“What’s up with y’all? Just tell me what happened, Rim.” Khalil maneuvered in front of him and pushed his chest to stop him from walking.
“I’m not replaying it for you, bro. He just can’t run me no more. I won’t let him, or dad do that to me no more.” He shook his head at the ground. “You can keep at it if you want, but I’m good!” He patted his chest to emphasize.
It had always been that way. They’d always influenced his outlook and decisions on life with their own. He’d started following behind Rashad when his father disappointed their mother to the point of no return. Karim blamed them both for the standpoint he’d grown familiar with. He was done putting money before family.
“I feel that.” Khalil nodded and pulled Karim into a brotherly hug. He patted his back a few times before suggesting that he skip out. “Y’all need to cool it on each other for a few days. He’ll hit you back when he’s over it. You know how that go.”
“It’s going to be whatever it’s going to be.” Karim shrugged and dapped Khalil’s fist.
“We’re brothers, Rim.” Khalil looked in his eyes to remind him.
“Right.” Karim scoffed at his words like it was a sick joke. “I’ll hit you later.”
Khalil watched him walk away until he reached the curb to get in his car. The neighborhood was shockingly dead. There wasn’t even a sound of a car’s engine humming down the road. Focusing on the stillness of the reserved community, Karim channeled that energy and drove home in silence.
He was headed back home to the only thing that made sense. Amiyah.
Amiyah
Breathing heavily, Amiyah sat the bulky bags of groceries atop the kitchen counter, then plopped down onto a stool. She relaxed around the kitchen’s island to catch her breath. There was a one-trip rule she and her sister had always abided by whenever their parents made them tote the grocery bags out of the car. Reflecting upon those memories always made her laugh.
Wishing Karim was around to help her, she glanced around their spacious condo, craving his presence. She closed her eyes and imagined his lips on her neck. Imagining his breath near her ear made her heart skip a beat. She wished she knew how he did it. It was a shame how effortlessly intoxicating he was.
A FaceTime alert blared from her pocket. It was her sister and a healthy distraction from obsessing over missing Karim. Worse than the painful feeling of hunger in the pit of her stomach, missing him was the greatest pain she had come to know. She couldn’t stand it.
“Hey girl hey!” Amiyah connected their video call and flashed an excited smile. FaceTime calls with her sister were of vast importance. Although they were busy with their own lives, they’d promised to see each other once a week one way or another. FaceTime calls counted, too.
“Hey! How are you? You look really cute.” Miranda smiled. Her deep brown skin reminded Amiyah of their father’s smooth, chocolate skin. Miranda had certainly gotten her curly hair and chocolate skin from their father.
“Thank you. So do you!” Amiyah held the phone at an angle to provide her sister a better view of the snug-fitting denim jeans and graphic tee she sported. They shared a laugh as Amiyah posed for a lasting screenshot.
Miranda’s sudden mood change stumped Amiyah. She stared into the phone taken aback until Miranda wiped her glossy eyes and cleared her throat to speak.
“I’m sorry,” Miranda whispered.
“Sorry for what?” Amiyah panicked. “Do you need me to come over? Are you OK?” Focused on her phone, Amiyah hardly blinked as she watched Miranda tilt her head up and take deep breaths to regain her composure.
“I don’t know,” Miranda answered. Her saddened eyes avoided the camera. Miranda checked her surroundings nervous. She looked skeptical to speak her truth.
“Is Julius there?” Amiyah asked about her husband.
Miranda had always been the type that needed to be probed before she confided in anyone. Today, she was taking too long to confide in Amiyah.
“No. He left a while ago.”
“Miranda—” Amiyah sighed, growing impatient.
“I shouldn’t have married him!” Her tears fell freely this time. Miranda dropped her head. Her hands were trembling as she struggled to hold the camera to her face. “I’m overwhelmed.”
“What do you mean?” Amiyah’s voice softened by the minute, airing like a depressed whisper.
She thought Miranda and Julius were adorable. She’d cried at their wedding more than the actual bride did. The newlyweds were only five months in. Now, Miranda was sharing her doubts about their life-long commitment after they’d already recited beautiful vows.
“I wanted it so bad, Amiyah. I really did. I think we rushed into this.”
“Rushed? You’ve been with him for three years.” Amiyah was confused. As far as she knew, their history together had been beautifully consistent. At family dinners, Julius looked at Miranda like she was the only person in the room. A man who was utterly obsessed with his woman was a good man in Amiyah’s eyes.
“It’s not about that, Amiyah.” She patted her eyes with the edge of a napkin, careful not to ruin the heavy mascara from her lashes. “Marriage isn’t easy. We’ve become one in ways neither of us were prepared for. We didn’t map out a plan or discuss the technical side of things. We relied solely on love. Sometimes, that isn’t enough.”
“Miranda,” Amiyah whispered as they stared at each other confused. Miranda was confused on some aspects of her marriage while Amiyah was stunned at her confession overall. Amiyah assumed love was enough. She truly thought love was all it took to uplift and salvage any marriage. She thought that was the reason her parents were thriving.
Love.
“What does this mean?” Amiyah wondered aloud. She needed an answer from her sister after hearing how she felt. However, she needed an answer for herself, too. This altered the dynamics of everything she believed marriage was. “You want a divorce? Already?”
“No.” Miranda smiled faintly. “I love everything about that man down to his dirty drawls. We just shouldn’t have rushed into it, you know?” Looking off to the side of her, she wiped her eyes quickly and whispered something inaudible before disconnecting their call. It was safe for Amiyah to assume that Julius had returned.
Her rapid thoughts from Miranda’s call trampled everything she’d planned to do beforehand. She was stuck to her seat and her body felt heavier than usual. Everything around her disappeared until Karim stepped into her peripheral.
He opened and closed his fist, drawing attention to his swollen knuckles.
“Karim.” She rushed to his side. Careful with his hand, she rubbed over his sore knuckles and looked up to search his eyes for answers.
“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing?” She questioned, nearly shrieking. He’d never come home with any pain besides a headache. She worried that trouble followed him home.
“Just a fight with Shad. Don’t trip.”
Amiyah lured him further into the kitchen by the strings on his hoodie. Sorting through the Walmart bags she’d brought in, she retrieved a small bag of broccoli for his hand.
Karim smirked. “It’s all good, pretty girl. I don’t need that.”
She held onto his hand and rested the bag of frozen goods gently on his knuckles. “What the hell are you and your brother fighting over?”
Amiyah waited for an answer she wouldn’t receive.
“Karim! Can you ever tell me anything!” She waved her arms in the air. “What can you tell me?”
Karim reeled her in his arms. Eyeing her from head to toe, he licked his lips while admiring her. “That I love you. More than anything else in this fucked up world.”
Moaning when he kissed her neck, she sighed against him. Amiyah despised how weak she was for him. Helpless against his charm, denying his affection was merely impossible.
“What else can you tell me?” She blushed. Karim rubbed his bruised knuckles over her cheek like her smooth skin would heal it instantly.
He raised her off her feet to sit her on the counter. Parting her thighs to stand between them, he kissed from her chin, up to her top lip.
“You hardly tell me anything, Karim,” she spoke through his kisses to her face and neck. “God forbid something happens to you while you’re away from me.”
Karim smirked. Even her constant nagging over the same things was sexy to him. She could do no wrong, and he’d realized that he needed to do better.
“Amiyah. I got it. I hear you. I’ve heard you.” He squeezed her thighs. “I’ll do better.”
Amiyah gazed into his alluring brown eyes and nodded. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and then her legs around his waist to trap him and hold him close.
“I’ve heard you, too, Karim,” she whispered. “Our love is already ideal. Marriage can’t define it.”
The odd, short Facetime call from her sister was a punch to the gut. Amiyah desperately wanted what her parents had. Shortly after, she became envious of her sister’s new commitment.
The technical side of things that Miranda mentioned wasn’t a thought in Amiyah’s head before. Jumping a broom with the love of her life to follow a family tradition was all she could imagine. Feeling like she’d jumped the gun, she pondered ways to apologize to the man she almost pushed away.
She cupped both sides of his face in awe, grateful that he was back where he belonged all along. Karim’s enticing cologne tickled her nose. His height still intimidated her beautifully and his touch still harbored a power that thrilled her.
Her heart ached that she’d ever denied they shared the same vision. Amiyah knew the love was mutual. She saw it every day in all the ways he took care of her. She heard it in all the endearing things he said.
Amiyah smiled at the man she’d taught to love her. He perfected the way he caressed and cared for her overtime. Just when she thought it couldn’t get any better, he proved her wrong with a touch that excited every thin hair on her skin.
Her body had adjusted to all of the exceptional ways he pleased her. Losing him would tarnish more than just her heart.
“Karim.” She giggled, playfully fighting him off.
Unbuttoning her pants, he found his way inside of her panties for the warmth he loved.
“Lift that ass up for me.” With her assistance, he peeled her tight jeans from her skin, then leaned down to kiss her thighs.
Amiyah gnawed on her bottom lip as she anticipated his next move. She wanted him too terribly to be teased. Tugging at his belt buckle, she leaned in to kiss him. Without speaking, her eyes pleaded to see his dick.
Karim lifted her in his arms to carry her to their bedroom. He squeezed her ass on the way there, occasionally slapping her ass cheeks as a clear warning. After tossing her onto the bed, he licked his lips as she spread her legs. Amiyah welcomed him to have her, inviting him inside of her with purpose to express herself once he entered.
Although she suggested they take a break, she prayed for God to return him to her if it was meant to be. All signs pointed to Karim. He wasn’t a perfect man, but he was worth every bit of the trouble he caused her. Karim’s intentions to love her unconditionally were proven in his dreamy eyes.
Amiyah produced the loudest gasp when Karim entered her slowly. He spoke lowly in her ear to keep her calm, encouraging her to endure what was rightfully hers. Every thick inch of it.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that I truly do love you.” Karim’s affection distracted her from the pain. With each stroke, he poured his heart out.
“I can’t stand the feeling of being without you.” She felt so good to him that a moan escaped his lips. A moan ruined his front. He was just as weakened by her as she was by him.
He was certain that he was deeply inside his soulmate. Amiyah was the love of his life. The pleasure from being inside of her felt anew each time he entered and heard her gasp in his ear. Being in love fueled their sex drive.
After six years, it never got old.
Epilogue
Waking up next to her was an accomplishing feeling. With his hand clamped between her thighs, he held his bladder to stay next to her—to relish in her beauty.
Karim prayed for God to open her eyes. To hear and feel her breathe wasn’t enough. Gazing into her loving eyes completed him.
Squeezing her thigh brought forth a sigh from her. She opened her eyes to him lying on his side, staring at her attentively.
“Good morning.” She reached up to rub the side of his face and caress his beard. Karim licked his lips and moved his hand up her inner thighs. “Do you ever behave?” She pushed him onto his back to straddle his lap. His dick poked her through his boxers, also poking through her thin, lace panties.
“Take a vacation with me,” he said, blurting it so quickly that it threw her off.
“Since when are you interested in taking vacations?” She side-eyed him. Karim was mostly all business. Whenever he went out of town, it was only for a trip that benefitted deepening his pockets.
“You with it or not?” Karim’s eyes traveled to her breasts.
Amiyah giggled and held his face in place. Shockingly, he was serious. His expression was resolute.
“I have to be at work in two hours.”
Karim positioned her on her back and laughed. “Pretty girl, you hate that job. I want you to hold it down at home. You rather work for muthafuckers who—”
“Karim.” She covered his mouth. Amiyah pretended he was too much sometimes, but she couldn’t get enough of how unruly he was. It was one of the most stimulating things about him. He was hard all the time, but soft and gentle when it counted the most.
“Where you wanna go?”
“Anywhere with you.” She’d given in to him like he knew she would.
“That’s cool and all, but I need a destination other than next to me, pretty girl. So, again, where you wanna go?”
“Hmmm.” Amiyah closed her eyes to ponder an answer. “Somewhere really green or really sandy.” She giggled as he pulled her into him. Even gazing into his eyes was dangerous. To love him to the extent she did was terrifying. Amiyah couldn’t stop now if she wanted to.
“I can make that happen,” he told her. Since she wasn't giving him an answer, he would surprise her with a location that had both. One of her favorite destinations to date—McWay Falls. With her toes digging into the sand, she would be able to stare out at the beautiful green forest as the eighty-foot-tall waterfall took her breath away.
“You can quit your job. Or, you can tell them you won't be in for the rest of the week. The choice is yours. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
“That soon, Rim?” The spontaneity was beautiful but also alarming. “Are we driving? Flying? We have to pack.”
She hadn't expected him to want to depart so soon. Amiyah didn't think she could fall any harder for Karim but lately, his regard to prove his love to her showed her she could. He’d been saying and doing all the right things. Karim was dedicated to displaying his immense love for her whether they recited vows in the near future or not.
“I’ll take care of the details. Just tell me you’re with it.”
“Okay,” she agreed promptly with the widest smile on her face. Amiyah’s elevated cheekbones made his day. He was his happiest when she was flashing her beautiful smile.
“You not giving me no shit about your job?”
“If they let me go for it, it’ll be their loss. But undoubtedly, I’m rocking with you.”
“You damn right, it'll be their loss.” He kissed her cheek. Planting his lips there afterward, he tilted her chin upward to pull away and gaze into her eyes. The chills that shot through him were electrifying.
“Damn,” Karim mumbled and pulled back.
The braids that surrounded her face and flowed past her shoulders made her features pop out. She tucked a few braids behind her ear, then surveyed his face.
Amiyah smiled at his lips as she held back from firmly pressing hers into his. “What is it?” she asked.
&n
bsp; She went underneath his shirt to rub his toned stomach. Being next to him without direct contact wasn’t easy. She needed to touch him. Amiyah needed to fondle him longingly in some way.
“I would be a fool not to marry you, huh?”
Her eyes easily lit his on fire—a fire that danced fervidly as he gazed into her intense orbs.
“No.” She dropped her head. “But I would’ve been crazy to let you go because of it.”
“No.” He chuckled. Amiyah looked up at him questionably. “That shit was sexy. Made me want to give you what you want. You deserve that. You deserve everything you’ve ever dreamed of. You don't ask for much.”
“What are you saying?” she whispered. Her heart pumped rapidly in her chest. It knocked against her skin for freedom.
“Let’s go on vacation and plan our wedding. I don’t want to stall anymore.”
“Karim.” Her voice cracked, abandoning her by the second.
“Let’s plan for forever. Don’t ever let me go, pretty girl. Let’s stay together.”
“Forever.” Amiyah nodded slowly to agree. As she rubbed the side of his face, she gazed into his charming, brown eyes with tears welling in hers.
Things had finally fallen into place. Although Amiyah felt bad for the pressure she’d put on Karim, it had all paid off. Oddly enough, it had taken her pushing him away for her realize that their love was perfect how it was. The phone call from her sister had impacted her perspective and lengthened her patience with him. Finding out about the other side of marriage from a married person had taught her something she'd never considered. They were points she would bring up to him during their plans to wed.
In all, Karim and Amiyah’s pure, unfiltered, unrestricted love was bound together by destiny.
"If This Isn't Love, I'll never be able to wrap my mind around the monumental abundance it is," Amiyah wrapped her arms around his neck and said.
The End
If This Isn't Love Page 5