Finding Love At Life's Crossroads: An Interracial Novel

by Skylar Ward

  Ace glanced at his growing shaft. How can she be ashamed of her body, doesn’t she see what she is doing to me? He removed her hand gently. “Don’t hide your body from me.” He touched the discolored area on her stomach. “I saw those videos. Our daughter stretched your body to the max.”

  “I got rid of the others,” Efia whispered, “This one refused to go.”

  “This is not only your stretch mark, Efia. This is our stretch mark.”

  “Our?” Efia glanced at Ace’s six-pack and laughed. You are perfect!

  “Don’t,” he said. “This stretch mark represents the greatest joy you have given me.” Ace brushed his lips along the corner of Efia’s mouth. “You are beautiful—all of you.”

  Efia stopped laughing. “At least your sentiments are in the right place, thank you.”

  Ace removed Efia’s clothes and planted soft kisses into the crook of her neck. Sliding her heels up and down the outside of his thighs, Efia clutched his muscular ass. Ace sucked in air and moved to the valley between her breasts. He kissed the sensitive area before shifting to her peaks. Efia moaned and writhed beneath him. Cupping one full breast, he gave it a thorough tongue-lashing, as he sucked, nibbled, and tugged at her stiff nipple. Slowly, he moved on to the next.

  “Hurry,” Efia gasped.

  Ace lowered himself along her body, and his tongue blazed a trail of fire from her breasts, straight to her belly button, only easing up on the intensity when he reached her stretch mark.

  With reverence, he kissed the three-inch mark, before running the tip of his tongue along the entire length. “Mwah,” he said, giving the stretch mark a full kiss.

  Efia’s body arched like a cat in heat as Ace eased away from her hands and moved slowly beyond her stomach and down to her center where he found her wet and ready for him. In one swift move, he folded her over, exposing her core to him. Efia whimpered and reached overhead, grasping onto the spindles of the headboard. Using the tip of his tongue, Ace teased, tasted, and discovered her secret walls. Efia groaned and lifted her behind, smacking Ace in the face with her vagina. He palmed her ass, restricting her movements. She moaned and squirmed as he delivered a few hard sucks to her swollen nob.

  “Fuck!” spilled from Efia’s lips and her hands tightened around the spindles.

  Ace glanced up. He had never heard profanity spill from her lips before. Smiling, his eyes roamed over her sweat-drenched face and messy hair.

  “You have never looked more beautiful,” he whispered before slipping from the bed.

  With a condom on, Ace lay on his back, encouraging Efia to take the lead. When she climbed over him, he took her hand and guided it to his hardened cock.

  “Go ahead,” he whispered. “Put it in.”

  Efia lifted and eased his shaft into her body. Together they rocked back and forth slowly, before moving to a faster rhythm. She picked up the pace, squeezing Ace with her vaginal walls. Ace groaned loudly and simultaneously pinched both of her nipples.

  “Oh. Me. God. Oh. Me. God,” Efia moaned and lurched forward.

  Ace held her body close to his chest with one arm while delivering a series of upward thrusts. As he drove deeper and deeper into her body, he groaned, “Mine. Mine. Mine.”

  “Yes, Yes, Yes,” Efia hollered in response. Her screams, turning into a litany of incoherent sounds as an orgasm sliced through her core.

  Ace’s body jerk and he propelled upwards, giving one final push.

  “God, Efia, I love you!” he groaned.

  Their bodies heaved as they weathered the after-effects in a tight embrace. Ace looked at Efia as their irregular breathing filled the space. He didn’t speak—there was no need. He had said it all.

  Chapter 22

  “No, Mommy, it’s my daddy’s turn.”

  Efia could not believe her four-year-old was now deciding which parent should accompany her into the schoolhouse.

  This is ridiculous. “Okay,” Efia said. “I’ll wait here for your dad.”

  “Give your mother a kiss,” Ace said.

  Yasmine kissed Efia on the lips. “Bye, Mommy.”

  Efia cupped Yasmine’s little cheeks. “Bye, sweetie, be a good girl in school today, and listen to your teachers, okay?”

  “I will, Mommy.”

  “Did you thank Liam for driving you to school today?” Efia asked.

  Yasmine waved to the chauffeur. “Thank you.”

  “You are welcome, Ms. Yasmine,” Liam said in a pronounced Irish accent.

  As Yasmine and Ace headed toward the entrance, Efia slid into the back of the town car and lowered the window.

  “Do you have any kids, Liam?” she asked.

  “I have a twelve-year-old daughter, ma’am.”

  “Had I told my mother it wasn’t her turn to walk me into school, my mom would have given me one look, and that would have been enough to set me straight.”

  “Same here,” Liam said.

  Efia glided across the seat when Ace approached the vehicle.

  “Did you get the list of schools?” Efia asked.

  “We should have it on Monday.” Ace ran his thumb over Efia’s hand. “I am leaning toward an artistic environment. I don’t want to stifle Yasmine’s creativity.”

  “I don’t remember being this forceful as a kid,” Efia said.

  “Neither was I,” Ace said. “However, I would venture to bet, we were more boisterous than our parents at the same age.”

  “You have a point there.” Efia scrunched up her face. “Yasmine is only four for God’s sake?”

  It’s called evolution.” Ace kissed the back of Efia’s hand. “We can’t accept just okay from our kids, we have to urge them to strive for more. If today’s kids hone their innate abilities, they will change the world in ways we can only dream of.”

  “I am still stuck at the stage where I want to chew Yasmine’s food for her,” Efia said. “In the meanwhile, Yasmine is on the other side ready to fly.”

  Ace laughed softly. “It’s important to provide a platform where she can be a freethinker, and it starts at home with us.”

  “I know we can’t apply the old rules to today’s kids,” Efia said, “but geesh can she slow down a bit and let me soak in these years.”

  “I am eager for the day when she challenges me on the way I run our businesses,” Ace responded.

  Efia laughed. “Wait until she tells you your ideas are stodgy.”

  Ace chuckled. “She might be right, but she will have to defend every change she wants to make.”

  Efia sniffed.

  Ace placed Efia’s head on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  “I don’t know. My baby is growing up, too, quickly. I want her to grow, but I don’t want her to grow away from me. Does that make any sense?”

  “It does,” Ace replied. “It’s an adjustment, not only do you have to share her with me, but she is also starting to voice some strong opinions that don’t always coincide with what you might want to hear.”

  Efia took Ace’s hand, interlacing their fingers. “Who knew parenting would be so difficult?”

  <>

  During the next forty-five minutes, Ace and Efia settled into a relaxed conversation until Ace reached his destination. After kissing Ace goodbye, Efia continued the trip to Tribeca.

  As the vehicle crawled through traffic, she used the time to reflect on the changes in her life. Going from subway rides to chauffeur-driven cars would take some getting used to. While living as a Davenport had its perks, Efia knew it was left to her to keep Yasmine’s feet planted firmly in the real world. Deep in reflection, she hadn’t realized she’d reached her destination until Liam opened the rear door.

  “Ma’am, we are here.”

  “You don’t have to wait around,” Efia said, exiting the vehicle. “I’ll take the subway back.”

  “Oh, no, ma’am, I have been given strict orders by Mr. Davenport to wait until you are finished.”

  “In that case, I will text you when I am ready, h
ow is that?”

  “Thank you,” Liam replied.

  Efia spotted Cobb standing in front of the building. She made her way over to the modern architecture greeting him with a handshake.

  “A couple of my colleagues are upstairs viewing the unit,” Cobb said. “We will start with the kids’ playroom on the fifth floor.”

  Efia nodded.

  Cobb stepped aside. “After you, Ms. Kwateng.”

  “Thank you,” Efia said, scanning the marble lobby with its living room-styled waiting area. So, this is what seven million dollars buys!

  When they entered the playroom, and Efia saw the rows of books, toys, and games, she gushed, “This is fantastic. Yasmine will love this.”

  “This is a kid’s dream,” Cobb said. “And a parent’s delight. You won’t have to worry about play dates.”

  “It’s great to have everything under the same roof,” Efia agreed.

  “The amenities here are top notch.” Cobb checked the time. “There is a theater room on the fourth floor and a state of the art gym on the second floor. My colleagues should be finished, shall we head to the apartment?”

  “Certainly,” Efia replied.

  When they stepped from the elevator, a woman and four men dressed in suits, exited the apartment.

  “The place is fabulous, Cobb,” one of the men in the group said before doing a double take. “Efia? Efia Kwateng? What are you doing here?”

  Cobb observed his colleague. “You know my client, Njoku?”

  Njoku, an attractive, dark complexioned man of medium height, said, “Yes, we go way back. Efia is friends with my cousin.”

  Of all the people to run into today! “Hi, Peter,” Efia said.

  “I’ll see you back at the office,” Cobb said, guiding Efia away from Njoku.

  “I will let Sam know I ran into you,” Peter Njoku said.

  “Thanks, Bye, Peter.”

  <>

  Up in the penthouse, the floor to ceiling windows streamed natural light into the open plan great room with its twelve-foot ceilings.

  “Oh, my, God,” Efia gushed. “This is fantastic. I love the fireplace. I don’t recall seeing it in the photos.”

  “I wanted to keep it as a surprise,” Cobb said.

  “You knocked it out of the park, or should I say, off the roof? This space is beyond my dreams.”

  “Off the roof?” Cobb laughed. “What did I tell you? Didn’t I tell you I was on board with your vision?”

  Efia’s smile was her answer. “Do you mind if I take a few photos?” she asked.

  “Go right ahead,” Cobb replied.

  Efia clicked away, stopping when she entered the room that would-be Yasmine’s bedroom. She ran her hand along the red accent wall. It would be Yasmine’s first room. Efia knew the time had come for her daughter to have her own space, but leaving Yasmine alone would take willpower on her part.

  She pushed the thought away as splashes of color pallets danced in her head. Settling on an accent wall of soft-pink, Efia exited the room and trotted out onto the private deck where the Tribeca skyline welcomed her with opened arms.

  “Breathtaking!” she whispered.

  “It is,” Cobb said, startling her.

  Breathlessly, Efia declared, “This is the home for us.”

  Chapter 23

  Sam Njoku entered his office at Bainbridge, Forrester, and Stewart, LLP and closed the door. He slid into his chair and hit the speaker on his phone. He lowered the volume.

  “Is everything all right, Peter?”

  “Yes, Sam,” Peter said. “You won’t believe who I ran into?”

  “Who?” Sam asked.

  “Efia Kwateng.”

  “You are disturbing me from working on a brief, to tell me you saw Efia?”

  “That’s not all,” Peter said. “Why didn’t you tell me Efia won the lottery?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Sam asked.

  “Sam, I saw Efia viewing a seven-million-dollar apartment.”

  “People go to open houses all the time,” Sam said. “I went to hundreds.”

  “No, my cousin, Efia could never get through those doors without proof of funds. Furthermore, the agent she is working with would never touch a client with less than ten million dollars’ net worth. This is legit.”

  Silence.

  “Are you there?” Peter asked.

  “Davenport,” Sam whispered.

  “Who?”

  “Davenport! He is her lottery ticket. He is that cheating kid of hers’ father.”

  “Are you still upset over some silly game with a four-year-old?”

  “You still don’t get it, do you? Sam said. “I was there for them from the get-go. As soon as this guy appeared, they both ran to him like he was their savior.”

  “Samuel Njoku, he is Yasmine’s father, what do you expect?”

  “Whose side are you on?” Sam asked.

  “I told you a long time ago, to move on with your life. When are you going to get it through that thick skull of yours there is no future with Efia?”

  Sam tuned out Peter’s voice. He smiled, thinking of his ace in the hole. Who knew I would have struck gold when I loaned Efia my computer? Sam shook his head, his mind going a million miles a second.

  “Sam, are you still there?”

  “Yeah,” Sam said. “If Efia thinks she can just discard me like an old pair of shoes, she is in for a surprise.”

  “What the hell are you talking about, Sam?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Sam said.

  “Damn, why did I bother to call you with this information? You’d better stay away from Efia and her child.”

  “Are you done?”

  “No,” Peter said. “I got a call from Christopher. He is upset you are not attending his daughter’s outdooring.”

  “Why is Christopher complaining to you? I told him I had to travel for a deposition.”

  “He is your brother, Sam. Couldn’t you ask one of your colleagues to take your place?”

  Sam exhaled loudly. “I have already attended two christenings for Christopher’s other kids, and at the rate, he is going, there will be plenty more to come, what’s the big deal, anyway?”

  “If your dad were alive, he would not accept this.”

  “And my father would never allow my mother to spend all her time taking care of Christopher’s kids, either. I have a two-bedroom apartment, do you think it would kill my mother to spend a little time with me?”

  “Sam, I don’t understand you anymore. You need a vacation, cousin, the pressure of work is getting to you.”

  Sam stood.

  “Hello, are you still there, Sam?”

  Sam clicked the speaker button off. He went over to his office door and locked it. Sam returned to his desk. He reached for his cell phone muting the sound. He opened his video files.

  “Ah, my favorite video,” he whispered, “Efia pleasing herself.”

  Chapter 24

  “Shush, sweetie, your dad is working,” Efia said, helping Yasmine to button her new Carter’s Daddy’s Dream girl pajamas which Ace had bought. Suspecting Ace had been influenced by the logo, Efia smiled. “There, all done, do you like your PJ’s?”

  “I love my PJ’s, Mommy.”

  “How was school today?”

  “I have a new friend,” Yasmine said. “His name is Jeremy.”

  Efia smoothed Yasmine’s hair away from her eyes. “You have a boyfriend?”

  “He has lots of hair like me.”

  Efia tickled Yasmine. “Someone has a boyfriend.”

  Yasmine giggled and scrunched herself into a tiny ball.

  “I have to tell your father about this.”

  “Tell me what?” Ace asked from the doorway.

  Surprised by his appearance, Efia and Yasmine jerked to a seated position.

  “Do you want to tell your daddy about your new friend?”

  “Jeremy,” Yasmine said.

  “Your daughter has a bo
yfriend,” Efia said.

  “So soon?” Ace shook his head. “I must have a word with this Jeremy.”

  They all laughed as Ace took a few books from the bookshelf.

  He showed Yasmine, Penny and the Magic Puffballs by Alonda Williams, The Book with No Pictures by B. J. Novak, and Big Hair Don't Care by Crystal Swain-Bates. “Which one do you want to read, princess?”

  “I don’t want to read tonight, Daddy, I want to drive.”

  “Drive? It’s late, princess, and Liam is at home with his family.”

  “You are in for a treat,” Efia said, shifting her body so that Yasmine could go by.

  Ace placed the books back on the shelf. “Why do I get the feeling something is up here?”

  Efia glanced over her shoulder. “Come help your daughter set up her car.”

  By the time Efia and Ace reached the dining room, Yasmine was already there, pulling a chair from beneath the table.

  “Let me help you,” Ace said. “What are we doing exactly?”

  “Lining the chairs up two by two,” Efia said.

  After the chairs were in formation, Yasmine used her imaginary key to open the driver’s side door and climbed in. Efia opened the imaginary rear door to the left passenger side.

  “Why don’t you sit in the front?” Ace asked Efia.

  “Oh, no,” Efia said. “That seat is yours.”

  “Hurry up, hurry up,” Yasmine said. “I don’t want to get stuck in traffic.”

  “I think we have a future drill-sergeant on our hand,” Ace whispered.

  “What’s taking so long?” Yasmine said. “We are running late.”

  “Wait a minute, princess,” Ace said. “I am helping your mother with her seat belt.”

  Unable to contain herself, Efia cackled. Yasmine started the engine and checked the mirrors. She placed the imaginary gear into reverse. She backed the car out.

  “Vroom, vroom,” she said.

  As they cruised along on the imaginary road, Ace said, “Our kid is a natural.”

  “Don’t talk, don’t talk,” Yasmine said. “I have to keep my eyes on the road.”

  Yasmine sat with her hands on the imaginary steering wheel while focusing ahead. After a few minutes of silence and no vroom, vroom, Ace scratched his head and peered at Efia.