Page 26 of Atlas Uncharted

The bar was a loud symphony of chaos, filled with clinking glasses, overlapping laughter, and conversations that seemed to rise and fall like waves. I was wedged betweenfriends at a small table in the corner. People were too close, everybody was too loud, and too drunk, and I was loving it. I was tipsy enough so the world was slightly out of focus but in a good way. Ebony was next to me, head thrown back, laughing that wild, contagious laugh of hers that made everyone around her want to join in, even if they didn’t know the joke. She was a Harlem-born, around-the-way girl. Small but lion-hearted, her dark skin glowing. She’d swing on anybody, and she was always threatening people with her kinfolk that had connects to the mob. I loved everything about her.

Lu was across from me, her camera forgotten on the table; it had been a witness to our night. Lu was Nigerian-born and raised but moved to NY for school. She had this elegance about her, even in the way she sipped her wine.

Davis was beside her. I could feel his gaze on me every time I looked away. He had this way of watching me, like he was trying to see through to the parts of me I kept hidden. He reminded me of someone I didn’t dare think about. He was tall and lanky with long, good dick. He looked like David Banner, with a lower Caesar and deep waves. He was Lu ex friends, that how I’dmet him. We’d fucked around a few times, nothing serious. We had established the kind of connection that felt good but didn’t demand anything more. He was a writer too, specializing in nasty, nasty erotica he self-published and made six figures doing so. I liked him because he was someone who understood the way words could be both a shield and a sword.

The waiter came by again, filling our glasses without a word, and Aretha Franklin’s voice started up from somewhere in the background, singing about respect. Before I knew it, I was singing along, loud and unfiltered, not caring who was listening. Everyone around the table joined in, clapping, laughing, pushing me on.

“Go, Kairi!” Ebony shouted, her voice ringing in my ears, and for a moment, I let myself get lost in it—the music, the wine, the feeling of being free from everything that weighed me down. This is the life I had been waiting for.

When the song ended, I sat back down, breathless and smiling. The conversation shifted to my new book. “So, what’s the deal with this new one?” Lu asked, her accent curling around her words. “I read what you sent me. A woman finding love in herself, then finding love? That’s far removed from the toxic love you usually write. It was downright romantic.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, it’s different. I’m three years removed from some bullshit that shouldn’t have broken me. Now I’m over it, and it’s time to write about something else. Something that feels lighter.”

Ebony leaned in, her eyes narrowing like she was trying to read between the lines. “What bullshit, Kairi? You never tell us.”

I laughed, and it felt like there was something caught in my throat. “Just some old baggage. You know, the kind of shit thatmakes you wonder who you are, what you’re capable of. But then you come out on the other side and realize it was all just bullshit.”

Davis reached under the table, his hand finding mine, squeezing gently. “I’m glad you made it out, Kairi,” he said, his voice low, meant just for me.

I looked at him, his eyes full of lust and something else that made me want to give him the chance he’d been asking for. “Me too,” I whispered back, letting the moment linger between us.

The night started to wind down, though everybody was still buzzing. We all hugged, promising to do this again, even though we all knew we probably wouldn’t. When my Uber pulled up, Davis offered to walk me to the car, his hand warm on my back as we stepped outside.

He paused by the car door, giving me that familiar smirk. “You should let me drive you home,” he suggested, his voice dropping a little. “In the morning, after we wake up at my place...” He trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid, but I got the message.

“Not tonight, I’m sleepy,” I tittered, but I could feel myself hesitating. Before I could change my mind, I leaned in and gave him a quick kiss—just a brush of lips.

When I pulled back, his eyes were darker; he had that “I’ll fuck you good” look on his face. Regardless, I slid into the backseat of the Uber, the door closing behind me.

As the car drove away, the ache between my legs was making me regret not taking him up on his offer. The ride home felt long.

When I got home, the quiet was welcomed. I kicked off my shoes and headed to the bathroom. The water in the tub was hot,almost too hot, but I didn’t care. I slipped in, letting the heat pull the last of the night’s tension from my muscles.

When I got home, the quiet was a welcome contrast to the noise of the bar. I kicked off my shoes and headed to the bathroom, the weight of the night settling over me. The water in the tub was hot, almost too hot, but I didn’t care. I slipped in, letting the heat pull the last of the tension from my muscles.

Lying there, I felt content but restless. A text came through, lighting up my phone. It was from Davis: “You up?”

I stared at the screen, my thumb hovering over the keyboard. For a moment, I hesitated, the old walls I’d built around myself rising up. But then I thought about the way he’d looked at me, the way he’d made me feel alive tonight, and I let myself want.

I smiled and texted back, “Come through.”

Chapter 16

Kairi

“Yeah, just like that,” Davis growled in my ear, his hand fisted in my hair, the other gripping my thigh like he owned it. His dick was deep, his stroke long and mean, like he was trying to leave and impression.

“Shit,” I gasped, breath catching in my throat. I couldn’t fucking breathe.

My back arched off the bed, my nails dragging down his back, my insides clenching around him like I didn’t know how to let go.

“You feel it?” he asked, voice thick, breath hot against my neck. His hand slid up my side, settling right below my breast like he had a right to be there. “That’s mine. Give me that. Wet me up.”

A strangled moan left my lips. “Mmm—Davis—”

He went deeper, hips grinding slow and filthy. I cried out, head thrown back, mouth open but too gone to form words.

He chuckled low in his throat. “I know, baby. I know.”

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