THIRTY-EIGHT
“How much longer do you have?”
I smiled at the older woman who stopped me as we left the shoe store. Her skin was pale, but I could tell she’d seen a lot of sunny days. Babies were a subject that strangers didn’t shy away from. I’d gotten questions from someone older, younger, and of all races. New life was a pick-me-up that transcended differences that could otherwise be viewed as a barrier.
With a polite grin, I answered, “Three weeks.”
That bitter-sweet countdown. One step closer to meeting my child and one further from getting away from the person who made it possible. I couldn’t wait for the day I became a mother. At the same time, I’d recently found myself not needing to rush.
The woman’s smile widened. “That’s precious. She’s going to be what you need.” “How did you know I’m having a girl?”
“We can tell. There’s a lot of experience in old bones.” She stepped a smidge closer, and Grant did the same. “Care for a piece of advice?”
“Sure,” I heard myself answering out of curiosity.
The hand she placed on my arm had a slight tremble that reminded me of my GG. “Forgive yourself.”
“I’m sorry?” I blinked, taken aback by her advice.
She smiled bigger. “Mothers make mistakes, too. It’s all a part of the human experience. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Children don’t come with instruction manuals. God bless.”
Bewilderment kept me stuck where I stood until the woman was out of sight. Grant’s hand on my lower back snapped me from the daze. “Is there anywhere else you want to go before we head out?”
I looked around and considered Grant’s last call. We’d shopped at two baby boutiques and a few kiosks in the middle of the mall. Grant’s arms were full of bags of baby things and a few needs for me. I couldn’t think of anything else and was prepared to announce that when a marvelous aroma hit my nose, deciding for me. “Just one more place.”
We sat at a table for two in the food court once, I had a brownie ice cream sundae in hand. My dessert and I occupied one side while Grant faced me. The bags filled a chair he’d pulled up from a neighboring table. “What’s going on with Ryan this week?”
“Same old. School and the track team. They’re traveling to a meet after school tomorrow, so I will have to pick him up when the team returns to school. You can come if you’re still awake.”
“I’ll try my best.” Thoughts of the past weekends with him at the house occupied me through my next bite of sundae. “He’s a good kid.”
Grant’s smile was that of a proud father. “I’m proud of who he is. Whenever a teacher called home over the years, it was to compliment him.”
“I love making those calls. Especially to my black parents. I feel like I’m doing my part in letting them know out the gate that there is more to parent contact than behavior problems or risk of failure.”
“Would you want to teach her class if you could?” He aimed his question and forehead at our girl.
I chuckled over my mouthful of ice cream because I’d considered that very thing. “I would change the grade I taught year after year to follow our nugget, but I wouldn’t do that. She needs her own space.”
“Are teachers like doctors in the sense of being the worst students?” “Teachers are the best students, but I could be slightly biased.”
Grant held his pointer and thumb close together to mimic a pinch. “Maybe a little.” We shared chuckles, our twinkling eyes watching the other’s.
That man knows he’s too damn fine.
Looking at his face, I admitted to myself it was one I’d grown a preference to be in the presence of. He would be the kind of dad that all the moms would bust out grandma’s recipe to impress him during the class bake sale.
The squint I sent his way was playful. “I can tell I’m going to have to sit you with me in the teachers’ section at PTA meetings.”
He popped his shoulders up and down and licked his lips. “I’ll have all the mamas wanting play dates.”
“Can you see the sunlight over that big head?”
“I see you.” He shrugged.
I tucked my lips, feeling the burn of the blush in my cheeks.
“I see you still have a thing for sweets.”
That voice crashed the scene with the effect of a bullhorn, though spoken at normal volume. Looking up, I had the awkward displeasure of seeing the face of my ex, Carlos. Being a tall man with smooth, walnut skin and a fade with a white chalk outline, he usually garnered women’s attention. He was a handsome buff, but his arrogance didn’t leave space for anyone else in the room. Even as I sat my extremely pregnant ass across from a man, Carlos tried flexing with a familiarity he was so self-observed to believe was exclusive to him. How sadly mistaken he was because Grant surpassed any connection I’d had with another on the day we met.
Grant straightened from his relaxed position and leaned against the chair. I pushed away the saucer with the remaining molten chocolate cake, suddenly losing my appetite.
Carlos’s eyes were slow, perusing my body in a way I could only deem disrespectful. His lids expanded when they landed on my stomach. He brought a cupped fist to his mouth. “You done slipped up? Never thought I’d see the day.”
Grant inserted himself into the conversation, seeing Carlos did not intend to acknowledge him. “How you doing, my man? I’m Grant.”
Carlos eyed Grant’s proffered hand, reading the gesture as a symbol of intimidation, judging by his cunning smirk. Once Carlos’s hand was wrapped around his, Grant pulled
swiftly, catching him off guard. Unable to fight against the tug, Carlos stumbled until the table caught his fall. The legs screeched when he pushed against it.
Taking advantage of their new closeness, Grant spoke lowly. “You’ve had your moment, now walk away.”
Carlos’s face tightened into a scowl. The gold hoop moved when his right nostril flared. “I—”
“That doesn’t sound like walking the fuck away,” Grant cut him off by adding. This time, he gave when Carlos pulled and released his hand, allowing him to straighten.
“You’re doing a lot for a dime out of a dozen.” He pulled down the hem of his shirt to rid it of its wrinkles.
Grant stood up, easily beating Carlos’s stature when he stretched to his full height. “And you’re making yourself an easy target. At least you know a dime when you see one.”
Carlos’s round nose spread above his mustache. He looked at me, and I found satisfaction in waving my fingertips at him. He walked away with the sense to keep his griping to a mumble.
The victory I felt watching him leave dissipated when I turned up Grant’s pinched face. “Are you starting to have regrets?” I asked after he retook his seat.
The space between his brows gathered in the center of his frown when he asked, “What makes you ask that?”
I sighed, my eyes on the melting ice cream. “As you just heard, I’m no angel. It’s not something I’m ashamed of, but I know that some people can’t deal with their partner being what some would call promiscuous. You were married and have a teenage son. Can you say I fit into your world?”
I found the courage to look up after getting that out. Grant’s face remained stoic; his eyes were unreadable. I hefted my chin in the air, squared my shoulders, and prepared for him to tell me that I didn’t fit, that we were just sloppy with our sex, and he was stuck with me. It would crush me, but I wouldn’t let him know it. I refused.
“Are you healthy?”
I blinked because I heard wrong. “What?”
His head dipped to the side. “You heard me, Georgia. Are you healthy?” “Yes, I’m healthy.”
He nodded toward my round belly. “Is my baby healthy?”
My heart flipped at his explicit ownership. “Yes, your baby is healthy.”
“And that’s all I’m concerned about. You are a grown woman, meaning you’ve had other partners. It’s none of my business; I could not care less about them. That’s insecure little boy shit to wanna compare numbers as if it makes a difference with what you and I have
going on. But I will say if ole boy tries you or my child again. Or if he comes out of pocket with his words, I will stomp his ass until the police come and defend myself in court. Fucking with you isn’t safe for him.”
He unlaced his fingers and sat back in his seat. “Now, I wanted to ask you about a baby stroller.”
He’d dropped the mic on the stage and moved on as if we’d been discussing something ordinary like the grocery list. The mode of his mien switched with speed that could cause whiplash. When Carlos approached, Grant handled the matter with the bigger man mindset like Martin. Then he amped up with keeping energy like Malcolm. Processing the encounter left me pulsating between my thighs. Licking my lips gave me a sweet taste of my midday dessert while I eyed the flavor I’d rather taste.
“I don’t want to talk about a baby stroller right now. I want to suck your dick.” His chin aimed at his chest. He leaned closer to ask, “You do?”
“Yes. You just turned me on so bad that I want to make you disappear in my mouth the entire way home. I know this belly won’t make that possible, so we’ll have to wait until we get home.”
It slowed as if I could manipulate the hands of time while Grant stood and ambled to my side of the table. The prominence of his pectorals was blaring through the soft material of his white ribbed tee.
He assisted me from my seat. His hold stayed on my waist, and I looked into his face, silently questioning him. His finger wiped some stickiness from the corner of my mouth before he kissed it. “Let’s get home.”
Though moving quickly, Grant managed with controlled finesse, getting us back to his place in just under twenty minutes. The mood lightened as we laughed while criticizing the songs played on the radio, but my intentions were never lost on me. Motivated by my bladder, I scurried inside to handle it while Grant grabbed the shopping bags from the trunk.
“Grant?” I called out, surprised he wasn’t in the bed waiting for me to make good on my word. I deposited my underwear in the hamper under the towel, sitting on top, and then searched for him. Peeking into each space I passed led me to the living room, where Grant was on the sofa looking at something on his phone. “What are you doing? We have things to do.”
He set his phone down and paid me his undivided attention. “I know what you said at the moment, but I’m not going to hold you to an offer you made while we were out.”
I put my hands on my hips, locked and loaded with my challenge. “You seemed on board by getting us here so fast.”
The right side of my favorite reclaimed seat lifted into a guilty grin. “You got me excited. Can you blame me?”
“I wouldn’t because that was the whole point. I meant what I said, and I need you in your room, Mr. Esquire.”
Feeling like my point had been made, I spun around and retreated to the bedroom. The smirk of a champion found my face when I heard shuffling behind me, followed by a “yes, ma’am.”
My face remained forward until I reached his room. Lifting my dress to my waist, I scooted into the bed until my legs comfortably hung off the side of the mattress. Opening them just enough gave him a peek at what wasn’t on the menu.
Grant walked forward when I pulled on the strings of his fleece pants. Lifting my chin, I pushed out my lips and closed my eyes, anticipating his on mine. I moaned at the moment of contact. I sunk my teeth into his bottom lip and bit until he responded by pulling back, forcing me to release him.
His mouth alternated between kissing and licking, leaving a wet path until he latched on the groove in my neck. I bit into my own lip when his hand crept between my thighs and moaned deep in my throat when his knuckles nudged apart my lips. “You don’t listen.”
“I’m just trying to take care of you first,” Grant smirked cunningly while he manipulated my hips to sway back and forth. I let the pad of his thumb get two good swipes before closing my thighs.
“I got this.” Leaning over, I pulled the vibrating wand from my knapsack in the nightstand’s top drawer. “I’m going to take care of me while I take care of you.”
He looked at my toy and returned to me with compliance in his gander. Grant came easily when I pulled down the waist of his pants. I ran my hand down the bend of his erection tucked inside his boxer briefs. He hung heavily in my palm. Once freed, I inspected it, eating first with my eyes, noting the features.
I encircled his girth with my fingers, holding with a pressure I knew he loved as I tugged from head to base. My mouth was lubricated and open when I lifted his girth to it. My eyes closed when I took in his head and held it there. Swirling my tongue, I tasted his entire circumference, ending with the top flattened below where the mushroom and shaft met. Left to right, I swiped, hitting the vein.
Pushing further, I moistened more of him, causing his smooth skin to brush against my throat. My head bobbed into a rhythm, challenging myself to swallow him whole. With a firm grip on him and a steady pace of sucking him in and out, I picked up my vibrator. Twisting it around, I felt around the soft silicone until my fingertip detected the indented power symbol. I spread my knees further apart and brought the humming toy to my sex. My mouth shook around him when I moaned at the quick pulsation pleasing my clit. The closer I felt myself reaching release, the harder I went on Grant. I kissed down his length and lifted it to give myself the space to lower. Once there, I paid his balls some attention, earning me the rewarding sound of Grant’s groan.
“Damn, Georgia.”
“Unt-uhhh.” I popped him from my jaws and returned to the other end. I swirled his tip with my tongue and sampled the sweet and savory elixir. Peering up at him, I made a show of licking my lips. “It’s Miss Gia when I’m nasty.”
His chuckle was silent, his regard of narrowed eyes as he nibbled his lip pushed me closer to eruption. “Damn, Miss Gia.”
I took him back into my mouth, feverishly sucking what I could manage, and used my palm to stroke what I couldn’t. It felt like I’d chosen the correct answer for a test question each time he was vocal with his enjoyment. A groan was a check mark; a hiss when I scraped him with my teeth was another. Grant taking the sides of my face as he slow-stroked my mouth, had to be worth extra credit. I knew I’d earned a 100 percent score when he held my head and his hips still to eject into my
watering mouth.
Grant stepped back, removing himself from my lips. His semi-erection glistened as it swayed. My wand easily left my hand when he tugged since I was too busy watching him swing like a wrecking ball. “Your turn.”
I laid back slowly under his careful guidance. Grant pressed the toy to my pussy, not being timid as he pressed down. I locked eyes with him and manipulated my hips to stay in touch. Grant took it up and rotated the toy, not letting it break contact. My bottom lip dropped, and my head fell back. Just as he did, I remained still while my body was taken captive by a burst of light I could see behind my eyelids. The humming ceased at the time my hearing returned. I stretched my arms and rested on the soft mattress, satisfied with where we were.
A yawn bullied its way from my mouth when I opened it. Before advising, I allowed it to pass, “Now we can talk about the baby stroller.”
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