by Evelyn Sola
We don’t speak the entire ride to his place. When he pulls around back to the detached garage, he helps me out and intertwines our fingers as we walk to his house. He pushes me against the wall the minute we walk through the front door.
“Hungry?” he asks, sucking on the base of my neck.
“Starving.” I turn my head and crush my mouth on his. I glide my hand into his hair and moan into his mouth, open my own, allowing him in, tasting him.
“Me too.” His hand finds its way up my skirt. He pushes my panties to the side and slides two fingers through my moist folds. “Shower with me.” He pulls away, swings me into his strong arms and runs down the hall to his room.
The room’s just like we left it. His clothes from our night of passion are still on the floor. The bed is still unmade, bringing back all the memories from two nights ago. The minute he sets me down, I pull his shirt over his head and toss it across the room.
Without looking away, he unzips my skirt, letting it pool at my feet. I slide my fingers up his chest. Having no control of my body, I jump into his arms and wrap both legs around him. Eager to taste him again, I cover his mouth with mine as he walks us into his massive bathroom.
It’s a dream bathroom, with a huge shower and a separate bathtub. The entire shower is made with gray tiles in various shades. Even the toilet has its own door. But his countertop is a complete mess filled with his things.
I don’t have much time to think about it because he walks us both into the shower. The water pressure pulls me out of my lust-filled haze.
“We’re still partially dressed, and I know you know the rules about wetting a black woman’s hair,” I say against his mouth. He puts me down and seconds later, we’re both naked, our clothes a soaking heap in the corner of the shower. He pushes me against the wall, lifting one of my legs and wrapping it around him. I feel his hard length tease my entrance. “I told you I was starving,” I rasp. I manage to get out of his grasp and sink to my knees in front of him. His cock slaps against my lips, so hard and looking angry. I do what I’ve been fantasizing about since our night together. I open my mouth and take him in.
CHAPTER 15
JASON
I walk out into my kitchen to find Alex with her head in my fridge and her ass sticking out. Despite my too big scrubs on her body, I can still see the outline of her ass. My dick immediately hardens. The shower was great. Hell, it was amazing. The best damn shower I’ve ever had, in fact. The girl’s mouth is a world of wonders all on its own. I came quickly, right in her perfect little mouth, and she drank every drop.
As soon as I came back down to earth, I had her pressed against the wall again, but this time, I had my head between her legs. She came quickly too. Much quicker than I did. Afterward, we took turns washing each other.
“I turn my back for a second, and I find you rummaging through my fridge again.” She freezes but continues her search. She finally stands up, holding a beer in one hand and a cupcake in another.
“I thought you hadn’t been home. How did you get more of these?” she asks, waving the beer in my face. I snatch it from her, open it and drink half of it before handing it back to her. I then snatch the cupcake from her.
“I have my ways. The beer you can drink, but this strawberry shortcake cupcake is for me and only me.” I take a step closer to her and point in her face. “Got that?”
She rolls her eyes. “I dare you to eat that without me. Dare you, Dr. Dupree.”
I lean down and kiss her cheeks.
“You are pretty cute. And your mouth works wonders.” I lean in for another kiss, but the doorbell interferes with my plans.
“We need to talk,” I tell her several minutes later after we’ve piled our plates with the Chinese food we ordered. The TV is on, but neither one of us is watching as we sit on the couch.
“We need to talk. Four words in the English language that will stop your heart,” she says right before she stuffs her mouth full of shrimp fried rice.
“I’d revive you, angel. I’m a doctor, remember?”
“How can I forget?”
“I want to talk and set a few things straight. You seemed annoyed with me when I caught up with you at the hospital.” I can see the blush creep across her face before she turns away from me. I set my plate on the coffee table, grab her chin and turn her gaze back to mine.
“Don’t hide. What are you thinking?”
“I wasn’t annoyed. I was fine with things as they were, but I guess I was wondering why I didn’t hear from you after we had such an amazing night.” The words come out rushed. Then realizing what she just said, she tries to turn away from me again. I grab her chin again.
“Turning away from me won’t take away the words. First off, I didn’t have your number.” She opens her mouth to say something, but I speak again. “No, I was not going to ask my sister for it. I was going to come find you at home last night, but right before I left the hospital, I got called into an emergency surgery. I was there for hours and crashed at the hospital because I was too tired to drive home, only to turn around and come right back. I was waiting for you this afternoon. What did you think? I ghosted you?”
She puts her plate next to mine, puts her knees against her chest almost as if she’s holding on to them for support. “The thought did cross my mind.”
“You could have gotten my number from Mellie too, you know.”
“I know, but Jason, I was okay with it being just a one-night thing. I didn’t go into the other night expecting anything, but I can’t just do casual hookups. I want to state that up front. I know that I won’t be able to handle that.”
I pull her hands away from her knees, grab her legs and lay them across my thighs.
“Let’s get one thing straight. I’ve never ghosted anybody. That’s some coward shit. And this thing you have with Dr. Dud?”
“Doyle. His name is John Doyle, not Dud.” She rolls her eyes at me. In one swift move, I grab her hand and pull her to me. Her breasts are pressed against my chest as she straddles me.
“I know the asshole’s name. I’m telling you that this thing you had with him, the little fantasy in your head telling you he’s the one, that thing is over.” I run my hand down her spine and grab her ass, pushing her against my hard cock.
“Says who?” she challenges.
“Says me. You’re in my house, wearing my scrubs after swallowing my cum. Soon, I’ll be fucking your pussy in my bed. Dud’s out, angel. Dupree’s in.”
“You’re bossy. And filthy.” She leans down to kiss me, but I move my head, denying her.
“No more kisses until you agree that Dud’s out.”
“He was never in, Dr. Dupree.” To torture me, she grinds against me. She closes her eyes, arches her back and lets out a loud moan as she grinds ever so slowly. “He never wanted me.”
“But I do,” I tell her. Unable to resist, I suck at the base of her neck. She repositions herself right on top of my dick. If not for our clothes, I’d be able to slide right in. I slide my hand under her top and grab her breast, squeezing her nipple between my fingers. It goes from semi hard to pebble in an instant. “I want your body and everything else.”
“I want your body and everything else,” she says back, sliding her hand into my sweatpants. As she wraps her hand around me, she finds my mouth and this time, I let her have it. We’re kissing deep as she strokes my dick, our moans filling the living room. We’re so lost that I barely register the sound of the front door opening, followed by footsteps and talking. Like a bucket of ice water has been dumped on her, Alex pulls away from my mouth.
The talking and walking comes to an abrupt halt, and I look up to find Mellie and Ananda staring at us. “I can’t believe you, you ho,” Ananda says. “We’ve been calling you for hours and even went to your house looking for you only to find you here humping Mellie’s brother after all that shit talking you did this morning.”
“Next time hang a sock on the door, Jase. I already have enough mental
health issues,” Mellie says. She walks away carrying a pizza box into the kitchen. “Oh, Nanda! There’s Chinese food in here too.”
While Alex and Ananda try to stare each other down, I stand up with Alex’s legs wrapped around me.
“Don’t eat all the food,” I yell to my sister. “Make yourself at home, Ananda.” Without another word, I grab the cupcake that Alex had placed on the coffee table and walk us back to my bedroom.
I toss her on the bed, the movement so sudden, she lets out a yelp as she bounces on the mattress. I strip myself of my sweatpants and boxers and climb on top of her. In an instant, she’s naked too, her soft body wrapped around me.
This time, I let her climb on top of me and let her kiss her way down my body.
“Are you on birth control?” I ask as I pull her hair free of the ponytail and run my fingers through her damp curls.
“Mm-hmm.” That’s all I hear while she kisses and bites on my abs. “These abs should be illegal.” She bites down hard. As I flex, I pull her hair. “You’re going to pay for that,” she rasps before she bites me even harder.
I pull her up and kiss her lips roughly as I pull and suck on her lips. Just as suddenly as I claimed her mouth, I release it.
I lift her and place her on my cock, and she sinks down. With both of her hands on my chest, eyes locked with mine, she rides me, claiming me with her pussy. I grab her hips and help her find a more perfect rhythm. She throws her head back. Her pussy makes a slapping sound every time she pushes down.
“Oh, God, Jay,” she moans. “Yes! Deeper.” I lift her off, her protest merely a shout in the wind as I lay her on her side. I lift her leg and slide right back home, filling her to the hilt. I grab her hair and pound her from behind. It doesn’t take her long to call out my name again as she comes all over my dick.
Her orgasm pushes me over the edge, and I come inside of her. I roll over on my back and pull her to my side. With our bodies slick with sweat, we lie in my bed and try to catch our breath.
CHAPTER 16
JASON
“I don’t have clothes here.” That’s the first thing she’s said in about half an hour. She pushes herself out of my arms and jumps off the bed. She grabs my scrubs and pulls on the pants. Before she can put the top on, I’m off the bed, and I grab it from her hand.
“It’s late and you don’t have to drive me home. I’ll get an Uber.” She reaches for the top again, but I put it out of her reach.
“You’re a frustrating woman, do you know that? It’s like you didn’t hear a thing I said. I want you. I want to be with you. I want you here.” I grab her hand, pull down the scrubs, and swoop her into my arms.
We lie in the dark, and despite our closeness, I know she’s a million miles away.
“Stop overthinking things.”
“I’m not, but I told you I don’t want to do casual hookups or be a booty call.”
“And I told you, I don’t want casual. I want you and me. I like you.”
I can feel her body relax into mine. I lean down and kiss her forehead, and I’m rewarded with a soft sigh.
“I like you, too,” she says.
CHAPTER 17
ALEX
Despite the relatively early hour, I’m exhausted. I lean closer to him and close my eyes, comforted by the strong beating of his heart.
“I work long hours, some of them overnight.” The words startle me out of my doze. His fingers grab my chin again, and I look up at his face, confused. “Sometimes I’ll have to cancel plans. If I’m on call, and I get called in, I have to go. And on my days off, I prefer to stay close to home. I have a very small circle. You’ve met my best friend and his fiancée. His family is like my extended family. I have a few colleagues I see outside of work sometimes. I’m past the age of clubbing and getting drunk just for getting drunk’s sake. This is my life.”
“Like spending the night at the hospital last night? Does that happen a lot?” I ask.
“Not spontaneously like that, but I am scheduled for overnight shifts sometimes. I want you to know what you’re getting into.”
“Sounds more like a warning. Don’t tell me a surgeon has a hard time getting a woman,” I tease.
“Getting one? No, but most aren’t prepared for the reality of it. They get upset when I have to cancel plans or if all I want to do is hang out at home after a grueling shift.”
I lay my head back on his chest and think of his words. As confident and domineering as he can be, I sense some vulnerability. I think of the last boyfriend I had. It was three years ago, and we were only together for three months. I told him who I was, too. I told him what to expect. He was all in, but things unraveled quickly. The first sign was his reaction to my fear of thunderstorms. I flashback to Jason holding me, pressing his soft lips to my forehead while he offered me soothing words. Chad did the opposite. He told me I was acting like a child.
The final nail in our relationship happened on the second anniversary of my mother’s death.
“My mother died almost six years ago. She collapsed during a thunderstorm. I was in my room and didn’t hear her fall. She died of a brain aneurysm. She was here one day and gone the next. I never know how I’m going to react on the anniversary of her death. Last year, I swore to everyone I was fine the weeks leading up to the anniversary. I lied to myself, Jason. I didn’t get out of bed for a week. I couldn’t even be bothered to bring flowers to her grave until a week later. Some years, I’m fine on that day. Like two years ago, I got up, took her flowers and spent hours with her. When I got home, I cried for the rest of the day. I stayed in bed for three days. Ananda finally came over and got into bed with me. She held me as I cried. I look for signs from her everywhere. I dream of her. I dream of her often, but one dream was different because she spoke to me. She told me to let love in and not be alone like she was. The next day, I met John Doyle and convinced myself she was talking about him.”
“When is the anniversary?” he asks.
“August twenty-ninth.”
“I’ll take the day off. If you want to go to the gravesite, I’ll take you. If you want to stay in bed and cry, I’ll hold you while you do. Whatever you want to do. If I could, I’d never let you be alone during a thunderstorm again, but I can’t promise to always be there when it happens.”
I can’t help the tears that fill my eyes. It was always me and my mom, and when she died, I was left alone. Her one sister lives outside of Pittsburgh, a religious zealot who makes it a point to remind me of the dangers of succumbing to the pleasures of the flesh and limits our interactions only to texts of biblical quotes. Her daughter, my only cousin, is not allowed to communicate with me, for fear I might infect her with my secular ways.
The few boyfriends I’ve had either didn’t care or didn’t understand. Maybe it was both.
“I don’t expect you to always be there, but the fact that you want to be is enough. So, you’re not put off by my annual bout of craziness?” Doubt lingers. He’s saying all the right things, but he’s not met with the reality of it.
“Not crazy. It’s called grief and there’s no formula.”
“In that case, I never got into clubbing. I understand your hours, and I promise your work won’t be a problem. And as far as you being a boring old man who likes to stay at home and watch golf on his days off, just keep the fridge stocked with that expensive beer, and we’ll be okay. I’ll even make you dinner some nights.”
“I knew it the moment I saw you,” he says.
“Knew what?”
“That you were my angel.” I squeeze him tight and throw my leg across his body.
“Really? You were so blinded by my halo that you were struck speechless? Is that why you fell on your tight ass?” I reach underneath his body and squeeze his butt cheek.
“That wasn’t the first time I saw you. I spotted you at Bean Town Café. You were looking off into the distance, looking so wistful. I thought you were the most beautiful sight and I was right.”
CHAPTER
18
JASON
I hit ignore for the sixth time since last night. I park in the garage and run to the passenger side, opening the door for Alex. As soon as I close the door, she hooks her arm with mine and we walk to the elevator. It’s much too early for her to be here, but after taking her home to change, she insisted on coming in to work at the same time as me. She looks up at me and smiles just as the elevator doors open.
“Hold the elevator.” I know that voice. I don’t think Alex notices as she lays her head on my shoulder. I don’t know how it happened, but in a brief amount of time, I went from happily and willingly single to part of a couple. I haven’t wanted to be part of a couple since Natalie. I’ve had girlfriends, but it was only because I’d agree when they wanted to make things official. It’s no surprise the relationships didn’t last more than a few months. Add to that the fact that Natalie was always in the background, either promising a relationship that never happened, or contacting me and reminding me of what we once had. Alexandra Francine Malone was unexpected. For the first time, I understand what Jacob Clark must have felt when he met Sandy.
Just as the door is about to close, a foot slides inside, causing it to reopen. He doesn’t notice us at first. He steps in and turns his back to us, but a few seconds later, he turns, eyeing us. His eyes remained on our locked arms a few seconds longer than they should have.
“Good morning, Dr. Doyle.”
He doesn’t respond. He looks from me to Alex and back to me. He nods and turns around, giving us his back again.
“Do you want me to walk you to the café?” I ask Alex.
“Don’t you have to prep for your surgery? I’m just getting takeout.” The doors open and we step out. We follow behind Doyle to the on-call room and stand outside the door, noticing that Doyle loiters close enough to hear our conversation.
“That’s not until later. I have a lecture to go to soon, but I can walk there with you real quick.”