Page 12 of Aug

From the back, I conquered her. She arched her spine, taking all of me without rebuttal. Without hesitation. Without fear.

“August–”

Whap!

I slammed my palm against her ass cheek. Her body convulsed. Her limbs stiffened, and her shoulders curled inward. I reached forward, pulling her upper half into my chest.

“Uhhh. Uhhh. Uhhhhhh– Uhhhh!”

“Fuck, Ti.”

“Yessss. I’m cu— ooohhhh Auuuuugust.”

In the pouring rain, she rained down on me. I released my seeds into her garden, hoping they didn’t sprout overnight. A pill had yet to be purchased, but by morning it would be in her system.

I loosened my grip on Tiana. She fell forward onto the bench.

I didn’t bother stopping her when she stretched out, and tucked her hands in between her thighs.

Instead, I pulled up my pants and grabbed her dress from the floor.

I put it over her legs and removed the jacket of my tux.

I laid it on her upper body, praying she didn’t get sick from the rain.

Inhale .

Thank you, Lord.

Each breath she took in, I thanked God for her life.

Exhale.

Thank you, Lord .

Each breath she released, I thanked God for her life.

It had been two weeks since Tiana walked through my front door and she’d been here every night since. Today she promised to return home and my chest was aching at the thought of not waking up to her in the morning.

I watched her sleep peacefully in the king-sized bed that was far too wide for me alone. She was meant to be here. The sheets were too plentiful. The emptiness was too profound. The warmth was too rare.

Right where she is is right where I need her.

Every night .

“Good morning.”

Her eyes were still closed, but her mouth was moving. My heart smiled.

“Good morning, my love.”

“Are you going to stay there? Watching me snore?”

“It was only a little,” I lied.

Tiana even snored pretty.

“Hmmm.”

I anticipated the moment she opened those pretty big eyes. I’d been waiting for an hour and thirty-six minutes. I was fully clothed and prepared to get my day started with Balle’s early morning run.

“I want to join you all this morning.”

“Then what are you waiting for?”

“My body to align with my brain. I feel like I’ve been hit by a MAC truck.”

“Not quite, but something close.”

“And, you brought my period down,” she groaned.

“It was inevitable, Ti. Get up, baby.”

“Okay. I’m getting up.”

I stood and flipped the cover backward, exposing her naked body. She was pantiless, braless, and unclothed. Yet, there was a diaper made for a one hundred month old baby strapped to her ass.

“Weirdo.”

Chuckling, I replied, “I think it’s time to change it or something.”

“I’m not wearing this on the run.”

There she was. Her eyes opened and so did her mouth with a yawn.

“I wouldn’t suggest it.”

I scooped Tiana up from bed and headed toward the bathroom where I placed her on the counter. We were crunched for time. I lined the toothbrush with toothpaste and wet it underneath the faucet.

“Open.”

I stuck the brush in her mouth and cleaned her teeth for two full minutes before moving on to her face. With one of the disposable cloths she used, I wiped it down.

“I’ma let you handle your business. I’ll get your clothes together and have them ready for you when you get out. What panties you wearing with your shit leaking or whatnot?”

“Aug, please–”

“What?”

“Why do we keep talking about my period,” she grimaced.

“Because it’s here.”

“I know, but–”

She shook her head, smirking.

“Men don’t really– I don’t know.”

“That shit as natural as pissing or waking up or falling asleep or– Ti, what panties?”

“The ones with the gray inside. They’re my period panties.”

“You need one of them pad things?”

“No. The panties are the pad things.”

“Alright. Bet.”

I headed into the guest bedroom where she demanded her things go instead of crowding my closet. I wasn’t utilizing even half of the one in my bedroom, but she had insisted. It was becoming increasingly clear that whatever Ti wanted, Ti would get.

By the time I returned to my bedroom, Tiana was reaching for the panties in my hand. She pulled them up her body and waited for the pants. I observed carefully as she dressed herself, ready to step in if she needed help.

There were a few things I’d learned while living in the house with my mother.

One was that women often needed help adjusting, fastening, or getting into their garments.

Tiana wasn’t the exception. Date nights consisted of strapping on heels or zipping dresses in the back.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed lending a helping hand.

The results were always worth the effort in the end.

“Okay. I’m going to get some lotion on and I’m ready.”

“We have four minutes before Balle walks out of that door.”

“I’ll be ready.”

Tiana was true to her word. She moisturized her skin and filled her water bottle before strapping on the powder pink weight vest that held her cellphone and chapstick.

Excitedly, she jogged to catch up with her best friend.

I stayed behind, keeping the same stride as Saint and Koen as we exited the gates.

It was no surprise that our existence would fade into the background now that they were alongside each other. Tiana didn’t get her shoes on the pavement every morning with us, but out of the fifteen days she’d been at my place, she’d run at least nine of them.

This is it. I thought, watching as she found her stride.

This is life.

The life I want.

The company I want to keep.