by Xyla Turner
“Zaaacchh,” I moaned his name, with his mouth still on me.
He pulled away, but didn’t answer. He just stared into my eyes. Communicating all that he could with what he had. He was letting go as well. Letting me have whatever he thought he no longer had.
Damn.
Weren’t we a damn pair?
Now the hard part, finding out what we just let go.
Chapter 9
Zach:
What was happening?
It was happening too fast, but I couldn’t help it. I felt out of control, which was not good for me.
That night in my bed, Lauren came twice, the first time when I was stroking her tight sweet pussy and the second when I sucked on her swollen clit until she screamed. She was delicious and soft all over. My body couldn’t get enough of her, but apparently two orgasms was too much because by the time I was ready again, she was out like a light. I was a little apprehensive to sleep with her in my house for fear of what happened the last time. However, if I had to go, I was moving to the floor so she wouldn’t feel abandoned.
My internal alarm woke me up at 5:00 AM as usual. After working out in the den and taking a shower in my guest bathroom, I decided to make us some breakfast. She would be hungry, as we ate pretty early and worked up more than an appetite last night.
As I was stirring the scrambled eggs, something wrapped around my waist. Turning slightly, I saw a wild haired Lauren, looking beautiful as ever, with a smirk on her face as she laid her head on my back.
“I’m so tired, but I smelled food,” She groaned.
Putting the fork down in the pan, I reached back and put my hands on her thighs. “The food is almost ready. I figured the smell of bacon would get you up.”
“How long have you been up?” Her voice was deep.
“Since five,” I responded.
“Damn! Glad you didn’t wake me up.” She let me go, only to nab a piece of bacon and went into the living room.
I laughed at her curled up watching the news like this was her daytime television. She was so engrossed. It was the news. What was so exciting about this for her?
Once I finished cooking the food, we ate and watched together.
“What do you have planned for today?” I inquired as she laid her head on my chest.
“I have to go through resumes and then clean my trifling house.” She said.
“Ahh, do those things have to be done today?”
“Not really,” she sighed. “I just keep putting them off and it makes me antsy, that’s all.”
“So,” I pulled her closer to me, “Let’s go crabbing. I have a boat and sometimes I go sailing, but I think some crabs tonight would be good.”
She leaned up and stared at me with a blank look. Not knowing her well enough, I didn’t know what that meant. Bracing myself for the ‘hell no’ or the ‘are you serious’ or ‘let’s define this relationship’ comment, she smiled and said, “Okay, Zach. Crabbing it is.”
What?
I would ask no questions about it, but enjoy the damn ride. I was letting go and going with this and apparently, she was trying to as well.
After riding to her house to get a shower and get some ‘dirty’ clothes, as she put it, we rode the 2.5 hours across the bridge towards Southern Maryland. I showed her all the ways to fish and crab. We laughed, ate the WAWA sandwiches and snacks we picked up along the way, and caught about 25 crabs, several small fish and some other unidentifiable sea creatures. By the time we arrived back to my place, she took over the whole cleaning and cooking the crabs. She even made me stop and pick up some corn on the cob and baked beans to go with the meal.
Standing in the door of the kitchen, I watched her move around like she belonged. I could see her there and not just for one night, but much longer than that. Nobody ever got this close.
Fuck.
After we stuffed ourselves, she had me watching the news again.
“What’s with you and the news?” I asked.
“Ohhh, it’s just a thing of mine that I always used to do. Staying current with the happenings of the world around me helps me with my blog. In addition, I used to always say that I wanted to be a newscaster. So, since I can’t, I’ll settle for the next best thing: blogging.”
“Why can’t you be a newscaster?”
She looked at me and said, “Are you serious? Have you seen me? I mean,” she extended her hand towards the screen, “look at her and look at me.”
“And?” I did not get her point.
“Come on Zach, you’re going to make me say it!” She exclaimed.
“Say what? You’re fucking beautiful. What the fuck? Is it because you’re natural? That’s discrimination. You shouldn’t have to change your hair. Fuck, if that is what you want, go for it, Lauren. Fuck these people.”
“No, Zach, it’s because I’m fat.” She got up from the sofa and out of my arms. “They don’t hire fat newscasters and put them on television for all the world to see. Not with these get fit, eat healthy movements and shit. That is not what we want America to see, the fat bitch telling you about what’s healthy for you.”
She grabbed our trash and went into the kitchen. I followed her because there was no way this shit was done.
“Look at me,” I commanded.
“What?” she swung around with wet eyes.
Fuck.
I pulled her to me, pressing her head into my chest and whispering in her ear. “You are beautiful, just the way you are. You want to send a message that bigger women should be on television, then you go for it. Do you hear me, Lauren? You fucking tell them to kiss your ass and go for it. If you want to lose weight, then go for that. But you don’t let people dictate what you can and cannot do. Do you hear me?”
Moving her hair back away from her face, she wrapped her hands around me and nodded her head.
“Good.” I squeezed her. “And for the record, you are not fat. What are you a 16 or 18?”
“On a good day,” she mumbled in my chest.
I laughed and turned her so she was against the wall in the kitchen.
“Look at me.” I directed.
She looked up. Her eyes were wet, but they weren’t flowing.
“Anything you want, that’s what we do. Got it?”
Lauren stared at me for a few, and then she said, “Got it.”
LAUREN:
Zach was blowing me out of the water. Crabbing, hanging out, and watching television, pep talks, talking about ‘we.’ I made a decision, and I planned to stick with it. Let it go. That’s what it was going to be.
After explaining to Zach that I did in fact have a life to get back to, he drove me home and told me he was going to cook dinner at my house tomorrow evening. It was about 7:00PM when I arrived home, so I had to catch up on my blog and emails.
There was nothing else from ZHayes and even what he wrote on his website was gone. Maybe his publicist got a hold of him to let him know that it was not wise to come at critics. It seemed unprofessional. I emailed three candidates for my assistant position and set out to clean my living room, which was cluttered.
Gab texted me that she saw Whit at the store and accidentally dropped that I was seeing someone seriously. Oh shit. Whit was like a dog with a bone. He wouldn’t let it rest and would recruit Kendell in on the shenanigans as well. I had better brace myself.
******
The next morning was filled with interviews, more cleaning that basically consisted of shuffling papers back and forth between the tables, and answering annoying texts from my brothers and mother. Being as vague as possible, but I knew they weren’t buying it. Around 6:00 PM, Zach was at the door with three big grocery bags full of food. He put them down on the floor, grabbed me in a bear hug against the wall and ravished my mouth.
“Good to see you, love,” he said, as I tried to catch my breath.
“You too,” I breathed.
He picked up the bags, made his way to the kitchen and went right to preparing the food and starte
d his meal. When all was done, he had me sitting at the small table that he set up near the kitchen.
“We eat here,” He said that as if to say, from now on, this is where we eat.
“Okay,” was my only response.
Letting it go.
Halfway through our meal, the doorbell started ringing none stop. Zach was up before me and went to open it. I couldn’t see who it was because he had me behind him, but when I heard, “Awww, shit. Lauren got a white boy,” I knew that could be nobody but my brother Whit.
Zach whirled around and asked, “Do you know them?”
“Yeah.” I nodded while shaking my head. “They’re my brothers.”
He opened the door wider to let them inside as they slowly sized him up. The crazy part was that Zach was sizing them right back up from head to toe.
I shook my head and asked, “Is there a reason why you guys are here unannounced?”
Kendall pointed his thumb to Whit and said, “He dragged me here.”
Whit, trying to look serious said, “I didn’t like your answers to my text, and you didn’t call me back.”
“So, that means you show up to my place unannounced?” I was fuming.
“Yeah,” they both said in unison.
“Look,” Zach chimed in, “We’re trying to have dinner here. So if you want some, you can join us and if not, you can leave. This is our time.”
All the James’ heads reared back at the audacity of this newcomer. I should have warned him, but I didn’t know he would be meeting them so soon. Yeah, my family may live in Bowie, but that wasn’t always the case. Whit recovered from his initial shock, but then his features changed and this was about to get ugly. He started walked towards Zach, who didn’t even flinch and said, “Listen, homie, I’m --“
“Yeah,” Kendall slid in front of Whit and finished, “I can eat.”
Zach looked passed Kendall, directly at Whit and said, “Good. There’s plenty in the kitchen.”
On the way to the dining area, Zach nabbed my hand and I quickly followed.
“Calm down, man.” Kendall was talking to Whit.
“This man done lost his motherfucking mind,” Whit sneered. “Who the fuck do he think he talking to?”
Whit did not whisper, and I know Zach heard him, but he wisely ignored him. He stopped me at my seat, so I could sit, which was directly across from him, and then he sat down. Whit and Kendall showed up shortly and Zach directed them to the kitchen, “The food’s in there.” He pointed with his thumb as he picked up some vegetables with his fork.
As figured, my appetite was gone. I’d be breaking up a fight in a little while.
Whit looked back at Kendall, with his eyebrows raised as if to say, ‘you better get that man.’
Kendall shook his head and pushed Whit in the kitchen. As soon as they were in, I said, “Zach, I would say ignore them and that they mean no harm, but if you keep coming at them, they will mean harm.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll mean harm too.”
“Zach,” I whined. “That’s my family.”
“You’re my woman.” He quickly replied as if to say, so what.
There was nothing else to say after that. He was being direct and I heard him loud and clear. They were also in the wrong; coming to my house unannounced like they were the FEDS. Well, I’m glad I had on my sneakers, just in case I had to break up a fight. .
Whit and Kendall came back in the room. They were both tall and skinny. Whit was more muscular and Kendall was just skin and bones. I wished I had those problems. They were good looking men, if I had to say so myself. Whit had a Philly beard, which was full and covered his entire face. He was a little darker than me and had more of temper than I had as well. Kendall and I were about the same mocha complexion, but he was definitely the peacemaker of the bunch. Whit and I were pretty head strong, while Kendall tried to keep us out of trouble.
Whit pulled up a seat at the small round table, but turned the chair around so he was straddling it. He dropped his plate and looked at Zach.
Oh sugar.
Zach looked up to him and asked, “Is there a problem?”
Kendall sat down the normal way and said, “Nope, just hungry. Right, Whit?”
“Hmm,” was Whit’s reply.
“Look guys, if you’re here to eat, that’s fine. But you don’t get to come in here and harass my guest.” I tried to clear the tension.
Whit snapped his head to me and growled, “I’m eating.” He stuffed the asparagus in his mouth with unwashed hands and said, “So, when did you start making veggies.”
“I didn’t.” I was scared to tell him. “Zach made them. Oh, I completely forgot. Zach, this is my brother Whit and my other brother Kendall.” I gestured to both of them. “This is Zach,” I continued, pointing my fork to him.
Whit not missing a beat, “and who is he to you?”
He was looking at Zach.
“Her man,” Zach replied, before he slowly put some vegetables in his mouth with his fork.
Oh boy.
“Is that so?” Whit said, before he swiveled his neck back in my direction.
“Are you going to eat or interrogate?” I breathed.
“I’m fucking eating.” He put another bean in his mouth. “So, Kendall, what questions did you have for the white boy?”
“Uh, none.” Kendall was scarfing down his pork chops.
We never knew where his food went. He was just skinny all of his life.
“Yes, you did.” He threw a bean at Kendall.
Zach dropped his fork on his plate and sighed, “What the fuck do you want to know? Just ask.”
Once again, our heads reared back at this man’s balls. I thought Whit was going to punch him at this point, but he just started laughing.
“You got fucking balls, man. You must be a trained mercenary for coming at me like you are. Outta respect for my sister, I ain’t laid your ass out yet, but what you not going to keep doing, white boy, is pushing me.” Whit had his body facing Zach and his legs ready to pounce.
“And, I’m not going to be too many more of your ‘white boys.’ So come at me like a fucking man or don’t come at all. It don’t make me a difference because what you are not going to do is keep trying to fuck with me. I’m not that man.” Zach had both hands on the table and looked equally as menacing as Whit.
Kendall stopped eating all together and stared between Zach and Whit.
Any minute.
It was about to go down, in the famous words of Kevin Hart.
The staring continued.
Then Whit held up his fist to Zach and said, “Respect.”
Zach looked at it for a bit, then bumped his fist against his and repeated, “Respect.”
That was it.
Kendall and I looked at each other in shock. Whit and Zach picked up their forks and started eating their food, while the rest of us, tried to process what happened.
“What you do man?” Whit asked with a mouth full of food.
“I’m a contractor at the Army base.” Zach answered before he took a sip of juice. “How about you?”
“Me, I run the hotel in Upper Marlboro, called The Inn.”
“Nice, I’ve been there. They have state of the art everything.”
Whit looked up in surprise, “Yeah, I worked hard to get it modernized. We’re booked up until next year. People like the old town feeling with some of the newest technologies.” He nodded.
Zach nodded. “Yeah, that’s tight. I was raving about that place to a superior of mine.”
“Nice,” Whit smiled.
Kendall and I were still looking in awe.
That’s men for you.
“So what do you do?” Zach pointed his fork to Kendall.
“Oh, uh, I’m a web designer.”
“Cool, anything I know about?” Zach followed up.
“Uh, maybe not. It’s usually high-end stuff. Coding, background shit.” Kendall went back to eating.
“He’s being modest.
He’s one of the top designers in the state,” Whit said with pride.
Kendall just shook his head and kept eating. I was still no longer hungry, so I got up to take my plate to the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” Zach nabbed me by wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me to him.
“To the kitchen,” I answered. “I’m finished.”
“You’re not hungry?” He asked.
“Not right now. I think I’ll wrap it up for later.”
“Okay.” He let me go.
“So, you from around here? It don’t seem like ya are.” Whit continued.
“Naw, I’m from Charlotte, North Carolina. Was in the army for a while and got an honorable discharge seven years ago.”
After I put away the dishes, I sort of eavesdropped on the guys talking. There was an ease that they each had with the other. Maybe this was male bonding at its finest.
Returning to the table, their food was almost gone, so I collected Kendall’s plate and started to take it to the kitchen. Zach stopped me and said, “We got this.”
I started to protest, but then stopped and said, “Okay.”
The men got it, so I’m going to let them get it. Once they finished up, they convened in the living room and turned on the game. They laughed, high-fived and cheered, causing me at some points to shake my head as I went through all of my emails. I was so backed up, I needed the distraction.
Something did not feel right, so I went to the bathroom. Zack saw me and went to get up, but I waved for him to stay. I had totally forgotten that when you take the morning after pill, it causes your menstrual cycle. I was on and Zach was here. So much for loving tonight. Once I freshened up, I returned and nodded towards Zach. He was visibly relaxed, and I kept responding to emails. An hour later, the game ended, and they were giving pounds and man hugs, and then Whit said, “Walk me to the car, Lauren.”
Sighing, I got up to walk them to the car in his covert way of giving me the low down on what he thought of Zach, who was sitting on the couch and smiling, recognizing it for what it was.
When we reached outside, I said, “So?”
“He aight,” Whit responded, putting his arm around my shoulders. “Bat shit crazy, but he aight.”