Embracing Forever

by Sheryl Lister

  Bryson gripped her hips and increased the tempo. “You feel so good, you make me never want to leave your body.”

  That made two of them. Her eyes slid closed. Their breathing grew louder as he pumped harder and faster, rocking the bed. Raven arched to meet his driving thrusts and tightened her legs around him. Bryson pulled out to the tip and surged back inside her. Her eyes flew open and she came in a rush of pleasure that wrenched his name from her throat and left her weak and dizzy. A heartbeat later, he joined her, shouting her name and shuddering deeply. They clung to each other as the aftershocks continued to rock their bodies.

  Bryson braced himself on his forearms and stared down at her. He caressed her cheek then covered her mouth in a sweet, gentle kiss. He rolled to his side, cradled her in his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  Raven laid her head on his chest and listened to the strong, steady beat of his heart. She thought she would feel some sense of regret and maybe she would tomorrow, but right now she only felt incredibly satisfied. A few minutes later, Bryson’s breathing became deep and even. She lifted her head and observed him in his sleep. He possessed all the qualities a woman would look for in a man—amazing personality, loyal, had a good job, not to mention being handsome as all get out. So why hadn’t some woman already claimed him? She searched her mind, trying to remember the last time he mentioned dating anyone, and came up blank. But, then again, she didn’t expect him to tell her about every woman he went out with. So where did that leave them? Where did it leave her?

  * * *

  Hours later, Bryson awakened to find Raven sprawled half on top of him. Her dark brown hair half covered her face and spilled over his chest. He fingered the shoulder- length strands. She’d gotten highlights a few months ago and it looked good on her. He drew in a deep breath as his mind traveled back to what had transpired between them. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined what it would be like to touch and kiss Raven the way he had, and certainly not how would feel to make love to her. So, why now? In all the years they’d been friends, he hadn’t flirted with her once and he had no clue how to explain what happened today. But now that they’d crossed the line, they couldn’t revert back to being just friends. And he didn’t want to.

  Bryson glanced down at her peaceful expression. The emotional pull he’d felt with her was different from anything he’d ever experienced with a woman and he needed to know why. Maybe it was because of their close friendship, or something else. He had no idea. The only way to find out would be for them to explore this thing drawing them together. His stomach growled softly. He rolled his head in the direction of the clock on her nightstand and saw it was close to midnight. They’d been asleep for over five hours, far past dinner and his belly let him know that he needed to find some food soon.

  He had a myriad emotions swirling around and desperately wanted to talk to Raven to find out if she felt the same, but they both had work in the morning. He and Jerome still had to finish the unpacking and he had a seven-thirty meeting with a potential business donor. With the bulk of the center’s donations coming through grants from corporations such as this one, he couldn’t afford to put the meeting off. The ten-thousand-dollar grant would go a long way to support the summer programs they wanted to put in place.

  Sighing with regret, Bryson stroked a finger down her cheek and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Wake up, sleepyhead.” She pushed his hand away and kept sleeping. He chuckled and kissed her again while running his hand up and down her spine. “Raven, wake up. I need to leave.”

  Raven’s eyes popped open. She gasped and tried to back away from him.

  Bryson held on to her. “It’s okay, baby.”

  She stared at him a moment then relaxed. “What time is it?”

  “Almost midnight.”

  “I’m starving.” She shifted and the sheet slid down, revealing her sable-tipped breasts.

  He hardened immediately. He was starving, too, but now for something entirely different. Her gaze flew to his. She had to feel his growing erection pressing against her thigh. “Hey, you said you were starving and I’m more than ready to fill you up. But, I’m going to have to take a raincheck. I need to get going so I can get a few hours of sleep. I have a seven-thirty meeting.”

  Raven groaned. “I forgot I have to be at work at seven in the morning.”

  “At least you don’t have to leave the warmth of your bed. You can turn over and go back to sleep.”

  She smiled. “Sorry.”

  “We need to talk, so I’ll come by after you get off.”

  Her smile faded.

  Bryson frowned. “What’s the frown for? Are you having regrets?”

  “No, but…” Raven sighed with exasperation. “I don’t know. I just feel weird.”

  He totally understood because he was experiencing the same confusion. “And that’s something we’ll discuss.” She still seemed uncertain and he sought to reassure her. “Everything will work out, but I want you to remember that what we shared was special to me. Okay?”

  She nodded.

  He captured her mouth, letting his kiss communicate what his words could not. He left the bed and dressed in the dark.

  Raven found her T-shirt, slipped it on and followed him to the door to lock up.

  “Text me and let me know what time you think you’ll be home.”

  “Okay. Drive safe.”

  “I will. Good night.”

  Bryson made the drive from Long Beach to Manhattan Beach in less than half an hour. He showered and ate then headed to his bedroom. By the time he laid his head on the pillow, the clock read 1:00 a.m. Despite his body being tired, his mind raced and he had a hard time falling asleep.

  When the alarm went off at five thirty, Bryson felt like he hadn’t slept at all. He dragged himself out of bed and got ready for work. Most days, he didn’t wear a suit, but today he chose a navy one and paired it with a white dress shirt and his favorite matching patterned tie. He packed a pair of jeans and tee to change into after the meeting.

  He didn’t drink coffee every morning, but today he needed it strong and black. Hefting his duffle and laptop bag on his shoulder, he picked up his coffee and made his way to the garage. Bryson depressed the wall switch and the door rose. He placed the bags in the backseat, hung his suit coat on the hook then slid in on the driver’s side.

  The drive to his Torrance community center took only fifteen minutes. In his office, he stuck in his flash drive and opened his presentation. He took the laptop down to the small conference room they used for meetings and connected it to the projector. He went through each slide to make sure they were in order.

  “Morning.”

  He looked up at Jerome’s entrance. “Morning.”

  “Everything ready?” Jerome propped a hip on the edge of the table.

  “Yep.”

  “You were supposed to call me after you talked to Raven. What happened?”

  Bryson couldn’t begin to describe what happened. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

  He angled his head. “Is she okay? Was it Darren?”

  “It was him. He wanted her to change jobs because he’s concerned that one of the athletes she works with is going to flirt with her.”

  “You’re kidding me, right?”

  He shook his head and stood. “No, I’m not. So she gave him the boot.”

  “She must’ve been really upset last night since you didn’t call.”

  A memory of Raven’s sounds of pleasure while they made love last night rang in his ears.

  Jerome eyed him. “What’s going on?”

  He ran a hand over his locs. “Like I said, we’ll talk later.” Bryson didn’t really want to share what went on with him and Raven because she might be uncomfortable around them if they knew. But since he planned for them to begin seeing each other, Jerome and Kendrick would know something had changed five seconds after seeing them together. For the first time, Bryson wondered what the two men would think about hi
m and Raven dating.

  “Morning, guys.”

  He and Jerome turned at the sound of the administrative assistant’s voice. “Good morning, Tonya.” He’d hired Tonya Franklin shortly after opening the center. After having back surgery, the forty-something-year-old woman couldn’t return to her former position as a preschool teacher because of the physical nature of the job. Bryson had purchased a sit-stand work station that allowed her to change her position as often as she needed and had given her a flexible work schedule.

  “Morning, Ms. T,” Jerome said.

  “The camping trip was successful?”

  “It was. And Jerome embarrassed himself trying to do a dance-off with the kids.”

  “I did not get embarrassed,” Jerome said with mock indignation. “I’ll have you know, I can hang with them any day.”

  Tonya burst out laughing. “I sure wish I could’ve seen that.”

  Bryson chuckled. “You can. I recorded every second.”

  Jerome’s eyes widened. “What?”

  “You honestly didn’t think I’d let that priceless moment pass. I may need some leverage.”

  “You two are a mess. Bryson, do you need anything for your meeting?”

  “No, I have everything ready.”

  “Okay. Holler if you need me.”

  After she was gone, Jerome shook his head. “I can’t believe you recorded it. Just wrong, man.”

  “I didn’t upload it to social media, so…” He shrugged and sauntered out of the room.

  Jerome followed. “If I see that video anywhere near Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat or any other form of social media, I’m gonna kick your ass.”

  Bryson merely smiled and kept going until he reached his office.

  “I mean it, Bryse.” Jerome folded his arms and glared.

  “You said you weren’t embarrassed, so what’s the problem?” He leafed through the contents of the folder and, satisfied it had all the information he wanted to pass along, closed it. “Relax. You know how I feel about posting personal stuff.”

  Tonya stuck her head in the door. “Mr. Walters is here. Do you want me to escort him to the conference room?”

  “Yes, please.” Bryson turned to Jerome. “Well, let’s get this show on the road.” He slipped into his suit coat, picked up the folder and retraced his steps to the conference room. “Mr. Walters, I’m Bryson Montgomery. Thank you for coming,” he said, extending his hand. He’d been expecting someone older, but the slender blond-haired man looked to be around Bryson’s age.

  “Nice to meet you, Bryson. Call me Garrett.”

  He nodded. “This is my partner, Jerome Smith.”

  The two men exchanged greetings and shook hands.

  He had planned to offer him coffee, but Tonya had it covered. “I know your time is valuable so we’ll get started.”

  Jerome began with the vision of the center, the services they currently offered and their future goals. “We’d like to add two full-time staff members for the summer school program, as well as institute a health clinic once a month.”

  Garrett nodded. “What kinds of things will you teach?”

  “Math and English, along with doing science projects and providing life skills training for high school juniors and seniors.”

  Bryson took over and shared statistics from before and after the center’s founding, the positive impact it had made on the students, school and community. He also talked about the increased parental involvement over the past two years. When he finished, he answered the detailed questions Garrett asked without missing a beat. This was his baby and he knew it inside and out.

  “I’m very impressed with your program, Bryson. You and Jerome seem to be filling a void in the community that’s sorely needed. We were prepared to give you a ten-thousand-dollar grant, but the board has given me permission to change those numbers a bit.” Garrett took out a checkbook and started writing.

  Bryson and Jerome shared a look. Was he going to give them less? Bryson didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until he felt the tightness in his chest. He hesitantly accepted the check. When he saw the amount, he wanted to shout, but kept his composure. “Thank you, Garrett. This is very generous.” He passed it to Jerome, whose eyes widened for a split second before he caught himself.

  “We’re always looking for good programs to support and yours has a reputation for being honest and productive. Do you have any materials I can take back and pass along to some of my business friends?”

  Jerome handed him the folder. “This contains brochures about our programs and goals, as well as a wish list.”

  “Great. Thank you.”

  “We appreciate your donation.”

  Garrett reached out to shake their hands. “I won’t take up any more of your time.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” Jerome said.

  Jerome came back as Bryson finished shutting down the laptop and they let out a loud whoop. “I can’t believe they gave us five times the amount of the grant.” Bryson picked up the check again to make sure the numbers were correct.

  “Man, that’s more than enough to pay the stipend for two teachers for the six-week program. And aren’t the new laptops supposed to be delivered sometime next week?”

  “And do several other things. Yes to the laptops.” They had already interviewed the teachers in hopes that the grant would come through. There was money available, but it had been earmarked for other projects down the road and he hadn’t wanted to dip into it. His cell vibrated. He pulled it out of his pocket and smiled upon seeing Raven’s name on the display. He read her text letting him know what time she would be home and sent a reply.

  “Why are you smiling?”

  “That was Raven.”

  Jerome closed the door. “You were going to tell me what happened with her.”

  “She was talking and crying, then things got a little complicated.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Bryson paused a beat. “We slept together.”

  For a moment, Jerome stared in shock then anger clouded his features. “You what?” he yelled. “Dammit, Bryse! You were supposed to be helping her, not helping yourself to her—”

  “Don’t!” He pinned him with a lethal glare. “It wasn’t like that,” he said through gritted teeth. “And you know I would never just casually do something like that with her.”

  Jerome paced back and forth.

  “Rome, I don’t need you giving me grief over this. Do you know how confusing this is for both of us? We’ve been friends all this time and not once did I look at her in that way.”

  “Then what happened yesterday?”

  Bryson dropped down in a chair and scrubbed a hand down his face. “I wish I knew. She was telling me about what Darren did and I consoled her like we always do. Then she touched me and I felt something different. I think she felt it, too. It shocked us both.”

  “You couldn’t just walk away?” Jerome asked sarcastically.

  “No. I don’t believe she could, either. I’m telling you it was weird. It seemed like something was pulling us, something we couldn’t control.” Even now, he recalled that moment, and he no more understood it today than he did yesterday.

  “So what are you going to do?”

  Before Bryson could answer, a knock sounded. Jerome, standing closest to the door opened it.

  “What’s up?” Kendrick asked, coming in with a huge grin.

  He lowered his head to the desk and groaned. Now he would have to hear the same spiel again.

  “I figured since I have all this wonderful time on my hands, I’d come and help you guys put away everything from the camping trip.” He divided a speculative glance between Jerome and Bryson. “Did something happen? Is it Raven? You found out why she’d been crying?”

  “Ask Bryse.”

  Kendrick looked to Bryson for answers.

  “Yes, I found out.” Bryson groaned again. “And she and I slept together yesterday.”

&nb
sp; “You what?”

  He repeated the same thing he told Jerome. “We’re going to talk tonight. I want to see where this goes, but I don’t know how she feels.”

  Kendrick braced his hands on the table. “Bryse, do you realize what’ll happen if you break her heart? We will kill you. Raven is special. She’s like a sister. We’re supposed to be taking care of her, not…not…” He threw up his hands.

  “I am not going to break her heart,” he gritted out and slammed his hand on the table. “She’s just as special to me, if not more.” He jumped to his feet and stalked toward the door. He was angry that they would think he’d hurt Raven.

  Jerome stepped into his path and placed a staying hand on his chest. “Look, Bryse. Let’s all calm down. I think we’re just shocked. We know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt Raven, but if things don’t work out between you two, it’s going to be pretty awkward.”

  He released a long breath. “You don’t think I know that? It scares the hell out of me that I might hurt her, but I have to see this through. What I experienced with her was different than with any other woman and I need to know why. I also need you guys to trust that I wouldn’t do anything that might cause her pain. She’s been through enough.” Bryson took a moment to fill Kendrick in on the details of what occurred with Darren.

  “What an ass. Maybe she would be better off with you.”

  “Don’t say anything to Raven about what I just told you for now. I don’t want her to feel awkward around you.”

  “We’re supposed to do dinner on Friday,” Kendrick reminded him.

  “Hopefully, she and I will have come to an agreement on how to proceed.” The only acceptable answer in Bryson’s mind was that they’d start dating. He just needed to convince Raven.

  Chapter Four

  Monday morning, Raven could barely keep her eyes open. She stifled a yawn as she sat at the computer entering the chart information on her last two clients. The ramifications of what she’d done had hit her hard as soon as she woke up. She still didn’t regret one moment with Bryson, but she was in a strange place that she couldn’t define. She started to send him a text earlier to let him know what time she planned to be home, but got cold feet about talking to him.