"Tout tan mwen t ap chèche w m pa janm ka jwenn youn tankou w. Travèse mil fontyè, mwen pa janm jwenn youn tankou w..."

Rutshelle Guillaume_Haitian singer

Norabel

※Two months later※

I lift my glass of champagne in the air for a toast. My best friend and my cousin are also on the bed with me, holding flutes in their hands.

I let out in a booming voice, "To the end of four long years of blood, sweat, and tears!"

"Fuck yeah!" Keisha exclaims as we all toast.

"You did it, girl!" Stephanie boasts with pride.

I'm both mentally and physically drained and would probably sleep for the next ten years of my life if I was allowed to. I will never do this university thing again, not even if they pay me.

We drink the sparkling alcohol in one go and Keisha proceeds to refill our glasses as I pick up a snack from the large bowl between us.

I presented my thesis earlier this week and the final exams of the last semester of my senior year officially ended this morning. Keisha came back from school with me. Ever since Mom and I moved to the new house that she rented, Keisha has been spending a lot of time here.

Stephanie and her parents also moved in with us. I'm happy that they finally left Croix-des-Bouquets before Auntie Martha was due for giving birth. My uncle found a job that brought great joy to the family along with the birth of their newborn son. There's always laughter and noise filling up the house because with all love to play with the baby.

Auntie Martha allowed me to pick his middle name because I'm the godmother and of course, I chose to call him "Henry".

I haven't felt this serene in ages. I even got to say a last goodbye to Ma' Elda when my mother and I went back to pick up a few things from our old home. She told me that one of her relatives was coming to bring her back to her native hometown in Hinche. It warmed my heart to know that she will get to spend her remaining days with her people just like she wanted to.

Familiar music begins to play from the Bluetooth speaker placed on the nightstand of my bedroom. My cousin shoots me a wary look before she grabs her phone and skips to the next track of her playlist. We both glance toward Keisha but she's scrolling on her phone and didn't realize that a song by Collision was about to play.

Stephanie asks, "So what's the plan now?"

Keisha's answer is immediate.

"We go clubbing of course. And picking up hot men. Not you though."

Steph and I exchange a look.

My best friend has been on a roll ever since her relationship with Kadrick ended in such a clusterfuck two months ago. The fact that the idiot broke up with Keisha on her birthday has my blood still boiling to this day. I cannot fathom what went wrong with their relationship. So far Keisha has been acting very detached toward the whole thing but I've been monitoring her closely, knowing damn well that she's way more hurt than she lets on.

"We should stay clear of doing anything PG thirteen to allow Steph to participate," I suggest in a mocking tone that I know will get on my cousin's nerves.

"I can go clubbing too!" she protests. "I'm eighteen."

"Not until next year," I say while Keisha takes away the bottle of champagne.

"You had too much of this if you're starting to confuse your age, lil baby."

Steph falls back on the mattress with a defeated groan.

"You guys are so annoying!"

As we continue to make plans about what we should do to celebrate our freedom from academic torture, we begin another round of the card game that we were playing earlier. It's almost impossible to win a single round because Keisha is so good at it and Steph is always accusing her of cheating. They're in the middle of some silly argument when Keisha receives a phone call.

She looks up from her screen with a vicious grin.

"Which one is it?" I ask, already knowing that it's probably the latest man who has unfortunately started to fall for her.

"It's Toy Boy #3," she answers as she stands up from the bed.

"That financial guru who wanted to buy you a house?" Steph inquires.

"Nah that was Toy Boy #5," I correct her. "Number 3 is the one who invited her to Punta Cana for a week."

"That's him," Keisha confirms. "Poor guy can't figure out why I broke up with him after such a fun little trip. And the sex was crazy too."

She takes another glass full of champagne before she heads for the door.

"Girl, even I can't figure out the reason!" Stephanie cries out, throwing her hands in the air in mock frustration.

"We call this the denial phase babe," Keisha tells her. "Now excuse me while I go do some damage control."

When the door closes behind my best friend, Steph lets out a low whistle.

"She eats men for breakfast."

"And she told me they taste like pork."

We both burst out laughing. It has been entertaining to see Keisha purposely put an end to every fling that was on the verge of becoming too serious. I know that she only wants to have fun right now but in the meantime, I'm worried that if she keeps bottling her pain, she'll find herself sinking in a dark hole later on.

"Seriously though," Steph says while shuffling the cards for a new round. "How is she doing?"

"I don't know to be honest. She's in her revenge era for sure."

Stephanie looks a bit conflicted as if she's trying to hold back on telling me something but I urge her on.

"Please tell me whatever is on your mind. You look constipated."

She finally sets down the cards and takes on that conspiracy air that she only uses when she's about to share some juicy gossip.

"Word on the street is that the 'one who shall not be named' is going through a tough season after the breakup."

She patiently waits for me to get it after a few embarrassing seconds of silence.

"Wait, are you talking about Kadrick?" When my cousin nods I eye her suspiciously. "How do you even know about that?"

When Steph learned about what happened between her future husband and my best friend, she was so outraged that she swore to unfollow him on all of his social media pages. She's still a fan of Collision, of course, she just broke up with Kadrick too. I guess. I almost burst out laughing at her guilty look when she tries to explain herself.

"I was going to unfollow him but I realized that I had to stay around to see if he would pull up with some random bitch and-

"Stephanie! You can't talk like that."

I give her my most reprimanding frown. I'm not sure that my tone is severe enough but she quickly apologizes.

"My bad. I meant some random girl jeez. So anyways he did this live on IG to announce to his fans that Collision had signed with a record label and that they were working on a debut album."

"Hold on, why are you telling me all this?"

"I was getting to it uh!"

"Sorry, go on."

My little cousin rolls her eyes at my impatience before she continues to spill the tea.

"So a fan asked how he's been doing, 'cause he looked exhausted as if he hadn't slept in ages. Then he said that he had some personal issues going on and that he wasn't getting much sleep lately. All the fans started commenting sweet messages to cheer him up and guess what?"

She pauses for dramatic effect. I almost bounce off the mattress to shake the revelation out of her.

"What is it? What happened?"

"He started crying and cut off the live feed immediately."

"Just like that?!"

"Yeah everybody was shocked. He broke down on camera. The fans have been going wild with all sorts of theories assuming that Collision was going to disband. The fandom started to panic until Caleb posted on his Instagram to tell everyone that the rumors weren't true. He mentioned that Kadrick would be off social media for a while to take care of his mental health."

"Oh my God..."

This tea is so hot that I'm burning up from hearing it.

"I was thinking that you might tell your bestie to check on him 'cause it looks like he's going through hell."

I must stare blankly at Steph for a good five seconds before I find my voice.

"Are you kidding me? He's the one who broke up with her!"

"I know but-"

"There's no way I'm telling Keisha about this," I interrupt. "She hasn't even started her journey to heal from this heartbreak and you think she will care about her ex and his problems? If Kadrick is going through a dark period I'm pretty sure that his bandmates will help him out of it."

"Yeah you're right," Steph admits. "Why does love have to be so complicated? They still have feelings for each other."

"Well, sometimes feelings aren't enough to save a relationship. "

"That's bullshit."

"Stephanie!"

"Sorry, sorry."

She picks up the cards and we start playing. It's touching that she wants Keisha and Kadrick to be happy together but they're both too hurt right now to be able to salvage whatever remains of their love for each other. Maybe in the future when they both become a better version of themselves, they'll find their way back to each other.

"This is the reason why you shouldn't feel pressured to start dating at your age," I say to Steph. "There's way too much heartache waiting to happen out there."

"Girl, I'm ready for everything!"

We both burst out laughing at how false that statement is.

***

※Graduation Day※

The university decided to host this year's graduation ceremony in the beach resort Royal Decameron, located in Côte-des-Arcadins. The students in my major were overly excited at the news and we decided to book hotel rooms because we're staying there to party the whole week-end as we should! Keisha will be with me but my cousin will come back home with our parents as soon as the official ceremony ends.

I'm sitting among the rows of students who seem as bored as I am by the speech of yet another dean. I will never understand why they all feel the need to talk on our special day. After all, if someone deserves to brag about this accomplishment it's us.

At last, they begin to hand out the diplomas and start calling the names of the students in alphabetical order. A line of students stream up the stage, all dressed in royal blue gowns and caps with bright yellow lapels around their necks. I have never regretted so much in my life that my surname is Vincent.

After what feels like centuries, the MC gets to the letter V and I rise from my seat to stand in line with those whose surnames begin with the same letter. As I wait for my turn, many flashbacks of the last four years begin to play in my mind.

The countless sleepless nights trying to meet a deadline for an assignment, all the nerve-racking presentations in front of an audience, the unexpected strikes, and the scarcity of fuel that forced me to walk for hours to get home. I remember all the protests I've had to walk through despite the sickening feeling that I might get hit by a rock if it turns violent. I think back to those times when I got home under the thundering noise of gunshots, fearing that I would become a casualty of gang violence before I returned safely to my mother.

When the MC says my name on the microphone, I climb up the few stairs leading to the first head of faculty with whom I shake hands. In that moment the color of my gown fits perfectly with the emotions flooding my chest. Blue is like the sky above and gold because I feel as resplendent as the sun.

The rector says, "Congratulations," as he hands over the diploma.

"Thank you."

I turn around for the picture and spot my family in the audience. They're on their feet clapping with enthusiasm. Stephanie and Keisha are particularly loud with all their cheers and whistles making me smile despite the tears filling my eyes.

The ceremony comes to an end pretty soon afterwards and there's a cacophony of students mingling with their friends and relatives. Keisha walks ahead of my family with her phone in hand and I know that she's filming for the TikTok trend she insisted that I do.

She shouts my cue, "Finally you finished all your homework!"

I show off my diploma with a shrug.

"I don't know what I learned, but I know I'm done learning."

A lot of students around us who recognized the trend laughed and applauded.

Keisha tackles me in a bear hug. Then comes the turn of my mother who's crying profusely. Auntie is next, then it's my uncle who's pushing the baby stroller. Steph hugs me last and whispers to me the threat to haunt me in my nightmares if I don't share pictures of my fun week-end with my best friend.

The students gather once more for the ritual throwing of graduation caps. I watch all of those caps shooting up toward the clear blue sky with the sentiment that wherever Henry is, he also threw his cap.

***

By an amazing coincidence, there's going to be a ball tonight at the hotel and the opening singer is none other than the iconic Rutshelle Guillaume!

Keisha and I bought tickets at the reception before we went to our respective bedrooms to get ready for the night. For obvious reasons, we couldn't have stayed in the same room because my bestie is currently having a lot of fun with Toy Boy #6.

The dress that I chose to wear tonight is mesmerizing. The upper half consists of a glittering golden bodice with a V cut that separates the fabric to expose a thin patch of skin from the middle of my belly. As for the lower part, it's a yellow satin overskirt draped around my waist that falls graciously at my feet. One of my legs is entirely exposed which gives a great view of my clear pointy toe pump encrusted with gold spikes.

I stand in front of the long mirror admiring my outfit, make-up, and the body wave wig that I'm wearing. I had a hard time choosing if I should style my natural hair for graduation but I ended up deciding that a change of look would be more than welcomed and I couldn't be happier with the result. That black silky hair cascading alongside my breasts in wavy strands gives me the hypnotizing allure of a mermaid.

Looking the way I do this evening should be illegal.

After I'm done preparing I take several minutes to take pictures before I send a text to Keisha telling her that I'm ready to head out. A few minutes later there's a knock on my door.

"Yes Kish, I'm coming!"

I grab my purse and head for the door, looking down at my body as I twist the knob.

"I'm starting to reconsider that dress. Do you think it's too much?"

I do a little twirl to allow her to get a better look at the outfit. Even though she's seen it a million times before in pictures after the purchase, it's not the same as seeing it on me. I pause to let her stare at my back before turning around.

My heart drops the second I realize that it wasn't my best friend that I opened the door to.

"Ethan?"

He's standing on the porch in a black tux, holding a huge bouquet of red roses. There's also a gift bag in his other hand. My bewilderment must be written all over my face because a slow smile begins to show on his lips as he breaks the silence.

"The dress is perfect and you're breathtakingly stunning."

There are so many questions swirling inside my head and I want to say a million things at once but no word manages to escape.

"I'm sorry I didn't call before showing up. I wanted to surprise you," he adds sheepishly as if regretting that he might have upset me by coming unannounced.

"When did you come back to Port-au-Prince?" I manage to ask in a voice that I hope doesn't sound like I'm this close to passing out.

"I came back on Thursday," he admits and at least he has the decency to look mildly uncomfortable.

"You were here for three whole days and you didn't contact me?"

"Trust me I wanted to..."

I muster all the pettiness inside of me and then slam the door shut in his face.

He immediately starts rambling about how he knew I was taking my final exams and didn't want to distract me. Yada, yada...

In my head, I count until I reach ten before I reopen the door.

"I'm an idiot." He says as soon as I face him.

"I'm glad you noticed." I can see that he wants to laugh but he's trying to remain serious for the sake of the situation I can't help asking. "Is something funny?"

He wipes out any trace of humor from his face.

"Not at all, ma'am."

I cross my arms and eye him up and down making sure to make him squirm under my scrutiny. I haven't decided yet if I'm too happy that he's here to hold a grudge against his silent radio for the last two months. I had absolutely zero news of his recovery.

"That's a lot of flowers you got there," I say flatly.

I watch his eyes lighten up as if he had been waiting for me to remark it.

"The florist told me that thirty roses in a bouquet symbolize how strong your feelings and your relationship are despite all the difficulties you went through with your partner. I thought it was exactly the bouquet I needed to bring you."

Ugh! How can I stay mad at him when he says stuff like that?!

"Congratulations on graduating," he adds before handing me the bouquet and the gift bag.

I uncross my arms but instead of grabbing the flowers and the gift, I go in for the hug that I've been craving to give from the moment I laid eyes on him.

"Thank you," I whisper against his chest.

"Why are you thanking me?"

"For getting better and coming back safely."

"Of course, I would get better," he says, his voice thick with emotion. "You still have something important to tell me and I'm waiting to hear it. Remember?"

A swarm of butterflies invades my chest as I look up to him. We both know that I'm about to tell him those three little words that are two months late now.

"I love you."

I witness fireworks explode in his eyes upon hearing my declaration. He leans down and steals my lips in a world-shattering kiss. I drag him back inside and he closes the door behind us.

Over the next hour, we catch up on what has been happening in our lives for the past two months. Ethan talks about his struggle during rehab right after his stroke. He confesses that at some point he almost lost hope of ever being able to use his hands properly.

When I press him about the reason behind this long silence, he admits that he was the one who told his mother to stop giving me updates about his situation because he didn't want me to have any false hope. I punch him hard in the arm but he barely flinches.

"Do you know how sickly worried I was?"

He gives me a sad puppy face.

"I didn't want you to keep feeling bad whenever you heard that I wasn't getting better."

"Well, your silly mission failed. For the past two months, I kept thinking that your mother must resent me for hiding your sickness from her."

Ethan looks flabbergasted.

"Mom would never hold this against you Nora. She was mad at me for not telling her and convincing you to do the same!"

"How was I supposed to know?"

Ethan grabs my chin and puts a soft kiss on my lips. I know what he's doing. He's distracting me. He's lucky I'm not against distraction. We're on the bed fully clothed except for our shoes that we left on the ground. He's holding me in his arms as if I'm his most prized possession.

When we break apart, Ethan continues to talk about the rest of his stay at Cap-Haïtien. After he got surgery he continued rehab and slowly he kept making progress and eventually he regained full mobility of his hands. The doctor who operated on him had not spotted any post-surgical complications and thanks to that Ethan got discharged as soon as he finished rehab.

"You scared the crap out of me," I admit in a tiny voice as I remember that horrible Sunday morning when he collapsed at the orphanage.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. I didn't mean to."

I bring my hand to his cheek and he leans against my touch. I never want him to go away anymore.

"You're here now. That's what matters."

"Now can we talk about the fact that you became famous while I was lamely stuck on a hospital bed?"

His sudden enthusiasm is adorable but I roll my eyes at his exaggeration.

"I'm not famous," I retort, which makes Ethan laugh.

"The nurses back at the hospital would beg to differ. They wouldn't stop talking about you and the work that your association is doing for those schools."

I haven't gotten used to the fact that I have become a public figure. It feels weird to even think about myself in that regard. As long as more people become aware of the work that Nou Se Henry is trying to accomplish, we get the opportunity to reach more schools in need of our help and for that, I'm willing to sacrifice a little bit of my privacy.

"What about your work?" I ask, suddenly remembering that Ethan was working on a promotion.

"My mother had informed them that I was hospitalized. I returned to work as soon as I came back to the capital but the craziest thing happened."

I sit up abruptly when a bad feeling rises in my gut.

"Oh God, don't tell me you got fired?"

"What? No!" Ethan shakes his head before a huge grin takes over his face. "I got the promotion."

My mouth hangs open in shock.

"How is that possible? You weren't even there!"

"I know but someone stopped by my job to see my boss and handed him the story about Henry that I put together."

Ethan stares at me with piercing eyes that make me shy all of a sudden. Obviously, he knows that I was the one who met with his boss.

"You worked passionately on that story even when you weren't feeling well," I say while I find the sheets very interesting to admire all of a sudden. "I couldn't let your hard work take dust."

Ethan reaches out to bring me back against him. The intensity of his gaze makes my heart do this crazy dance that only he is capable of provoking.

"Thank you," he murmurs against my lips.

What begins as a tender kiss quickly morphs into a passionate battle as we both strive for dominance. Neither of us is willing to back down but when I straddle Ethan. He leans back briefly against the headboard, his eyes hooded with desire.

"If we stay up here, you're gonna miss the ball."

"I couldn't care less right now."

We continue kissing as our hands get busy with each other's clothes. He shrugs off his jacket and I help him with the buttons of his white dress shirt while he undoes the zipper of my dress. When I struggle to win the fight against those damn buttons I almost rip the shirt apart.

Eventually, I do get the upper hand and while Ethan's lips are busy giving their attention to my neck and collarbone, I carelessly toss aside the white fabric. He grabs my hips to lift my body from his lap to make it easier for me to slide my dress over my head.

On the contrary of me who gave in to passion and threw his clothes away, Ethan takes care of my precious dress and gets off the bed to go place it on a nearby chair. When he comes back to the bed, he takes in my body with unhinged hunger igniting his gaze. I'm even happier now about the white lingerie set that I decided to wear under my gown.

Keisha is spot on when she says that a woman should always feel sexy even for herself. Look how that turned out!

"I hope you don't mind losing sleep tonight," Ethan warns in a voice that has an immediate effect on the heat between my legs. "Because I have plans for you and me."

My entire being thrums with the sound of a victory roar. He loses his pants but remains in his boxer briefs. The simple sight of that erection aggressively stretching that poor underwear makes a shiver of anticipation run along my spine.

Ethan positions himself above me and begins the torturous journey of getting me out of my bra assaulting my nipples with his tongue and his fingers. The sounds that come out of my mouth are of sheer desperation.

Ethan takes his time exploring every inch of skin from my breasts to my stomach and further down my legs. The last time we were together like this we were impatient and ravenous but tonight it's different. Ethan is taking this slowly, letting the fire build up. When he finally slides my panties off I have no shame at all opening my legs before him.

He puts one of my feet above his shoulder and begins to kiss my ankle, trailing his lips along my thigh until he gets closer to my throbbing core.

"You don't know how many times I've dreamed about this," he lets out in a feverish tone.

"As you can see dreams do come true."

My snarky response is rewarded by a deep chuckle from him. The next thing I know, his wet tongue is probing my entrance sending all coherent thoughts flying out of my brain. My tender skin is pulsating against his delicious assault. He savors the most intimate part of me as if it's the last meal of a dying man.

I climax with a guttural cry, my legs shaking as I lose my senses and my fingers claw at the sheets. When I come down from the high I'm not even surprised by the first thing that leaves my mouth.

"Did you bring condoms?"

Ethan looks up at me with the gaze of a satiated man even though I'm perfectly aware that he's far from being satisfied if the bulge in his underwear is any indication.

"Are you sure about this?" he asks.

"Oh God, go take this condom right now."

I would have never thought it possible to crave someone to that level.

Ethan gets up from the bed to fetch his wallet from his pants and takes off his boxer briefs. I've already seen him naked but the sight is still as mouth-watering as the first time. I prop myself on my elbows to watch Ethan cover himself with the protection, holding his erection with a precise grip. For some reason I find this to be such an erotic moment.

This is happening. I'm about to have sex with the man I'm in love with.

Ethan joins me back and positions his body above mine. His face comes inches away from mine as he lodges himself between my legs.

"We're going to do this slowly, okay?"

"Okay."

He kisses the top of my forehead and my hands come around his back. For a moment it almost seems like time is suspended between us as we both get lost in each other's irises. There's no doubt that we're both trying to capture that memory of us and keep it engraved in our minds for as long as we live.

Ethan begins to move.

He inserts himself inside of me only giving me the tip and waits for me to nod before he continues to push through. It's a thrilling sensation to have a part of himself dive into the secret places of my intimacy.

Our foreheads are pressed against each other and our breath mingles. I can feel his heart beating against mine. We're becoming one. I'm starting to realize the great disservice that culture and society have done to me by making me think that this would be excruciatingly painful.

There is at first a slight discomfort at the fullness of him taking that much space but he pauses to let me get used to his girth.

"You're alright?" Ethan asks.

"Never been better," I tell him.

Words aren't enough to express how perfect this moment is for me so I kiss him instead.

"Wrap your legs around my waist," he instructs and I obey.

"Like this?"

"Good. Now cross your ankles."

Oh, God. I'm no expert but I've seen enough stuff around the internet to realize that this is the drill sex position. Keisha once told me that it gets really deep and intense like this.

I follow Ethan's demand, resting my ankles against his back.

"Perfect," he approves.

Ethan begins to thrust inside and out and I take in a shuddering breath as I experience this new sensation. No books or movies are capable of doing justice to what it feels like to be in symbiosis with someone you gave your heart to.

It's a marvelous opportunity to witness Ethan being the most primal version of himself. We never break eye contact while his erection pushes inside of me at a torturous pace. That friction of his dick stretching my tight pussy is making me lose my fucking mind.

"Ethan..." I gasp overtaken by emotions.

I'm unable to finish what I was about to say but he seems to get it.

"I know sweetheart. I can feel it too."

Hips are moving languidly but with firmness. Each thrust hits me deeper than the previous one and every time he buries himself with a hard smack, more unbridled noises escape from my lips.

We both lose ourselves in this purely carnal connection. Our passion is a majestic dragon breathing fire all around us. Inside our universe, we are each other's sun. His brightness and mine expand through our eyes as we climax together. Gravity is turned off. We both float around the room, basking in the euphoria of our love.

For once, my world is as stable as it needs to be.

THE END

"All this time I've been looking for you I could never find someone like you. I've crossed a thousand borders but I never found someone like you..."

Song: "Rete La" by Rutshelle Guillaume released in 2021.

Author's Note & Ship Name

WE DID IT GUYS!!! This story has officially come to an end! I have a special announcement to make and a surprise I've prepared for my precious readers so I'll talk about all of those in the next part which will be a final word from me. (Sniff. I can't believe I'm already saying goodbye!)

I hope you loved the picture aesthetic that I put at the beginning of this chapter. I wanted Norabel to look like her goddess on her big day so it took me some time to find the perfect dress, shoes, and hairstyle. Hopefully, the result was worth the pain!

Norabel and Ethan finally have a ship name! Thanks to all of you who voted and gave your suggestions!

The winner is reenie03 who gave the ship name below that most readers liked.

⁑** ERABEL**⁑

Question:

What was your favorite Erabel moment during this story?

Now see you all in the next part for that final word and the surprise!

Much Love, Cassy x