Please excuse ANY grammatical errors.

March 9, 1999

~Tia's P.O.V~

Donald and I watched my grandparents drive through and out of the gates before closing the door. Immediately, I spun on my heels, surely ripping my pantyhose. I made my way out of the vestibule, but when I made it to the bottom landing Donald spoke, making me turn my upper body.

"My bet is that you're still upset, huh?"

I glanced at him, "Donald, I'm exhausted and dirty. Please- PLEASE leave me be."

"Tia, you didn't answer my question. Stop avoiding things." Donald spoke as I made my way up the stairs.

"Right now I don't feel up to it." I turned my torso with one foot a step above my other, "I am tired and dirty." I faced forward to continue my path up the stairs, then to my bedroom.

"I understand, and I'm sorry. I know that sorry, alone, won't fix things. We got to talk about it though," he told me.

"Later, man. PLEASE," I pleaded, pinching the bridge of my nose. He backed away then took a seat on the edge of the bed, watching me. "Damn..." I took a deep breath. "Thank you."

Grabbing some underwear and a T-shirt, I headed to the bathroom, stripped, and took a long, but much needed shower in complete silence. Simply basking in my thoughts in its entirety.

"Plus, I don't want to stay in bed all damn day like some lazy ass nigga that's layin' up on his woman. I got bored and inspired. Look, at least I'm not cheatin' or some shit. I'm actually doin' work."

I appreciate Donald not being the type to lay up on modern women while they just relax all day at home. Never would I have even thought about being with this man, let alone soon to be wedded to someone with those characteristics. I'd be a damn fool to accept a proposal from a man like that. The type of man that I'm glad Donald isn't.

Anyhow, the fact that he brought that up makes me feel as if it was a thought that crossed his mind. If it was me and I were to say, at least I'm not fucking someone else, it'd be a major problem. He'd lose his cool. Do I think he's cheating? Absolutely not! I'm not upset with him, but I'm tired as heck and don't have the energy to talk about it at the moment.

When I finally exited the shower, I slid into my slides, wrapped my towel tightly around my body, and began brushing my teeth. Since Donald is lying in my bed massaging his body, I gathered all of my things and walked to a nearby bedroom to get dressed. We have to start somewhere when it comes to halting any of our sexual encounters.

After the completion of my hair and body routine, I walked back through my bedroom to the bathroom to put my towel down the chute. As soon as I entered the room, I got into the bed and swiftly slipped underneath the covers to get some sleep. I turned my lamp off and pulled the covers over my head, finally relaxing.

"So you just gon' be childish and give me the silent treatment?" Donald spoke from under the covers and above my ear.

I opened my eyes, shifting them in his direction. "I spoke. Oops, just spoke again. Oh my goodness, I keep doing it. Somebody stop me."

"Short and petty ass answers though," he squinted, then pulled the covers from over both of our heads. "We're not supposed to go to bed upset."

Sitting up in the bed, I looked over at him. "At least my mouth isn't open, sucking another man's dick," I squinted nack at him as I spat my words at him in anger.

A smile appeared on his lips before he burst into laughter. I crossed my legs, silently staring at him. My lips curved into a smile and a small chuckle escaped my lips. I'm surprised that I said what I said.

"Okay, I give you that. If you had said that shit at a different time, I would've been a little upset, because what the fuck do you mean? BUT I'm not because it was you trying to be petty, and you're upset about what I said earlier," he smirked. "Retaliation, but that doesn't make it better. Two wrongs don't make a right."

"Don't curse AT me. THAT is what pissed me off even more," I pointed at him. "That's like a person saying that they'd quit cigarettes and they reply with at least I'm not smoking crack."

"The correlation is lost," he cackled like a hyena.

"Donald, no it isn't. You said- no, you promised you'd do something, which is to rest from doing any work, for the betterment of your health and you didn't. You broke that promise and told me at least you aren't cheating and are ACTUALLY working!" I told him, getting a little upset all over again. "You also used the word actually which pissed me off more because what the hell? Is that NOT what you're doing when you tell me you're working?" I asked him. "Are you ACTUALLY cheating instead of working? Is that why you STILL had that little black book?" I put my finger against his chest. "By the way, I trashed it. It is in the trash and the garbage men took it away," before I could drop my hand he held onto it, kissing my knuckles.

"You know good and damn well that I ain't cheatin', so I don't even know why you would even ask that," he said stoned-faced. "I'm not finna argue with you. I just want to set this shit straight because being upset and silent ain't gon' solve shit. I'm 100% faithful. Shit, I don't even hang out with the fellas like that anymore because I want to be around you. The only parts of me that others get is the musical and business side these days. The version of me who WORKS. I don't have that in me to cheat on you. After everything? Hell no. Do YOU feel like I'm cheatin'? Do you feel that shit in your chest?"

"Anyone is capable of anything, Donald. Including you."

"Babe, you ain't answerin' the question. Do you or do you not feel like I'm faithful to you? Answer the question." He let go of my hand.

Closing my eyes, I exhaled. "I do."

"Feel like I'm faithful or-?" He shrugged, waiting for my answer.

"YES," I answered his question, rolling my eyes. "I believe that you're faithful to me," I squinted.

"Okay, good. I hold the same sentiments towards you. You're faithful, I'm sure," he smiled. "Shit, you couldn't even find the time TO cheat on me."

"People make time for things," I looked at him, holding my hand in front of me in a stop motion. "Wait, that doesn't mean I'm cheating! I meant in general."

"I understand what you meant, so there's no need to over-express yourself," Donald shook his head. "And another thing, I didn't even notice that the damn book was gone. I don't even remember the last time I touched it or put it in the first place. I haven't hunched in OVER a year. I'm glad that it's gone."

"Okay."

"Why'd you go into the other room to dress? That confused the fuck out of me. That's highly unusual of you," he changed the subject. "I've seen and know every part of your body and you leave the room to dress? That's how I know your ass was really mad when you came back dressed."

"No, it isn't, especially being that we're supposed to halt all sexual interactions. I did it for a while in the beginning, even after our first sexual encounter," I spoke while adjusting my body, laying on my side, still facing him. "And the fact that I was pissed off and you didn't deserve to see me nude."

"Damn..." He laughed at my last statement. "We're starting now?" He gave me a confused look.

"No... Baby steps. One step at a time," I reminded him. "Remember?"

"Oh, okay. You did say half though. You mean just slow down then, huh?" He squinted and I nodded. "GOOD, because I ain't agree to that part. In any minute, security will be at the door with our dinner. I ordered some food while you were in the shower for three hours straight. Save some water for the fish. You stay in the shower and drinkin' water."

"Quit it," I playfully pushed his arm. "You know I wasn't in there that dang long."

"To be fair, you were in there for a long ass time. Although, it felt longer, especially since your ass was giving me the silent treatment. Petty ass."

"Donald, for the last time, I spoke to you. We all conversed while my grandparents were here. Thanks though," I told him. "For the food," I added. "Two days in a row of eating out?" I asked him. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. We've got to do better."

"Two days ain't shit when it's somethin' you love to do," he winked, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth, making me blush in the process. "Thank you for sending Elijah over to give me some food. Soup too which was good, but I'm not sick. I'm just in pain," he smiled. "Again, I'm sorry for earlier. I'm sorry for what I said and my tone."

"I apologize for raising my voice and for what I said in retaliation. It was just as wrong," I told him.

He snickered, "nahh, that shit was more funny than anything. Knowing who you are, I didn't even get offended. At least not this time."

"Knowing who I am?" I raised my eyebrows in confusion. No, I'm not offended at his words, but just curious about what he meant.

"I tried to say it in a NON R Rated manner-"

"Oh, my gosh." I covered my eyes. "Really?"

"It's true," he turned back on the massager, running it over his muscles. "How was the conference?"

I sat up again. "Ehh, them on top of our argument pissed me the hell off. My blood pressure rose. I cried in the car. Tried to make it seem like I'm the incompetent one when they made no damn sense. I was seething! Ugh," my head fell back, thinking about my day. "Fuck those people and that deal."

"Damn, I apologize for addin' onto your stress and for not keepin' my word," he stared at me before pulling me into a hug. "That was wrong. You could tell me about your day if you'd like."

"Definitely could tell that some of them had no clue what they were talking about. One man and a lady got into a small spat, but it was resolved. That's about it..." I trailed off, reaching into my nightstand.

"What you reachin' in there for?"

I grabbed my heating pad, then turned to him, holding it up. "Not what you think."

I climbed over to his side, reaching over to plug it in, except I couldn't reach it. The moment I straddled him, he grabbed a hold of my thighs. Shaking my head, I moved both legs to the edge of the bed. Finally plugging it in, I sat, hovering his stomach and turned it on.

"It'll relax your muscles," I took the massage gun from him. "I'll draw you a bath with epsome salt, and Doctor Teal."

"Draw me a bath? For what? I know what it looks like," his smile turned into a cheese, showcasing his top and bottom row of teeth. "That's such an old-fashioned way of sayin' it. Soundin' like my damn grandma," Donald laughed. "Are you twenty-seven or seventy-two?"

"Seventy-two baby," I spoke with my lips covering my teeth to sound old and to make it seem like I had no teeth.

"What yo old ass doin' with my young ass?" Donald squinted.

"I'm your sugar mama. Now give your sugar mama some of that sugar," I pulled his ears, moving closer to peck his lips.

"If this was the only sugar and sugar mama wanted, I'd been doin' this shit," he spoke once we pulled away. "Many others would agree, but we all know that they want more than that."

"Yeah, we sugar mamas want zat zick!"

He squeezed his eyes shut, laughing. "Got me doin' all of this laughing. You aren't helping me a bit. Fuckin' my stomach muscles up." He wiped his eyes.

Still sitting at the edge of the bed, I ran the massager over various parts of his body at a medium speed.

"How does it feel?" I asked him.

"You talkin' so low, almost... Sensual... What are you tryin' to do to me? While it does feel good, you're not able to hit the right spots from where you're sitting," he grabbed my thighs.

"Donald?"

"What? I'm trying to help you to help me feel better. You can't do that from where you're sitting. Sit how you usually sit when you massage me," he jerked his head towards his lap.

"Don't get any ideas," I sang.

"I'm chillin'," my fiancé shot me a smile.

Moving, I straddled his legs near his feet, then began running the massager all over the portion of his legs that I'm not straddling. Humming a tune, I moved up to his thighs, then the bottom of his stomach, below the heating pad. Because he's so dang tall, I stood on my free hand and knees. I looked at him to study his facial expressions. His bottom lip is tucked into his mouth with a smile. I know that look...

"So... Interesting fact I learned today," I decided to speak, then twisted my mouth to the side.

His bottom lip made a noise as it popped out of his mouth. "What's that?"

"Straws are made from strawberries."

"Ahh, okay. You know hot dogs are made of dogs, right?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Hey, that's why I don't consume it," I shook my head, keeping the massager in motion. "That's all you. Over there guzzling down doggy remains."

He started cracking up. "Guzzlin'?"

"Mmhm. Gawk gawk 3000." I told him and his eyes widened. "Did you know buffalo wings come from buffaloes?"

"And that shit taste good as fuck," he told me. "Never had a buffalo that damn good until their wings entered my mouth. PAUSE. Bananas do come from Grandma's though. Nana," he smiled with flared nostrils like he wanted to burst out laughing.

"Dang, for real?" I asked him, moving the massager further down because he was complaining about his abdominal muscles

"Mhm," he nodded.

"So when Foxy says ill nana, does she mean Grandma or bananas?"

"Both, I'm sure," Donald nodded.

"True. Her grandmother probably had a little cold. Some type of sickness."

"She said he wants that ill nana."

"Soul food comes from the souls of people who couldn't move on," I told him.

"Damn, that's dark. Morbid as fuck.. The Boogeyman is made up of boogers that kids wiped on the walls," he told me. "The snot bonds it together, creating him."

"Ooh, that's a good one," I nodded, then his body jerked as I rotated it against his lower stomach. "Babe? You're okay?" I asked with my voice full of concern.

"You do that again and all of my damn muscles won't be relaxed," he replied, then the phone rang.

"My apologies," I replied, reaching for the phone.

His body jerked again and a small whimpering moan escaped his lips. Once I heard that, I turned the massage gun off. His entire body is in pain, but he still has the about to be turned on? This guy!

"Hello?" I spoke into the receiver.

"I'm on my way towards the house to drop off y'all food," Redd told me.

"Okay. Thank you, Redd," I hung up the phone.

I rolled off my man's body and over to my side of the bed, then sloppily slipped into my slippers. I looked down at my man while I slid my feet in my slippers in the correct manner. "Are you good over there?"

"You can't rub your titties on me and move that massage gun so far down like that and think I'm fine. Take your pic and figure it out."

"Donald, my breasts MERELY grazed you," I put my hand on my hips with my head tilted to the side.

"You ain't got shit on under that big ass shirt of mine, so your titties are loose. It definitely wasn't no graze," he replied.

Grabbing my plush robe, I placed it on my person, tightened it, and made my way out of the room, down the stairs, and to the front door. That man has hair-trigger hormones, but that's okay because I'm the same way. I'm just able to hide it better. I don't think he'll be much of a challenge for me in the near future. I can handle his appetite.

"Thank you," I smiled with a wave.

"You're welcome," Redd returned the gesture before walking away.

Closing the door with my foot, I started looking through the bag, impressed with what was in the top tray. I tied the bag up again, locked my door, and walked into the kitchen to wash my hands, to plate, and warm up the food. As the plate turned in the microwave, I began to dance, excited that I was finally about to eat some real food. When both plates finished warming up, I made my way up with a plate in each hand, and a bottle of ginger ale for Sir DeGrate that I picked up on the way home.

"Dinner is served, Master William," I said in a British accent, pretending as if I'm Geoffrey from Fresh Prince of Bel Air. I got into the bed on my side and handed him his plate.

Donald turned off the massager and set it aside. "Thanks. You were in that kitchen slavin' to make me some good ass food Geof," he said eating.

"So we gon' eat without praying? You, I mean... Because I'm praying first before anything enters my mouth," I closed my eyes.

"Anything? That's a lie," he snorted.

"Ugh, you know what I meant."

"I prayed when I knew you were walking down the hallway with the food."

Opening one eye, I looked at Donald, "God will strike you down during the next storm, DeGrate. That's blasphemous."

"Sorry and please forgive me God for my lies and blasphemy," he spoke with his eyes closed. "Dear God, bless the hands, mind, and DNA of the people who made our meal, especially while they were in the process of making our meal. Thank you for the peace, love, happiness, and forgiveness we're surrounded by and that you give to us. Amen," he finished.

"Amen," I opened my eyes. "Here's your medicine," I handed him the Ginger Ale soda.

"Something I can't get addicted to," he joked, opening the can and it made the hissing sound.

Sitting my plate down, I went to the bathroom to fill up the tub. Of course, I added the Epsom salt and Doctor Teals. I filled my canister up at the water tank, then made my back. Damn, my man is fine. I sat down on the bed and began to eat.

"I love you," Donald spoke out of the blue, staring at me, making me smile.

Pushing my food to the jaw of my mouth, I immediately replied with my hand covering my mouth. "I love me too." He just cheesed at me in response, then looked down at his plate to eat more food. "I love you," I told him.

"I know," he replied with his mouth full of food.

"How can you be so sure?" I joked, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Look at this... This. Is. Love," he spoke while cheesing at me, showcasing his top and bottom teeth. He sucked the sauce off his fingertips. "Check this out. Although you had to go away, you still sent someone over to make sure I was okay. The- everything. Not just today, but the shit you do on the regular. You-"

Cutting him off, I replied with, "Babe, it was just a joke. What's understood doesn't have to be explained."

"Why you ain't let me finish?" He smiled harder at me, creepily side-eyeing me. What an odd expression.

"Your facial expression is scaring me..." I trailed off. "If you want to finish, go right ahead. I'm just letting you know that I was joking," I shrugged then placed a spoonful of food into my mouth. "I love you."

Then I hopped back out of the bed to turn off the running water, coughing, almost choking on my food from how fast I stood up. I turned on the water heater to keep it warm, washed my hands, and then went back into my room to eat my dinner.

"Did my grandmother say anything about you being in my home without me?"

"Definitely. I just told her that I stayed over in a guest bedroom and that I wasn't feeling well is the reason I still was here during working hours," Donald replied.

"And she bought it?"

"Shit, apparently because she didn't mention that shit again," he smiled.

"She usually does it to see how much you sweat, but she probably just left it alone. My grandmother is no dummy. Although, she thought I was being intimate as a teenager," I shook my head. "She has a bad judge of character at times and just talks to hear herself speak. She tells a lot of lies too."

He laughed with his entire body moving, "no doubt. I listened to some of what she said and it just didn't sound right, but I ain't say nothin' because, after all, I lied to her, myself. Not only that, but I don't know her enough to make certain decisions. I ain't want to get you in trouble though. We shackin'! Almost to her definition too."

"Babe? What can they TRULY do to me?" I tilted my head to the side.

"Get on your damn nerves. Remember, I have family that does that shit all the time."

"They are both beautiful people, right?" I asked him.

"Yeah. I've seen photos of all of your grandparents and all of them are good lookin'. They are a nice lookin' couple for sure. STILL. You for sure look a lot like her younger photos that you have hangin' and the both of you got some big ass titties," he told me, holding his hands in front of his own chest. A smirk appeared on my lips. "Hey, it's just an observation. She seems like she broke a lot of hearts like your ass."

"I'd have to have these men's hearts to break them," I raised my eyebrows.

"Who says you didn't? Niggas know how to bluff, you know."

"Oh, no. I'm not denying that I broke some hearts. I'm just saying that some of them were more upset about not putting out. They weren't giving their hearts out for me to take. Just upset at the word no and ghosting," I told him, then took another spoonful of food.

"That's a big one, especially because these industry niggas feel more entitled because they have money and status. I've seen that shit for myself. Mothafucka's weird as fuck for that shit. However, it's so rare that a woman would tell a man with money and status no, so when one does, it's a shocker," he told me. "Has anyone ever got violent with you for saying no?"

"No, but they were visibly upset. Tried to keep in touch hoping that I'd change my mind, but no. I had to leave them alone."

"Did they know you're a virgin?"

"A few, but with MOST of them, we never even reached that point in conversation. On the first date, I usually knew if I'd ghost them. Anywho, I'd just say that I'm not sleeping with you upfront. Nothing about me being a virgin," I then drank some of my water.

"I've been around a lot of industry guys that get pissed off and violent. That's why I don't hang around that type of crowd. I learned my lesson when I first went to the studio with Tupac that one day. So many disgusting things were happening right in front of my face. That was the day y'all started arguing and were about to throw hands. I was appalled and stuck."

"My mind definitely remembers because like you said, that was the only time I saw you in a recording studio. Me and them niggas were always about to fight over nothin'," he shook his head in reminiscent in response to my long statement.

"For real!" I replied. "Though, I don't remember you fighting the brothers. You and Dalvin stayed tussling when I stayed at y'all's house. It was crazy."

"Nah, we definitely threw hands," he laughed. "They still get on my damn nerves, but I love them. They're family."

"I feel you," I placed my empty plate on the nightstand.

"You definitely were hungry."

"Yes, I snacked on the same small bag of chips today. I wasn't trying to fall the heck out. They had some nasty-looking sandwiches that by the way I didn't see being prepared. They're rude to their staff, so I wasn't taking any chances."

Donald got out of bed. "See? Bed rest, but now I'm finally getting my ass back up," he stretched his long limbs, "to bathe," he yawned.

"Boy, you've been up all dang day. Who are you trying to fool?" I smirked.

"No, I meant after your grandparents left," he replied.

"Okay, Donald."

Donald walked out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. I made my way downstairs to the kitchen to wash and put our dishes away.

"Tia?" He called my name from the bathroom as I entered the bedroom.

"Yes?"

"Can you come in here please?"

I walked into the bathroom and slowly approached the tub where Donald was.

"What's that?" He pointed at the other end of the tub, near his feet.

Raising my eyebrows, I smirked at him. "Do you think I'm slow?"

"No, I'm serious. LOOK down there near my feet," he pointed.

Shifting my eyes, I saw what he was talking about. It's something black or brown and medium length.

"Ehh, I don't know. You're the man. I'm a scaredy cat. This is not my thing."

"Can you reach down and see for me?"

"Donald, I'm curious, but not THAT curious. If it's a mouse, I'm screaming and will take flight right out of this house and sleep at your home until we get another home," I replied.

"Nah, it ain't no mouse. What if it's a phone? If I could reach, I definitely would, but you see, my body is sore," he groaned in pain.

"It's something you had to do. There wasn't anything in here when I drew the bath. You definitely would've noticed it before stepping inside. You're trying to prank me," I placed a hand on my hip.

"Babe, I'm not. See," he moved the object with his foot.

I moved closer to the tub as he scooted it closer with his foot until he was able to reach it with his hand. His hand touched it then picked it up. Donald made a noise before I was able to see what it was and put it in my hand. Feeling the squishiness of it, I gagged and it fell back into the tub. Donald started cracking up.

"What the heck was that?" I asked him and looked down at my hand which had a brown residue on it. "Is thi-" I gagged.

"Oops, I guess my muscles relaxed too much," he looked around. "Shitted on my damn self."

Knowing it wasn't a dookie ball, I rubbed what was on my hand on his face and he grabbed me and pulled me into the tub. The sweet smell finally hit my nose. The water made a big splash upon impact, making us laugh even harder.

"It's just a little fur keychain ball. And on this hand was a small piece of the chocolate bar that I unknowingly sat on," he chuckled. "Got that ass."

"You know me, DeGrate. You want to start this? Well, alright," I nodded with the corners of my lips pointed downwards. "Game on."

"So we startin' this shit up again, huh?" He asked me with one raised eyebrow and his head pushed back.

"You started it, darling," I smiled. "I'm just here to finish it off," I put some of the bubbles in his goatee. "Remember, you come for Tia, Tia will come even harder for you. I've voiced this before."

"I'll be sure of that." He kissed my lips, and I fell into the kiss. Donald pulled away, "that's cool. Come on in here with me."

"Isn't that what I'm currently doing? Although, I was forcefully pulled inside," I raised my eyebrows with widened eyes, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to make a point.

"I mean the correct way. Take all of this shit off," he pulled the bottom of the t-shirt. "Relax with me. Come relax with your man."

"Last time, on my mini birthday vacation, it was a challenge staying calm and you were halfway dressed. Three steps forward and five steps backward. It's not a great idea. We just talked about this," I kicked my slides off of my feet.

"Please," he deepened his tone while kissing down my jawline. "Please," his moist lips met my neck, brushing up against it. His mouth pulled at my skin. "Please," he repeated, but this time his lips came in contact with my spot and his tongue came out, rolling and teasing my spot. He knows exactly where to go.

A small gasp escaped my lips as I let go of his face to catch myself because it felt like I was falling into the water. Though, I'm not because Donald has a strong hold on me. I pulled away from him.

"And this is exactly why I shouldn't be in here," using my abdominal muscles, I lifted myself up, but my tub is pretty darn tall, so my feet couldn't reach the floor in my position.

With that being said, I have to put my entire body inside the tub. Once I stood up, I wrung my shirt out little by little to get as much water out as possible. I was standing with my side to him and he grabbed my hand.

"You're trying to seduce me into coming- getting into that tub with you," I added.

"We can truly relax. Listen to music or watch some TV. Whichever you decide is fine. Stay and chill with me," he grabbed my hand as I stood above him. "I promise you. No matter how much you wring that shit out, you still gon' drip it all over the bathroom floor. With that bein' said, you might as well stay in here anyway. Your body is already drippin'." Donald softly thumbed the back of my hand.

My lips went into a straight line as I turned to Donald. "You've convinced me."

"You've always told me that I got a great mouthpiece," he folded his lips into his mouth, and then they popped right back out.

Turning my body sideways to him, I slid down my panties and squeezed the water from them. I don't want to bend down with my booty in his face, nor do I want my vagina in his face. I threw my panties onto the floor, then began wringing my shirt out even more. Donald grabbed my hand as I tried to turn my back to him. His hands slid down my leg, lifting my foot onto his thigh, and massaging it under the water. I had to hold onto the wall for a split second for support due to how fast and unexpectedly my foot was lifted.

"Donald..." I trailed off.

"I wasn't gon' let you fall, my love," the way he's looking up at me is making my center throb hard. Being that my leg in his lap is bent at the knee, he can clearly see. That and the fact that he's using his bedroom voice. "Are you just going to stand there? You're supposed to be getting undressed to get inside of here." His eyes gazed straight ahead at my center, and then the smirk that he's been withholding came out.

To avoid getting my bonnet and hair wet underneath, I slowly took my shirt off. In the midst of stripping, I felt Donald's hands stop massaging my foot and his cool breath hit my inner left thigh. Throwing the shirt, near my panties, I looked down at him and he kissed my inner thigh.

"This is just as innocent as me. I promise. I only kissed your thigh because I couldn't reach your lips," he spoke, and then he kissed my inner thigh again. This time, I felt his lips curve into a smirk against my thigh in the process. Double meaning? Hmmm, I'm positive that it was a double meaning. "That's it. That's all," he finished.

"I don't trust you. My mind is telling me to RUN. And you dang sure aren't innocent. You're as innocent as O.J. Simpson."

He removed his hand from my legs and held them up as if he wasn't doing what he was just doing. "Shit, I don't know why your mind is tellin' you to run away from your man. It isn't like I can snatch your soul and take you to heaven." Donald's eyes traveled up my body, starting from my legs and ending on my face. "I'm just a man, baby. Your man, but a man nevertheless." He gazed into my eyes with a smug smirk, before he pulled his bottom lip into his mouth.

What!? My eyes bulged out of my head at his words. My eyes shifted away from his and I noticed the two water bottles on the other edge. Donald knew I'd say yes.

"Before you take a seat, could you please remove that keychain?" he questioned.

Without giving it a second thought, I moved my foot from his thigh, turned around, reached down into the water near his feet, and removed the keychain.  Aiming at the trashcan, I threw it and made it.

"YES!" I cheered for myself. I turned to him. "Did you see that?"

"Huh?" His eyes trailed up my body, finally his eyes met mine.

Turning away from him, I sighed. I fell for it. I really fell for that! When I bent over, he didn't just see my booty, he saw it ALL. I sunk my body into the water, relaxing against his body or attempting to relax. Instantly, his arms wrapped around my body.

Clearing my throat, I spoke, "television or music?"

"Television," he whispered in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

Twisting my upper body, I lifted up to reach for the remote, hovering over one of his thighs, and holding onto the back of the tub to grab the remote in its protective bag. The cool air hit my breasts, as well as the air from Donald's mouth from him deeply exhaling. I looked down at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Admiring you, and breathing," he squinted at me. "Do you want me to hold my breath and fall the fuck out? So I can't breathe now?" He spoke in a halfway serious tone.

"You're-" Deciding not to finish my statement, I tucked my lips into my mouth and sunk back into the water.

I bounced back up, but only slightly to look back at him. How didn't I feel it before? Did he move it or something? What's going on?

"Hey, I didn't do anything," he held his hands up in defense again. "My hands aren't anywhere inappropriate and neither is my mouth. Woman, you're trippin'."

"Sir, your hands aren't the problem," I fluttered my eyelashes. Then I furrowed my eyebrows with a tight-lipped, but fake smile.

"Babe, I ain't got a problem. This is YOUR problem. I'm chillin'," he spoke, playing mind games with me. "Move YOUR problem out of YOUR way if it's so significant with increasing your comfortability."

The shoes are on the other foot... He's being ridiculous though. Squeezing my thighs together, I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths. When I opened them, I saw his tip peaking from the surface of the water. Reaching under the water, I grabbed the base of his phallus and his jaws clenched, as he shallowly exhaled through his nostrils. In the process, I could feel his eyes burning into my skin, getting me more heated.

My hand slid up the back of it to the tip and I began moving it back towards him and held it against his stomach. His jaw clenched, and then I slid back into the water, finally letting go when I settled into the water against Donald's chest. I'm definitely uncomfortable with it hitting and poking my back like this. Lifting up, I moved forward to move it to his thigh. It's much more comfortable at my side.

"Are you comfortable enough now or are you just goin' to keep playin' with it like that?"

"No," is all I said. I shook my head, relaxing against his body, "but it's much better than it was initially." I turned on the television, switching to the TV guide channel as he wrapped his arms around me, pushing my breasts up with his forearms.

"Indecent Proposal is playing. Let's watch that shit," he pointed.

"No, there's too much sex in that film and you know that," I looked up at him from below. The sexual tension between the two of us is at an all-time high. It seems like the height of our tension is neverending. "Let's watch something mellow," I told him. "Oh, The Shakiest Gun in the West!" I hurriedly turned to the channel it was playing on.

"This shit sounds old and wack as hell," he told me, looking at the screen.

"Positive. Well, not exactly, just corny. It's good though and hilarious," I laughed. "Don Knotts is hilarious and such an idiot on camera."

"Alright, I'll give it a try."

"Good because I wasn't changing the channel," I smirked, staring at him. "Could you blame me? There's nothing good on at the moment."

Donald pecked my lips. We watched the film for a while, laughing and talking about the stupidity of the main character. During commercials, I had to explain the beginning because we missed it, but I've seen this movie multiple times. Of, course we washed up too.

Due to my long and exhausting day, I started to doze off on commercial break, eventually falling into a relaxed state, and falling asleep. My body was startled awake from a loud, but nasally snore my man let out. I turned to him, then back to the television to see something else playing. I grabbed the remote with my pruned fingers and turned to the TV guide channel again for the time. I attempted to move my body forward, but Donald held me tighter letting out another LOUD snore. I'm stuck in his arms and this man is hard to wake up.

Shaking his thigh, "Donald, wake up." He isn't budging, not even a millimeter. I laid my head against him, inhaled, and then began sliding up his body. I only made it to where he was holding onto my hips.

"What you doin'?" Donald asked me in his deep and sleepy voice. That shit is even sexier than his normal voice. God, please give me strength.

I deeply exhaled, looking down at the water. "Getting out of your tight grasp so I could wake you up. We don't need to be in the water any longer or our natural oils will deplete. Our fingers are pruned."

He let me go, "a'ight. I thought your ass was on some other type of time. Whole ass on my chest."

Standing up straight, I grabbed the remote, turning off the television. "Mhm. You gotta get on up," I sang, snapping my fingers to the nonexistent best.

"Please don't sing that shitty booty ass song. Hate that shit. That's why I didn't partake in it. My ass sounds better when I take a shit."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's YOUR problem," I smiled, throwing his words back at him. "That's a cookout and family reunion song. I love it."

He stood up, stretching, after pulling the drain stopper, "damn, I feel better after that shit. My muscles loosened the hell up some. That's for sure. Hot water did wonders." He spoke while rotating his shoulders and swinging his arms, then pulled me by the waist against him. "You look good as fuck too. Didn't I tell you that I could control myself?"

"Barely," I replied, poking his nose. "Brandy said almost doesn't count."

"Well we ain't officially stopping yet, are we?"

"Mm... See, I got to get away like Bobby Brown," I stepped out of the tub, and into my slides, with water dripping from my body.

"What?" He raised his eyebrows. "Why you keep sayin' that? I just stared at you in admiration. I can't admire my future wife?" He wrapped the towel around his waist, tying it. "Is it me or you?"

Looking him up and down I replied, "definitely both," I nervously laughed as he stepped out of the tub. "When and whether we stop is a mutual decision."

Donald wrapped his arms around me while tying a towel around my body. "You look beautiful. I stare when you're fully clothed too. Others do too, but you don't bat an eye when it comes to others," he whispered in my ear before kissing my earlobe. "I don't see nothin' wrong," he whispered.

My body instinctively relaxed against his as he swayed us to the silence of the room with his face nestled into my neck. I wrapped my arms around his. A few minutes passed by before we stopped.

"We should go to sleep. You're clearly still as exhausted as you stated earlier," he spoke into my ear again, inhaling then exhaling deeply. I turned around, wrapping my arms around his body, he lifted my chin, pulling me into a subtle kiss. "Let's get ready for bed."

"Alright," I grabbed the empty water bottles we drank and tossed them into the trashcan. "I have to clean the tub first though. You go ahead so you can relax," I went back to the tub.

Donald grabbed my hands, pulling me up. "I got this. You've been out and about while and I've been home not doing much. Go ahead and relax, babe. I also set up a doctor's appointment for tomorrow at noon."

My head jerked back, "that's good to hear. I'm glad you're taking this seriously." I'll let him do it because I'm not trying to escalate things. Besides, I AM exhausted.

"It's a problem on my end when someone cares more about my health than me, so yeah. I'm listening to you," he chuckled, grabbing the shower hose attachment in the tub.

"Thank you," I smiled with a nod. "That's good."

"Yeah," he turned the hose on, spraying the tub.

I walked away to the cleaning closet and handed him the foaming bleach spray. I picked up the wet clothes on the floor, put them down the scute, then got ready for bed. Donald came into the bedroom after a while.

"The floor is cleaned too," he told me as he dried his skin, then took off his towel. "I dried the floor."

"Thank you."

"You know, I would love to at least meet your pops once just to get an idea of how he looks. I don't want to pass him in the street and not know who he is. There are no photos of him."

"Donald, I have photos of my sperm donor. They're just old. He was previously a red-headed, fair-skinned, medium-sized, black man. The only difference now is that he's a bald-headed, fair-skinned, super-sized, black man who looks like he's wearing a Halloween mask," I smiled.

"Damn!" He started laughing. "That's cold."

"The cold truth. He's scary-looking. My mother saw a photo that Yasir showed us years ago and she screamed. She thought it was some guy wearing a Halloween mask. She couldn't recognize that man."

"Screamed?" He raised his eyebrows. "I know how dramatic your mother is, so that's no big deal. I'd still like to see for myself. He had red hair? Naturally?" He questioned.

"Yes."

"Is he albino?"

"No, Donald," I shook my head. "You see my grandmother. She's fair-skinned now, but as you age, you get darker in many cases, especially when you've had radiation treatments for cancer. With that being said, she's gotten darker. The melanin is beautiful. I'm glad that they never talked down about darker hues like my other side of the family."

"On her wedding photos with your biological grandfather, I saw that she looked to be your skin tone and if I hadn't known, I would've thought that was you and your brother. The lighting was bad a hell then, huh?"

"Yes, those were professional photos, just the standard ones at the time. Black and white was still popular then, but that probably was like the first camera that printed out color," I laughed.

"That's crazy because I have black and white photos of me as a kid," he shook his head. "They must've had money?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "You know, I've never asked what my great-grandmother and great-grandfather did for a living. My grandmother was a nurse and cafeteria lady. I didn't even know what my biological grand sperm donor did for a living either. I just know he currently lives in Chicago, still having kids that he isn't taking care of, and crazy as heck."

"Damn, so that's where you got it from?" He smirked, sitting on the bed. "That crazy part comes out when you're pissed the fuck off."

"No, that's anger. According to my grandmother, that man is nuts," I told him. "If my grandmother cleaned and he spotted a piece of lint on the floor, he'd beat the breaks off of her. Both of my grandmothers were with some crazy men who loved to beat women, have a bunch of kids, and didn't take care of them in any way. The only thing is my late grandmother couldn't stay away from the bad ones."

"That's sad as hell," he lotioned up his body.

"Times were different. Women had to depend on men. Anywho, I'm not ready to meet up with my sperm donor just yet, so you'll probably have to wait," I told him as he lotioned up.

"And that's fine. Whenever you're ready."

"Thank you."

He turned to me, "You're always thanking me for doing absolutely nothing."

"It's not nothing. I'm thanking you for being considerate, love."

"It isn't real love if either of us aren't considering one another's feelings or well-being. That's how marriage works and we'll be wedded very soon," he stood up and put the lotion away.

"Wedded?" I asked him, laughing.

"That is a synonym for getting married," he chuckled, putting on deodorant.

"Yeah, but you've never used the word."

"Expansion of vocabulary is a great thing. A mind is a terrible thing to waste."

"That's another thing that I agree on, Donald."

He climbed into bed, getting settled in. "The way you've been staring at me for these past few minutes and where you've been staring has got my heart pumping. You starin' like in a piece of meat. I'm thinkin' should a nigga be a piece of meat or should a nigga run?" His thumb pointed to the door. As he spoke, his minty breath hit my nose indicating that he also brushed his teeth.

"Follow your heart," I smiled. "Psych nah. I'm tired man and I'm taking my black behind to sleep. I want to wake up with my soul."

"Oh, wow," he laughed, turning off the lamp on his side of the bed.

"I'll sleep with this heating pad on."

My man is the definition of I can be turned on, but still control my actions in the midst of it. I appreciate that.

"Okay, but please don't have it on high while you're asleep," I turned my lamp off and laid the side of my head against my pillow while pulling the covers up. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

For a while, there was silence until he started giggling. I began turning my body to look at him.

"What is it?"

"Nah, I was just thinkin' how fun it'd be to get the clap on, clap off lights in our new crib. What do you think?" He asked me as the moonlight reflected against his iris.

"It will look like lightning and thunder," I said laughing. "Echoing throughout the house. What will our family think?"

"Ain't nobody staying at our house for at least a year afterward we marry. We'd be adjusting to the newlywed lifestyle. As long as I've been waiting? I'm not letting up, even after a year," he told me. "So they won't think too much of anything because they won't be around. If they do, that's on them. Their only guess would be the continuous smile on my face and the obvious fact that we're married. Though I've been smilin' a little lately."

"Those lights are such a terrible idea," I shook my head.

"I know, but that shit is funny as fuck. I'd feel like I got some type of magic powers or some shit every time I hit it."

"Those wealthy folks in movies love having those lights. You know how they aren't getting down," I raised an eyebrow.

"Baby, we both are wealthy, individually. I do feel what you mean though. Unsatisfied asses."

"Everybody doesn't like it rough, Donald. I'm sure I don't all the time. There has to be a balance. Unsatisfied nevertheless."

"Baby, hittin' it right ain't got nothin' to do with roughness if you know what you doin'. Now I ain't did it in a while, but I know what I'm doin'," he told me.

"Yeah. Yeah. Yeah," I rolled my eyes with a smile plastered on my face.

"Another thing, we got to make sure we get a room like the one downstairs."

"Whatever do you mean, love?" I asked him.

"The mirror room with the poles because I got to see you work. I'm tryin' to see whether you're about it or just yappin'."

"Darling, I took professional pole dancing classes and-"

"And? And what?" His eyes widened.

"Latin dancing. You LEARN how to REALLY work your hips and loosen them right on up."

"With who?"

"Tai. He already knew how, but introduced me to it. As well as a bit of ballroom. It was fun. My hips loosened so much because of it. We should go together sometime," I told him.

"Maybe we should."

"Loosen you right on up. Stiff behind."

"I ain't tryin' to be too loose. I don't wanna be no loose-hipped assed nigga," he told me. "I'm up for it though. I be wanting to go in that room so bad to watch you, but you always lock the door behind you when you go. I low-key wish I grew up picking locks."

"That's the reason why I lock that door; your nosey behind always trying to snoop," I giggled. "And being a little loose-hipped never hurt anybody. Besides, it could also benefit men in bed too. You'd be surprised by the effect it could have on your woman."

"Shit, sign me up then!" He cackled aloud. "You still ain't ever let me up those stairs," he pointed to the staircase in my bedroom.

"It's personal."

"Don't tell me there are whips, chains, and lemon juice in there."

"Lemon juice? Donald, what the hell?"

"Pain and pleasure."

"No. It's nothing like that. I already told you that it's just artwork upstairs. Ninety-nine percent of it is what I created and the rest is what others are what someone else created of me."

"Are there any nude ones?" He squinted.

"Positive. I took a few professional and TASTEFUL nude photos. Then I started painting my own, duplicating them. It's absolutely beautiful too."

"How come my eyes haven't laid eyes on any of them yet? Why not? I've seen you in all of your glory."

"Donald, they're locked up. In due time, you will."

"If they're as beautiful as you say, they may be hangin' up in our bedroom at the new crib," he said with hope.

"No. Although nobody will be allowed in our bedroom, I'm not hanging it on the wall. What if we open the door and somebody just sees me and my naked body on the wall?"

"Mm, point taken. Where will you put it?"

"In it's room with the others, away from everyone. Duhhh!" I scoffed with a giggle. "I'm not leaving it in this house. Anyone can break in. Besides, an enlarged wedding photo should be on our bedroom wall, above the bed, depending on our headboard. That's tasteful and it includes us both."

"Or that too," he agreed. "I like that idea. Shit would be as beautiful as the real-life version. Why'd you decide to take nude photos? You're a prude."

"Years ago it was a birthday gift for myself. I wanted to do something different and I did," I smiled. "Definitely a nice experience. Although, I was a bit uncomfortable at first. The person who took them remained very professional."

"Oh, okay."

"That's the same year I skydived," I told him.

"Wait a minute." His body shot up. "YOU skydived? YOU- who's afraid of rollercoasters?"

"Yes, I skydived."

"How'd you feel?"

"It was scary and I'm never doing that mess again. I did it and it's done. Afterward, my adrenaline was pumping hard. I couldn't sit down for anything. It was like I took some type of drug," I shook my head.

"Like I said, I learn something new about you every day. Today, it was four. One: Not to fuck with you the way I did today. Two: You took Latin dancing classes. Three: Your prudish ass took nude photos. Still can't believe that one. Four: Your crazy ass went skydiving. Ain't that some shit?"

"It's some shit," I agreed and he started laughing. "I'm glad I did them though."

"Damn, a nigga missed out on a lot," he shook his head, laying his head against his pillow. "What made you want to go skydiving?"

"Not going to lie, it was Tim McGraw's song. It was a completely impulsive decision. It was also a birthday gift for myself," I revealed.

"Damn, so you considered death on your birthdate?"

"Impulsive, Donald. I didn't think anything. I just did it and I'm glad that I did it instead of wishing I had done it."

"Alright, I am to be afraid. Be very afraid," Donald chuckled. "You CRAZY crazy. Not too many of us black folks do shit like that. I should've known that shit when you beat ol' girls face in, AND when I was just playing and squeezing your neck. You proceed to put pressure, making me do that shit for real!" He joked.

"Eh," I shrugged. "It is what it is. It wasn't like I lost the ability to breathe. It was a side choke."

"A'ight, I'm going to bed processing all of this shit in my dreams," he gave me a kiss. "Wish me luck on this journey because I just MAY go crazy trying."

I smacked my lips at him, "Whatever, man."

He wrapped his arm around me with his bare chest against my back. Eventually, he fell into a deep slumber. Me? This is what I waited for, for him to fall asleep because I CAN'T go to sleep in this state. Not tonight! Now, the hard part is prying this man's arm from around me, so I grab a toy and get the hell up out of this bedroom. In an attempt to remove his arm, he held on tighter. How does he do that in his sleep? Using Al his strength in doing so too. This is what I get for making a big fuss about him and his hormones, while mine are also raging. If I say I have to pee, he may stay awake until I come back, so that's no option. I tried again but to no avail. Giving up, I relaxed against my man. I'll just have to sleep in my current state. Now the shoe is definitely on the other foot.

Word Count: 9,610

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