“I love you, Averie Patterson-Valentine.”
“I love you too, Samuel.”
She put her arms around my neck and pulled me into a kiss.
“Let me taste you,” I said while lifting her nightgown.
“No, to show you that I know this situation is going to pass, I will come when you do.”
“Vee…”
“No. I mean it. We will come together.”
Averie
“Yes, that’s exactly what want,” I said between breaths. I was in the home gym at the condo running on the treadmill and speaking on the phone to the contractor I’d recently hired.
I’d made the decision to move Patterson Law into Ankh Towers where Valentine Law was located. It really was a no-brainer after speaking with the building owner and hearing the rent amount. I would only be paying a little more than what I was paying now for twice the amount of space and all updated facilities.
“Right, the plum colored wallpaper in the women’s restroom and the smoke gray wallpaper in the men’s restrooms. No, I will look again at the marble for the executive restrooms…Yes…Thank you…bye.”
I disconnected the call and continued to run. It felt like work and exercise were the only things keeping my mind off sex.
I’d made the declaration a couple days ago that I would wait to come when Samuel did, and it seems like now all I think about is sex. I fantasized about feeling Samuel’s lips and tongue on me while I sat on his freshly trimmed beard. I watched him do regular everyday tasks with his hands and fantasized about feeling his thumb rubbing my pearl while his face was between my legs. I felt like an addict trying to quit something cold turkey. This was the longest Samuel and I have ever been around each other, while he was awake, without sexual interaction.
My declaration was beautiful; a romantic overture, one made for a romance novel, but in real life, I wasn’t sure it was a great idea. I’d even decided not to masturbate…terrible idea. Now I knew why Samuel was so moody. This crap was hard!
I’d planned to run off some energy and then take a long bath, but Samuel decided to join me in the gym. His presence had completely ruined the intended outcome for my workout session. I watched through the mirror while he did squats with weights. I loved watching the muscles flex in his corded thighs as he did each squat. I licked my lips when the muscles in his back protruded when he lifted the weight bar. I almost lost my balance looking at his stomach muscles tighten and contract while he did his crunches.
I finally couldn’t take it anymore and ended the cycle on the treadmill. I grabbed my water bottle, drinking most of it down in one gulp. I wiped the sweat from my face with my towel and stepped off the treadmill.
I spoke while passing Samuel, “I’m going up to take a bath and relax.”
He grabbed my hand and stopped me.
“I can take care of all that tension you are trying to work off,” he said looking me directly in the eyes.
“Huh? Naw, I’m good.”
“Vee, let me take care of you,” he grabbed my butt and pulled me closer.
Damn, he turned me on, sweaty and all.
“Baby, I’m going to wait. I’m okay.”
He looked at me for a few minutes then let me go.
“Go take your bath. I will be up in a minute.”
* * *
Makingsure the water was just below boiling, I turned the knobs on the tub to adjust the water temperature. I needed it hot to relax all my muscles to include my brain. I had to figure out a way to stop fantasizing about sex. Not just any sex, sex with Samuel. Even during this time of drought, I hadn’t come across one man that made me feel anything. So I knew I wasn’t just starved for sex, I was starved for Samuel.
I dropped my favorite bath bomb into the water and watched it fizz while I lit some candles and turned on some old school R&B from my playlists. After playing hot potato with my feet in the water—putting them in then taking them out—I finally adjusted to the water temperature, and settled into the tub.
Resting against the back of the tub, I closed my eyes, breathed in the relaxing scent of the bath bomb and let Johnny Gill’s “My, My, My” serenade me. I heard the bathroom door open. Knowing it was Samuel, I kept my eyes closed. I felt his proximity to the tub but didn’t think about it until I felt his strong arms lifting me out of the water.
“El!” I shrieked. “What are you doing?”