AUGUST, page 11
“Let him through,” Nesha told Lew. She beamed like August was about to bring her gifts. As he approached the porch, all I could do was stare at his fine ass. He was dressed in denim jeans and a black designer tee shirt. On his feet were a pair of designer black sneakers.
Before he could make it to the front door, Nesha was on the porch and in his face, smiling up at him.
“Heeyyy!” she spoke.
“‘Sup,” he spoke back, but his eyes were on me. He came closer to me and smiled down at me.
“You really wasn’t gon’ tell me that it was ya birthday?”
Nervously, I bit my lip.
“Mary told me. By the way, I’ve been calling and texting you for about an hour. The fuck you ignoring me for?”
Only August could stand in my space and talk to me crazy. His cologne wrapped a hand around my throat and kept me from saying anything it smelled so good. Or maybe it was the way August’s eyes were so soft as they peered down at me. Then again, it could’ve been the way he moved closer to drop a kiss on my forehead. That shit was like lava running over my skin.
“Happy birthday, Big Head.” He went inside the house to put everything down.
“Anastasia Lynn…” Nesha whispered.
Ignoring her, I went to join August in the living room. He reached into one of the gift bags and retrieved a long, black box.
“Can I put this on you?” he asked. He opened the box, revealing a stunning diamond necklace. A pendant hung from it bearing a set of sparkling skates. I wanted to cry seeing them as I hadn’t worn my skates since before he took me to the emergency room. I couldn’t wait to get back to myself.
My mouth fell. “Oh my…”
Chuckling, August removed the necklace from the holder, then turned me until my back was to him. His fingers grazed my skin, raising every hair my body owned. He was careful to avoid the area still healing from my neck beads. Once he had it clasped in place, he turned me back around.
“You like it?”
His question was filled with heat as we stared into each other’s eyes.
Nesha cleared her throat, reminding us that she was in the living room also.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s finally nice to meet you in person.” Nesha’s statement splashed cold water on me.
Have they been talking all this time? My mind screamed.
“It’s good to meet you,” August replied.
“So are y’all together, August?” Nesha questioned. I breathed a little easier, the hope that they hadn’t talked back on the table.
“I already told you we’re friends,” I said, practically choking on it. Nesha seemed to move closer to August as her eyes raked over him. August’s fingers tugging at my chin stilled the breaths I was just trying to take. He brought me to look at him.
“What you have goin’ on today?” he asked.
“Nothing—”
“I’m taking her out while I’m in town,” Nesha interjected. “I’m only here for the day.”
A part of me wanted to tell Nesha to kick rocks. However, she’d paused touring and everything to spend my birthday with me. I couldn’t tell her no even though I really wasn’t up to it. As if it agreed, my stomach rolled in protest.
You were about to run off into the sunset with August, I thought.
“Aight, cool,” August said. “We’ll catch up, Asia. Call me after you open ya gifts.”
Begrudgingly, I walked August to the front door. We stood there for a few seconds, eyeing each other. I felt good inside knowing he’d made plans for my birthday. Plans that I couldn’t accept because my best friend was here. Everything in me felt like I was turning my back on August even though it wasn’t that deep.
“Call me, aight.”
I nodded and watched him walk to his truck.
“Girl! If you don’t put me on!” Nesha fanned herself as she fell against the wall.
Cackling, I replied, “Stop being so dramatic. You’ve been in his DMs. Why didn’t you say something while you had the chance?”
“I was stuck,” she whined. “Girl that man is fine as fuck! And he droppin’ bags on you!”
My hand reached up to touch the necklace. It was expensive and unlike any jewelry I ever owned. I wouldn’t dare tell her that he’d bought me Range Rover although I was still wondering how he pulled that off. I knew for a fact that particular model was on the higher end and costed more than the one I owned. Every time I slid into the buttery leather seats, I smiled. Tera fucked around and got me blessed.
“Imagine what he’ll do for the woman he’s actually with,” Nesha posed, cutting through my fantasy. “Let me step my game up.”
I simply watched Nesha’s back as she walked out of the foyer.
By nightfall, Nesha was so frustrated that she begged me to call August which I refused to do. Although he and I had exchanged messages throughout the afternoon, none of them were about Nesha. If he wasn’t checking on me, he was trying to send me money to buy more shit. He also made sure that I didn’t forget to call him once I got home.
Otherwise, he didn’t bring Nesha up. She was in his inbox heavy, though. Every message she sent, I saw. Each message was left unread. Telling Nesha to drop it was a no-go. She was dead set on having my man…
She was dead set on having August.
Only after I showered and opened the rest of my gifts did I call August.
“You too good to video call me?” he asked in place of a greeting.
Snickering like a schoolgirl I replied, “No,” then hung up and tried again. I had to still myself when his face came into view. He was standing in his kitchen with his chest bare. Tattoos covered his hard and rippled chest, and I gulped at the image of my head resting on them. As he stepped back from the phone, I got a full view of his chiseled abs which were also covered in ink.
“Hey, baby,” he answered this time.
I tried to pretend like his greeting didn’t stir my soul. He called me baby often. “Hey.”
He disappeared from the frame only to return with a small tub of ice cream. Leaning against the island behind him, he stared at the phone as if he could reach through it and pull me to his side.
“How was ya day out?”
Not focusing on him sliding the spoon in and out of his mouth was complicated. His long, pink tongue just looked like it could do too much damage. Butter pecan ice cream wasn’t even my favorite. But I wanted some just because he was tearing that little tub up.
“It was okay,” I finally answered.
“Just okay? It’s ya birthday, baby. It’s supposed to be better than ‘okay’.”
Despite me enjoying my time with Nesha, I really wasn’t into the celebrity life she was in. I loved my peace and anonymity. People I worked with usually had their teams reach out to me which kept me on social media and not in people’s real lives. Nesha was just that one whose working relationship bled over into a friendship. If we weren’t dodging people trying to take pictures with her, I was listening to her harp about August.
I rolled my eyes, then pointedly looked at him. “I had to listen to Nesha talk about you all day. By the way, why are you ignoring her?” That was the burning question I had. Then again, I wanted to be inside his head just to see what he thought about her.
“I’ain worried ‘bout her.” He shrugged like it was that simple.
“Do you know who she is?” It was a rhetorical question.
“Of course, I do. I still ain’t worried ‘bout her, though.”
“So… Why won’t you let her know you’re good, so she’ll stop harassing you.” I chuckled but it sounded strained to my own ears.
“You could’ve told her that, love.”
My ears were stuck on the word ‘love’. My eyes were stuck on his tongue dragging up the spoon to lick it clean.
“We supposed to be friends. That means you gotta have my back.”
Clearing my throat, I said, “I do have your back.”
“Aight then. Tell ya homegirl wassup.”
All I could do was sit here and blink at him.
“The ice looks good on you,” he stated. Only then did I realize I’d been fingering the expensive necklace.
“By the way, thank you for my gifts. The car was enough. I definitely didn’t need a necklace, bracelet, or earrings, or flowers.”
He grinned. “You can’t tell me how to spoil you, Asia. Just let me.”
Again, I was left speechless. I didn’t know what it was with August these last few days, but he was making my mind wander into territory it needed to stay far away from. Especially if he was cool on us just being friends.
“Have you ever had a real nigga?”
His question confused me.
“I can tell you’ve never had a real nigga. There’s no way you would’ve answered this phone witcha eyes all puffy. I would’ve called you on that shit earlier, but ya homegirl was there. So, you gon’ tell me ‘bout those tears?”
“Huh?”
He chuckled. “Don’t ‘huh’ me. You’ve been cryin’. What’s good?”
I swallowed hard, then revealed, “I haven’t been feeling well.”
“Hm. I thought we talked about this.”
Tears pricked my eyes. “August, my issues aren’t yours to fuss over.”
His smirk said otherwise. “I just told yo’ hardheaded ass not to tell me how to spoil you, love. I take my friend role seriously. You say you haven’t been feeling well. And I know that you’ve been going through it emotionally. Am I not supposed to do what I can to comfort you?”
He tilted his head and peered at me. I just sat on the other end of the phone looking stupid.
Chapter Eighteen
AUGUST WELLS
You have to ask yaself if Asia is worth it. Is letting her in worth whatever risk you take opening that door?
This butter pecan ice cream had a nigga wishing it was Asia’s pussy I was licking. I pictured the tip of this spoon being her clit as I sucked every drop of the ice cream from it. Before I knew it I’d eaten the whole fucking tub. Just like I wanted to do Asia’s ass. While she was sitting on the other end of this phone looking crazy, I was contemplating King’s question and if shifting gears with Asia was worth it.
It's inevitable.
There was something about needing to protect her and needing to see her happy that stirred my inner man something serious. Although I had love for Faith, this feeling I had with Asia was…different. It took me too long to figure out how to love Faith. With Asia, I just did. Which was crazy. I’d barely touched the surface of who she was. We spent next to no time together for me to even conclude that I loved her. Yet, seeing puffiness and redness in her eyes earlier had me ready to crash the fuck out…again.
I went to Asia’s house to surprise her only to pull up and see a fucking entourage of people in her yard. That didn’t dissuade me from blessing her on her birthday, but I was salty as fuck that she had company. To know her day wasn’t even as pleasant as it would’ve been if she would’ve spent it with me, I shook my head.
“I can see you’re stuck. So, I’ll help you.” Moving closer to the phone, I sat the now empty tub aside and leaned down until my face was so close to the phone, she could count the hairs in my eyebrows. “If I wanna come over and hold you while you cry and tell me all about it, I’m gon’ do that.”
She went from blushing to blushing even harder.
“What is it with you and touching?”
“Oh, yeah. I hear you don’t like that.”
“No, I don’t.”
I chuckled. “Hm. So are we gon’ talk about why you’ve been feeling sick?”
She studied me for a minute before shrugging. “Remember how you forced me to go to the emergency room?”
We both laughed.
“Well, I ended up having a scan of my brain. Turns out that you and that migraine most likely saved the rest of my vision.” A couple of tears slipped out, which she quickly wiped away.
“And?” I prompted. Here was this fucking tightness in my chest again.
“Imagine something the size of a pea causing so many problems. I’m beyond grateful that I don’t have cancer, so please don’t take this as me complaining. The medication just had me really ill over the last few weeks. I’m slowly regaining my energy.”
“Is that why you were dodging me before?”
“Partly.”
“Hm. Don’t do that shit again.”
For the next couple of minutes, the silence between us wasn’t even awkward. I let her get her fill of me just like I stood here filling my brain with every inch of her face and figuring out how I was going to make everything right in her life.
I was so deep inside Asia, I felt her heartbeat against my tip. For a minute, I thought I would be able to last a little longer inside her tight, wet heat. But a nigga struggled. Especially when she started begging me for more, knowing damn well neither of us could handle it.
Asia: On my way.
The vibration of my phone broke my fucking concentration. Repeatedly, I replayed the early morning dream of me fucking the life out of Asia. Or better yet, her fucking the life out of me. She claimed she didn’t like to be touched. However, in my dreams, she was as pliable as a fucking ball of slime.
Damn. Getting this text from her caused my heart to palpitate. I wasn’t going to lie. As evening approached, I thought she would change her mind about coming out. I’d already told her to stay home if she wasn’t feeling up to it. The crowd itself would turn her off. Plus the smells and noise clashed in the evening air. Looking over the sea of people packed in the parking lot, I kept my gaze locked in, so that I could snag her before she got too overwhelmed. Hundreds of vehicles flooded the surrounding blocks, the turnout was better than Jericho or I could’ve imagined.
Whether the people were here for free plates, drinks, or looking for something to fuck, the crowd grew larger by the hour. The celebration started around three, and thankfully, things had been going smoothly. Just in case anybody wanted to act a fool tonight security was heavy. Of course I had my fire on me, but I only had one set of eyes. I glanced at every face, cataloging every nigga who stepped into my line of vision. As of yet, my former life hadn’t darkened my doorstep. I stayed vigilant, though.
Proving my point, a few niggas I used to know around the way strolled up the block. I didn’t so much as speak, reading them niggas to see what the fuck they had going on. It had been years since I laid eyes on either one of them niggas. Therefore, I didn’t look away until my radar read that they weren’t a threat. If anything popped off, I wanted that shit to die quickly. Especially since the fucking local news was out here. The crew who was sent to cover the festivities stayed back for the most part. Soon enough, they would actually cross the street and get into the thick of things.
The scent of marijuana warred with the scent of barbecue. We had three grills going, two drink stations, plenty of tables for seating, and even an area where people could dance if they wanted to. Some chose to bring their children out. Faith and I chose to let June stay with Gianna’s sister, Amber. As much as I would’ve loved to have him out here, there was too much going on and having a child in this environment required eyes to be on them at all times.
I sat on the bed of my truck and scanned the street to see if I spotted Asia approaching. While many beautiful faces entered my line of vision, not a single one was as beautiful as the woman gliding up the packed sidewalk on her lime green skates. Her eyes met mine and, in that moment, it was sealed that I was going after her.
“Is she coming?” Faith asked.
Climbing off my truck, I turned Faith around and pointed to Asia whose eyes trained on Faith as she approached.
“Whoa.” I chuckled as she came to a complete stop in front of me. Some kids rushing by almost made her fall, but she was a pro at balancing on the skates.
Smiling brightly, she said, “Hi!” She and Faith shared a hug.
“‘Sup, shawty,” I replied. She used the bed of my truck for support as she removed her skates, stuffed them inside the bookbag on her shoulders, and changed into a pair of white sneakers.
“There are a lot of people here,” she commented.
“It’s gonna double once the sun completely sets,” I said to which she groaned. Faith and I chuckled. “Gimmie this.” I took her bookbag, walked it to the driver’s side of my truck and placed it in the front seat.
“You look good, boo,” Faith said.
Asia made a face, then glanced at me. “It’s been rough, but I’m here.”
“Well, I’m glad. August was about to cry if you didn’t show up,” Faith stated. She and Asia cackled loudly.
I just smiled. This Asia looked much better than the Asia who was on the phone last night. If she wasn’t feeling good, then neither was I.
The party was in full swing, the block was jumping, but all I cared about was the woman dancing and cackling with Faith, Gianna, and Tiffany like they were the best of friends. Faith and Asia held a drink in their hands while Gianna and Tiffany had to refrain. Their baby bumps were visible as hell.
After her first drink, Asia loosened up and took to my people like I hoped she would. There was something about having a partner who was able to get along with the people closest to you. The reason my circle of people worked was because we all got along and looked out for each other as family was supposed to. Knowing Asia’s people weren’t worth a piece of shit, this night with my family had to go well.
I never once let Asia out of arm’s reach. Even when she had to use the restroom, I walked her inside of Lily’s and waited for her to be done. A nigga wasn’t stupid by a long shot. Too many eyes were on her even if she was oblivious to it all. I peeped that shit, though, and dared any nigga to even come her way. This possessiveness for a woman felt so fucking good and right.
