by J Peach
I stood outside my classroom with my brows furrowed in a tight knit as I stared at the dozen yellow roses that sat by my door.
“Beautiful roses,” Nick, the security guard, commented, stopping beside me.
“They are… I don’t know why they’re here, though. Did you see who put these here?” I glanced around us before looking down at the roses again and seeing a small card.
Nick shook his head and noticed the card as well. “No, I didn’t. Whoever it is left a card.” He pointed to it. “Looks like you have an admirer.”
I ignored his comment and unlocked my room door then brought the flowers in, placing them on my desk. I picked up the card.
Your beauty is radiant, but when you smile, it’s luminous to the twinkling stars, which brightens my day like the sun.
You are my Sun, Janessa…
Sincerely, Your Love
I was surprised and confused because, for the life of me, I had no clue who would bring me roses on top of leaving a poetic quote like that. I knew it wasn’t from Montrell because he wasn’t wordy like that, nor was Jerome. I was completely stuck as to who it could’ve been.
“What does it say?” Nick asked from behind me.
I jumped slightly at his voice. I had completely forgotten about him. “Oh, you scared me. Basically, that I’m beautiful. Who it’s from? I don’t know.” I looked at the back of the card, but nothing else was written on it. “Whoever it was didn’t sign the card.”
A look of worry covered Nick’s features. “You should report this, especially if it’s from one of your students,” he said with much urgency.
I brushed it off, not wanting him to get too worked up. “Honestly, I don’t think it’s a student… you know what…” I let out a heavy breath then rubbed my forehead, trying to pretend like I had suddenly become annoyed. “You know what? I know exactly who it’s from. My ex. I don’t know why it didn’t dawn on me sooner. He’s been trying hard to get me back, so this shouldn’t have surprised me.” My eyes rolled as I tossed the card on my desk.
He didn’t seem to be buying it at first until I pulled out my phone. “He’s been blowing me up nonstop. This is just another one of his antics.” I scrolled through my phone, not looking for anything.
I looked back at Nick, and the tension in his body had eased up a bit. Nick was cool, but regardless of the façade he put up, I felt that he didn’t like getting involved in the action part that his job required.
“Okay, I’ll take your word for it. But if you have any trouble up here, let me know, and I’ll deal with it,” he insisted like he always did.
Smiling, I nodded at him. “I will, swear.” He gave a small nod then left the room, closing the door behind him.
Sighing, I sat down in the chair, staring at the roses. I was trying hard to figure out who the hell left them. I didn’t think it was a student because none of them seemed… gentle or poetic. Then again, how would they even get access to the building without being let in? I quickly pushed it being a student out of my mind. Aside from Rochelle, I didn’t converse with any of the teachers or admins.
Grabbing a rose, I brought it to my nose and smelled it. There wasn’t an extravagant fragrance to it like people have always portrayed it to have.
“Is it something you need to tell me?” Jerome’s voice broke through my thoughts.
Smiling, I set the rose down and looked over at him. He stood in the doorway; arms crossed over his chest as he stared from me to the flowers. The mere sight of him caused my entire being to become excited. The feeling was so strange and new to me; however, I didn’t want it to leave.
The moment the events from our date popped into my mind, I looked away from him. Instinctively, my teeth grabbed my bottom lip as my core started to ache. My face heated at where my thoughts quickly went. Mentally clearing my throat, I pointed to the roses.
“I don’t… unless you snuck in here and put these outside my door, then I need to tell you, thanks. Now, if you didn’t,” I shrugged, “all I have for you is a good morning.” A slow smile crept onto my lips as my eyes slid back over to him.
He looked at the roses with a confused expression before his head shook. “No, that’s not my doing. Sneaking into a school just to bring some flowers in, nah, that ain’t my thing.” He pushed off the threshold and closed the door behind him. “And I think you can do better than just a plain ass good morning,” he stated, making it to my desk. His hand came out, and I took it, allowing him to pull me up. He placed the one he held around his neck. “You wanna do this good morning thing over?”
Bringing my other arm around his neck, I stood on my tiptoes, meeting his lips halfway. “Good morning…” I mumbled, allowing my lips to brush his as I spoke.
I went in for a full-on kiss, but I felt his head move back. It was then that I realized my eyes had closed. I was really anticipating a kiss from him.
“Yo’ ass really wanna kiss me, huh?” he asked as his hand slid down to my ass.
“I do…” I went to kiss him again, but like before, he pulled back. All the while, his hands were rolling up the back of my dress.
“You wore a dress like I asked you to…” He smiled at that.
“I did…”
His hands grabbed the hem of my panties, and he pushed them down my ass then backed me into the desk. “You do realize I’mma expect you to wear one every day, right?” He licked his lips, causing his tongue to wipe over mine.
When he pulled back again, I pushed him slightly while groaning. “Why are you playing with me? You know I’m trying to kiss you.” My hands went to the back of his head as I leaned in and kissed his chin.
He laughed at that and moved me on top of the desk, spreading my thighs. “Sweetheart, I’mma kiss you. Just be patient.” His tip ran through my slit, which caused my breath to hitch at the friction. “I’m trying to figure out who sent you these damn flowers, though.”
I looked over my shoulder and shrugged. “I have no idea, honestly. They’re nice, though—mmm…” I moaned as his tip pushed at my opening.
“Hm…” He hummed while grasping the nape of my neck, pulling my head back. “Hold me tight.” Once my arms were locked around his neck, Jerome hooked my leg over his forearm and thrust into me. His lips immediately caught mine, muffling my gasp of pain from his sudden invasion of my body as well as catching my moans of pleasure.
I never thought that pain and pleasure mixed together would give my body such a rush. The pain from him stretching my pussy while he stroked my sweet spot felt so gotdamn amazing.
Pulling my mouth from his, my head went back, and I moaned loudly. The fact that we were in the school was long forgotten to me as I became lost in pleasure.
“Ah, shit, Jerome. Ooh, my…” My teeth gripped my bottom lip as my lower body stiffened. My pussy milked his soldier tightly as my orgasm ripped through me. Never in my life had I came so fast nor orgasmed as much as I had while having sex with Jerome. The feeling was mind-boggling amazing. “Mm, God.”
“Lay back,” he instructed, and I didn’t hesitate to do as he asked because I knew he was only going to take my body to a new high. Once my back was on the desk, Jerome widened my legs. He pulled out of me fully then thrust back in. “Fuck.” He grunted while pulling out and thrusting deep into my throbbing love box. Jerome’s movement was slow, but his strokes were so deep. The sound of his dick pushing through my soaking tunnel mixed with our panting filled my ears. “You so fuckin’ wet, Nessa. Gotdamn!” He groaned. “Shit!”
My eyes averted from the ceiling to him. His eyes were focused between my thighs, watching his dick slowly move in and out of my pussy. The expression on his face turned me on, causing my core to milk him more.
Jerome’s eyes suddenly lifted to mine as his hand came to my neck and tightened. My eyes rolled as his thrusting picked up into a rough pounding, which caused the desk to scoot with his movement. His hands left my throat and went to my shoulders, holding me in place as he pounded into my pussy.
> The sensation became too overwhelming. “Ah, ah, ah. Shit ooh, fuck, Jerome.” My hands went to his side, holding him tightly as another orgasm rocked through me. “Ah—”
Jerome’s mouth locked with mine, muffling my orgasmic moan. His nails bit into my shoulders as his body jerked against mine. “Gotdamn, shit!” He breathed out. “Fuck.”
“I came in with Rochelle, so she should be in her room,” I heard from the hallway.
The reality of where I was, what I had been doing, and with who hit me fast and hard. I pushed Jerome off me just as the room door opened. My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach, and I froze.
We were caught. I didn’t move him off me quick enough. I was about to lose my job and everything. What the hell was I thinking? How could I be so damn reckless, especially when everything depended on that job?
My eyes met with Sandra’s, and I knew I should’ve said it wasn’t what it looked like. That it wasn’t what she saw. But no words left my mouth; I was completely stuck, frozen into shock. Sandra’s lips were moving, but I heard nothing.
God, please get me out of this mess, and I swear I will never do this again. Please! I prayed loudly in my mind as if shouting it was going to get the prayer up faster.
The sudden loud bang caused me to jump hard. Sandra’s eyes moved across the room, and I did the same. Jerome stood by a bookshelf, and next to his feet were books.
“My bad,” he simply said before he started picking them up and placing the books on top of desks.
I didn’t know what the hell he was doing, though.
“Janessa, don’t forget,” Sandra said.
My eyes shifted back to her. My brows furrowed in confusion at what she said. “I’m sorry, what?”
“The meeting for today was rescheduled for tomorrow, but it’s at the same time,” she informed me.
“Oh, yeah, alright.” I nodded, not knowing what else to say or do for that matter.
“Nice roses,” she complimented.
“Thanks.” I gave her a faint smile. She returned the action then walked out of the room.
Once the door was closed completely, I slowly sat down in the chair, suddenly exhausted. My heart was still pounding rapidly inside my chest, threatening to burst out.
Jerome’s face appeared in my line of sight. “You straight? Yo’ ass look like you about to pass out.”
My mouth opened, but no words came out. I couldn’t believe we almost got caught. After a few seconds, I let out a heavy breath. “I can’t lose this job, Jerome. Literally, everything I have is depending on this job.”
“I know that, and you won’t lose it. I promise I won’t let that happen.” He looked so serious that I wanted to believe him.
My head shook, knowing he couldn’t make a promise like that, especially not with how reckless we had just been. Anyone could walk into my room at any given moment. I opened my mouth to voice my thoughts.
Jerome’s hands grasped the side of my face. “You don’t have to say shit, just trust me. I’ight? That’s all you have to do. Bet?” he stated. I wanted to, but I couldn’t put that must trust into a person, not into him. Grabbing my hands, he pulled me up. “This shit only happened today because Jonell’s running late. It ain’t gonna happen again. I got you, Janessa.”
I don’t know why, but I believed that wholeheartedly. I just felt that he would have my back no matter what. That, I trusted without a doubt. “I believe you do.”
That caused a little smile to form on his lips. “That’s all I needed to hear.” He leaned in and placed a short kiss on my lips. “Yo’ ass need to get yo’ damn hormones under control. We can’t be having no close calls like this if yo’ ass gonna freeze the fuck up like that. That woman was still talking to somebody in the hallway when she opened the door. Shid, she didn’t even see shit, for real. Hell, I was on the other side of the room by the time she looked in here.” He laughed while fixing my dress. “If that dumb ass woman knew better, she would’ve caught on quick as fuck. Yo’ dumb ass stood there stuck, mouth opened, eyes bucked as fuck—” Jerome broke out laughing. “Yo’ ass was fuckin’ terrified.”
I pushed him away from me. “That’s not even funny for real. I was. I didn’t know what to do. I thought we were caught. How the hell did you even get across the room?” Jerome wasn’t paying me any attention as he leaned against my desk, cracking the hell up. “It’s really not that funny.” I glared hard at him, quickly becoming irritated.
“Shit if it ain’t. That shit was funny as fuck. It’s the way you froze up. It was cute, though. That let me know yo’ ass ain’t never done no off the wall type of shit before.” He broke out laughing again. “I bet yo’ ass was praying too, wasn’t you?”
My glare faded, and my pursed lips trembled. “You ain’t shit, Jerome, I swear. It’s not funny for real. I was really scared.” His laughter was contagious, and I couldn’t hold back as everything replayed in my head. “Oh, God, I did pray.” I felt so embarrassed now that everything had settled down. I looked up at the clock and saw that it was only 7:45am. It was still early.
“I see yo’ ass has had a boring, hard life before you met me. If we keep going at this rate, I’mma really corrupt yo’ ass.” He laughed while snaking his arm around my waist. “You think my corruption gonna be a problem for you?” The wicked smirk was on full display at that moment.
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. He honestly did bring a daring and exciting side of me out. The feeling was so different and refreshing… then again, so was Jerome. He was completely different; he wasn’t afraid to show who he was. There were no barriers hidden with him. He was so open and honest about everything with me, it seemed. That was something I never had in a relationship.
“I honestly think that’s going to be a serious problem for me. But… I think it could also be fun. However, there are rules to this—”
His head shook as he leaned down to me. “Sweetheart, no buts. Rules? What’s that? Never heard of them.” His head dropped, and he kissed me.
My hands went to the side of his face, and I pulled back. “There are rules. One of which, no kissing or any of that here.”
A loud snort left his mouth. “Did you not just hear what I said? I mean, you can lay out rules if you wanna, but that don’t mean I’mma follow them. Baby, rules are meant to be broken. You’ll have a happier life if you do, trust me…” His lips were right back on mine.
Laughing against his mouth, my arms went around his neck as I kissed him back. I didn’t know about all of what he said, however, I was going to enjoy him while I had the chance to.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you, we got the house. I got the call yesterday,” I told Rochelle as we waited in the parking lot for the girls to get out of dance practice.
“That’s great. I’m so happy you’re getting out of that hotel. I know the kids are happy too.” She laughed at the roll of my eyes. “What? They’re not?”
“Yes and no. Yes, because they can have their own rooms, no because they’re gonna miss the pool. They don’t know we got the house yet; I haven’t told them. I want to at least get the keys and have their bedrooms set up before I tell them anything. You know? I don’t want them to get excited, and something happens that we don’t get it. I can’t wait to get out of that damn hotel. That shit has run through my poor savings account.” I glanced over at Kaeden, bouncing the basketball and shooting it against the building.
“I can’t even believe you had a savings account. My husband wasn’t having that. He wouldn’t allow me to have anything extra, especially if he knew I had plans to leave him,” Rochelle exclaimed with a shake of her head.
I thought about what she said and hummed. “With Trell, I don’t think he ever thought I would leave him. Hell, I never saw myself without him regardless of everything. Plus, he was always generous with his money, and what funds I had, was mine. That was just him. The savings was set up for the kids and for emergencies. Although Trell’s warehouse job kept everything going, you just never kn
ow what could happen, so that was security for us. And it definitely came in handy.”
Although Rochelle and I had similar situations, I felt hers was worse. She was bound to her husband, not only because of their daughter but by something far deeper that I didn’t understand. Even though Trell and I fought, I could have left at any given moment regardless of his reaction. Rochelle couldn’t. She didn’t have that willpower to do it.
“Aye!” Kaeden suddenly yelled. “Momma!” He tapped the hood, getting my attention.
“What’s up?” I asked him.
“Nothing, I’ll be right back,” he said, then took off running.
“Where are you going?” I yelled as he ran.
“To the store!” he shouted back as he ran to the corner store.
I looked over to Rochelle, and she laughed. “What the hell is he doing?”
“Girl, that son of yours is something else. Oh, he must have a friend in that car.” Rochelle pointed to a black car. The windows were tinted dark, so I couldn’t see inside.
“Kaeden! Get back over here!” I yelled at him. I didn’t know who the hell was in that car, but I didn’t trust it. After a few seconds, he slowly started backing away from the car before he turned and ran back over to the dance studio, bouncing the ball like he never left. The car left the corner store and pulled into the parking lot we were in. Kaeden went back over to the car once it stopped. “Girl, let me go see who he’s talking to.” Just as I got out of my car, I saw Akil.
“Nessa.” Akil simply nodded at me and kept on going to the dance studio. He didn’t even give me a chance to say hey back.
“Hey…” I mumbled, not knowing if he heard me or not.
I walked past the other cars until I saw the black one. Kaeden was leaned against the passenger door and was talking to Jerome.