My baby looked at me and winked, then responded with, “I’m good. Thanks for having me.”
“That’s awesome and I’m so glad to hear it. I’d like to jump right on in here. Is it cool for me to start with that whoopin’ you put on that Watts guy last month? I mean, didn’t he learn about dem paws all the other times you had to lay him out?”
“You didn’t do your homework. I think you’re talking about Botelho.”
“Ohhh! My bad!” she exclaimed, reaching over to lightly touch Dario’s arm. That didn’t sit well with me at all. She seemed a bit too touchy-feely. “I got the names mixed up. Yeah, this was a new opponent for you.”
“Yep,” Dario responded, looking over at me with knowing eyes.
“Poor guy. Did y’all make amends afterwards? I mean, now that you’re out of the running, I’m sure there’s trainers everywhere grooming their fighters to come and claim your vacant spot—his trainer included. He kinda got an in, now that he can say that he was the champ’s last bout. But word on the curb is that there’s a dude out there with your name constantly in his mouth.”
“That sounds like a personal problem to me,” Dario remarked. “Like he might be a little confused about his sexuality. I hope his woman doesn’t end up leaving him.”
“You are funny!” the host busted out laughing—a little too hard, if you ask me. “So, obviously you know who I’m talking about.”
“I have an idea. But I’m not here to entertain that person by even speaking their name.”
“Ooop, alright then. So, I guess you don’t have an opinion on Shane Michaels being arrested on rape charges either?”
“Didn’t know about it.”
“Okay,” she chuckled. “It’s literally news right now. Even two weeks later.”
“Yeah, didn’t know about it,” Dario repeated.
“I see. So, then back to your last bout. If Botelho was listening in, what would you say to him?”
“Not shit,” Dario laughed.
“Aww, come on. Be a sport. Just one thing. What would it be?”
“Shit, you don’t have a problem with pressuring people, do you?” Dario kidded.
“I didn’t get this number one spot by being passive,” she responded. “And they’re baby nudges. I don’t mean any harm.”
“Alright,” Dario surrendered. He pondered for a few seconds before responding. “I’d tell him, ‘You’re welcome . . . use your 15 to your advantage’.”
“Awww! The shade! But who wants to do something with 15 minutes of fame that they made off getting beat to a pulp? I know I wouldn’t.”
“Me either.” My baby hunched his shoulders and smirked. “But hey, you asked.”
“You are just too funny,” she said, leaning over and brushing her hand against Dario’s tricep. “I see that being out of the ring hasn’t stopped you from keeping things tight.”
Strike two. I took a silent note.
“No need to let myself go. I got a strict woman at home that knows what she wants her man to look . . . and feel like.”
Yes, baby! Yes!
“Hmm... yeah, I remember hearing something about that. Lucky girl. You know a million calls just dropped when you said that, right?”
“I’m perfectly fine with that. She’s all I want and need.”
“Speaking of fine . . .” she said, with a mumble and way too much ‘play on seduction,’ to her voice.
Strike three.
“But yeah, let’s talk about what your plans are since you’re no longer TKO’ing.”
“I’m focused on adding two more locations for my boxing gym, Wicked. Maybe opening a restaurant, I might dabble in training some up-and-coming boxers, and family. Not necessarily in that order, but yeah, that’s about it.”
“Wow, that’s a lot you have going on. Your woman doesn’t feel neglected with all of that?”
“She’s out there. You wanna ask her yourself?” Dario posed, causing me to smile.
I was hoping like hell she took him up on his offer because I wanted in Miss Shay’s face so badly.
“Oh, okay,” she responded, nonchalantly, and not looking my way. “So, maybe neglect isn’t an issue after all. Do you guys travel everywhere together?” she posed, stressing on the ‘everywhere’.
Ohh, this bitch is really tryin’ it!
“My woman has her own thing going on. But she’s also supportive of her man, so she juggles—a lot. I think all women could learn something from that.”
She finally turned in my direction to address me. “I heard that. Hats off to you, girl,” she expressed, with a bow of her head.
I didn’t respond with a nod, a wave or nothing. It was too late for all that. I already had her number and was ready to dial. No need to reciprocate any nice gestures. I wanted to reach out and touch her too badly for all of that.
“Wicked sounds wicked. I’ve heard of it, and people seem to love it. A full boxing gym, with smoothie and salad bars. You got lounges and all of that too, right? With TV’s and a daycare.”
“Yeah, there’s a lot there for everybody. Tried to cover all the bases.”
“Sounds like you did. Kudos to all of that.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it. I brought passes for you guys.”
“Cool. I can’t wait to get there and see what it’s all about.”
“That’ll be cool.”
“So, if it’s okay, I want to switch gears for just a second. You mentioned family. Does that mean that you and your lovely lady are starting one soon?”
“It means that I’ve already started one. That’s the one I’ll be focusing on.”
“Oh . . . you have a child on the way?”
“Refer to the previous response, Shay,” Dario told her.
A sudden chuckle released from me, before I knew it. I knew my baby enough to know that he was getting annoyed with the bitch.
“Riiight,” she said, with a slight drag in her voice. “You said that you already started one. I’m just trying to clarify for the ladies out there.”
For the ladies?! You still on that shit! Oooh, this . . . ho! Tone down, Chanel, I had to tell myself.
My baby tugged at his ear a little, then responded with, “No clarification is needed.”
After several seconds of silence, I watched Shay hunch her shoulders in defeat. “Alrighty then. Moving right along.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Get her, baby! I yelled on the other side of my cheesy grin.
“So, is there any chance at all that you might be revisiting the ring for old time’s sake?”
“I doubt it. But anything is possible. If you let my manager tell it, I’ll be back before the end of the year.”
“Well, we’d gladly take your manager’s phone number, email address, or other contact information, on-air, so that we can shoot him off some really harassing messages about making that happen. There’s just too many of us that aren’t ready to say goodbye. Isn’t that right, ladies? Look at that,” she said. “The lines are lighting up. You ready to take some calls, D.C.?”
“Sure, let’s do it.”
CHAPTER 2
Dario
“Come here.”
Chanel smiled at me, then slowly walked over and straddled my lap. “I’m right here”, she said, settling into position. “Not going anywhere.”
“The only place you belong is here, so you just remember that.”
“Oh, baby, I don’t need reminders. Being in your arms is all the reminder I need.”
I dragged my hands across her shoulders to lightly massage the area, then as I admired the almond brown skin of hers, rubbed down her arms, before strapping my hands to her waist.
“You know . . . that I know . . . that you wanted in that studio, right?”
“I know you knew,” she chuckled. “Trust me, I know you felt the vibes.”
“That shit was hot as fuck.”
I unbuttoned the front of Chanel’s green blouse, then buried my head in the nook of h
er cleavage and licked slowly up and down the center. I looked up at her, just as she was opening her eyes.
“Mmm,” she moaned. “No, sir, that right there was hot as fuck,” she commented. “I couldn’t wait to get to you. Why you think I passed up on our meal?” she moaned, her head leaned back slightly.
“Look at me,” I instructed her. Once she had complied, I looked up into her eyes. “You know you have nothing to worry about, as far as other women go, right?”
“I know that, baby.” She leaned down, laid her lips on top of mine and gently cupped both sides of my face. “I’m not worried about anybody. You’ve already made a beautiful habit of showing me, time and time again, how much you love me. I trust you with all of my heart.”
“That’s good because I wouldn’t ever hurt you. Not ever. Now, hurt somebody because of you; that I would do . . . without thinking twice.”
Chanel reached around her waist to grab the edge of her shirt, then inched it up toward her chest, and over her head. Of course my eyes fell right to her breasts, eyeing the shield that covered two of the most sensuous, brown mounds I’d ever seen. While she was busy tossing her shirt to the side, I was busy unhooking her bra. My dick jerked in retaliation for me taking my time. I smoothed the straps to her bra down the sides of her arms, bringing her nipples into view. Like the magnets they were, they drew me in. I filled my palms with her softness and took turns licking the sweetness from her morsels.
The friction from Chanel stroking her body against my dick changed the course of everything. I lifted her from my lap, stood her up, and then removed her heels. I relieved her of the fitted jeans that she wore—thong included. Seconds later, she was back in my arms and being carried to where I would make sweet love to her.
Ours was a longing that never faded. Whether we were together or apart, there wasn’t a time where I didn’t want her . . . didn’t want to be inside of her.
When I laid her back on the bed, then climbed on top of her, my dick had a life of its own, sliding inside and finding comfort in her wetness. She wrapped her legs around me, tightly, locking me firmly between her thighs. There, we moved in sync with each other’s rhythms, grinding flesh against flesh.
Both of our moans were muffled, as we kissed through the heat, and as we tore at each other’s flesh. We sucked each other’s breath away, and then gave it right back. Intense, would be an understatement. Being with her turned me the fuck on . . . in a way that no other woman had ever matched . . . could ever match.
“Yesss, baaaby . . .” she moaned, “I’m . . . cumm . . . in.”
Inside Chanel’s walls was as moist as fresh rain on the pavement. I was trying my best to prolong my orgasm. I slowed my stroke at points, then sped up when I felt I’d regained control of my situation. It was a strategy I had failed at many times, so I didn’t know what made me think it was going to work then. All I was interested in, was staying inside of her. Deep inside of her. But I already knew that I was fighting a losing battle, especially when she gripped my ass and thrust her pelvis against mine and held it there. It was a wrap!
And as proof of her orgasm poured from between her lips, I met her at the same spot, lost in the power of the climactic ending we had just shared.
“I love you so much, Dario,” she told me, holding my face in the palm of her hands. “Never even knew I could love a man this way.” She leaned up and kissed me softly, then pulled back and smiled. “Glad it was you, baby.”
Looking down into her light-brown eyes sent me to a whole other place. They were beautiful pockets to her soul; getting lost in that place was a habit for me. I rolled my weight from off of her, even though that grip of hers almost delayed the action.
“Tryin’ to strong-arm, lady?” I kidded.
“Just tryna keep you close, sexy man.”
I rolled onto my side, then turned her face toward me. “You don’t have to try keeping me close. I’m always gonna be close—so close, it might get on your fucking nerves. I’m all kinds of crazy about you . . . and everything about you.”
She smiled at me, those orbs of hers lighting up. “Aww, you’re just saying that.”
“Hmph . . . ya think so, huh?” I asked her, sneaking a few digits into her. When her breath caught, and her eyes popped wide open, I laughed out loud.
“Ahhh,” she sighed, as her eyes closed, and her walls contracted around my fingers. “Okay . . . you’re not . . . just saying it,” she chuckled, moving her hips against the seduction.
After playing in her juices for a bit, and knowing that we were pressed for time before we had to go back across the bridge for Rai, I pulled back. My next move was back between her legs; but this time, since we had skipped a meal, I decided to be selfish and have mine right there. I’d feed her later . . .
CHAPTER 3
Chanel
I stood in the doorway of Rai’s bedroom, watching him pack. He had his iPhone tucked in the back pocket of his jeans, while the earbuds dangled from his ears. His head bobbed to the beat of some song. No telling what song it was because the boy appreciated all things music. It could be rock, Chillstep, R&B, or that damn trap music! He didn’t discriminate, in the least. I wish I could take credit for it, but I was strictly an R&B girl, myself.
He must have sensed my presence, because he slid his earbuds out and laid them across his shoulder. He shook his head, slowly, and made some tsk tsk sound at me, while never taking the focus from gathering his clothes. “I know you’re there, Ma . . .”
“Sooo, do I need to have another baby to love me? Because the one that used to be my baby, is not even interested in me anymore.”
“Mom, I knew you were gonna be jealous sooner or later.”
“I’m not jealous.”
Rai stopped packing long enough to glance over at me. “Yes, you are,” he proclaimed, on the verge of laughing.
“Well . . .” I said, with pause, not yet ready to confess. “Well . . . what do you expect? Ever since you found out about the Severides, you just kinda ditched your mama.”
“That’s not true, Ma.”
“Tuh,” I hissed. “It’s so true.”
He stood, looking at me for a few paused seconds. His little smart butt was mentally assessing the situation to see if I was serious or playing.
“Okay,” he finally caved. “I’ll stay home with you.”
“Nah, nah, I don’t wanna be your second choice. Go ahead and go with the people that you like better than me.”
He plopped down on the foot of his bed. “Maaa! Don’t do that. You’re gonna make me feel bad.”
“Well, you should feel bad. You’re leaving me all alone.”
As my baby stared at me with the most perfect set of eyes I had ever seen, I saw sadness and conflict. It broke my heart, so I decided to stop with the shenanigans.
“Ma, are you serious?” he asked, sadly.
“I’m absolutely, positively . . .” I paused to keep him on edge. “. . . playing with you.”
“Dang! That wasn’t funny,” he said, springing up from his seat.
“I was just playing, baby. Do you know how happy I am for you? I mean, yeah, I miss you when you’re over there. But, I’m happier than you know, that you have a whole other part of your family that’s in your life. Not to mention, they love you almost as much as your mama. Almost.”
“So, you’re really okay? Because I thought you—”
“Babe, I’m serious. If anything, it’s your grandma, Denise, that’s tripping. I’m good.”
“But you know she comes over to Grandma Veronika’s sometimes, right?”
“I heard. I was shocked at first, but I’m glad they’re getting along and all of that. See how special you are? You don’ brought all these people together. You’re out here getting adults to actually act like adults. How ‘bout that?”
“What are you doing tonight, Ma?”
“I don’t—”
“You and Dario hanging out?”
“More than like—”
“And why haven’t we moved into his house yet, anyway? How are y’all engaged and still just hanging out like regular people that are just like . . . dating? That’s weird.”
“Daaang, Detective Severide!” I released a belly laugh, then took a place on his bed. “You done with the interrogation?” I asked, after catching my breath.
“Well, I’m just saying. I have all these rooms. I have one at home, one at both my grandmas’ houses and one at Dario’s. Aren’t you worried about me being pulled in all these directions and stuff—feeling like I don’t have stability in my life?”
“Ohhh my god. You, poor kid. I’m sooo sorry!” I started cracking up, at my incredibly mature 13-year-old kid. He was too smart for his own good! “Boy, if you don’t hush yo’ little privileged butt up! I wish I did have me multiple bedrooms to camp out in.”
“You kinda do, Mama. That’s what I’m trying to get you to change.” He zipped up his overnight bag and then slid his arms through his backpack straps. “Change is good, Ma.”
I stood from his bed and put an open palm around his upper back. “Here, let me usher you to your next destination, man-child.”
My kid started laughing his laugh that I loved hearing, then remarked, “Can’t take the heat, Chanel?”
“Oh, uhh-uhh! Yeah, let me get you to where you need to be . . . quickly, fastly and in a hurry.”
“‘Fastly’ ain’t a word.”
“Neither is ‘ain’t’,” I retaliated.
Me and my baby boy laughed all the way to the front of the house, where his grandmother pulled up a short time later. I waved to Veronika from the front door, as I watched Rai put his things in the car. The whole time, I was fighting back tears. All I could think about was how he was the best part of me, in every way.
CHAPTER 4
Dario
Later that night . . .
I was in deep thought, while the music blared through the speakers, inside of one of the VIP rooms in Chanel’s club. Chanel sat on my lap, with her head leaned against mine, none the wiser that my thoughts were all of her. I loved that she loved coming to her club, because it let me know how much pride she had in what she did, what she built. The night I came into Suite 713 after my fight, I had no idea that I was going to run into the woman that I would fall so far in love with. I hated the times that I even let my thoughts go to what might have happened if I hadn’t gone out. I fought tooth and nail that night not to hang, and only went as a favor to Wayne—and as his wingman. I was dead-ass set on flying back home and getting comfortable. I had even planned to call up one of the few chicks that I hung out with whenever I was on downtime.
In the Ring 2 Page 2