by Peyton Banks
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I had no outlet for my anger. I needed to take up boxing again. My anger simmered under the surface. I kept it in check most days, but with Shani, my emotions switched from joy to annoyance in ten seconds flat. I loved and hated that she didn’t talk about herself. She wasn’t easy. Shani challenged me.
Being with her betrayed Lizzy memory. Yet, she would have loved how Shani gives me a hard time. I loved Lizzy with all of me. When she died, it destroyed all of me. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
Bit by bit, spending time with Shani put me back together, and we'd barely touched each other. Although the tension between us was thick.
“You okay?” Shani touched my arm, and the weight lifted.
“What?” I blinked. “Yeah.”
She removed her hand.
I rested my elbows on the table.
She traced the lid of her laptop with her index finger. He fingers, painted black, slid under the cover. The magnet released and snapped back shut. It sealed again with a click. She did it again and again. Four times to be exact.
“Ugh.” I growled. She blinked and bit her lip. Her eyes flipped to the laptop. She laid her hand flat on the metallic surface and squeezed her eyes shut.
It couldn’t be that bad. Whatever she’d been through could not be that awful, could it?
I slid out of the booth.
“Where are you going?” She looked up and frowned.
“It’s where we’re going.” I motioned for her to stand. “Grab your stuff, let’s go.”
She followed me without another word. We made it as far as the front door before she grabbed my arm.
“What are we doing?” She tilted her head and waited.
“We’re going for a run.” I grabbed her hand.
“A run.”
“Yeah. We need to do something physical.” I cringed inward. I pushed the door open and led her out.
“Too much tension for you, O?” She giggled.
“You have no idea.” I pulled her across the street.
“Go change.” I pointed towards her brownstone. “I’ll meet you at the corner of the park in fifteen minutes. Okay?” I didn't wait for an answer. I leaned over and kissed her cheek, turned on my heels, and headed down the street.
I had workout gear in a locker at the firehouse.
She beat me to the corner. I took my time watching her. She stood off to the side. She bent over and stretched her hamstrings and quads. Her ass was perfection in black leggings. She stood and stretched her arms over her head. Her tits sat up high, barely contained by the black sports bra and the white T-shirt. She wore white running shoes, expensive and new. As I got close, she stood up straight with her arms by her sides.
My gaze followed her curves, from her shapely calves to her muscular thighs. My eyes stopped at the rise of her tits.
The attention made her blush. She crossed her arms over her chest and bit her lip.
I gripped her forearm and pulled her arms away from her. I slid my hand into hers and kissed her fingers. Not too non-romantic, but when I looked at her, I forgot the unspoken rules.
She extracted her hand and rolled her eyes.
“So, Shani, You think you can keep up?”
“Just watch me.” She giggled and took off down the path cutting through the park.
With her ass bouncing, watching her was exactly what I intended to do.
Shani
We cut across the park and down a city block. I caught my reflection in the office window as we jogged past it. My ass didn’t look awful in these leggings. Oscar enjoyed the view for a block before joining me. I took a sharp turn right before he realized I had left him in my wake. I slowed down to let him catch up, but he blew right past me. Now it was my turn to ogle his backside.
The green basketball shorts molded to his ass, and he wore a white Under Armour T-shirt. It showed off his chest and made me lightheaded. I followed him another block, and we made another sharp turn onto a trail between two buildings. We entered Prospect Park on an end I hadn’t explored yet.
We fell in step, running at a good pace. Sweat soaked through his T-shirt, but his breath remained steady. I, on the other hand, had to concentrate to keep from passing out on the street.
The pain had settled in my thighs, but it was the good pain you search for in the long run. Once I hit the threshold, I floated across the asphalt. After the pain came, the endorphins, and the discomfort disappeared.
I loved running because it wasn’t easy for me. It was a challenge. Something to conquer every session. In San Diego, nothing about my life was my own. I moved through life numb. My daily run reminded me I was alive. Pain, pleasure, an obstacle to overcome, a challenge to conquer. No matter what was going on between Jacob and me, I wouldn’t let him take away my run.
“Hey,” Oscar yelled behind him. “You need a rest?”
I shook my head and got my legs pumping.
“I’m good.” I caught up with him. “Unless you need a rest.”
He growled, and my core clinched. I took off, and he chased me.
I cut across the grass back towards my place. Before we hit the street, he caught me and lifted me in his arms. My back to his front.
My lungs were close to bursting. I laughed, as I struggled to get away from him.
I got one hand free and stepped around him.
He was too fast for me.
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him with a thud.
We stood in each other’s arms, our chests convulsing as we tried to catch our breath. I stared into his eyes, and my heart burst. I wasn’t looking for anything, but in his eyes I found it, anyway. He was so kind and so sweet. He wanted to know me, and I challenged him at every step.
Why couldn’t I open up to him? I knew in my gut, Oscar wouldn’t hurt me.
I blinked and searched his face. He leaned down, his lips so close to mine.
A crack of thunder made us both jump. Then the heavens opened up, and the down pour drenched us in seconds.
We stepped apart, looked at each other, and cracked up.
We huddled together under a tree.
My body shook.
“I don’t think this will let up.” He tilted his head down, and water from the brim of his hat hit me in the face. “Oh sorry.”
I wiped my face and laughed.
“Where are we?” He looked around. “Come on.”
He took my hand.
We jogged down the block and then across the street into the lobby of a high-rise.
“We’re making puddles on the marble.” I stood with my feet together, trying not to drip too much.
“Mr. Hunt.” The doorman came around the desk and handled us each a face towel. His gray suit appeared too big on his short frame. “You two are going to catch your death.”
“Thanks, James.” We grabbed the towels.
“Get out of those wet clothes.” James smirked at his choice of words.
I wiped my face and dried my arms as I followed Oscar down a hall way to a bank of elevators.
I stood next to him, giggling at our reflection in the elevator door.
When the door arrived, stepped into the elevator our feet squished every step. We huddled together for warmth. My body warmed from being in proximity to Oscar. We made it up two flights before the doors opened again.
“Oscar, how are you, young man?” An older woman shuffled inside. She wore a multicolored muumuu and carried a bottle of wine. “I’m heading up to Ms. Danver’s apartment for bridge. You want to join us?”
“No, Ms. Evans, I’m a little busy right now.” Oscar patted her on the shoulder.
She looked up and pulled her glasses down her nose to look over them.
“My goodness, you two look like drowned rats.” Her glassed dropped on her nose with a thud. “A hot shower would do you two some good.”
My mouth dropped open.
What is going in in this building?
The doorman wanted
us to undress. This old lady wanted us to shower together. What was with these people? The goal of the run was to dissipate the sexual tension.
Epic fail.
The elevator opened on the tenth floor, and we stepped out, squishing and dripping water down the hallway.
Oscar pulled a key fob out from his pocket and unlocked the door. He pushed it open and motioned for me to enter.
His apartment opened into a combined living room and kitchen. I ran my hand along the brown leather sectional. It took up most of the space. A flat screen was mounted on the wall. A rectangular shaped kitchen table with six chairs separated the living room from the kitchen.
Oscar walked passed me into the bedroom.
I walked in with my head held high. I wasn’t scared.
I followed him.
5
Oscar
“I’ll be right back.” I pulled off my shirt and dropped it in the hamper. I grabbed two towels and headed back into my bedroom. She had followed and stood near the dresser, peeling off her soaking wet T-shirt.
Her curls drooped and stuck to the side of her face.
I stood in front of her.
I draped it around her and ran it over her head.
“You keep doing that, I will have a mammoth-sized afro.”
“Like Foxxy Cleopatra.” I chuckled. The over-the-top character Beyoncé played in the Austin Powers movie was the subject of many a wet dream. “She was hot.”
I continued to rub the towel in her hair and down her neck before draping the towel over her shoulders.
“I’m not quite Beyoncé.” She giggled and wrapped the towel around her torso and continued to dry off.
Something about her laugh and her tone of voice had a direct connection to my heart and my cock. How was I falling for a girl I knew nothing about?
She wiped down her legs, but stood up and glared at me.
Did I speak out loud? she had no answer.
“O.” She dropped her gaze. She had no answer.
If she wanted to break the spell, stop what was about to happen, she had better come up with other words. My name, on her lips, took my brain to dirty places.
Did she taste as good as I imagined?
I lifted her chin and swiped a droplet of water from her cheek.
I waited for her to look at me.
She hesitated. I could see her mind churning. Weighed the pros and cons.
The darkness warred with the light inside of her.
I’d waited all day, content with being close to her. Inside of her would be the icing on the cake.
The moment she decided, her big brown eyes brightened. She turned them to me. Her pupils dilated. She licked her lip. I took it as an invitation.
I lowered my mouth to hers.
A slight moan escaped from her lips before I sealed them and pressed a firm kiss on her mouth.
She dropped the towel, and it pooled at our feet.
She wrapped her arms around my shoulders.
I held the back of her head, gripping her hair.
She grunted and pressed her body into mine. I had unleashed a beast.
I snaked my other hand around her back and held her to me. Her sweet soft lips melded against mine.
I slid my tongue along the seam, and she opened. Her tongue pressed against my lips. Her head tilted. I deepened the kiss while sliding my hand down her hip and lifted her in my arms.
She yelped and giggled. I carried her to my bed and laid her down. Our lips unable to detach from each other. It was as if they had magnets attached to them. They were drawn together. I laid a hand on her stomach and slid my fingers under the seam of her sports bra. My finger tips skimmed under her breast. The mounds heaved towards me, and I broke the contact with her mouth to sample other places.
She grabbed the back of my head and arched up into me. I sucked her nipple into my mouth through the fabric. It beaded and protruded through the fabric. I yanked the bra to the side and bit her flesh.
She cried out. I groaned and sucked hard and pushed her bra up. She wiggled it over her head and got tangled in her hair.
“Oh.” She grunted.
I extracted her locks from the strap. She pushed her hair back away from her face.
I twisted a ringlet around my fingers and pulled. She groaned and looked up at me.
“You are gorgeous.” I continued staring in her eyes. She inhaled and exhaled, leaned up, and captured my lips in hers.
My hands massaged her breasts. Both nipples beaded under my palms. I rubbed one on the back of my hand; her soft skin was responsive to my touch.
I didn’t know much about the woman beneath me, but the way we fit together blew my mind. We rocked against each other, my cock hard against her thigh. She grabbed my ass to pull me close.
Her legs wrapped around my waist. I reached between us and touched her center.
“Oh, yes.” Her body shuddered. “I love the way you touch me.”
“I love the way you feel.” Two fingers slid over her pussy, and her wetness seeped through the fabric of her leggings.
She reached down and palmed my cock through my shorts.
I groaned.
“You feel good, too.” Her sexy grin made my cock twitch. She let go and pushed at the waistband of my shorts. I sat back on my knees and pushed my shorts off.
“Oh wow.” My cock bounced off my stomach and settled erect. “Is telling you it’s so big cliché?”
“Not if it’s true.” I sat next to her on the edge of the bed. One hand reached back to playing with her.
“Modest mu... Oh my God, don’t stop.” She squirmed and reached for my cock. She stroked it up and down. Her hips moved against my fingers, trying to get off. She squeezed my cock as her head fell back.
Her pussy gushed wetness, and a squeal she covered with her other hand escaped her lips as she came on my fingers. When she came down from her orgasm, she bit her lip and leveled me with a look of predatory lust. She sat up and pushed her panties and leggings off her hips. I pulled them down the rest of the way.
Her hand returned to my cock. I wrapped an arm around her and held her while laying kissing down her neck and chest.
“Condoms?” She pinched the tip of my cock.
“Night... Nightstand.” I nodded and bit her lip.
She smiled and wiggled her brows. I reached into the nightstand and grabbed one. I tore it open.
She took it from me and rolled it down my cock.
She continued to stroke me.
“Oh that so good.” I rested my forehead on hers. “But, I want to feel you on my cock.”
Her eyes grew wide, but the sexy grin remained. Shani liked the dirty talk.
“I want to fuck you,” I whispered in her ear and bit her earlobe. “Do you want me inside of you?”
Her throat hitched. She nodded.
I grabbed her face and kissed her lips. I picked her up and laid her across the bed. I spread her legs and settled between them. My cock rubbed through her pussy.
“Yes.” She exhaled and rocked her hips against mine. Sparks traveled up my thighs.
“Slow down.” I gripped her hips. “I don’t want to come before I get to feel you squeezing my cock.”
She giggled, and I almost blew my load.
“You’re too cute. You’re going to kill me.” I rubbed my nose against hers and kissed her cheeks.
She ran a finger down the bridge of my nose.
“Fuck me,” she whispered against my skin. “Now.”
She reached down and pulled me into her heat.
I sank into her slow.
“Oh God.” She blinked and bit her lip.
I groaned and sank into her deep.
“You okay?” Her face morphed into conflicting emotions.
“It’s so good.” She wrapped her hands around my neck. My weight crushed her. “So good. Don’t stop.”
I rocked my hips into her, in long slow strokes. My cock swelled and made itself at home inside of her.
She whimpered as I pushed in and released a throaty yelp as I pulled out. She moved her hands down my back and flexed her fingers into my flesh, directing me.
“Oh my...”
Her pussy gripped my cock, and I pushed in hard and pulled back out.
Her hand dropped to her side.
She arched up into me. I lifted onto my forearms and pushed into her hard, adjusting the angle to hit her G-spot. Her legs shook, and her eyes grew wide before slamming shut. Her body tensed.
“Wow, what is...” Her voice trailed off. Her body sang. It shook as an orgasm slammed into her and gripped my cock in a vise until I exploded inside of her.
I grunted and came hard, my cock pulsing along with the aftershocks of her orgasm.
“Oh wow, wow, wow,” she repeated until she lost her breath and collapsed against the bed.
My lips crashed down on hers, and I finished exploring her mouth with my tongue as we both came down from the intensity. I snaked my arms around her waist, she held on to me too.
We couldn’t get any closer, but we tried.
Minutes passed. I leaned back and scanned her face. She fit against me perfectly. It reminded me of Lizzy, but not in the way I thought it would. Shani felt different—right. I wanted to tell her. Tell her everything. The reason Shani hadn’t opened up to me was because I hadn’t either.
Something had to give.
I opened my mouth ready to share my biggest regret and forgive myself.
I didn’t get a chance.
Shani had drifted off to sleep in my arms.
Confession time had to wait.
6
Oscar
Shani’s constant twitching made it hard for me to get any sleep. I held her close, and she stopped. When I drifted off and relaxed, she’d start up again.
“No, please.”
My eyes popped open. I stared at her. This was more than a twitch.
“I’m sorry.” She punched out with her fist. I dodged it and sat up.