Page 18

We found parking on the next block, and I continued to ask him if he was sure he wanted to leave his car parked here. After the third time, he grabbed my hand and walked me toward my own building.

Letting us into my apartment, I clicked the lights on. The smell of Santal greeted us the minute the door opened. Landon held my waist the entire walk up to the third floor with his annoying ass.

“I just knew your crib smelled good as shit.” I locked the door behind us, and he walked in and took in my space.

My apartment was a studio, but my father had helped me build bookshelves that broke up the space and gave it a vibe where I didn’t feel like I was in the same room all day. Don stood in my small kitchen, and he was nearly the height of the cabinets, and I laughed.

“What do you think?”

I was proud of my apartment because I did this on my own. I had accomplished moving out of my parents’ apartment and having my own. Every month, I could pay the bills and never have to ask anyone for a handout, and that was an accomplishment for me.

“This feels like you.”

“Um, is that a good thing?”

He was still looking around and then looked down at me. “A real good thing. Your authenticity is fucking inspiring and attractive.”

“Yeah?”

Landon pulled me toward him and put me on the counter he stood in front of. “Being honest, I need more time with you, Bleu.”

“Um, we are spending time right now.”

“Real time. I wanna take you on a date.”

He messed with my braids, that were well overdue to be taken out. “What kind of date?”

“Where you pack a bag and I take you to another country. A date where I get to see Navy let her walls down and let someone new in.”

“A date where Landon does the same thing and lets someone else in,” I added.

He nodded. “Yeah, just like that.”

“When?”

The knock on the door interrupted our moment. I hopped down from the counter and peered through the peephole and saw my father. Opening the door, I stared at him, confused because he usually told me when he was coming over.

“Hey Daddy, everything alright?”

He stared at me, confused. “Sodas, Mamas.”

My father had called me Mamas since I was a baby. It was a nickname that was reserved for only him. “Oh crap! I’m sorry, Daddy. I literally forgot to do that.”

No matter how frustrated he may have been, he never showed it when it came to me. “It’s alright… I’ll run home to shower and then take the bus down to C-town and grab some.”

“Sir?” Landon spoke, which made my eyes wide.

Where he stood in the kitchen, you couldn’t see him. My father looked at him, and then at me. “Daddy, this is my friend, Landon,” I quickly introduced them.

“Nice to meet you, Sir. Landon Caselli.” Landon once again was the most well-mannered asshole I knew. “I have my car around the corner; you can use it to grab the sodas.”

My father looked at me and then back at Landon. “You sure?”

“Yeah, you raised her… I can tell you’re trustworthy,” Landon joked, and my father chuckled.

He handed him the key fob, and my father’s head shot up. “A fucking Bentley… the fuck do you do?”

“Daddy!” I nudged him. “His family is very blessed… now go and get your sodas.” I tried to shove him out the door, but now he was fully invested in who my friend was.

“That’s some shit that rich people say. You not in the streets, are you?”

“Negative. My brother has made some smart investments for our family. I wouldn’t even be around her if I was caught up in the streets.”

My father felt more at ease. “Alright. I’ll drive and grab the sodas and bring it back. Actually, I need to pick your uncle up from work.”

I propped my hand on my hip. “How the hell were you gonna do that on the bus, Daddy?”

He looked down at me like I was in his business. “Your mother always did say you were nosey, Mamas.”

Landon laughed. “You good, Mr. Perkins. I’ll be around for a while with Navy.”

He held his fist out and they bumped fist. “If you gonna be around, bring him by your grandparents’ block tonight. We playing dominos and having drinks. Her grandfather throwing some stuff on the grill, too.”

Landon’s greedy ass rubbed his stomach like he hadn’t eaten all day. “Oh word. I’m there. Navy owes me a meal, anyway.”

“I was gonna walk over there later, anyway. You and Mommy stay inviting his annoying self.”

Landon pinched my shoulder, knowing he wanted to pinch something else. “He ain’t that annoying.”

“Daddy!” I busted out laughing because my father was always the life and comedian of the family.

Whenever the weather became nice, my uncles, father and grandfather posted up in front of my grandparents’ building and played dominos. Everybody knew to pull up because they had drinks and were cooking on the grill. Once they pulled that speaker out, you could hear the music from my block.

Summertime in Brooklyn couldn’t be compared to anything else in the world.

I loved walking down every single block and hearing music or smelling food on the grill.

I almost always turned onto a block and heard my name being called because I had family over that way, or friends of my parents spotted me.

Every year for my birthday, my family threw a big block party for me, and we cut up the entire day into night.

My daddy opened the fire hydrant for my little cousins while the Spanish lady pulled her Italian ice cart onto the block.

Last year, me and Greene bought one of her gallons of Italian ice and poured liquor into it.

Everyone, including my aunt and mother, were drunk into the early hours of the morning.

“I’ll have your car parked right over there. Play dominos?”

“Nah never.”

“Get on Google and brush up, nigga… we play to win over there.”

Landon smirked. “My money always good, old head.”

My father nodded at him. “Oh, he cocky… ight.”

“It was nice to meet you, Mr. Perkins.” They bumped fist again, and my father smiled at me.

“Call me Ro.”

My father kissed me on the head as he headed back out the door, a pep in his step. When I opened the door, he was tired and worn down from work. Landon handing him those keys had him ready to drive all the way to Queens to get some soda.

I barely had time to turn and breathe before his mouth crashed onto mine.

He was hungry. Had been thinking about this since we were in the back room at the Pilates studio.

His lips hungrily feasted on mine like I was the only thing that could satisfy this hunger he had inside of him.

Landon picked me up with ease as my back hit the wall and my legs wrapped around his waist. I felt his hand grip my thigh like these were his, and he paid rent on this body that he held in his hand.

His lips grazed my neck, teeth scraping enough to make me rotate my hips on his already hardened member.

His hand palmed both my ass cheeks as he groaned into my ear, sending my senses into overload. Pulling his head back, he rested his forehead against me as I held onto him tightly.

“Strangers have sex.” I looked into his eyes, allowing him to see that I wanted this as much as he wanted it.

His lips softly landed on mine, and he pulled on my lips. “I gotta problem, Bleu.”

I caressed his beard as he stood in the foyer, holding me up in his arms. I stared into his eyes, scared for the next words that would leave his mouth. “What’s that?” my voice came out as almost a whisper.

He hiked me up and held onto me tighter. “If we cross into this territory, I’m not gonna wanna remain a stranger.”

“You just saying that.” I continued to rub his beard.

As my nana liked to say, those are just words without any meaning or thought. Because Landon’s eyes told me that if we crossed that line, he was standing behind not remaining a stranger. Deep down, I knew that I would feel the same way.

He slapped my ass, and I squealed in laughter. “Strangers are honest, right?”

“Always.”

“Then know I wouldn’t even fuck with your head knowing the situation you in.”

“Can I ask you for something?”

“Anything.”

It was the way he said anything that told me that he would give me anything I asked for. “Friends, Landon. Let’s go into this with no attachments and just having fun. I need fun in my life, not more complications… okay?”

“No attachments, Bleu. Tell me what you want so I can give it to you.” He licked his lips, staring straight into my eyes.

“To be fucked, Don.”

His hand came down hard on my ass as he walked over toward the kitchen counter. Before sitting down, he pulled my leggings down and sat my bare ass down onto the counter I cooked my meals on.

Pulling my sneakers off, he pulled the rest of my leggings down. Placing both his hands on my knees, he opened my legs and peered down at my pussy while licking his lips.

“You leaking, Bleu.”

“I am.”

My cockiness matched his, and I could tell it was a turn on for him.

Don was the kind of man that wanted to take control in the bedroom.

He needed to be in control because he was an alpha, but he wanted to be challenged, too.

No man wanted control without the challenges that came with it, and with the way I stared him down, as I rested the heel of my foot on the counter, giving him a better view of what I wanted him to destroy had his dick poking through his shorts.

Biting down on his lip, he took his finger and rubbed it up and down my slit, making my legs weak. And I wasn’t even standing. Pulling his finger back, he held it to my mouth. “Tell me what you taste like, Bleu.”

Without hesitation, I sucked his fingers as he stared down at me with his eyes low. His chest slowly rose and fell, as he experienced me tasting my sweetness. “Sweet… wanna try?”

I slowly lowered my fingers and rubbed my clit while staring right at him. Holding my fingers up to his mouth, he took hold of my wrist, and sucked my finger, and then grabbed me up from the counter so fast that I yelped.

“You fucking fresh, you know that?”