by J. Nichole
“With a whole bottle?” She watched the server walk away before she added, “A bottle of wine will certainly lead to a celebration of sorts.” She smirked.
With that promise, I made sure we finished every drop of the bottle, toasting to her, “To many more deals, and your continued success.” We clanked our glasses and sipped the wine while we dined on the best jerk chicken north of Jamaica, as she said.
Before we left the restaurant, Anaya asked, “Before we started our famed book club, what would you do in the evening while you were traveling?” I contemplated telling her about my wayward ways, finding random women at the bar and taking them back to my room, but I thought it’d be a passion killer.
Instead, I said, “Mainly hung at a bar, watched sports.” I made it sound real mundane.
“You don’t have a trail of women left behind waiting for you to return to their city?” I looked at her and shook my head, but the smile on my face probably didn’t come off as innocent. “Businessmen who travel have a reputation of having hoe tendencies.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I met women on the road. Never told any of them that there’d be anything more or less than what it was, and I’ve been single so.” I shrugged.
“And now?” she asked.
“I discuss romance novels and thrillers with this sexy, young thang I met at home.” She smiled and her shoulders relaxed. After I laid my card on the table, I asked, “Ready to get out of here?” She nodded her head and I hoped I eased her fears of other women.
On the car ride to her condo, though, I asked her about the other charming man in her life. “The one from the bar,” I reminded her when she looked at me with a blank stare.
“Oh, Josh, I haven’t been out with him again actually.” She looked out the car window before adding, “He wasn’t as charming as I thought after all.” I didn’t pry anymore, I was just happy he was out of the picture.
I hopped out of the car and opened her door, offering her my arm as I escorted her to her front door. “Coming in, right?” she asked as she unlocked the door. I nodded my head and followed her inside. She grabbed two glasses from her kitchen cabinet, and filled them with a white wine. “To a wonderful night,” she said handing me a glass and holding hers in the air.
“To a wonderful night, indeed,” I repeated. We sat beside each other on the couch and with a click on her phone, H.E.R. started playing on speakers above. “Damn, I need a setup like that in my life,” I said as she turned to me.
“Uh huh,” she said as she placed her glass down, taking mine to sit beside it. She climbed into my lap, to the same spot she was earlier in the evening. “And I need to get back to where we were earlier.” Who was I to deny her? My lips found hers as I wrapped my arms around her waist.
It didn’t take long for my dick to get on board, and between her soft lips and moans, I was ready for more. I scooted her to the side and kicked my legs up on her couch, pulling her on top of me, and she took that as her cue to grind her body against mine.
My hands began to roam her ass and just before her soft lips, moans, grinding, and the feel of her ass was all too much, she sat up breaking our kiss. My eyes opened wide enough to watch her climb off of me. “Come here,” she said, and I followed her into her bedroom. She swiped her hand across her bed causing her clothes to fall into a pile on the floor.
She threw her head forward and exposed the zipper on her dress. “Can you help me?” As I unzipped her dress, she reached behind her and unhooked her bra, leaving her back bare. I leaned forward planting kisses down the center, as her back arched and her dress and bra fell to the floor beside us.
She climbed on top of her bed and I unbuttoned my shirt and unzipped my pants, peeling them off and adding them to her pile of clothes. I climbed on top of the bed thinking I was going to dive head first between her legs, when she pushed me back against her pillows.
She released my dick from my boxers and her warm lips covered it. Alternating between her mouth and hands, and watching me as she worked. I was convinced the shy girl vibe was all an act, ‘cause the woman I watched was nowhere near shy. My body began to stiffen and I looked down to say, “Wait.” As my mouth formed, she hopped off grabbing a condom from somewhere, unraveling it and sheathing me.
Before I could even think twice, she was riding me with her head tilted back. As her titties bounced my body caved. Her hips slowed and she grabbed my hand to finish what we started. I went along with it, rubbing her clit till her eyes rolled to the back of her head while she moaned, “Yasss,” softly into my chest.
“I’m Russell,” I said as she rolled to my side. “Who are you?” I asked. She laughed and I continued, “For real, I didn’t expect that at all.” But the more I spoke the redder her cheeks became.
She bit her lip, making me want round two, but said, “When it comes to sex, I know exactly what I want and when I want it.” I blinked in amazement. “Does that bother you?”
“Hell naw, not one bit.” I damn near whispered, “I love you.”
“Good.” She balanced her body on her elbows. “’Cause I’m going to let round one slide. We’ll call it a freebie. Round two though”—she put two fingers in the air—“I need us to go the distance.” Did she just? I turned my head to look at her face, and she wasn’t even smiling.
“You just going to hop up on it, then trash my dick game?” I asked with a snicker.
She shook her head. “Not trashing it. If I were trashing it there wouldn’t be a round two.” She winked. Damn.
Round two, I brought my fuck you to sleep game, and that’s exactly what she did when we finished. She drifted to sleep, mouth wide open, beside me. I pulled the covers over us and went to sleep right along with her.
Thirteen
Anaya
“Ugh,” I sighed as I looked out the window at the inches of snow drifting from the sky. “I should have listened to James.”
Marley lay across the bed unfazed by the snowfall outside. “Just as long as you don’t tell him that. You know you’d never hear the end of it.” She took a sip of her wine and said, “Might as well sit your ass down and watch this movie, drink this wine, and eat these here snacks, because we won’t be leaving this room tonight.”
We landed safely in Seattle, after a red-eye from Reagan airport the night before. By the time we made it to our hotel, the snow began to fall, and had no plans of stopping any time soon. “But Google said it barely snows in December here; we had better luck of seeing snow in Virginia.”
Marley turned the volume of the television down. “Since I guess you aren’t going to sit down and chill out, let’s talk about what’s really on your mind. Obviously, you aren’t just worried about the snow.” She was right, the snow was irritating but it wasn’t the only thing that had me on edge.
“Honestly…” I leaned against the wall beside the window. “I’ve been thinking with Christmas approaching, I should try to find something for Russell.”
“Really?” she asked, dragging out the word. “You’re pacing the floor over a Christmas gift?” She shook her head. “Try again.”
I laughed and took a seat on the bed. “Okay,” I said giving into her digging. “We spent Thanksgiving together, both stayed in the kitchen all day, lounged around, etc.,” I said waving my hands in the air. “For Christmas though, we agreed we’d spend it with our families. And...”
“Okay, so you don’t want to spend it with Mama Hartley and them?” She sat up against the headboard turning the TV volume down.
“Of course I do.” I’d spent every Christmas with my family for the past twenty-six years, not missing a single one. “I was just hoping to squeeze in time with Russell.” She shrugged. “I don’t want to come off as needy,” I admitted.
“Y’all can see each other before or after, right?” she asked with her finger to her chin.
“Yeah, we can.” I sat against the headboard and poured myself a glass of wine. “It better stop snowing tomorrow so we can get out and enjoy Seattle.” W
hile Marley laughed at the comedy special on TV, I browsed the local magazine and picked out spots for us to see the next couple of days.
I hopped out of bed the next morning and ran to the window. “Yes, God be listening,” I whispered. Marley was still asleep but I was about to wake her up to get our day started. The sun was shining and I needed to escape the room.
Her ass snored all night, and was now stretched across her bed like a cat. “Marley,” I yelled, “wake up.” She opened an eye and looked at me. “Time to get moving,” I said with my toiletry bag in one hand and my clothes in the other.
“Wake me when you get out the shower,” she groaned.
I thought about our day ahead and couldn’t help but think about how Russell was doing on the other side of the country. I texted him as I waited for Marley to slowly get dressed.
Anaya: Miss me yet?
As I waited for him to respond, I scrolled my social media page, looking at pictures of my friends from college. Some who I hadn’t seen since graduation. I saw one of my friends posing with her new husband against the backdrop of pillows. Like many mornings, when Russell spent the night, we’d lounge in the bed till lunch.
I smiled as I posted, Dear #FutureHusband, let’s lounge around all Saturday morning.
Marley smacked her lips and threw her toiletry bag on the bed. “Oh,” she said when I looked up at her. “So you and your future husband can lounge around on Saturday mornings, but I have to get my ass out the bed.” She plopped on the bed reaching over to pull on her socks. “I’m starting to rethink these little vacations with you.”
“First of all, I just posted that. Weren’t you supposed to be getting dressed?” I asked, looking at her without make-up or her hair unwrapped from the bonnet.
“You know I scroll my page while I get ready.” She laughed.
“And second of all, you love our vacations,” I teased with my tongue out.
She grabbed her make-up back and disappeared back into the bathroom. “I do love our vacations,” she affirmed from the bathroom. Of course she did. Because they were my celebrations, I covered the room and she only had to worry about her flight. Over the past couple of years, we’d shared the best memories on these little getaways.
My phone dinged as she was coming out of the bathroom and I smiled when I saw a message from Russell. “Must be your boo,” she said as she grabbed her purse.
Russell: Been missing you. Send me pics.
“Alright, I’m ready,” I told Marley after I snapped a selfie with a kissy face to send to Russell.
We climbed into the back of a taxi, bundled up and headed to our first stop, the Space Needle. “Now you know I’m afraid of heights,” I said to Marley as we made our way to the entry of the building. “But the view has to be amazing from up there.” I looked up and back at Marley who was frowning with her hands stuffed in her pockets.
“You stay picking adventures to test yourself.” She glanced up the length of the building then said, “But let’s go.”
I gasped when the elevator doors finally opened and I had my first glance of the expansive sound. “Look at that view.” I pointed towards the water. “It’s gorgeous.”
Marley’s smile was the biggest yet, standing in front of the edge to peer out for miles. “Now this, I’d climb out of bed for anytime.” We stood together and snapped a picture, away from the edge, of course, because I wasn’t about that life. “You know it’s safe right?” she said over her shoulder as she got one last glance.
Our day continued as we navigated the Museum of Pop Culture, stood in a forever long line for a cup of Starbucks. Where Marley reminded me, “I don’t even like coffee,” softly, so the others in line wouldn’t hear her.
Finally, we ended the day with a fancy dinner at The Pink Door. “Thank you for always tagging along with me,” I said sitting across from Marley. “You a real one.”
She laughed and shook her head. “You know I got you, boo.” She leaned back in her seat and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “But next time, let’s do cold weather areas in the warmer months.” I could agree with that. Even though we weren’t outside for long, running in and out of buildings never gave us a chance to warm up.
“Yeah, I failed on the planning of this one.” Our food came to the table, and the garlic was enticing. “But we didn’t go wrong with this place,” I said as I looked around at the decor. The band playing in the corner, candles lit, and beautiful chandeliers hanging above. I bit into the pasta, and it was as glorious as the surroundings.
“Only thing is”—Marley grinned—“it appears as we are on a date.” Most of the tables around us were occupied by couples. I shrugged, and Marley said, “I know, who cares?”
When our server checked on us I asked her for the dessert menu. “Save room,” I told Marley as I placed my fork on my plate, leaving half of the pasta uneaten.
Marley groaned. “Usually I have no problem with only eating half, but this pasta is amazing,” she bragged. Not like Marley had any reason to skip half her pasta, she had the height to hide a couple of extra pounds. Unlike me, point two five pounds would be seen on my short ass.
“Girl, they have Nutella cheesecake,” I continued, scanning the menu, “An apple pie.” My legs began to dance in excitement.
“We can split whatever you feel like eating.” Marley shoveled another bite of pasta in her mouth. Bite by bite, she continued till her plate was clear and the server returned with the apple pie. “Tell me, what is it about Russell that makes him special?”
“He seems sincere.” I rolled my eyes then said, “I mean, after his fuck boy stunt.” Even though he pulled that, he was nowhere near either of my exes. “He is charming, considerate.” I told Marley about our book club when it started and she thought it was cute but corny. “Even though I don’t see him often, we talk all the time and I miss him the whole time we are apart.”
“Think he’ll have staying power?” I nodded my head enthusiastically. “That’s cool, Anaya. I want to see all my girls happy, especially you.” I turned the question around on her to pry about her love life. “There isn’t much to share on that front, unfortunately.” Her nose scrunched up and her mouth twisted to say, “Keith turned out to be a big talker but couldn’t back it up.”
I pouted my lips. It’s very likely that he wasn’t actually a let down, that he could have been a good match for her, but she wasn’t ready for love yet. She didn’t need me to remind her of that though. “Damn, sorry to hear that.”
Every single crumb of the apple pie was eaten, and I grinned. “That shit was good right?” Marley winked.
On our way back to our room, the last time running into the cold, I sat in the back of the taxi and sent Russell one last pic of the day. He was likely sleep since he was a few hours ahead.
I was surprised when we got into the room and he had responded.
Russell: What time do you land?
Anaya: 1:30
Russell: Sweet dreams.
“Are you over there boo loving?” Marley asked loudly, interrupting my text conversation. “Make sure he knows these”—she waved her hand in the air—“trips will always be a thing.” She eyed me with a straight face and warned, “You better not even think about replacing me with him.” I laughed, but Marley didn’t crack a smile. “Girl, I’m serious,” she whined.
I assured her she was irreplaceable, “These trips are solid.” Although, I wouldn’t mind a trip or two with Russell. “Whenever you get a boo we’ll do a couple’s trip,” I offered. She cackled at the idea. “I’m serious,” I whined, mocking her.
“Deshaun’s wack ass is the reason Lisa isn’t on these trips.” I sunk into my pillow because I knew she was going to give me an earful. “He doesn’t travel, so now all of a sudden she doesn’t travel.” She smacked her lips. “Shoot, she’s wack too.” I thought about Lisa’s predicament and how she had evolved since dating Deshaun, all the while Marley was going in on him. “You know she even started eating beef again?” I
just listened because I had no dog in the fight.
“At least she still hangs out with us at happy hour, and other random shit around the DMV.” She smirked. “Not much we can do about it.” I shrugged. We tried to stage an intervention, and failed miserably. “You know she still has her love blockers on.”
“See that’s why I’mma rock single for a while longer.” I ignored her last comment and grabbed the remote. Lisa tried to convince Marley she was too guarded, and failed at that too.
To be sure the night ended on a high note, I turned on an Yvonne Orji comedy special. We laughed hysterically while getting ready for our morning flight.
By the time we landed at Reagan, I was done. I dragged my luggage through the airport slowly with my head hanging. “Alright, sis,” I said to Marley with my arms open wide. “Text me when you make it home.” I turned to walk out to hail a taxi when I heard my name.
I turned around and heard it again, but couldn’t find who was saying it. I squinted and looked through the crowd before I turned back around. I felt an arm on my shoulder and my body tensed. “Anaya,” I heard him say.
“Russell?” I said as I was turning around. I looked down at his hands now in his pockets. “What are you doing here?” I looked behind him for luggage. He usually flew out on Mondays, but maybe he was headed out a day early.
He opened his arms and said, “Don’t you need a ride home?” with a crooked grin. Russell lived in Reston, the airport was in Arlington, and I lived in Alexandria. I wrapped my arms tightly around him because traversing all those cities, in the DMV, he might as well have told me he loved me.
“You didn’t have to come all the way out here to give me a ride,” I said, walking towards parking. “But thank you for coming. I’m happy to see you,” I said genuinely. I had missed Russell terribly, and the pictures he sent lounging around his house then at a bar were cute, but the real thing was much better.
“Tell me about your trip,” he said after we hit the highway towards my place. “I still haven’t made it to Seattle yet.”