Page 115 of The Illicit Play
I let out a soft laugh. “You might be right about that. But look, there are just a lot of shitty people, period.”I smile at her, capturing that wayward curl and tucking it behind her ear. “And I’m not better than you.”
Her blue eyes look up at me, dark with intensity. “Have you ever been pulled over unfairly? Treated like a criminal when you’re so obviously not?” Her face puckers with worry.
“I doubt there’s a single Black man who hasn’t.” I watch her expression turn to one of horror. “But we deal with it, and we keep on working toward a better future, you know? It’s like what MartinLuther King Jr. said. ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’ I have to believe that things will get better. That’s what keeps me going on the days when I get really angry.”
“It sucks,” she mutters, clearly annoyed. “Things like thatshould never happen.”
“No, they should not,” I agree, reaching for her hand, gazing down at the stark contrast of our black and white skin.
I can’t even tell you why, but I’ve always been attracted to white girls. Is that safe for me? Not always. There have been more times than I can count where awhite guy has given me a look, muttered a comment under his breath or to my face.I’ve always done my best to ignore it.As far as I’m concerned, people are people. Skin is skin. Who gives a fuck if it’s a different color?
“Come on.” I give her hand a little tug. “We need to keep moving.”
She follows me without complaint, and we walk in silence for a while. The birds are twittering a late-afternoon song, the volume increasing as they obviously have their daily meeting to discuss whatever it is they got up to.
I grin at the sound, picking up my pace a little. The camping spot is just up ahead, and I want to get us set up and ready before nightfall.
As soon as we reach the grove, I slip my pack off and start instructing Blake on where we should pitch the tent. She follows my orders, although she starts doing some stuff before I tell her to. So after twenty minutes, I stop acting like the boss and we just work together as a team.
She sets up the tent with relative ease, which is pretty impressive considering she’s only done it once before, and I was helping her the whole time.
“Nice.” I grin at her, and she smiles right back with a look of genuine pride and pleasure.
She’s stoked with herself, and I know this because she pings to her feet and snaps a bunch of pictures of our little camping setup before heading into the woods.
“Just gonna find some kindling.”
“Cool,” I call from my spot where I’m tying up the packs. We’ve got everything out that we need for the night… I hope.
An hour later, the fire is set, a trail of smoke waftingon the breeze, and I’m frying up the two fish I caught from the river.
Blake stares at the flames, her lips twitching as she watches me. “You’re like Bear Grylls.”
I roll my eyes but can’t help laughing. “Tyrell called me Black Bear the other day. Said I’m America’s version of the guy.”
“Black Bear,” she muses, her nose wrinkling. “I kinda love it.”
I grin at her across the flames. “Gonna start calling me that now, are ya?”
She shrugs, her lips tipping up into a sexy little grin. “A bee and a bear? Sounds like a perfect pair to me.”
Yeah, me too.
A wave of heat courses through me when I catch her eye and know exactly how we’re gonna be spending our night.
This time, I’m gonna face her. I’m gonna study her expression as she comes. I’m gonna feel those luscious legs wrap around my hips.
If she wants that, of course.
Dude, look at her face. She’s already thinking about it.
Biting my lips together, I turn the fish a little fast, willing it to cook through in record time.
I burn my tongue scarfing it down, noticing her doing the same. Watching her lick those greasy fingertips sets my body on fire in a whole new way, and I rush through the cleanup, catching her against me when we’re finally done.
Her tongue is warm in my mouth, tasting minty. She’s just brushed her teeth, washing away the fish and leaving her addictive tongue fresh and beautiful for me.
Fisting the back of my hair, she wraps her legs around me, squeezing her thighs and already grinding.
