Stenton’s eyes fluttered and brows knitted. “You’re not leaving tonight.” Then his tongue was back on me—in me.
Stenton’s masterful tongue invaded my mouth sinuously. My back slammed into the wall, my knees went limp and my core kindled at his force. I felt the hunger pour from the back of his throat into mine, depositing an untamed desire. I was caught up instantly, but I had to fight against his passion. Still, I couldn’t shake my sour mood or my physical disposition. I pushed against him again.
His heavy eyes pried open. “You’re killing me, Zo. What the fuck is going on?” he begged gruffly.
I looked around again, noticing the apartment had emptied. I couldn’t use the excuse of a lack of privacy anymore. Within seconds, the front door slammed. My chest heaved. My legs quivered. But my belly remained bloated.
“We can’t tonight, Stenton,” I whimpered, finding it difficult to peer into his eyes.
“What do you mean we can’t, Ni?a? I’ve been thinking about this—dreaming about this for weeks.”
My stomach flipped. “I know,” I swallowed. “Me, too…but not tonight. Maybe in a couple of days,” I whispered. My eyes were shut tight and my nose ascended while my mouth went south. I couldn’t say it.
Stenton retracted from me to study my face and steeled in place. I cracked a lid to find his creased forehead. My eye shut quickly, ashamed. I felt him drop to his knees and heard him take a deep pull of air. I almost died on the spot, overcome with humiliation. He rose again, collapsing his face into my neck.
“Is my Ni?a on her period?”
My head collapsed into the wall behind me. My eyes still squeezed shut and I scraped my bottom lip through my teeth. I nodded.
“I just need to go home to my Momma. My cramps are killing me. I just need her and her chicken soup,” I breathed out.
“No.” He took me at the small of my waist, and then his fingers went lower into my pants, grasping my backside until our pelvises touched. I felt his steely erection. “You need an orgasm. The endorphins will help with your cramps. And the last I checked, mothers don’t give out those; lovers do.”
My mouth swung open, giving away my abrupt aroused state.
“Are you wearing a pad or tampon?” he spoke softly into my ear.
I heaved, “Stenton!”
Stenton didn’t remove his stance or proximity.
His breath pushed tantalizingly onto my neck. I’d hoped I wasn’t chafing at his patience. This was all new to me.
“Ni?a, I am your lover, right?”
I shook my head enthusiastically.
“You don’t have to be bashful with your lover, especially if he wants you in the condition you’re in.” Stenton paused for a minute, burying his face in the crook of my neck. When he lifted his head he, softly yet fixedly, shared in my ear, “I...need you tonight. I can’t explain it. I don’t want to have to try. I just need for you to trust me when I say I want you as you are, and I will take care of you, okay?”
“Okay,” I squealed, sounding tortured. I was. This was a new venture for me.
“Okay.” The strain was removed from his vocals.
“But, Stenton, I don’t have clothes for tomorrow, or enough tampons to last.”
“What brand of tampons do you use?”
When I couldn’t find my breath to speak from the mortification I was drowning in, Stenton removed the strap of my purse that had already fallen into the arch of my arm as the palm of my other gripped the glass.
“My bedroom is upstairs to the left. It’s the only room on that side. Go inside the bathroom there and strip down to your underwear and bra. I want to remove those myself. I’ll meet you there as soon as I lock up the apartment.”
Stenton’s face pulled back to meet my eyes, then he slowly pushed off of the wall, giving me space to move. Hesitantly, I shuffled around him and took to the staircase.