Page 71 of Dare You to See Me
And we do. Five items ordered to go and for me and my girls to share. Maybe my Sunny Girl will let me eat her instead. I bet nothing is sweeter.
THIRTY
SOLEIL
I shutthe door and hear the loud snores of Dahlia. After dinner we inhaled our desserts until we felt like our stomachs were going to implode. Add to that our conversation and she was bouncing off the walls for the next hour.
“Hey Dahlia. We want to talk to you for a minute.”She was gobbling a huge spoonful of cheesecake when I decided to fill her in on our situation.
She nodded then, with a full mouth, asked,“Am I in trouble? Mason fell all by himself. He said I tripped him but I didn’t. I promise.”
I looked at Malik and he shrugged, obviously not aware of the situation.
“No, it’s not about Mason. We’ll talk about that later. Mr. Dare and I want to tell you something. We, uh…”I struggled to push the words out, nervous of how she may react.
Malik reached over and squeezed my hand.“Your mom is my girlfriend and I really hope you’re okay with that.”He came right out and just said it and I winced, waiting for Dahlia’s reaction.
She finished chewing, swallowed, then put her fork down. In a controlled manner which I’ve never seen from her before, she said,“I’m okay with that. But do I have to keep it a secret?”
I smiled and told her,“Just for a little bit. Mr. Dare needs to figure some things out at work.”
“Do I have to call him Mr. Dare? Ooo. Are you guys gonna get married? Can I be in the wedding? And Auntie Kyle!”She went directly past go and straight for the wedding, skipping over the entire boyfriend and girlfriend thing.
My nerves quickly calmed and Malik was all huge smiles and light in his eyes.
“When it’s just the three of us –you, mom and me– you can call me Malik. But at school you still have to call me Mr. Dare. Okay?”She nodded at him.
It wasn’t until the sugar crash that she finally stopped talking. She couldn’t stop calling him Malik, liking the way it sounded like she was being gifted a special power. One moment she was singing and dancing, planning our wedding –good grief– the next she was barely able to hold the toothbrush in her hand. It was a fast hard crash and I was breathing a sigh of relief to finally have some peace and quiet.
“Did she fall asleep walking?” Malik asks when I rejoin him in the living room.
“Practically. I had to help her finish brushing her teeth because she could barely hold the toothbrush.” I sit down and am immediately pulled closer to Malik.
So close I’m practically sitting in his lap. One arm wraps around my waist and the other comes to rest on my cheek. His thumb caresses my skin and the heat begins to radiate through my body. His tongue swipes across his bottom lip before leaning in to kiss me.
My lips part and welcome him in and he takes full advantage. His tongue is strong and he dominates mine.
“Malik. She’s just down the hall,” I whisper.
His hand tangles in my hair and he pulls my head back while he attacks my neck. “She’s worn out. I doubt she’ll come in here. You said it yourself, she’s a deep sleeper.”
I should protest. I should tell him to stop. But this feels so good and I’m wound up like a ten day clock. The sample he gave me last weekend only intensified my hunger. Not to mention my good-bye with King. It could have been so easy to take him up on his offer for a parting gift, but I just couldn’t do that to Malik. My mind said no, but my body was not in agreement.
I pry myself away from him, much to his chagrin, and stand up. I take his hand and tug until he rises and follows me. I flick the lights off as I pass through each room and lead him down the hall. He skids to a stop when we reach my room and I look over my shoulder.
“Are you sure?” Asks the man who was ready to tear my clothes from me in the restaurant.
“I’m positive.” I step into my room and he closes the door behind him.
My hands start to shake, realizing that Gene was the last man I slept with and was for fifteen years. Kyle jokes that I’m dick illiterate but when you’re in a committed relationship, you don’t go looking elsewhere. At least, that’s what it should mean. Obviously my husband wasn’t of the same school of thinking.
“I don’t have much self control left, Soleil. Please know that and tell me now if there are limits I need to stick to.”
“I haven’t had sex in a year and I was with the same man for fifteen years. When I found out Gene was having an affair, I made sure to have myself tested because I didn’t know if my cousin was the only woman he cheated with. I’m on birth control and if you’re good in all of those ways, so am I.”
I stand in the dim light of my bedroom, looking at Malik and waiting for him to say something. I guess I’ve talked enough for the both of us because he stands silent. I came on too desperate and now he’s back pedaling.How can I take it all back?
In a flash, Malik advances on me and kisses me with such ferocity that I’m knocked back onto the bed. Our arms and legs become a tangled web as we run our hands all over each other. We’re a clumsy mess as teeth clash and noses squish. But finesse is the last thing on our minds as we rush to rid ourselves of clothing.
