Page 37 of A Taste of Grace

The Great Escape

I was deep in my sleep when I dreamed of Caleb.

Even with my eyes closed, I smelled his cologne as he reached under the covers and lifted my flimsy nightshirt.

His warm lips sucked on my breasts with tenderness that had me moaning.

As always, he applied the right amount of pressure to my mounds, making me squirm.

“Caleb!” My eyes shot open to see my husband kneeling beside my bed.

Even in the darkness, the moonlight from the window drew me to his hooded eyes. He held my breasts and sucked them as I lay on my side. As he assaulted my nipples with his long tongue, I put a barrier between his lips and my breasts with my arm.

“Why are you here?”

“You told me your home was my house too. It’s not fair that you still have a bachelorette pad where you can hide out from me, love.” His low voice made me tingle.

“Where are the girls?”

“At home with Aunt Nita. She’s keeping them until I get back.”

I loved Nita, but she was a snitch.

“You need to leave. I’m flying out early.”

“I’ll leave after we talk.” He resumed his licks to my nipples, twirling his tongue around them like they were lollipops.

“This…isn’t talking.” I groaned and lifted my hand, leaning back despite my reprimand.

Caleb knew sucking my breasts weakened me. I reached for his head and held it steady as he kneaded and massaged my tender mounds, smooshing them together to put both nipples in his mouth.

“Shh, baby. This is what you need.” He kissed a nipple. “I was wrong. Let me make it up to you in your titty sucking love language.”

Pools of moisture formed at the apex of my thighs. Caleb held my breasts high as he licked my collarbone and traced kisses back and forth over my sensitive skin.

“Sex can’t fix all our problems. It’s not normal.”

“What’s not normal to others may be normal to us. Do you want me to stop?”

I stroked his cheek and grinned.

“You know I don’t, with your touchy-feely self.”

“Then enjoy how I make you feel.”

I nodded and raised my body, patting the space beside me to usher Caleb to the bed.

He released me and stood beside me with a bare chest and underwear.

Like the stripper I suspected he was at Morehouse, he lowered his tight black briefs and stepped out of them one leg at a time.

He then eased my pajama bottoms off, dropping them beside the bed.

He hoisted his body on the bed and climbed on me, slowing down to let his manhood linger on my thigh as he straddled me and kissed my neck.

“Boy, you ain’t slick. I’m still mad.” I pushed him to his side of the bed as he chuckled.

He repositioned his body and made himself comfortable on the plush pillows with his knee raised and foot flat.

“You sure about that?” He pulled me to him and grinded his lower body into me slowly.

Like the needy woman I was, I held his back and scratched it as he repeatedly rubbed against my soaking core with his erection.

“Caleb Stallings.” I called out his name as if that somehow explained what my problem was.

“Grace Stallings.” He said my name in the same tone as mine.

“You hurt me.”

“I’m sorry, baby.” He slowly entered my soaking core.

I adored and disliked Caleb in the same breath, but his penis was my truth serum. He withdrew from me and kissed my stomach then my breasts and my lips again.

“Madeline means nothing to me, sweetheart. I got in my feelings. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

“I need space away from you.”

“But I need you to be all up in my space. If I have to make love to you all night for you to hear me out, I will.”

I reached for Caleb’s butt and pushed him closer to me. With each thrust, my willpower weakened along with my pride.

“How do I know it won’t happen again?” I whimpered as his pace increased.

He paused mid-stroke and stayed inside me. I willed myself to concentrate on his words and not the heat between my legs.

“I’m just a man, Grace. Don’t put me on a pedestal. We’re on the same team, although I forgot that today.” He began to thrust inside me again.

I held him tight and savored our intimacy. Caleb’s admission humbled me as I thought about all the people who didn’t give me grace over the years. Unlike them, Caleb wanted me to be whole. He came to me and showed me how precious I was to him.

My stomach growled as I started to leak on the sheets. Caleb paused and lifted his body above mine.

“Are you hungry, love?”

“Kind of, but my appetite is off. I’ll drink some ginger ale when we’re done so I can settle my stomach.”

To my surprise, he withdrew from me and placed his hand on my belly.

“Oh, yes. The Black folks’ remedy for everything. Ginger ale? Have you taken a pregnancy test?”

I laughed. My voice filled the darkness of the room as I held his erection and continued to stroke it. He hissed and lay back on the pillows again.

“I’m not pregnant.”

“We haven’t used protection. You might be carrying our child.”

I removed my hand and raised it to my lips as I processed how moody and finicky I was about everything. Caleb was right. We loved each other raw and didn’t think twice about it.

“That would kind of be a mess.” I climbed on Caleb and rocked with him until we both climaxed.

When we finished, Caleb walked to his overnight bag. He turned on the light and pulled out a pregnancy test.

“I’m serious, Grace. I picked up a two-pack pregnancy test from CVS. I’ll help you test if you want.”

“I’ll do it on my own time, okay?”

He lifted his hands in surrender.

“No pressure. Are we good? Do you want to talk some more?”

“I’m not going to lie to you. I’m still kind of pissed. We have to work on our communication.”

“Agreed. Is there anything else you want to know about Madeline?”

“Do you still love her?”

Caleb’s shoulders collapsed.

“Not at all. She’s conniving and only wants attention. We agreed she wouldn’t have any real contact with the girls unless they wanted to when they were older. I’m not messing us up because of her foolishness. I’ve waited too long for my amazing Grace to show up. That was why I kept calling you.”

When I felt tears welling in my eyes, I reconsidered taking the pregnancy test sooner rather than later. It made no sense for me to be this emotional. No, I would stick to my guns and wait until I was alone. Although Caleb repented, I wanted to process what a baby might mean for us moving forward.

“Thank you for being kind. I’m going to wash up and get some rest.”

“I planned to spend the night.”

“If you stay, we won’t sleep.”

“As much as I want to sex you up, I respect your work.”

Caleb put on his briefs and reached for his T-shirt before pulling it over his head. He put on the rest of his clothes and returned to my side to kiss my forehead.

“I need to go so I’ll be ready to get the kids to school. Safe travels, love. Call me anytime, and let me know you’re safe. I’ll miss you.”

I threw on my robe and walked Caleb to the front door, giving him a deep kiss and a hug before he left.

“Thank you for not giving up on me. I’ll miss you, too,” I said.

“You’re stuck with me, love.” He kissed me a final time.

I locked the door and leaned against it, closing my eyes and allowing the goodness of this relationship to settle in my spirit. We were going to be alright. We had to be.