The salon bubbled with the conversation between hairstylists and clients as the time-shifted towards midday. Selassi was currently occupying her thoughts with the mindless conversation that occurred around her, it was the only way for her not to give into her grief.

One of their regular customers talking a lot as usual and all Selassi could do was roll her eyes.

"I'm so tired of my parents telling me what to do. Talking about I need to get a job and I said 'why do you think men exist?' To provide. I don't need a job. You get me, Sally and Nina?" the client said. The lady was pushing 30 but she clearly had an immature mindset.

"Yeah, totally get it. Right, Sally?" Nina said sarcastically as Selassi side-eyed her. It was like Nina to egg on somebody's nonsense just to be entertained. She sighs, continuing to listen to the nonsense the client was spewing out.

"Yeah, sure we get it. My name is Selassi " She responded, looking at the client up and down in annoyance but she seemed oblivious to it.

" Ahh, I knew you would get it. This hair is beautiful, Thank you lovelies."  The client got up from the chair and handed the money to Nina. She waved at them, leaving the salon as Selassi and Nina gave her forced smiles.

" I feel like she gets my name wrong on purpose, uno. Always talking bare too" Selassi said, frustratedly as she watched Nina spread out the cash in her hands, looking at the money like the way a dog looks at a bone. 

" She's annoying but looooook at these ps tho.  She pays well with the extra tip so I don't care about her motormouth, to be honest" Nina fanned herself with the money. 

" Put the money away. Do you always have to be reckless?" Selassi lectured. Nina waved her off as she put the cash away in the register.

The salon was a bit quieter now, the few clients that were around were mostly mums and older ladies.  Selassi looked around, in awe of what she had established with this salon, her and Nina were only 24 and they had been running the salon successfully for two years.

The salon offered different services but what set them apart from other salons was the affordable natural hair services which included one to one hair consultations and scalp analysis. That combined with their large social following meant the customers flowed in without fail.

" Ready to go to lunch? A bitch is very hungry" Nina said which made Selassi snap out of her thoughts. She simply nodded, she and Nina left the salon, making their way to a nearby Chinese restaurant in South East London.

They entered the crowded restaurant and sat down. The waiter collected their food orders and left their table, Nina eyed his bum as he walked away. Selassi threw her napkin at her face which made Nina nearly fall out of her chair.

Selassi let out a raucous laugh as Nina mumbled herself angrily, balancing her chair properly.

" I couldn't help it. You were acting like you never seen a man' She said, lifting her eyebrow.

" Nah, I  have never seen a man's bum is that plump. I had to stop myself from slapping it, to be honest" Nina said, laughing lightly. The two friends had been joint at the hip since their mums met each other at a maternity ward and quickly became friends. The girls did everything together from birthday parties to sleepovers, they were practically sisters.

" Sooooo, how's life ?" Selassi questioned, sipping a mocktail. 

" You know me, dickpointment here and dickpointment there. The usual, I ain't got time for no sill relationship." She said nonchalantly.

" Bitch, people can hear you, uno. Do you have to be so loud?" Selassi responded as a nosy couple gasped at what Nina said.

"You're such a hater. I don't care that these people can hear me, them motherfuckers are adults so what is the issue?" Nina said loudly, rolling her dramatically.

A comfortable silence fell between them as they sipped the mocktails and soon enough, their food came. Nina started to dig in but Selassi seemed distracted as she picked at her food, Nina knew that these past few weeks had been particularly hard for her and she wanted to do everything she could do bring positive energy around Selassi no matter what.

" Sis, how you are holding up?" Nina said, extending her hand onto Selassi's and Selassi instantly let out a heavy sigh.

"I.... just want....to lock myself in my room and......cry forever" Selassi stuttered, sniffling and letting the tears fall down her cheeks.

"You know that I'm here for you whatever you need. How are your parents' funeral arrangements?"

"It's hard to organise since I'm not there. But my Auntie has been really helping me out a lot and that's not the only thing that  I have to worry about. That house needs to be sold"

"Are you sure you don't want to keep it?  I mean, it's your ancestral home" Nina said, looking at Selassi with concern. Deciding to not answer, Selassi started to eat and shrugging her shoulders, Nina continued her food.

They eventually finished their lunch, paying their bill and leaving. The sun was unusually visible today as they strolled through the busy streets and as they approached the traffic lights, Selassi felt Nina hook her arm through hers. She gave her a light nudge causing Selassi to smile a bit.

"I'm sorry if I upset you but I just wanted you to think about how important that home is to you. It's literally the last piece of your parents' left." Nina said, softly.

"I understand where you're coming from. I'll think about it." Selassi replied.

Nina unhooked her arm and turning around, opening her arms as Selassi melted into her warm embrace but her eyes focused on something unsettling. It was the same smirking face from the lift and now she could see it was a large entity with white tribal marks covering its body in the midst of the crowd waiting to cross.

It was holding a staff with a carved snake on it, eyeing her mischievously. Not a moment longer It stamped the staff, the necklace shook a bit and Selassi closes her eyes.

She opened her eyes and it had disappeared. She lets go of Nina and as they crossed the road, she looks over her shoulder to see it was not there. She shook her head in confusion, starting to feel faint and her vision became more blurred. Her head pounds heavily as they reached their junction.

Completely oblivious, Nina's phone rang making Selassi snap out of her dazed state. She wasn't sure what just happened but it really had unsettled her. They got back to the salon and continued to work.

When it reached 8 pm, the hairstylists said their goodbyes, leaving Selassi and Nina alone. Nina felt that something was wrong with Selassi ever since they came back from lunch but she didn't want the press the issue.

They locked up the salon, going their own ways. Selassi got into her car, driving back to her empty flat. 

The flat felt cold and eerie as she walked in, putting her stuff down. She switched on the lights as she made her way to her bedroom. It was light and airy, with rose gold and white colours pulsing through the room. 

A double bed was centred in the room as Selassi sat down on the edge. Her arm travelled down below and she touched a framed photo of a younger version of herself smiling with her parents at their Ghana home.

She pulled it out from under her bed as she stared intensely at her parents, hearing sounds of laughter as she remembered her younger herself playing with her parents in the home. Clenching her jaw, a tear rolls down her cheek as the fond memories flooded back. A sharp knock at her front door broke her out of the trance. She quickly got up, walking towards the front door but when she opened the door, it wasn't who she was expecting.

His strong cologne seeped into her nose as they looked at each other, not knowing what to say. 

" Are you going to let me in, then?" his husky voice vocalised. Selassi felt instantly nervous, given the way their conversation ended in this morning.

His well-built figure waltzed his way into her flat as she followed him to the living room, he sat down on the sofa. Theo figured that he should come to see Selassi and he was glad he did, he watched her adjust her grey leggings which her perky bum jiggle a bit.  He couldn't help but bite his lip, she always teasing him though he was sure that she didn't do it on purpose.

He could feel himself get excited as she finally sat next to him but not as close he wanted her to.

"I'm glad you stopped by. Kinda needed some company tonight" She said, softly but she didn't look at him. 

" I hear that but why are you so far away? Acting like I'm not your man something?"  He said, stretching his arm on the back of the sofa and widening his legs, which revealed a slightly hardened length.

Rolling her eyes, she glanced at him for a moment, seeing that his eyes were completely soaked in lust. A part of her was yearning to see what he was working with but another part of her wasn't sure if that was the right choice. Suddenly, her arm was lightly yanked as Theo drew her into his embrace.

Her body tingled as his large hand cupped her bum, automatically she lay her head onto his chest and they sat there watching the TV. Her hands caressed his chest softly and it just made him more excited.

Selassi knew that this may not be the right time for them to have sex, especially for the first time but she needed something to numb her pain and grief.  She yearned something to fill her heart with some warmth again and she knew that Theo could fulfil that.

Seconds later, their lips were in a passionate exchange of kisses that heightened the sexual tension between them. Exhibiting some assertion, her hands held the back of his head and travelling upwards into his soft curls which she tugged at aggressively. Fighting for dominance, he pulled her into his lap and gripping her thick thighs as he propelled her upwards, carrying them into her bedroom.

He threw her onto the plush bed, removing his clothes quickly as he stood there, stark naked. Selassi couldn't help but admire his beautiful body, he wasn't particularly muscular but his physique was definitely athletic. His dark orbs hovered her beautiful appearance even though she wasn't naked and with that, he yanked her towards which caused her to squeal a little bit.

Wasting no time, Selassi took off her white tee revealing two soft mounds that had Theo hungry for her.

Staring her in the eyes, he pulled off both her thong and grey leggings which unveiled her glistening folds.

He began to tease her a little, kissing her inner thighs which made her to a moan a little.

Relentless, Theo kept on teasing as he licked and kissed near her entrance causing her to whimper.

He finally dove in, sucking her sensitive clit and thrusting his two thick fingers into her sweet canal.

She could muster a moan as he continued his assault, his eyes were trained on the love faces she was making. That combined with the sweet sound of her soft moans made him even more turned on and he could tell that she was close to her peak.

A tight knot formed as she felt herself reaching her peak but he wouldn't allow her as he removed his touch from her addictive sweetness. He stood up instantly, his thick and long hardened member bounced a bit as he stood in his full height of 6ft 5in.

The moon hit his body, highlighting his ebony skin as he pulled her towards him.  He grabbed her face, their lips collided as they kissed passionately. Tongues swirling and lip biting was lost in the midst of their makeout, his hands travelled down from her neck to her perky bum, that he smacked hard causing it to jiggle ferociously.

She squealed as he gripped her thighs, propelling her upwards. Her smooth legs wrapped around his waist simultaneously as her hand held his neck. He pushed her soaked tightness around his dick which caused him to groan lowly.

Their eyes held an intense stare as he hooked his arms further under the back of her knees, holding her cheeks as he thrusted into her aggressively and all she could do was hold onto him tightly as he continued his sweet assault.

The sloshing sounds of him penetrating her wetness was all that could be heard in the room and when he found her spot, that was when she lost all her senses, letting her head hanging and her eyes couldn't even stay open.

She found out to utter any words as she finally reached her peak and coated his length. But he wasn't finished with her yet, letting her down gently and leading her to her rose gold dresser where she planted her hands firmly down. She watched him in the mirror, snaking his hand around her throat on one side as he brought his lips on the other side to suck on her neck.

Her legs were quivering from his aggressive yet affectionate touch, his lust-filled orbs looked at her as his lips let go of her neck.

" Keep your eyes on mine. Understood?" He said, huskily as he dragged his dick up and down her silky slit causing her to shake a  bit.

When she didn't respond, he forcibly arched her back and thrusted instantly. The dresser began to move aggressively as Selassi held on for dear life.  The sounds of their skin slapping against each other made her instantly wetter as her eyes stayed on his. There was something magical and raw about the way they were so in sync with each other.

She couldn't help but throw her bum back against him, she was easily matching his pace.  His strokes became slower and sloppy as her walls clenched onto him, tears formed in her eyes as they got closer to their peaks.

Their eyes locked as she squirted all over him and he followed, grunting as he released inside her soaking warmth. They both panted heavily as they separated their drained but satisfied bodies away from each other.  She laid down for a moment, still feeling raw emptiness in her soul, even though she was satisfied, it wasn't enough to take away the pain even at this moment.

 They cleaned themselves up, having a quick shower together and as they changed, Theo remembered he wanted to still know what troubled her mind.

Her face was emotionless as she manoeuvred herself around him, cleaning up her bedroom a bit. His hand lightly touched her bare shoulder as he came in contact with her empty pools, she knew that he wanted to know what was wrong with her.

" I know you want to ask but I'm just....not ready to tell you yet. Just give me time" She said softly as he watched her bite her nervously. Lifting her chin, she looked at his concerned expression.

"How much time, Lassi? I'm your man, you have to let me in." He said intently but this time when she didn't respond, he simply reciprocated her energy by kissing her forehead and leaving her standing alone in her flat.

Like that, once again, she was alone with her grief.

................................................................................................................................................................

Hey loves,

Here is the second chapter. I know it's long but I think you might enjoy it.

Quick plug:  If you haven't read my other books, what are you doing? I'm joking but for real, go check out Opposites Attract and Afrohours

As always, Vote and Comment, please.

Love, @TamaraMensah,xxxx