by B. Love
She dressed as quickly as she could and slipped into a pair of black ankle socks before rushing down the stairs to let Nash in. As usual, as soon as she saw him, calm entered her body as she smiled and bit down on her bottom lip. Shoulders hiked, she looked Nash over as he did the same to her.
His peanut butter skin was always bright and glowing. The few tattoos he had held meaning. Nash’s head was square in shape — masculine as hell with his perfectly chiseled jaw. A thin layer of stubble wrapped around it and encapsulated his heart-shaped pink and brown lips.
Heart-shaped pink and brown lips that were juicy as fuck.
Suckable as shit.
Every time he kissed her temple or forehead, Christian had to resist wondering how they would feel on her clit.
It was the only time she ever had lustful thoughts about him.
For the most part, even though Nash was handsome and beautiful on the inside, Christian valued their friendship too much to ever really be physically attracted to him. But it was… just… those lips. And his tight, inquisitive, light brown eyes. Eyes that literally felt as if they could stare through her and into her soul.
Nash was dressed in all black, not to Christian’s surprise. He always dressed in all black, and it wasn’t just because of his security business or the fact that he was quick to pull off a heist in the middle of the night; black looked like such a beautiful contrast against his skin.
Christian needed to focus on something other than him. But that led to her taking in how focused he was on her. His eyes were slowly taking in every inch of her as he literally nibbled on his bottom lip.
“You looking at me like I’m a snack,” she heard herself flirt, surprised by her own boldness. This was a realm she never entered with Nash, and quite frankly, Christian didn’t know what the hell had gotten into her.
His response of, “I’m looking at you like you food for a nigga’s soul,” didn’t make it any better.
Her mouth opened slightly, and she inhaled a deep breath as he stepped inside, towering over her with his six-two frame. Nash gave her that signature hug that she craved on her best and worst days, inhaling his scent until she had to exhale.
“Happy early Valentine’s day, Gucci.”
“Happy early Valentine’s day, Nash.”
“I got your stuff in the car,” he informed as he released her.
“I didn’t know we were doing gifts. Now I gotta get you something.”
“Nah. You cooking and spending time with me is more than enough.”
Their eyes remained locked for a few seconds, until Nash broke the gaze first. He kicked his shoes off at the door. Slowly, he made his way inside her home. His eyes stayed on her, taking in her frame from the side and from behind. If Christian was crazy, she’d swear he shook his head and smiled as his eyes zeroed in on her ass. Closing the door behind him, Christian licked her lips and inhaled a deep breath.
Instead of following him into the kitchen, she stayed there briefly to compose herself. After taking in enough calming breaths to slow her raging heartbeat down, Christian ran her hands down her jeans and headed towards the living room.
“You cook my favorite?”
“Of course. It’s ready, I just had the oven on warm until you got here.”
“Cool.”
Nash followed her into the kitchen, and after she insisted he let her serve him and wait in the living room, he left. The sound of the front door opening and closing made Christian chuckle. Nash could hardly ever sit still for too long without her. He’d always been a busy body. It wasn’t until he met Christian that he started relaxing and riding the wave, not trying to find something to do to fill every hour of his day. Every moment of his time.
She had definitely mellowed him out and helped him understand the importance of just… being.
Now, she needed to do the same for herself.
She worked entirely too damn much to have a full staff of employees.
After fixing their plates, Christian headed for the dining room. What he’d placed in her chair and on top of the table for her made her smile as her eyes watered. Not one to cry too quickly, Christian lowered her eyes as she set the plate in front of him. Her eyes were dry by the time she set her plate down. She wasted no time picking the huge bear up and hugging it tightly. It had to be at least four or five feet.
Inhaling its scent, Christian giggled because it smelled just like him.
“Thank you, Nash. I love it, and I’m sleeping with it tonight.” She sniffed the bear again. “It smells so good. Not as good as this cologne on you. I’m convinced that shit was made to mix with your natural scent even more now.”
Christian put the bear in the seat that was on the opposite side of her. She then focused on the gift bag that was on the table, laughing loudly when she saw that he’d filled it with her two favorite things: pepperoni slices and Reese’s peanut butter cups. Dessert was her favorite part of any meal, and Christian’s sweet tooth was out of this world. She would eat a smaller amount of dinner just to be able to eat more sweets. And pepperoni was a vice within itself.
There had been several occasions where she made a meal out of a six-ounce package of Hormel sliced pepperoni.
“This is so cute and thoughtful. Thank you so much, best friend.”
Nash nodded as he watched her with a satisfied expression covering his face. “It’s something else down there, too.”
Christian removed the tissue paper and released a quiet, “Hmm,” when she saw the small, white envelope at the bottom of the bag.
She opened it, unsure of what she would find. However, she would never have been prepared for what she saw. Her eyes blurred immediately, and tears began to hit the paper as Nash said, “Now you’re a star.”
Giggling quietly, Christian covered her mouth as she read over the card. He’d had a star named after her. As he rambled about the certificate coming in the mail, all she could do was laugh as tears fell from her eyes. It was moments like this that made her love and cherish Nash even more. It was moments like this that proved he knew her better than anyone else. That he listened to her and took in every damn thing she said.
About a month into their friendship years ago, Christian shared with Nash how abruptly and drastically things changed when they found out about the lifestyle Ricky was living. Immediately, she was shifted into the role of second mother. She had to grow up quickly because of the time it took her mother to tend to her heartache.
For quite some time, her likes, dislikes, and interests were ignored, though her needs were always met. Other things and people came first, and she slowly faded into the background. As a child, Christian always wanted to be a star. But when she grew up, that dream of wanting to be in the limelight dimmed. So for Nash to not only remember that but make her one in the sweetest and most creative way…
Christian made her way to his lap and buried her face in his neck. Nash chuckled quietly as he hugged her back. He released a quiet moan as he inhaled her scent, releasing it as a hard exhale that made her shiver.
“I’m happy I could make you happy,” he whispered, then planted a soft, juicy kiss to her temple.
Cupping the back of his head, Christian stared into his eyes. He wiped away her tears gently, soft smile lingering.
“I love you,” Christian declared. Her usual cadenced, melodic voice was now low and trembling — just above a whisper. “So much.”
Clenching his jaw, Nash stared into her eyes as more tears fell from them. He wiped them quickly as his own eyes watered. Cupping her cheeks, he kissed her forehead, then rested his against it.
“I love you, too, Christian. Always.”
“I really have to get you something now,” she decided, getting a laugh out of him that made her laugh.
“Nah. Just let me eat and I’m good.”
Granting his request, Christian turned and began to feed him. He declined at first, but she didn’t care about her own meal getting cold. At this point, he’d filled her on a soul leve
l that left no room for physical food. And this wholeness demanded to be untainted and untouched.
When she was done feeding him, Christian ate a few pepperonis and two of the Reese’s, shoving Nash’s shoulder when he told her she was going to be shitting the night away. After putting her plate back in the oven, they went into the living room where they cut her red, blue, and green mood lights on.
Karaoke turned into dancing and singing together, which turned into a game that revolved around taking shots every time one of them messed up the lyrics to a song. By the time they were done, Christian was tipsy, but not so much that she was too affected by it. Instead, she was just in a happy-ass mood. But that could have simply been because of the amazing time she was having with Nash, too.
Tyrell had done everything he could to make Valentine’s day special for Christian, and though she appreciated his effort, her mind kept taking her back to Nash and the night they shared together. It was so much fun and refreshing. She spent the entire night laughing, dancing, and singing along to her favorite kinds of music with her favorite person.
Her favorite person.
Sighing, Christian looked over at Tyrell and gave him a smile. He’d devoted his entire day to her. First, they went to the spa for couples facials and massages. Then they went shopping. Afterwards, they had dinner. And now, they were headed to their final destination of the evening. Since Christian had no idea what he was up to, she had to force herself to go with the flow and not want to be in control. Usually, the only man she followed anywhere blindly was Nash, but since Tyrell had been trying so hard to make things better between them, Christian had been trying too.
“You good?” Tyrell asked, reaching across the center console and taking her hand into his.
“I am.” She smiled and ran her thumb over his hand. “Today has been great, Tyrell. Thank you for this.”
He nodded and squeezed her hand gently. “It’s not over yet. I just wanted to show you how much I appreciate you and love you. We’re getting to a better place now, but the past three months had been kind of hard for us.” Christian nodded and smiled softly, not even wanting to think about the issues they were having. “I know a lot of that shit was on me, so I wanted to make tonight as special for you as I possibly could.”
“Well, today is cool, but I’m more impressed by the effort you’ve put forth on a daily basis. That is what means the most to me. We’re good, Tyrell. I swear.”
He looked at her briefly and nodded at her reassuring smile. The rest of the ride was done with no conversation, though she hummed and sang along to a few songs that came on. A few minutes later, Tyrell was pulling into the parking lot of Whintom Hotel, telling her to wait until he came to get her to get out.
While she waited, Christian called Nash to see what he was up to. She’d already checked in with her siblings and the rest of her family this morning, but he was the only person whose voice she had to hear before the end of each day to be okay.
“Gucci,” was how he answered the phone, like always.
Smiling, Christian lowered her head briefly before looking towards the entrance.
“Happy Valentine’s day. You alone?”
“Happy Valentine’s day. No.”
Her smile fell as she considered what woman he could have been spending the night with. No one came to mind, so she asked, “Who you with?”
“Pinky.”
Christian rolled her eyes as she continued to stare at the entrance of the hotel. Pinky was a chick Nash fucked off with from time to time. Her real name was Lauren, but everyone called her Pinky because that’s the color she kept her hair. Christian couldn’t name one thing she didn’t like about her besides the fact that Nash liked her.
“Oh. Well, I didn’t want anything. I was just checking on you.”
“Where you at? You enjoying your night?”
Christian shrugged as if Nash could see her. “Yes. Tyrell got a room at the Whintom. I’m just waiting for him to check us in now.”
“Cool. Well… I guess I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”
Not ready to get off the phone with him yet, Christian pouted as she nodded. “Okay. Enjoy your night.”
The sound of his chuckle only fueled her jealousy, and Christian had no idea why. “I’m sure I will. You enjoy your night as well, Chris.”
Hanging up the phone quickly, Christian mumbled under her breath as Tyrell walked out of the hotel. Not wanting him to sense the change in her mood, Christian inhaled a deep breath and tried to block out images of Nash and Pinky as she cut her phone off. By the time he made it to her door, Christian was forcing a smile.
“Ready for me?”
Tyrell nodded as he helped her out of the car. “Hell yea. Bring your sexy ass on.”
With a giggle, Christian leaned into his side as she held his hand. Their hands remained locked until they made it to the door of the room. Tyrell opened the door and twisted the handle, but he didn’t open it immediately.
“You love me?”
She thought over his question for a few seconds. Christian loved him as much as she could. As much as her paranoia would allow her to. There were still parts of her that she hadn’t given Tyrell access to out of fear. No man had ever really had access to all of her. Even Nash. Though she connected to him more mentally and emotionally, their connection physically and romantically kept him from experiencing all of her.
And maybe that’s why she never wanted to risk their friendship going to the next level. Because then, there would be no part of her that was foreign to him.
“Of course I love you. You know that.”
With a nod, Tyrell opened the door, allowing Christian to step in first. She gasped, taken aback by surprise at the sight before her. Tyrell had never been the romantic type, so for him to have candles burning, rose petals scattered, and soft music playing was the ultimate mood. Her eyes scanned every section of the room, settling on the champagne and chocolate-covered fruit.
“This is so beautiful, Tyrell. Thank you!”
Cutting her phone back on, Christian took pictures of the room and the bathroom that was decorated just as beautifully.
“You finally gon’ put me on your social media?”
Even though he was smiling, Christian could tell he was serious. Throughout their entire relationship, she had never shown his picture on her page or tagged him in anything. That was one thing she didn’t play about. If a man ever played her, she never wanted the world to know. The last thing she needed was to be posting pictures of Tyrell like they have an amazing relationship, and he’s on the other side of town, doing the same thing for another woman.
“You know how I feel about that.”
“Yea, but you put that other nigga shit on your page last night. Put me and mine on there, too.”
“Nash is my best friend.”
“And I’m your man.”
With a roll of her eyes, Christian sighed and opened her Facebook app. Their night was going perfectly, and she didn’t want it to end with an argument. If her posting him would shut him the hell up, so be it.
“Fine,” she grumbled. After uploading the pictures she’d taken of the room, along with the Hermes bag he’d gotten her, Christian put a cute caption that said, Get you a him, but your own him. Not my him. She went back and added the picture of them she’d taken as well, then tagged him and shared it. “I tagged you.”
After placing her phone on the dresser, she sat on the edge of the bed. Christian watched as he read the caption and smiled. If something so small was able to make him so happy, it was worth it. Tyrell put his phone next to hers, then walked over to her. He removed her heels and pulled her dress over her head. Helping her stand to her feet, Tyrell wrapped his arms around her and covered her lips with his.
There wasn’t anything special about their kiss or his sex for that matter. He could make her cum, but there wasn’t much feeling and emotion behind it. The moment Tyrell had her out of her underwear, he lifted her into the air and placed
her in the middle of the bed. Tyrell made his usual trail down her chest and licked her pussy for a few seconds before spreading her legs and sliding into her.
There was no buildup to his strokes. He went in and instantly began to beat her pussy up. Trying to get him to slow down, Christian pressed her hand into his chest as she moaned, “Slow down, Tyrell.”
“I can’t,” he groaned. “This pussy too good for that slow shit. I’ll nut too fast.”
Her laugh turned into a moan as he pressed her knees into the bed and stroked her harder. Tightness began to build at her core, and even though she knew her orgasm would overtake her soon, Christian felt herself begin to fill with disappointment already. There was nothing satisfying about the journey of getting to that orgasmic destination with Tyrell. She would never deny his ability to make her cum multiple times… but there was no passion or excitement behind it.
She felt her walls dry up, so Christian quickly began to circle her clit with her fingers. Closing her eyes, the sight of Nash popped into her mind. Something told her to open her eyes and focus on Tyrell, but images of Nash with his shirt off, walking towards her, became more appealing. Biting down on her bottom lip, Christian turned her head to the side at the feel of Tyrell’s lips, and she couldn’t help but wish it was Nash instead.
“Shit, Chris,” he moaned, wrapping her legs around him.
Christian pulled his lips down to hers, knowing the only way she’d be able to silence him was with a kiss. Because truthfully, she couldn’t fantasize about Nash in her mind with Tyrell’s voice in her ears.
The more her thoughts were filled with Nash, the wetter, hotter, and tighter her walls grew. Tyrell’s moans and praises did nothing to fuel her on. This moment had absolutely nothing to do with him. As she began to reach the final heights of her peak, Tyrell placed her ankles on his shoulders and stroked her deeply.
Biting down on her bottom lip, she opened her eyes and smiled bitterly at the sight of Tyrell staring back at her — not Nash. Because Tyrell was her man — not Nash. Nash was her best friend. And it would always stay that way. It had to stay that way. No matter what.