
“Then I guess I’m wasting my time being here.” Paying me one last look, Law stalked out of the kitchen.
That shit did not go the way I expected it to. I was trying to make conversation and it ended with us arguing about some shit that we’d declared from the beginning. I didn’t know what to do so I sat on the island twiddling my thumbs until the sound of keys rattling snapped me out of my trance.
“I’m going to get going.”
“I thought we were spending the day together?”
“Yeah. So did I.” Law shook his head before walking out of the kitchen.
If he expected me to chase after him, he had another thing coming. I didn’t do anything that warranted him leaving. The sound of his truck door slamming had me releasing the breath that I was holding.
Clearly, I wasn’t understanding why the conversation pissed him off especially since nothing I said was a lie. We’d had this talk several times and were both in agreeance that neither of us wanted anything serious. We both had unresolved issues steaming from our past. I cared a great deal about Law. I felt something for him that I’d never felt for anyone outside of Papa Joe and Gema. Hell, the shit might have been stronger, but I wasn’t blind and knew that nothing would ever come of it.
He was with a woman for six years and wasn’t willing to give her anything. Why would I just up and assume that I was the prototype? Life wasn’t a movie or an urban novel, shit just didn’t work that way. I would be stupid to believe that it did.
Ten minutes after he left, I found myself missing him so much so that I hopped down from the counter and grabbed my phone. Dialing his number, I put it on speakerphone and placed it down on the counter.
“Howard,” he rasped when he picked up.
“Harvey. Are we fighting? We haven’t done that since New York.”
“Fighting, nawl. I left before it turned into one though.”
“Can you come back?”
“For what Talitha.”
Nibbling on my bottom lip, I huffed before admitting, “Because I miss you when you’re not near me.”
“Then don’t say or do stupid shit to make me leave, Talitha. I know what we’ve discussed… I partook in the conversation. Don’t put words in my mouth when you haven’t asked me if my feelings have changed.”
“Have they?”
“I guess you’ll never know.”
“Are you going to come back?”
“Maybe later. I need to clear my head.”
“That’s fair. I guess I’ll talk to you later.” I frowned.
“Yeah,” he replied before hanging up the phone.
CHAPTER 33
Lawton
The feel of the bed dipping beside me had me rolling over. Almost instantly, I was met with the smell of something sweet. Without having to open my eyes, I knew who the culprit was. Reaching out, I grabbed her hand and pulled her on top of me.
“What took you so long to show up?”
“I didn’t know you wanted me to,” she mumbled.
Reaching down, I grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up. Talitha straddled me and helped me remove the shirt from her body. Next came her bra. I wanted to feel her bare body on top of mine. Fumbling with her joggers, I pulled them down and used my feet to remove them, leaving her in her panties. Leaning down, she laid her head on my chest and wrapped her arms around my back.
“You hurt my feelings.”
“Go to Hell, Harvey.” She laughed. “Your feelings don’t get hurt.”
“They do, especially when you question my intentions.”
“That’s not what I was doing.”
“You sure?” Peeling my eyes open, I stared at her. “It sure as hell felt like it.”
“If you’ve had a change of heart Harvey, why not just say so?” she queried.
“Have you reached the point where you feel like you’re capable of having someone love you?”
“I uh...” she stuttered. “Um... I.” Sucking in a deep breath, she shook her head against my chest.
“Then that’s why.”
I wouldn’t tell her that my feelings had changed. She just admitted that she wasn’t in a position to receive it. So, in translation this conversation was pointless.
“You left me today,” she whined.
“You gave me no choice.”
“You promised you wouldn’t leave.”
“I left your house. I didn’t leave you.”
“Then, why does it feel like you did?”
“You’ve gotta ask yourself that, love.” Dragging my arms above my head, I stretched and let out a yawn. I hadn’t too long got into bed. After I left Talitha’s, I came home and had a few drinks before I let my neo soul playlist lull me into a peaceful slumber. I had a feeling before the night was over with, she would show up. Talitha had admitted on several occasions that she didn’t get a good night’s rest unless we were in bed together and I expected tonight to be no different.
“Would it make it better if I apologized?”
“Don’t apologize for how you feel, love. Do better with trusting what I show you and not what I’ve told you.”
The feel of her face turning up let me know that she was smiling, “I can do that.”
“Good.” Kissing the top of her head, I reached down and cupped her ass. “Goodnight Talitha.”
“Night Harvey,” she mumbled against my chest.
“Law….” Talitha moaned.
“Say it again, baby,” I pleaded. Tossing her legs in the crease of my arms, I held them tight while rotating my hips.
When I woke up this morning, my mans was on go at the sight of Talitha’s chocolate pebbled nipples. At some point in the night, she’d rolled off me and was lying next to me with her head tucked under my arm. I decided to slip under the cover and wake her up in the most proper way.
“Ssss...” she hissed. “That feels so good.”
“I know it does. Just like that.” I praised when she twirled her hips against me. Lifting her back off the bed, she reached up and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“Fuck me baby!” she begged.
Obliging her request, I dropped her legs, wrapped them around my waist, and cuffed her ass in my hands. Bringing her up and down on my shaft, every time I brought her down, Talitha flexed her pussy around my dick. The feel of her suctioning around me caused my body to flush with heat. “Damn baby!” I groaned.
She felt different. Wetter than normal. Maybe it was the fact that tonight we’d reached a pivotal point in our relationship. Maybe the river flowing between her thighs was her way of telling me that she was ready to receive the kind of love I knew I could give her. Was this her acceptance?
Tossing her head back, she yelped, “Law! I’m about to cum!”
“Let it out love. Cum for me.”
Holding her tightly against my chest, I stroked her faster from the bottom. When her hands latched onto my back, her fingers dug into my skin letting me know she was on the verge of releasing. Leaning down, I bit the veiny part of her neck before sucking it into my mouth. “Cum Talitha,” I growled and traced her vein with my tongue.
“Uhn uhn uhn,” she chanted after every thrust before yelling out my name.
Instead of letting up, I impaled her up and down faster, stroking her through her orgasms. Talitha placed her head in the crease of my neck. Between the feel of her breathing roughly against my neck and her pussy cuffing my dick tightly, my balls started tingling.
“Shit!” I huffed, feeling myself nearing the end.
Biting down roughly on my neck, she ordered, “Cum Harvey.”
On command, my nut shot out of my dick and coated her walls.
“Best fucking way to wake up,” she moaned a sigh of contentment after coming down from the high we were on.
“Hell yeah!” I agreed.
Unwrapping her hands from my neck, she leaned up enough for me to plop out of her before tossing her back against the bed.
“What you trying to do today?”
“It.” She laughed.
“We just did it, love.”
“I know. And I wanna do it again.” Pointing toward my bathroom she added, “In there.”
“I’ve gotta feed you baby.”
“I’m not hungry,” she pouted.
“You gotta eat, Howard.”
“Fine,” she groaned. “I need to check in on Gema anyway.”
“You handle that while I shower and figure out what we’re going to eat.”
“Orrrrr, I can shower with you,” she offered.
“Or, I can shower alone; you can call Gema and after we eat, I’ll give you what you’re asking for. Doesn’t that sound like a better alternative?”
“No but I’ll settle for it.” She giggled. “I should probably go and push this out, huh?”
“Unless you trying to be somebody mama, you probably should.”
I’d nutted in her again without a care in the fucking world. Her pussy was too good for me to put it anywhere else. We’d long crossed the line of stressing about protection, and I didn’t see us ever going back.
