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thirty

. . .

The rising of the sun was warring with the sheets Maximus pinned to the walls along with his hand landing on her bare ass pulled her out of her sleep.

“Mm,” she groaned. “You just let me go to sleep...” Eden popped one eye open to pat the nightstand for her phone. “Three hours ago.”

Easing the sting of his hand with his mouth, Max grumbled. “I know. I thought that would hold me over, but I can’t smell you no more.”

Eden rolled over onto her back to find Maximus fresh out of the shower, durag intact, and gently pulling her t-shirt-covered body to him. A tired giggle left her lips. “Your flight leaves in an hour.”

“I’ll make it.”

“And when Keon walks in here hollering about y’all being late, then what?” Eden muttered, watching his hand gently rub over her center.

“That nigga knows better,” Maximus grumbled. “Can I have a little taste? So, I can smell you? Your scent keeps me cool.”

Eden groaned, squirming under his touch, her body reacting to him just the way he liked. “How did you live without me?”

“I don’t fuckin’ know and I don’t want to know anymore,” he hummed, kissing her bud. “Open up for me, E.”

At his command, her thighs fell open for his viewing pleasure. “Gotdamn. Honey Baby.”

She nipped her lip, watching his head dip between her legs.

The sensation from his tongue-lashing washed pleasure over her, making the coolness of the house vanish.

There was nothing but heat and ecstasy blanketing her.

Her hands gripped the sheets, eyes rolling back, and her hips whining over his face to give him what he wanted. A taste.

The issue with just a little taste was that she was going to want one of her own, and they would be warring against the clock.

Maximus pushed his fingers inside of her, pushing her further and further to the edge, yielding him his honey.

Her eruption oozed over his tongue, coated his lips, and facial hair.

“Max Baby,” Eden panted, feeling him kiss the inside of her thigh. “Pull it out.”

“I got to go, baby,” he grunted, checking the time.

“You’re not leaving without me having my own,” she directed, sitting up and dangling her legs off the edge of the bed. She could see the print against his sweats. “And you ain’t leaving like that either.”

Maximus happily licked his lips and smirked down at her. “Possessive?”

“You folded me up, this is what happens.”

He cupped her chin. “I’m with it.”

Eden freed him, laid flat on her stomach and smacked his dick against her tongue while looking into his eyes. Hands twisting, bobbing, and holding eye contact earned her his eruption. An eruption, she drank without missing a beat. Pulling back, she repositioned herself and smiled.

“Now you can go.”

“E, why you do that?” Maximus asked, wanting more.

She shrugged innocently. “You wanted a taste. I gave you a taste. I got a taste, now I’m going back to sleep.”

Eden attempted to crawl to her proclaimed side of the bed before he pulled her back and grunted. “Uh uh, bring that ass back here.”

Full of laughter, Eden crooned. “That’s not a taste.”

“I need a little more. You know I’m a little greedy.”

Pressing his head against the opening, Eden slurred. “A little is an understatement. Hurry up before you’re late.”

Maximus slowly pushed himself inside of her depths, considerate of how sensitive she was. “Fuck, I might need another flight.”

On a mission to get him off and onto his flight, Eden clamped her walls down around him and threw her ass back with precision.

Slow and steady, she fucked him back until his seed was erratically spraying inside of her fertile garden.

Flat on her stomach, panting, Eden moaned tiredly, “Is that going to last you?”

He kissed the center of her back. “If not, I'm bringing my ass home first thing smoking.”

“I’ve got to ration this out.”

“Nah, don’t do that, being inside of your skin is my favorite place to be,” he commented, roaming to the bathroom to get her a hot towel and to clean himself off. Returning to where he left her, he cleaned her up and kissed her lips.

“You don’t think that’s a problem? That you want to be in my skin all the time?”

“You think it’s a problem to keep letting me in?”

Eden tiredly looked up at him. “I think it’s a problem you’re making your crazy seem rational to me.”

Maximus bit a wide grin. “You see it. There’s a vision.”

“I see it. And I hear Keon outside honking the horn about to piss off your neighbors.” Eden lifted her body. “Kiss me. Have a safe trip.”

“You gon’ be here when I get back?”

“I got a key?”

“You’ll see it when you wake up. I’ll hit you when I land,” Maximus honored her requests, pulling the comforter over her. By the time he was down the stairs, Eden was knocked out again.

Unsure of how many hours she’d been sprawled across the bed, inhaling Maximus’ scent, she was pulled out of her post-sex slumber by the incessant ringing of her phone. Groaning, she rolled her sore body over and picked the phone up in a tired review of the screen. Staysha.

Groggily, Eden answered, “Yes, Stay?”

“We have a full day ahead of us, full of sister time. Get up and meet me at DeLaTique Spa in an hour. Love you, bye.”

The call dropped, leaving Eden staring at the ceiling. She moved her eyes from the tray ceilings to the sheet-covered windows. “All that money and the man hasn’t bought curtains.”

Moving slowly, she found the bouquet of vibrant flowers propped up with a teddy bear whose shirt read, MISS YOU MORE.

A house key hung around its neck, and Eden swayed with joy, unsure how she got this and if it was going to be hers to keep.

Before she could overthink and let anxiety creep in, she proceeded to get ready and was out the door and in the JoyRide to her destination to meet her sister.

“Look who came up for air,” Staysha hummed, as Eden, in full natural state, strolled into the hair salon. They embraced and shared a sisterly giggle.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Eden mused innocently, as her insides ached and pulsed with muscle memory. “You missed me? You only called me twenty-seven times.”

Staysha rolled her eyes. “You haven’t had a boyfriend in a million years, so I have to get used to you not being regularly available for me.”

Eden looked around the empty DeLaTique Spa of Midtown, hoping not to find a hidden camera because Staysha was tripping. “First of all, you’re loud.”

Staysha waved her off. “No one is here.”

“Until we pop up on someone's blogs. Second, he’s not my boyfriend. Third, you dropped me like a hot topic the minute you gave Keon a little whiff. You know how many nights I was at that apartment alone and bored out of my mind?”

Staysha winced apologetically. “Why didn’t you call?”

“Because I’m not a dickblocker and one of us had to get some and be loved on. I wasn’t going to be a hater. I just rearranged my apartment eighty-three times.”

The receptionist strolled into the private waiting room with a tray of fresh-cut fruit and a bottle of champagne. “These are for you two. Once you’re done in here, walk straight through those doors and you’ll have your facial services. The itinerary is on the tray. After lunch is your sound bath.”

Eden nodded in thanks and side-eyed Staysha. “You didn’t fuck Keon into sponsoring a spa day, did you?”

Staysha scoffed. “Uh, no. I funded this with my hard-earned money. However, the cooking class after this is fully sponsored by Keon. I never knew you could burn boiled eggs. They exploded all over the kitchen.”

“Well, we’ve never been the pair to cook an actual meal. By the time we had to cook for real, Poppi was declining and all she wanted was-”

“Peas and chicken,” Staysha finished. “Every day. All day.”

“She wanted absolutely nothing else. And my God, she couldn’t stand you,” Eden huffed.

“You remember that time she flew off the couch and tried to body slam me?” Staysha was laughing, but laughing was the only way to keep them from crying. “But she wasn’t lying when she said niggas was in her house.”

“She cussed me out time after time ‘cause I was covering for your ass.”

“It’s crazy how she used to beat up grown ass men and when she couldn’t, she started cussing them out. Remember when Mr. Benjamin took more money off the top, and she slapped him and then told him to-”

“Come here and cussed him out in front of all his runners,” Eden snorted in laughter. “I swear that man was crying. Poppi was something else. I miss my girl.”

“I miss her too, even though she swore I was that lady,” Staysha rolled her eyes. “You heard from Mama?”

“Not since I was filming, but I made it clear I didn’t want to. Mama is just like her sister, full of shit,” Eden hissed. “Anyway, I thought this was supposed to be relaxing? Tell me about Keon. You like him? He treats you good?”

Staysha couldn’t hide her smile or joy from her sister. “I do. Like I said, it was just something to do, but man...”

“Happiness looks good on you. What’s even better is that you don’t have to hide out in hotel rooms at the St. Harlem or devalue yourself for a man who doesn’t respect you.

I’m happy for you. Really, seeing you happy makes my heart smile.

What also makes my heart smile is that you’re making money now and can pay for these massages. ”

“You need them kinks rubbed out, don’t you?” Staysha questioned with laughter.

“I’ve been turned every which way but loose, and I’m really trying not to psych myself out,” Eden admitted.

“Don’t you do that dumb shit,” Staysha scolded. “Don’t you dare.”

Eden held her hands up. “Fine.”

“Thank you, now enjoy all of this. You deserve it.”

From the massages to the cooking class uptown, Eden and Staysha enjoyed laughter, drinks, and even some tears. The night continued, landing the pair at Uptown Sips, a bar owned by Fatima and DJ Rudy.

“So, you and Rudy have businesses together?” Staysha asked, interested in how they owned everything together and acted as if they weren’t a couple.