Only Love (22 page)

His hands gripped my waist and pulled me in closer. “We can do whatever the hell you want to. Tonight’s your night,” he responded, working his hands up the back of my shirt. Granted, he’d made it crystal clear that tonight was supposed to be about me, but there was something I had in mind to do for
him
this time around.

Adam watched with half-mast lids as I slithered down his elongated frame, letting the heat from my sex touch his leg through my thin shorts when I rested my weight there. His head gently fell back against my headboard as I undid his belt buckle, the button to his jeans, and then his zipper. With my eyes locked on his, I encircled his girth with my fingers and then pulled him free from the restricting boxers. I nearly salivated at the thought of taking him into my mouth, feeling the heat from his shaft against my tongue.

The smell of soap filled my nostrils when I dipped my head lower to place light kisses up and down his length, causing the already rigid muscle to twitch and flex in my hand. Adam’s eyes drifted closed and I decided he’d waited long enough—the teasing would end here.

My name slipped from his lips when my mouth engulfed him and it made me want to please him even more. Drawing my name out of him over and over and over again, that’d be my goal. With his fingers gently caressing my hair, I released all of him except the head, keeping my lips pressed to it before taking him all in again. His thighs tensed beneath me as he groaned. Despite the fact that it’d only been maybe an hour since our last encounter, I knew he’d be coming again soon—could tell by the way his face flushed red and how his brow pulled together. The sight of him getting hotter made me quicken my pace, letting my mouth slip up and down his dick faster and faster as the smooth tip grazed my tongue.

Adam released a satisfied sigh. “What the hell are you trying to do to me?” he asked in a daze. He muttered a few more inaudible phrases and then the gentle twirling of my hair in his fingers became a more intense pull that sent a chill down my back. He was close.
Very
close.

“Just like that,” he whispered and I got wet all over again, doing as I’d been commanded. His hips worked to my pace and I looked up to see his expression again. Tense. Sex-drunk. Ready. It’d be any second now. His stomach flexed and his head lifted from the headboard as a deep moan vibrated from his chest. My hair was knotted around his fingers and I waited in anticipation to taste him—
all
of him. And then… I did.

“God, Aubrey…” followed by a long grunt through Adam’s clenched teeth was the soundtrack to his release. I didn’t pull away, didn’t slow down; rather, I just stared at his expression until he was done.

When I released him from the lip-lock I had on his manhood, he sank into my mattress, spent. I got to my feet and proceeded to wipe him down with a clean cloth from the basket near the closet. He was almost too weak to even move. Taking the towel to the hamper, I made my way back into bed and found my place beneath Adam’s arm, which I’d already deemed my favorite place on Earth.

“Stay with me tonight?” I asked, not wanting to sound needy, but unashamed of the fact that I hoped he’d say yes.

He kissed the top of my hair and then rested his cheek there before answering, “I’ll stay with you always.”

The morning of Representative Garcia’s block party, you would hardly know this was the same neighborhood—fresh cut grass, dozens of cops and vendors lining the sidewalk. Since mentioning the gathering to Adam a few weeks ago, a concert featuring local bands performing Motown classics had even been added to the event. It was safe to say that the city had really gone all out this time.

Rissa clapped her hands and pointed when a clown passed by, but not Gabby. “I swear if that dude comes within twenty feet of me, I’m gonna spaz out. I don’t do clowns,” she warned, causing Adam and I both to stifle a laugh. She eyed us. “Y’all laughing, but I’m dead serious. You’re strapped, right, Adam?”

He looped his arm around her shoulders. “Nah, not tonight, kid. Looks like you’re gonna have to duke it out with Bozo the good old-fashion way.”

Gabby shot him a serious look that morphed into a smile. “You’re so helpful,” she said with an air of sarcasm.

Adam released her and took Rissa from my arms when she reached for him and I took a moment to look around again. Representative Garcia had done a great job pulling the community together for this event. There were neighbors out socializing that I hadn’t laid eyes on more than twice since moving in years ago. The best part? It was all free.

“There’s my girl,” a familiar voice called out from behind. Adam’s mom, Cindy. The first person she went to was Rissa, who surprised Adam with the excited wriggle that she gave. Cindy pinched Rissa’s cheek and then kissed her forehead—just like Adam had a habit of doing to me. I smiled, thinking his mother was the one he’d picked the habit up from.

Joan wasn’t far behind. She approached carrying four folding lawn chairs. Instinctively, Adam moved to help her, but then remembered he had Rissa. I laughed at the awkward movement he made and then took my daughter into my arms again so he could help his mothers—Joan with the chairs, Cindy with a cooler and a bag that held two or three blankets. Clearly she planned to stay all the way up until the fireworks display at the end of the event. There were people who
lived
in this neighborhood who weren’t as comfortable here as she and Joan seemed to be. I watched her, seemingly at home amidst the sea of strangers. She, Joan, and Adam stuck out like sore thumbs being the only people as far as the eye could see who weren’t either African American or Hispanic—except for the cops and some of the vendors.

Joan took to a folding chair as soon as Adam arranged them all in a semi-circle, spreading out a blanket in the middle for Rissa. Gabby sat on the cover as well, having a pretend argument with Rissa over a plastic toy phone.

“Aubrey, who might this beautiful young lady be?” Joan asked. “If I had to guess, I’d say Gabby?”

I smiled, now used to the fact that Adam had shared so much about our life here in the city with Joan and Cindy. It made me feel like we, the three of us—Gabby, Rissa, and myself— were all important to him. “Then you’d guess right.”

Joan nodded in Gabby’s direction. “Nice meeting you, sweetheart.”

Gabby waved once shyly before going back to playing with Rissa. Joan sat back and gave our neighborhood a quick glance. “Seems like a relatively tight-knit community you all have here.”

I shrugged. “Relatively. For the most part, everyone stays to themselves, but on occasion you’ll see people come together for a good cause. Like today.”

I’d turned back toward the girls when Adam standing to his feet caught my attention, bringing my eyes to a face I’d seen before… Don, in full uniform. Adam had made mention of some of the other officers being here to maintain order, but I wasn’t expecting his partner to be one of them. My posture stiffened, but I made up my mind not to let my distaste for him, or any of the other men Adam worked with, obvious. It was bad enough I couldn’t hold my tongue a few weeks ago at the restaurant. I wouldn’t make a scene in front of Adam’s moms, too.

Don shook Adam’s hand, greeting him with a dry,
“Hey”
after eyeing me, Rissa, and Gabby sitting nearby. I thought I’d imagined a weird vibe from him the night at the restaurant, but twice now he’d snubbed me, bypassing me completely to get to Cindy and Joan. This not being the first time someone had treated me this way without the behavior being warranted, I shifted my eyes elsewhere and ignored his presence altogether. He didn’t see me, so I wouldn’t see him either.

“Don! Good to see you!” Cindy said as she was taken into a friendly embrace. It didn’t surprise me that they knew each other so well. Don stepped back and slid his hands down inside his pockets, taking in the scenery, turning his nose up at my neighborhood. If I had to guess he was making a mental note of everything he saw wrong with it. No, it wasn’t perfect, especially if anyone knew that it was me, but the last thing we needed around here was for outsiders coming in and judging.

I shook off the negativity coming from the direction of Adam’s partner and focused on the festivities instead. Rissa gave a short, warning cry, letting me know she was tired due to her not taking a nap. I watched her lower lip quiver as tears welled in the corners of her eyes. The second I scooped her up, she again reached to my right, aiming her arms toward Adam.

I shot Cindy a
‘can you believe she just chose him over me’
look that made her and Joan both laugh as Adam did Rissa’s bidding, letting her rest the back of her head against his chest.

“You know, I’m starting to see a pattern,” I said, leaning in so only Adam could hear. “You’re making a game of stealing the hearts of us Phillips women. First me, now my baby,” I joked.

Adam chuckled, placing a kiss on my cheek before backing away again. The gesture didn’t go unnoticed. Everyone saw it, including Don who cleared his throat as an uncomfortable look spread across his face. Adam and I weren’t hiding that we were officially together—had been for nearly a month now, meaning we were beyond public displays of affection being awkward. Gabby gave a smile and I imagined she was remembering a time when I was resistant to the idea of Adam being in my life. That seemed like so long ago.

“It’s getting dark,” Cindy commented. “Won’t be long before the fireworks start. How’s the little one do with all the noise?”

I told her the same thing I’d shared with Adam. “She’s actually fine with stuff like that. It was storming pretty hard when she was born. Most people don’t believe me, but I swear she’s been like that since day one.”

When I finished speaking, I noticed Don watching Adam out the corner of my eye, staring as he held Rissa in his lap. He’d looked at him the same way the only other time I’d met him, the night at the restaurant—when Adam was again holding Rissa.
Was that it? Did he have a problem with him holding my daughter?
Subconsciously, I started observing him more closely. Sure enough, when Rissa took Adam’s thumbs in her tiny fists and made him clap along off beat to the music coming from an unseen speaker across the yard, Don got that uncomfortable look again.

“How old is the kid?” he finally asked, jutting his chin out in Rissa’s direction.

“She’s one,” I said flatly, beginning to put two and two together.

Don nodded and then laughed a little, lifting his eyes to meet Adam’s. “Had no idea you were up for a round two,” he said under his breath, leaving our group with those parting words. Confused, I searched Adam’s expression for answers—answers that never showed through on his face. Cindy shifted in her seat a little as Joan leaned in to whisper to her. Next, Cindy placed her hand on Adam’s knee as if the gesture was meant to console him. But console him for what? I felt like I was missing something—something that every other adult in our semi-circle knew except for me.

Just when I’d gotten up the courage to inquire discreetly, Adam was on his feet carrying Rissa a few feet away to a bush where three or four fireflies had convened. He smiled at the look of amazement on her face, seemingly unaffected by whatever Don had hinted at, but I was the master of hiding my true feelings about things. In other words, I could spot someone doing the same from a mile away.

I sat back, crossed my legs, and watched Rissa scamper away with Adam close behind. Still entranced by the strange bugs, she walked clumsily in a zigzag pattern. All tension Don had brought with him melted away in that moment, watching the best part of me bask in the innocence of her childhood.

“Good evening, citizens!” a voice rang out over the speakers placed about the yard. When I glanced over toward the makeshift stage, Representative Garcia had the mic in hand, wearing a smile that conveyed pride. Adam looked up too, but quickly went back to just watching Rissa chase the insects. “I won’t be before you long,” Garcia went on. “… but I felt it would be a shame to have so many fine Detroit residents gathered together and not bring you all up to speed on some of the programs that have been implemented recently. As some of you may already be aware of, some of the city’s best and brightest police officers have been strategically placed in various, high-crime areas, with the intention of increasing police presence throughout these neighborhoods. It is my hope that these brave men and women will encourage an environment of peace, safety, and trust.”

Garcia looked down at the notes that had been prepared for a long time, allowing dead air to linger. When he met the gaze of the crowd again, he stuffed the cards his speech was written on into the pocket of his lapel.

“I’m going to go a little off topic here,” he said solemnly. “This city deserves more than some stuffy monologue given by me—a man that some have expressed not being able to relate to.” He paused to chuckle. “Some having done so quite vocally.”

The crowd laughed along with him.

Garcia loosened his tie a bit and then spoke up again. “It’s no secret that Detroit residents have had an ongoing love/hate relationship with local law enforcement. If you haven’t had a negative experience that has affected you personally, just turn on the news. Complaints about slow response times, police brutality, profiling… I’ve heard it all, and I’ve taken it all to heart.”