Authors: Electa Rome Parks
Loose Ends (7 page)
Mia was slowly returning to her old self, the one I fell in love with. Usually a flirt, she kept her emotional distance from me as well. Yet occasionally I’d see glimpses of her previous spirit. What finally changed our entire relationship was a wedding and a snowstorm in Virginia. To this day, that state has a soft spot in my heart.
Mia asked me to ride with her to her cousin Linda’s wedding in Baltimore one cold weekend. I agreed, Mia met me in North Carolina and off we drove on our merry way. The wedding was beautiful as far as weddings go, and Linda made a gorgeous bride. According to Mia, she had finally snagged that pilot she had her eyes on all those years. I remembered meeting Linda years back. She was cool people.
Mia was simply stunning in a black dress that showed off her curves. During the ceremony, now and then, Mia would glance over at me sitting to her right. I loved it when she’d lean over and touch the back of my neck to whisper something in my ear. Just her touch was magical. I could feel a change taking place. Barriers were falling down, chip by chip. Throughout the ceremony, Mia would sneak a peek at me when she thought I wasn’t looking. A few times our eyes met and she gave her dazzling smile, just for me. By the end of the ceremony we were holding hands with our fingers firmly entwined. It felt right for the first time.
After an elaborate reception with a live band and sit-down dinner, we changed into jeans at Linda’s apartment and decided to drive back home through the night and early-morning hours. Mia and I didn’t count on a snowstorm. Unfortunately, we hadn’t paid much attention to weather reports that evening. Mia and I had just about made it to the Virginia border when visibility became almost nil and, to top that off, we were both tired from the day’s events.
When it looked like it was going to be too dangerous to continue, we stopped at motel after hotel looking for a vacancy. However, everyone else on the road had had the same idea. There weren’t any vacancies anywhere.
Finally, luck was on our side, and we secured the last room at a Holiday Inn spin-off. Since there was only one room available, we had to share. It was a decent room with two full-size beds. At least we were warm and had a roof over our heads. The news reported that the storm was far-reaching and had surprised and stranded a lot of motorists.
Once Mia and I were settled we took our individual showers and got ready to retire for the night. I noticed Mia hadn’t said too much since our arrival, but I assumed she was just tired. Now and again I caught her staring at me. Earlier, when I had stepped out of the hot shower, I realized I had forgotten to bring my T-shirt into the bathroom. So I wrapped one of the white hotel towels around my waist. It was no big deal; Mia was a grown woman and had seen a man’s chest before. However, when I walked out to retrieve my shirt out of my black travel bag, Mia couldn’t answer a simple question. She couldn’t even look at me and kept her head down.
Later, when she was taking her shower, I reclined back on one of the beds, watched TV, and imagined Mia showering, lathering sudsy soap over her body, and daydreamed about being with her. Mia finished up, came out dressed in a long T-shirt thingy, smiled at me, said good night and hopped into the full-size bed next to mine.
I fell asleep with visions of her ample breasts, which I had seen through her thin T-shirt. Later that night I awoke to someone calling out my name, softly at first and then more urgently. I rubbed sleep from my eyes and tried to focus in the darkness. It was pitch-black in the room and I couldn’t see a thing. When I finally focused, Mia was standing above my bed without a stitch of clothing on. She was looking down at me. I shook my head and focused because I thought I was imagining things or having an erotic dream.
When Mia called out my name again, I didn’t say a word. I pulled the covers back and she got in and sought my mouth. It was a sweet kiss as our tongues met and explored the mystery of each other. We had waited too long for this moment. The kiss went on for a few minutes until Mia pulled away.
“Christian, show me all the love I feel from you,” she cooed as my lips touched her neck, making her shiver.
My hands began an exploration of her body, inch by precious inch. I asked, “Are you sure? There’s no turning back once we do this.”
She nodded her head and smiled. “I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.”
It was on, to put it mildly! We loved each other like two people starving for a simple touch. I felt, kneaded, rubbed, caressed and tasted her entire body from head to toe. When Mia slowly eased her sweetness onto my throbbing manhood, we meshed as one, and she started our ride so slowly, so sensually, that I thought I had died and gone to heaven. We were like a rocket ship. As the acceleration picked up, with me guiding her hips and rising to meet her with my own, her pace increased. Her back was arched, head thrown back, eyes glazed over, breasts bouncing, and we continued our dance. I was hard as a steel pipe, almost exploding, pulling back, squeezing, moving in and out. I was reaching for her nipples, moaning, Mia sucked my fingers one by one into her warm mouth.
Frantic breathing, couldn’t catch my breath. Calling out her name over and over, praising her loveliness, adoring her body, worshiping her power, loving her, giving all I had to give . . . Then one last thrust . . . I remember rolling over on top of her as she instinctively wrapped her legs around my back, and then flying to the top of the rocket ship with her name on my lips, my eyes rolling back in my head.
Miaaaaaaaaaa.
Miaaaaaaaaaa.
Mia and I stayed up the rest of the night talking, really talking. Wrapped in each other’s arms, for the first time we shared our true feelings for each other, and Brice’s presence wasn’t in the room with us. We felt as one, and before we left for home we were one again. This time, it was slow and gentle. Eye-to-eye. Spiritual.
After that, Mia consumed my life every waking hour, and, shortly afterward, we recited our wedding vows to each other in an intimate ceremony. We wrote our own vows to each other, promising to faithfully love, forever cherish and always honor each other, through good and bad times, to be there for each other through sickness and health, until the day we die. And in over three and a half years, I haven’t regretted a second of making those vows. Not a second.
Brice
“Christian, man, thank you for giving me this opportunity to redeem myself. Believe it or not, I do have a conscience,” I said to Christian, who had called me on my cell phone to confirm our get-together next Saturday evening at eight.
“Not a problem; I think we all need to resolve some unfinished issues,” Christian declared with much sincerity in his voice. “Brice, I hope this is all for the best. For everyone concerned. Do me a favor—if it looks like the evening isn’t going well, leave. I’m not going to force this on Mia.”
“It’s done, man. I’ve still got your back, regardless of the differences we’ve faced these last few years.”
“Cool, Brice. You’re still my dog.”
“Should we bring anything?”
“Just yourselves. We’ve got it covered like a blanket. Man, I hope this isn’t a mistake.”
“It’s not; trust me.”
Christian and I talked awhile longer about Moms and my pops. Pops’s health had deteriorated little by little over the last five years. His doctor diagnosed him with the initial stages of Alzheimer’s. It’s truly sad to see a man who was once so strong, vibrant and unstoppable reduced to the shell of a person I see each time Kree and I stop by to visit. Year by year, he’s losing his memory and his ability to take care of himself. Moms is dealing with it, though, but of course she would—that’s Moms. Regardless of everything Pops has put her through, she loves him dearly. I truly believe that, because Pops has taken Moms through some heavy shit.
I’m relieved to be back in the area, because I can take some of the daily stress off of her. I don’t want Moms to become a prisoner in her own home. She had been that when I was a child. Back then, Pops didn’t play. His word was the law in our household. And you best believe he ruled with an iron fist. Unfortunately, Moms was usually on the receiving end.
Christian and I finally said our good-byes and I hung up as tons of memories flooded me. I thought back to the relationship he and I had shared in the past. The man was once like a blood brother to me. We were close, to say the least. At school, they used to call us the Two Musketeers.
Hell, Christian and I grew up together. We even got our first taste of some ass from the same hoochie, all within the same week. What was her name . . . ? I can’t even remember now. She’d dropped her drawers for practically every male at the school. Christian and I have been through so much together—both good and bad. I only hope we can recapture what we once shared—a true friendship. I miss that. I didn’t realize how much until recently.
The ringing of my cell phone brought me out of my reverie and back to reality. I slowly drove down Auburn Avenue, watching my African American brothers and sisters as they tended to their daily lives. That’s what I love about Atlanta; it’s the mecca of black America. There is black history everywhere. If you can’t make it here, then you can’t make it anywhere.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Matthew?”
“Yes, this is he,” I answered, trying to place the voice on the other end of the line. It was a young-sounding male who sounded familiar.
“Mr. Matthew, this is Mr. Petty, over at National Bank. I wanted to be the first to congratulate you. Your loan has been approved.”
I didn’t hear his next comments because I was too busy thinking about my next steps. How long would it take me to be up and operational? How many employees would I need to hire?
“Mr. Matthew? Are you still there?”
“Yes, my cell went out of range for a few seconds. I’m here. Please go on.”
“Well, all we need now is your signature on the dotted line. What is a convenient time for you to come in?”
“I can be there first thing in the morning.” I tried to contain my growing excitement. “How about ten o’clock?”
“Ten o’clock it is. We’ll see you then. Again, congratulations and welcome to the National Bank family.”
“Thank you.” I hung up, still in awe.
As I stopped at the traffic light, I couldn’t believe how great my day had been going. Life was definitely looking up. First the news from Christian; then the loan went through, and I even had a few possible locations for my office space. I’d been scouting out prime locations. Three looked promising, and the overhead wouldn’t be too steep.
The light changed from red to green and I slowly pulled off and picked up my cell to call home. The phone rang three times and Kree picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hey, baby. I’ve got great news!” I shouted right off the bat.
“You got the loan?” Kree asked with mounting excitement in her tone.
“Yeah, the loan officer just called. After I sign the papers, it’s a done deal, baby. After ten o’clock tomorrow morning, I’ll be an entrepreneur.”
“I’m so proud of you, baby. I knew you could do it. Your proposal was so well written, and there’s a definite need for your services.” Kree spoke with obvious pride in her voice.
“Thanks, baby. Listen, get dressed in that sexy red dress I love to see you in, and I’m taking you out to Justin’s for a celebratory dinner. I’ll be there in fifteen.”
Kree had been talking about going to Justin’s for two months. Up until now we couldn’t afford to splurge. But tonight we were going to live it up and celebrate the start of a new venture.
Once I arrived home, I showered and dressed in record time. I dressed from head to toe in black, looking good and feeling fine.
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