Don't Even Go There

by Brenda Hampton

  Dinner was just okay for me. I didn’t know if it was really the food, or that I was thinking about what had happened in the bathroom. The nerve of that trick putting her hands on me. She should have known better, stepping to me like that. Her actions infuriated me, but I kept my cool. I kept running my mouth with the people at the table, and at least the dessert was good. I whispered to Veronica that I was going to the upper level after dinner, and since she told me that she and A.J. were going to check out one of the shows on the island, that made it easier for me to slip away. I advised her to be careful, and she suggested the same.

  After dinner, I climbed the stairs to the upper level, standing close to the edge to peer over the railing. It was a long way down, but the scenery was irresistible. I wondered if I could live like this, every day, for the rest of my life. The people on the island were so nice, and something about the whole thing made me feel as if home didn’t even exist. As I was deep in thought, I heard footsteps on the wood flooring. Steve had a glass of something in his hand, and he smiled as he walked toward me. He leaned against the rail in front of me and faced me.

  “Are you going on the island tonight? You know, most people are on the island and you should be too,” he said.

  “I’m going. How about you?”

  “I’m going too, but I’m more concerned about what I’ll be doing when I get back.”

  “Yeah, I was thinking about that too. Do you have anything in mind?”

  “I sure do.” He smiled and sipped from his glass of alcohol. “But I can show you better than I can tell you.”

  “What about your companion? Is she going to be a problem?”

  “If she’s not a problem for you, then she won’t be one for me. You let me worry about her. All you have to do is provide me with a time and your cabin number.”

  “I promise to do more than that, but for starters, I’ll see you at two. My cabin number is 13B.”

  He took another sip from his drink, gazing at me with those pretty olive green eyes. “Can I bring you anything? You know, something to drink…”

  “No, just bring me something to play with. I’m sure you know what that is.”

  He was even sexier when he blushed. “I do.”

  Steve told me he’d see me later, and I watched as he walked off. The backside of him was finger-licking good, and it was a toss-up between the back and front of him. Either way, I couldn’t go wrong with this one. I had to be the luckiest bitch, whore, slut, woman—or whatever you’d wish to call me—in the entire world. Damn, I loved my life and felt free to do whatever I wished.

  I hooked up with Veronica and A.J. on the island and we sat around listening to several men beating on drums, making their own music. We ordered conch from a food shack and I was surprised that it was pretty good. I washed it down with Kalik beer, which the people around us recommended, and I had some wine coolers, too. Around a quarter to two, we headed back to the ship. Veronica surprised me when she did not let A.J. come into her room. He didn’t push, either. I was so proud of the changes she’d made in her life. Maybe some of her good habits would rub off on me. I looked forward to a long friendship with her, but at the end of the day, I was living my life how Chase Jenkins chose to. A.J. told Veronica he’d see her tomorrow, and we all looked forward to our day at sea.

  For now, I knew what I was about to get myself into, and believe it or not, I was tired as ever. I sat on the bed in my cabin, taking off my heels. I had been in them all night, and should have known better. My feet were sore, and I rubbed my achy feet. I dropped back on the bed for a minute, then sat up to pull off my dress. I didn’t have on a bra, but I remained on the bed in my lime green lace panties. There was a knock at the door, so I tossed my dress in the chair. I slowly opened the door, and when I peeked to see who it was, I saw Steve. His eyes were glassy, but still addictive. I could tell he’d had more alcohol, and the smell of it entered the cabin with him. He wasted no time wrapping his arms around my body, and my bare breasts squeezed against his solid rock–carved chest. His tongue went into my mouth, and thus far, this was working for me well. He backed me up to the bed, assisting me with ripping his shirt open.

  With each second that passed, things got more intense. He tugged at my panties, tearing them away from my brown skin. Before I could even get at the button on his pants, his fingers stroked my slit like a violin, and he pushed them into me. I gasped, while sucking his soft and juicy-ass lips. My hands were squeezing his chest, and I was so excited about the rotations of his fingers that I let him work with his pants and a condom.

  After soaking me with his fingers, he finally removed his pants and placed on a condom. His dick was doable, so I got hyped. When he lay on top of me, oh, my God! His body was jaw dropping and all I could do was enjoy the feel of it. My hands were roaming everywhere and I couldn’t stop kissing him, I was just that pleased. I wrapped my legs around his back while he worked magic with my titties. The arch in my back had already formed, and he lifted one of my legs onto his shoulder. I felt his dick enter me, but as he started to stroke me, my eyes popped open. I couldn’t feel a thing, and was mad about it, too. Maybe he had gone down or something, but as he kept on stroking, I wasn’t really sure.

  “Ahh,” he softly said in my ear, wetting it with his tongue. “This is good. Your insides feel so good.”

  It was good to know that one of us was pleased, but in an effort not to disappoint, I kept up my rhythm. Maybe it was the position that we were in. I wanted so badly for this to work. I squeezed my fist, slamming it onto the bed. I’m sure he thought I was about to have an orgasm, but that simply was not the case. My legs dropped from his waist, and I whispered to him that I wanted to turn around on my stomach. He eased out of me, and I at least felt when he did that. Yep, there was something inside of me, but before I rolled over, I looked down to be sure. His dick was very hard, and the length of it was fair. I smiled, thinking that I had just been too spoiled by Steven, and it was hard for any man to compete with him. Steve kissed my shoulders and his lips pecked down my back. His tongue scrolled across my butt, and he sucked chunks of it into his mouth. He bit that sucker, too, but his bites were arousing. He massaged it real well, and was complimenting me as he did it.

  “Nice. Oh, so damn plump and nice,” he said.

  Compared to that flatness he was with, I was sure this was quite a change. I was ready for the dick treatment again, so I reached back to touch it. It was slippery, but hard. Steve lay over me, and we both put his thing inside of me. Almost immediately, I wanted to give up. But as he got his rhythm going, it got a little better. Why? Because I had already kicked in Plan B, and that was to envision Steven’s long black pipe sliding in and out of me instead. This made me even more anxious for Steve. By all means, nothing against white men, and the passion was very much appreciated. But I would take a big black dick any day over this. When it was all said and done, it was obvious why some black women weren’t willing to give up on their black men.

  Steve crept out of my cabin at almost four o’clock in the morning. I basically worked with what I had, and on a scale from one to ten, I gave it a seven. I could tell he’d put forth his best effort, and I had to give credit to a man who could suck breasts well and touch my body in the right places. Like I said, I had had some top dogs in my life, and I knew how difficult it was to please me. To at least get a seven out of me, Steve should have considered himself victorious.

  We spent the entire Sunday at sea, and every time I saw Steve, I purposely swooped in another direction. Veronica was laughing her butt off, as I had told her about last night’s events. We sat around watching one of the waiters carve ice, and then the crew started to play games with the people on board. I didn’t feel like playing games, and since it was my last full day on the ship, I went to the top level to relax in my bikini. A.J. and Veronica stayed to play games. I was happy that she was enjoying herself so much.

  I lay on a towel on the lounging chair, resting on my stomach. I’d already seen
the same four brothers checking me out, and as soon as one of them approached me, I stuck with my lie.

  “Hey, pretty lady, where your man at?”

  I sat up and peered over the rail to look down below. I pointed to A.J. and Veronica. “There. Right there.”

  “You can do so much better,” he said, cocky as ever. “That dude don’t have nothing on me.”

  “I’m not talking about the man. I’m talking about the woman. I don’t date men, sorry.”

  “Like I said, you still can do better. How about you and me hooking up later?”

  Oh no, he didn’t just go off on my friend. “How about we don’t. You’re not my type, and I don’t like men who come off as being arrogant.”

  “And I’m not a fan of women with smart mouths. Enjoy your day, all right?”

  He walked away and I got comfortable again on the lounge chair, hoping that no one else would bother me. For a while, I was at peace. But as soon as the lady next to me moved, Steve came over and laid his towel on the chair next to me. He only had on swimming trunks, and he relaxed on his stomach like me.

  “Did you get any rest after last night?” he asked.

  “Not much. I will turn in early tonight, though, and that is a guarantee.”

  “I don’t think I’ve had more than two or three hours of sleep since I’ve been here. I’ll sleep when I get home. I’m slightly disappointed that my vacation is almost over.”

  “Me too. I really had a good time, and I so look forward to doing this again in the near future.”

  “Where do you live?”

  “In St. Louis. I’m a long way from home. How about you?”

  “California.”

  “I figured that. Do you model or something? You are really a nice-looking man, and I assume you’re into something like that.”

  “As a matter of fact, I am. What kinds of magazines do you subscribe to?”

  “Ebony, Jet, Essence…”

  He chuckled. “No, you won’t find me in those magazines. Do me a favor. Give me your address and I’ll mail my magazines to you.”

  “Why can’t you tell me so I can just purchase them?”

  “Because I want to surprise you.”

  “Okay. I’ll write down my address and give it to you.”

  “When?”

  I smiled, looking into those eyes that I most likely would never see after my cruise. “When you come to my room tonight. Make it earlier this time; that’s if you don’t mind finishing what we started.”

  “I would like that. So glad you asked.”

  I wasn’t sure if or when Steven would get his act together at home, so I had to get myself on full for a while. Who better to do it with than this fine mofo? At the moment, I really couldn’t think of anyone else.

  Chapter 12

  Coming back home from a vacation like that was tough. And heading back to work on Monday was even tougher. I couldn’t believe how discouraged I was, but I made a promise to myself to take vacations more often.

  The one thing about my new job was that it was boring as hell. Josh really didn’t require much of me like Liz did, and he was always sitting around running his mouth. I didn’t mind talking, but I liked to keep myself busy so time would go by quickly. Having little to do made time go by at a slow pace. I knew this job wouldn’t last for long. I also wanted a job that could challenge me, and, unfortunately, I didn’t really see this going anywhere. It paid my bills, and that was it.

  At this point in my life, that wasn’t good enough. I had ambition, and I had always wanted to run a company or strive for the highest position in one. I had a bachelor’s degree in business, but, as I said earlier, I had to settle for a job as a secretary. Years ago, I had a much better job working in upper management at a hospital, but that didn’t go so well. Actually, that’s where I’d met Drake, but in an effort not to conflict with him, I sought out other job opportunities. We saw each other so much at work, and both of us felt that we didn’t need to work together, too. I now knew why he was against working with me, and I would put some money on it that he was dating other people at our job.

  With me being around all the time, that was a setback for him. I was so over him, though, but the same couldn’t be said for Steven. I checked my phone, surprised that he had called twice. I was too tired to return his phone call last night, but while I was at work, I called him. His voicemail came on, so I left a message, explaining that I had been on vacation and couldn’t be reached. I let him know that I was back and told him to call me whenever he got time.

  My phone call from Steven didn’t come until I was at home, getting ready for bed. He asked if we could meet somewhere, so I suggested that we talk over dinner.

  “No,” he said. “I have a better idea. I’m going to be tied up this week, but on Saturday morning, meet me at the AMC movie theatres by your place around nine o’clock. I haven’t been to the movies in a while, and I want to check out this new flick with Robert De Niro in it.”

  “Why so early? The movie theatre doesn’t open up that early, does it?”

  “Don’t worry about that. Just meet me there. We’ll talk then.”

  He sounded more upbeat since the last time we’d spoken, so I had to ask. “Have you forgiven me for interrupting your dinner? You sound as if you have.”

  “I said we’ll talk. I’m not one to hold grudges, and you already know how addicted to you I am, don’t you?”

  I didn’t even respond. I told Steven I would see him soon, and was glad that he had come to his senses.

  On Saturday, I got dressed and made my way to the AMC theatre that Steven mentioned. There were only a few cars parked on the lot, but I saw his black BMW. When I got inside, he was waiting for me in the lobby. He was indeed smiling, so that was a good thing.

  “Do you want some popcorn and something to drink?”

  “Sure,” I said, especially since I hadn’t eaten anything.

  Steven got a big bucket of popcorn and both of us a soda. Afterward, we went into the movie theatre and sat by our lonesome selves.

  “I still don’t understand why we’re here so early,” I said, taking the soda from his hand.

  “Because I wanted to be alone with you, and you know that I know too many people. You can rent these theatres for yourself, and that’s what I chose to do.”

  “Well, thank you. And it’s nice to be hanging out with you like this.”

  “I really don’t mind doing this from time to time, and I suspect that you would like us to do this more often, right?”

  “It doesn’t matter to me. I’m fine with the situation. I know that our relationship has limitations.”

  “You say that, but that night at the restaurant, you were highly upset. I… I just don’t want us to go down that road again. I like you a lot, Chase, but I need to know that you’re the one who can handle this. I refuse to be with a woman who watches after me and questions me about my whereabouts.

  “I already have to check in with Liz, and I shouldn’t have to do that with you. It makes me uncomfortable, and the reason I gravitated to you so easily was because you seemed to be that kind of woman who understood me. I liked how confident you were, and you didn’t seem like the kind of woman who would easily jump on an emotional rollercoaster. Are you still that kind of confident woman who swept me off my feet that day in my office, or are you changing up on me?”

  “I understand all about the kind of man you are, and I have no problem being the confident woman you need me to be. My only problem with you has been honesty. I don’t know why you told me you were going on a trip and didn’t go, and I also don’t know why you want me to believe that you rarely have sex with your wife. I know you do, and I expect you to. Does it bother me? Hell yeah, it does, but I’m well aware of what I got myself into. I can definitely handle this, and as long as you are truthful with me about where we stand, I’m good.”

  “I had to reschedule my trip and move it to a later date. It’s as simple as that. I didn’t feel it was
necessary to call and let you know, unless we had plans. We didn’t have any plans, so you didn’t get a phone call. As far as sex with Liz, now, why should I have to go into details about that with you? That makes no sense at all, and how often we do it doesn’t really matter. As long as you’re getting what you want, why should you care? I’m not slacking on you, am I?”

  “No. And you’d better not either.”

  Steven turned his head, puckering for a kiss. “I won’t.”

  “Good. I assume we’re back on then, right?”

  “You got that right. And for a very long time, I hope.”

  “You’ll have to get tired of me before I get tired of you.”

  “That may be awhile.”

  This time, I gave Steven a lengthier kiss. I was pleased we were moving in the right direction again, and in the direction that I wanted.

  The movie screen started to show previews. I had finally dipped into the popcorn and playfully licked the butter from my fingers.

  “You’re a hot-ass something,” Steven said. “And I hope you had fun with that Negro you took on vacation with you. Where did you go?”

  “I went on a cruise with Veronica, and if you would have looked at your credit card statement, you would have known that. I assure you that I didn’t go overboard with spending, but we had so much fun. I could have stayed there forever.”

  “I’ll bet. Did you meet anybody?”

  I poked him with my elbow. “Wouldn’t you like to know? But let’s just say that I met no one like you.”

  “Now, why doesn’t that surprise me? I’m the one, and definitely the only.”

  He had that shit right; that’s why I had to be careful. Something about this thing with Steven was starting to make me uncomfortable. I didn’t want to get caught up with a married man, and whenever I could feel myself getting too close, it was time to back up. He was saying all of the right things, while at the same time showing me that he cared. There were little things, like what he had done today, that made me feel as if he needed this just as much as I did. A part of me even figured that I could get more out of him, but I didn’t want to come across as being a mistress who was out to take everything that he had. That was in no way the case, but for the time being, a good conversation, good sex, and a good movie never hurt anyone.