Something Like Love (Serendipitous Love Book 6) Read online

  “Right,” Roman laughed. “Now we see what’s gotten into you.”

  “Or rather, who he’s gotten into.”

  Shaking my head, I started walking again, and waved them off. “Whatever,” I said, using the hem of my shirt to wipe the sweat of the game from my forehead. “Y’all don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “The hell we don’t,” Carter chuckled. “I mean, we know how you get down Eddie, and while I can’t relate to any man on man shit, I know what that look you just gave her was. That was the look a man gives a woman when he’s had that thang and is ready to get it again.”

  Nixon chimed in, “Damn right. I was around here looking at Charlie like that for months when she came back to town. Wanted it so bad I would’ve been content just to get a good deep inhale of it. I’m not even mad at you anymore man, I been there,” he laughed, clapping me on the shoulder.

  As much as I wanted to be agitated about them ragging on me – and so effortlessly figuring my business out, when I wasn’t keen on being easy to read – I actually appreciated the route the conversation was taking.

  “Nigga…” I started, referring to all three of them. “I don’t even… I don’t understand what kind of voodoo this chick has worked on me.” I didn’t mention it out loud, but since that first time, I hadn’t touched – or even felt the slightest desire to touch – anybody except her.

  Despite my disdain for “textbook” monogamy, there were times when I established exclusivity with someone, and I didn’t step outside of that – which was maybe easier for me than some. Not everybody that I found attractive “moved” me sexually – case in point, my present company. I wasn’t blind, they were all good-looking guys – but I’d never, even before I knew them, had anything beyond platonic interest in them. It wasn’t common for me to have more than a platonic interest in anybody, honestly, but there were always temptations.

  Astrid and I hadn’t even hinted at an exclusivity conversation, and I hadn’t found myself wanting anybody but her.

  “Oh it’s the yoga,” Roman said, in a matter-of-fact tone. “Simone started going to classes a few months ago, and man… listen. The bending, and the flexibility… It’s…. nice. Very, very nice. And she’s only been going for months. Ol’ girl has been at it years and years, so… I can imagine you’re a lucky man,” he chuckled, and on either side of him, Carter and Nix were both looking like they were ready to sign Charlie and Viv up for classes.

  “Maybe so. The age difference isn’t weird to y’all?”

  Nix’s eyebrows shot up. “How old is she?”

  “The same age as Sydnee I thought,” Roman broke in, shaking his head. “Which means she’s almost damn thirty.”

  Carter sucked his teeth. “Nigga… why you talking about an age difference like the girl is seventeen or something?”

  “Cause she may as well be when my ass is thirty-six, and I feel fucking thirty-six, bruh. And she’s all… perky and energetic and flexible and ready to go three and four rounds like I don’t need a damn nap and a sandwich between.”

  They laughed, and after a moment, I did too, but… I was serious.

  “You’re a fool man, but… nah, the age difference is nothing,” Carter said, clapping me on the shoulder. “However… I was under the impression that you like… had some type of blood feud with her, so if anything is weird, it’s the fact that you hooked up at all.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “A blood feud?”

  He shrugged. “Shit, you didn’t even want to be in same room with her a few months ago, so… what changed things?”

  “That pwussy changed things,” Nixon chimed in, and I almost choked laughing at that. But truthfully speaking… it had.

  I just wasn’t convinced it was only that.

  “I can’t deal with y’all man,” I laughed, stopping at the intersection. We all lived in the neighborhood, just in different directions, and this was where we split. “I’ll catch y’all later.”

  We took a second to slap hands since we were going different ways, and as I bumped shoulders with Nix, he told me, “Ay, next time, take your head out of Astrid’s ass long enough to bring some concentration to the court with you boy.”

  “Whatever bruh,” I chuckled, then started on my way. I only had a few blocks to make it back home, but I was exhausted from playing basketball outside in this heat. By the time I fished my keys from my pocket to unlock my front door, all I wanted to do was get under the hot spray of the shower, and then crawl into my bed for a Sunday afternoon nap.

  “Hey bighead,” I heard, from inside my apartment as I was closing the door behind me. Before I laid eyes on the source of the words, I nearly jumped out of skin, and already had my hands up ready to box before my brain caught up with who I was looking at.

  “Erika!” I growled, then blew out a sigh and finished closing the door. “What the fuck, woman?”

  Instead of showing any signs of remorse, she laughed, like she hadn’t been sitting in the dark in my house. “It’s about time your ass came home. I’m on hour three of an eight hour layover, and your ass can’t even answer the phone.”

  “I was playing ball,” I told her, digging in my other pocket for my phone. Sure enough, I had two missed calls from her, and some texts that I ignored. “Why the hell do you have an eight hour layover?”

  “Because I’m going to meet Phillip in London.”

  “Okay… and what is Phillip doing in London?”

  “Accepting a job offer. And… I am going with him.”

  “To London?! As in, moving to London?”

  She nodded. “As in moving to London.”

  “Wow. Wow. E… that’s dope,” I said, finally moving from the door to where she was sitting at my kitchen counter. I started to hook my arms around her for a hug, but she dodged me, with a frown on her face.

  “Eddie eww, you’re all sweaty!”

  “Man bring your ass here, let me love on you since I may not see you for a minute,” I teased, halfway chasing her to my living room.

  “Stopppp!” she half-laughed, half shrieked. “Go get in the shower so you can take me somewhere to eat, and we can talk.”

  “Oh now you want to talk,” I teased. “You didn’t want to tell me you and Phillip were back together, or married, or taking a job in London. What else you keeping from me, huh? Fast ass about to have a ba—”

  I caught myself before I said it, but the hurt look had already crossed her face.

  “Erika… my bad, I was just—”

  “You don’t have to apologize Eddie,” she said, giving me a little smile. “I’m good now. It was a long time ago, and my work has helped a lot. Mama is the one who still can’t talk about it – I know you noticed at dinner how I had to talk around it, can’t even say the word. You’d think she was the one who lost a baby.”

  “I did notice. And… yeah. You definitely aren’t lying on her, but I mean… that’s how she took it. Nya was her grandbaby.”

  Erika pulled her lip between her teeth, biting it as she nodded. “Yeah, I know. And I don’t mean to downplay it. She was all of our loss. Just a few more weeks, and…”

  She trailed off, but I knew what she was saying. During one of their “on” times, Phillip had gotten Erika pregnant, while they were juniors in college. She never pretended it was ideal, but Erika was happy – she was in love.

  At twenty-three weeks, she went into premature labor. Nya didn’t survive the delivery.

  “We’re trying again, you know?” she asked, visibly brightening. “That’s… kind of why we went ahead and got married. We’ve loved each other for like fifteen years or something, may as well, right?”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I could see that. I honestly thought maybe you were already pregnant.”

  “I could be right now, for all we know,” she giggled, and it made me smile even bigger. Nya’s stillbirth had really, really wrecked my sister, to the point that she was barely functioning. I was glad to see her back from that place.

/>   “Harriet Ware is going to kick your ass if you have her first grandbaby in fucking London, I’ll tell you that now. And does she know you’re moving to damn London?”

  She laughed. “Phillip and I already talked about that. His new job will be flexible enough that we can come back stateside for the last weeks of pregnancy. And you know me – I can do my podcast and blog from anywhere.”

  “Still can’t believe you get paid to talk about yourself,” I teased, and she rolled her eyes.

  “Eat your heart out nigga. And to answer your other question – no, she does not know about London yet. I will tell her when I’m safely across the pond, because I don’t trust your mother not to tie me up and forcefully keep me here. Now seriously, go take a shower. I want to eat, and you know I have to get back to the airport for my flight.”

  I frowned. “How the hell do you pop up in my house, rushing me like I knew your ass was coming? And I gave you that key for an emergency, not to be sitting in my house in the dark like a killer.”

  “The stove light is on,” she responded, shaking her head. “And a delayed flight turning a two hour layover to an eight hour layover is definitely an emergency. So, make a mental note to add “abnormal layover” to the list of acceptable uses for the key.”

  “What list?”

  She sucked her teeth. “The one you obviously have in your head if you’re telling me what it’s not supposed to be used for, sir.”

  “So now you’re being all technical and shit?”

  “Eddie,” she groaned. “Go wash your ass and put on some clooothes.”

  I laughed. “Fine, hungry ass. Give me like thirty minutes.”

  “It’s just a late lunch, too. Not a magazine shoot. No need to go full GQ.”

  I put a hand to my chest like I was hurt. “Damn, why you throwing shots at me? I wasn’t even gonna do anything fancy.”

  “Eddie… I know what “nothing fancy” means to you. Just jeans and a shirt, do not come back out here in a damn suit, cause I know you’ll do it.”

  She was right.

  But, I didn’t.

  I kept it simple, in chinos and a button-up to take her to HoneyBee, because the food had been on my mind since Astrid went with her friends. I spent a few hours talking and laughing, catching up with my sister in a way we hadn’t been able to do in a minute, and then put her in a cab back to the airport to catch her connecting flight.

  I headed home after that, but instead of ending up back at my own front door… I wound up at Astrid’s. My cab had dropped me off in front of my building, but my feet had kept moving. As I raised my hand to knock, I hoped she was at least at home, since I was dropping by unannounced.

  It took a few minutes, but she came to the door after I’d knocked a second time. The door eased open slowly, and she peeked around it wearing a bathrobe, with something white coating her hair.

  “Eddie,” she said, then yawned, stifling it with her hand. She was fresh-faced and… beautiful. “Hey, sorry. Did you text me or something?”

  I swallowed. “Uh, nah. I was just… I was with Erika, at dinner. She left to go to the airport, so I just… I guess I wanted to swing by.”

  “Oh. You look nice,” she said, looking me up and down with sleepy eyes as she pulled the door open to let me in. The jasmine-and-vanilla scent I attributed to her was strong in the air, and most of the lights were low. “Man, I feel so out of it. Fell asleep in the tub.”

  “Is that why it smells so strong in here?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, my bath oil. Getting in some self-care before the week starts, you know.”

  “Yeah. My bad for interrupting. I can let you get back to it.”

  “No,” she grabbed my arm, and squeezed. “You can wait in my room, while I rinse this bentonite mask out of my hair, and then… we can play. Okay?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  She headed for the bathroom, and I headed for her bed, stripping down to my boxers. There were several candles lit around the room, and before long, their aromatherapy effect layered on top of hours of basketball and the nap I never did take. I barely had the energy to fight it as my eyes drifted closed.

  The next thing I felt was… skin.

  Soft, warm skin – Astrid’s hands – on my neck, on my chest, on my face. Shortly after that, it was her lips.

  My eyes were still closed as she sprinkled kisses over my face and chest, down to my stomach. Her hands tugged my waistband down enough to tug me free, and the next thing I felt after that was her mouth.

  “Shit,” I groaned, as she took me so deep I felt the brush of her lips on my hair down there. When she pulled back, it was with a hard, leisurely suck that made my previously idle hands go straight for her thick, wet coils. At the tip, she circled her tongue around me, without breaking the suction from her lips. My fingers grazed her scalp as I fisted her hair, and if she could, I knew her little mischievous ass would have grinned.

  She slid her mouth back, and I opened my eyes to enjoy the erotic picture she painted, gliding one hand over the saliva she’d left on me, using it as the lubrication to cup and massage my testicles. She did smirk then, just before she tried again to swallow me whole.

  She knew exactly how good at this she was.

  And she was very, very, very good.

  My damn toes were curling hard enough to break by the time I felt that peak coming, and she easily went along with the rhythm I set with my hands gripping her hair. When I came, she didn’t even miss a beat, clamping down as my seed spilled down her throat.

  This type of shit was the reason I couldn’t stop thinking about her – or at least that’s what I tried to tell myself.

  I flipped us over, pressing her to the bed as my mouth crashed over hers, devouring her lips before I moved down to her neck.

  “Mmmm,” she moaned, dropping her hands to my shoulders as I reached the perfect handfuls of her breasts, squeezing them before I covered one nipple, then the other, with my mouth. I directed my gaze upward, watching the pleasure that played over her face – open mouth and closed eyes, teeth digging into her lip – as I circled her sensitive peaks with my tongue. I went back and forth, using my mouth and hands to tweak and tease and pinch and soothe until she was trembling under my touch.

  She let out a breathy, contented sigh as I continued my exploration down to her belly button and then beyond, before spreading her thighs.

  “And here I was thinking a nice hot bath and a deep conditioner was all I needed,” she murmured, sitting up on her elbows as I used my fingers to spread her lower lips apart. “You have no idea how glad I am you stopped by.”

  I smirked, then planted a wet, lingering kiss against her clit before I flicked it with my tongue. “Just wait. I haven’t made you glad yet.” I closed my mouth over her again, suckling her wet, sensitive flesh as I took a deep inhale, burying my nose against her skin. My arms hooked around her thighs, hauling her close as I tried to turn her into a meal.

  Her fingers dug into my shoulders as I went to work, sucking and licking until her legs began to shake. She gasped, arching away from the bed when I slid my fingers into her, stroking her into a frenzy and then licking her clean once she came.

  Her body relaxed into the bed, and she laid there limp, eyes closed. I grinned as I reached into her bedside drawer for where I knew condoms were, then situated myself between her legs.

  When I first sank into her, her eyes opened and met mine in the soft glow created by the candles she’d lit for her bath. I didn’t move, just relished the natural grip of her body around me. But then she reached up, and I lowered myself between her arms.

  Her hands went straight to the back of my neck, pulling me into a kiss as I hooked her legs around me and sank deeper. A slow, sweet mashup of our tongues fell in sync with slow, deep strokes that made her body open wider.

  Eventually, she pulled back to just stare at me again as I submerged myself into her, over, and over. Somehow… there was nothing weird about, nothing uncomfortable about it.
It felt completely normal to have her looking straight into my soul, through my eyes.

  That moment, right there, I knew I was done for.

  But I didn’t plan to do shit about it.

  eight.

  astrid.

  “You said a few days. It’s been almost a week.”

  Eddie shook his head, clearly amused that I’d cornered him after class, pulling him off down an empty hall for privacy. We’d seen each other nearly every day since I walked into his shop to commission him for my ink, and I still hadn’t seen a sketch.

  “You can’t rush greatness,” he told me, then took a drink from his water bottle, draining it before he tossed it into the gym bag on his shoulder. “Why are you so anxious about it anyway? I already warned you the shit is gonna hurt.”

  “And I told you I’m not concerned about that. I’m ready to get started.” I took a second to glance around, making sure we were alone before I stepped in closer to him, grabbing handfuls of his sweat-soaked shirt as I looked up.

  “Ah, fuck,” he groaned. “Don’t hit me with the Bambi eyes.”

  “Eddiiieee,” I sang, laughing. “Come on. Have you even started on it?”

  He sucked his teeth. “Yes, damn. I’ve started on it, but it’s a complicated piece. Lots of soft edges and shading. I’ve told you this.”

  “Yeah, when I first approached you about it. You didn’t tell me you’d started though.”

  “Well, I have.”

  “Well, can I see it?”

  “No.”

  I cupped his face in my hands and poked out my bottom lip, tugging at him until he gave in and looked at my face. “Pleeeaaase?” I wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling myself flush against him as I definitely “hit him with the Bambi eyes”, and he shook his head.

  “Fine,” he grunted. “And your irksome ass better like it too.”

  “I’m sure I will!” I shrieked, as a smile bloomed on my face. “When?”

  “Come by the apartment tonight. And I’m telling you now… I’m showing you a lot more than that damn sketch.”