The Realest Ever

Chapter SEVENTEEN

FAMILY MATTERS

The following week Donovan’s Mad Stallions pulled off the shocker of the season with a win over the highly favored Seahawks from Langston Hughes High. The game was on Halloween, which added a surreal element to the bizarre night. Donovan’s iffy punt returner even scored a touchdown with just twelve seconds remaining in the game, bringing the final score to 42-13.

The next day Donovan picked up his girlfriend and her two children for a Saturday outing that included the new Disney movie and an all-you-can-eat dinner at Don Pablo’s. The date was November 1. The brutal heat wave of summer had finally given way to the moderate temperatures of fall. It wasn’t cool enough for a jacket, but it was nice to wake up in the morning and feel a cool breeze rather than the mid-eighty degree temperatures that usually greeted them at seven a.m.

Kyra received her first check from the school district on Friday. She wouldn’t let Donovan pay for their movie, even though with tickets, popcorn and drinks for everyone, she ended up spending over fifty dollars.

“You should’ve let me pay,” Donovan told her when they settled into their seats in the darkened theater.

“I’m alright,” Kyra said. “I don’t think we’ll be going to the movies again for at least a month. But today I’m good. And I need to write you a check when you take us home. Don’t let me forget.”

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Donovan said. He leaned closer and kissed under her ear.

Kyra giggled and reached for his hand. Kat sat on her right, and Quinell sat on Donovan’s left. “Just because your kisses make me weak doesn’t mean I’m gonna forget about what I owe you,” she whispered.

She squeezed Donovan’s hand, and he kissed the side of her neck again. His kisses were ticklish and electrifying at the same time. She and Donovan hadn’t been intimate since the homecoming game last week. Kyra would never forget the feel of his mouth all over her body.

“If you write me a check, I won’t cash it.” Donovan spoke in a hushed tone.

“Then I’ll give you cash,” Kyra replied.

“I won’t take it,” Donovan insisted.

“I’ll break into your house and leave it on the coffee table.”

“If you break into my house, I have the right to do whatever I want with you,” Donovan informed.

“What are you gonna do, shoot me?”

“No, but I might tie you to the bed,” Donovan whispered, “teach you a good lesson.”

Damn. Kyra felt a tingle roll from her chest to below her waist. “I’m definitely breaking in now,” she said. “I never been tied up before.”

“I never tied anyone up,” Donovan said. “I was just kidding.”

“I know,” Kyra said. “But now you have to do it. And you can’t let me go until you’re completely satisfied.” She gave him a wicked grin and kissed him on the lips.

Donovan had to return his attention to the silver screen. This bondage talk was turning him on, which wasn’t so cool with Quinell sitting next to him. “We’ll talk about this later,” he told Kyra.

She laughed and then turned to offer Kat some popcorn.



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They went out to eat afterwards. This time Donovan gave the cashier his debit card before Kyra had a chance to open her purse. She started to complain when they got to their table, but Donovan nipped it in the bud, for good this time.

“Baby, can you come here for a second?” Donovan got up and walked away from the table.

Confused, Kyra went to see what he wanted.

“Listen,” he said when they had some privacy. “All this talk about money needs to stop. I been telling you for a month that you don’t have to pay me back–”

“Yeah, but–”

“There’s no but, Kyra. I’m talking right now. You need to listen.”

Stunned, she piped down.

“I love you, Kyra. I know you haven’t said when you’ll move in with me, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re my girl for life. I don’t do things for you anymore. I do it for us. So stop complaining about the money I spent. Let it go. There’s a million things you need to spend your paycheck on, but paying me back ain’t one of them. Understand?”

Donovan never used this authoritative tone with her. Kyra liked it. She stood on her tippy toes and kissed him unexpectedly.

Donovan frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means I’m sorry, and you’re right and what you say goes,” Kyra replied.

“Really?”

She nodded. “Mmm hmm.”

Donovan smiled. “That’s great. Makes me feel better about the surprise I have for you.”

“What surprise?”

“I’ll show you when we leave here.”

Kyra narrowed her eyes. She had no idea what it could be.

“You said whatever I say goes,” Donovan reminded. “That means you can’t complain about it. You have to shut up and take it, whatever I give you.”

Kyra smiled. “I just had a bunch of dirty thoughts about that.”

“About what?”

“About me shutting up and taking it.”

Donovan chuckled. “That’s not the surprise I’m talking about, but I got some of that in mind, too. Can you spend the night with me?”

“What about the kids?”

“Them, too,” Donovan said. He walked off before Kyra could inquire about where they would sleep.



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Two hours later Donovan pulled into his driveway with three happy guests. Quinell was smiling ear to ear. He’d been to the movies before and out to eat a lot of times, but he never did both in one day. And the good times weren’t over yet. Donovan had the best video games and consoles Q had ever seen. He hurried out of the truck and was the first one waiting at Donovan’s door.

Donovan let everyone inside, and then he went to the den to show Q the Kinect he recently purchased for his Xbox. Kat was equally intrigued by the new device, so Donovan left her with her brother and returned to Kyra who was waiting in the living room. Donovan’s chest grew warm as he rounded the coffee table and looked down at her. Kyra looked comfortable on his sofa. She had the remote in hand, and she kicked off her pumps already.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Donovan said. “Got the kids playing in the den, my girl chillin’ on the couch. You can’t tell me this ain’t a happy home.”

“It is nice,” Kyra said. She knew what he was getting at. “We need to talk about–”

“Wait,” Donovan said. “Come here. I want to show you something.”

He reached for her hand and helped her off the sofa. Kyra followed him down the hall. She thought he was taking her to his bedroom, but Donovan stopped at another door. Kyra knew he had a home gym in there. But when Donovan opened the door, she saw that all of his weight-lifting stuff was gone. It had been replaced with a queen-size bed. There were also two dressers that hadn’t been there before.

Kyra looked at her man in confusion.

“For Quinell,” Donovan said. “I was thinking that when y’all move in here, this could be his room. I got another bedroom I use mostly for storage. I’m going to clear that one out, too, so we’ll have a place for Kat. As for tonight, I was thinking Q and Kat could share this bed, or he could sleep on the sofa in the den. I know it’s three of y’all in one room at your aunt’s house, so I think Q will be okay with sharing this room with Kat, just for tonight.”

Kyra’s heart quivered. No man ever treated her as good as Donovan did. She still hadn’t confirmed that she would move in with him. She thought Donovan was being silly and spontaneous when he first asked her. But if he went through this much trouble, he had to be serious. Kyra took a seat on the bed. Donovan sat with her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “I thought you’d be happy.”

“I am,” Kyra said. She looked into his eyes and smiled. It was a strange smile, because her eyes were filled with tears.

“Then why do you look like you’re going to cry?” Donovan asked.

“Because I don’t think you know what you’re doing,” Kyra said. “And believe me, this is a weird feeling, because I can always count on you to do the right thing.”

“Why do you think I’m not doing the right thing now?”

“Because we only been together for a week,” Kyra said. “If anybody else asked me to move in with them after that amount of time, I’d run for the hills, thinking they were crazy.”

“I’m not anybody else.”

“I know,” Kyra said. “And I know you want to do the right thing. But I don’t think you thought this out enough. Don’t you want me to get my own place so we can, you know, see how it goes with us first.”

Donovan shook his head. “You sound like my mama.”

“You told her about this?”

“Yeah. She thinks I’m scared.”

Kyra’s eyes brightened. That was news to her. “Why did she say that?”

“’Cause I’m scared of losing you,” Donovan said. “She thinks I want to hurry up and move you in and get married so that I know for sure we’ll be together.”

Kyra couldn’t stop her tears from falling. That was the most beautiful thing she ever heard. “Is, is that true?”

Donovan wiped her cheeks, ever so tenderly. “Part of it is,” he said. “But I also know that we’re meant to be. I don’t see the point in waiting for the inevitable. It’s expensive and stressful to move into your own place. It’s a waste of time and money, if you’re going to end up moving in here anyway. You do want to live with me, don’t you?”

Kyra nodded. She wanted that more than anything.

“Then why drag it out?” Donovan asked. “Why not do it now?”

Because we might not work. That was the only reason Kyra could think of. It was also the one answer she couldn’t give him. Donovan did let fear and love interfere with his decision-making, but his heart was in the right place. Plus, for as long as she’d known him, Donovan was always right. Kyra didn’t have the heart to crush his dreams, especially when she wanted the same things.

“How about we compromise,” she said. “I won’t move out of my aunt’s house and get my own place. When I move out, I will come here with you. But…” she said before Donovan could get too excited. “… I don’t think that should be today or even this month. Donovan, I can’t think of one single thing that could come between us. But we can’t go into this thinking only about us. I don’t want to shuffle my kids around anymore. We got to be extra careful, because of them.”

Donovan let her words sink in before he responded. He nodded. “You’re right. I guess I got a little over-excited.”

“I like that you’re excited about us,” Kyra said quickly. “That makes me feel real special.” She gave him a flirty smile.

“What about tonight?” Donovan asked. “Can y’all stay here tonight?”

“Yes,” Kyra said. “We can spend the night whenever you want. What happened to all of your weights and benches anyway?”

“I moved it to the garage.”

“That must’ve been a lot of work.”

“It was,” Donovan said. “I had four people helping me. My back was hurting when we got through.”

“I can rub your back,” Kyra offered. The thought of getting Donovan topless made her giddy. Thinking about rubbing his body down with massaging oil made her nipples harden.

“Do you know anything about giving a massage?” Donovan asked.

“Nope,” Kyra said. “But I bet I can rub and squeeze on you until you feel real nice.”

“Is that so?”

Kyra nodded. “Definitely.”

Donovan checked his watch. It was only eight-thirty. “What time do the kids go to bed?”

“Not for at least a couple of hours,” Kyra said. She kissed him passionately. “You have to wait.”

Donovan kissed her back. “You want me to wait for everything.”

Kyra kissed him again. “This’ll be worth it, baby. Trust me.”



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Donovan had nearly every season of the Simpsons on DVD. Kyra knew he loved the animated show as a child, but she didn’t know he was still watching it.

“Hey, don’t judge me,” he told her.

He popped in one of the DVD’s and made chocolate chip cookies while Kyra and the kids lounged in the den. Donovan had ice cream as well. Kat and Quinell had been eating junk food all day, but they attacked the new snacks like they were starving. Kyra thought Donovan was spoiling them, but she loved seeing smiles on her children’s faces. They were nearly as happy as she was.

Kat passed out first at ten-thirty. Quinell held out for another hour. Kyra turned off the television when she saw his head nodding.

“Come on,” she told him. “Donovan’s going to let you spend the night here. Is that cool?”

Quinell smiled, nodded and yawned at the same time. Kyra took him to the room Donovan prepared for them. Kat was already curled up on one side of the bed, snoring lightly.

“You don’t mind sleeping with your sister, do you?” Kyra asked.

Quinell shook his head and lay down fully dressed. Kyra helped him out of his shoes and jeans and pulled the covers up to his chin. Quinell rolled to his side and was still smiling as he dozed off. Kyra gave him a kiss on the cheek and went to rejoin Donovan in the den. She wasn’t surprised to find him yawning as well. She took a seat next to him, and Donovan put his arm around her. Kyra snuggled against his warm body.

“Long day, huh?” she asked.

“I feel like I picked y’all up at seven a.m. instead of four in the afternoon.”

“I’m sorry,” Kyra said. “I know they can be a handful.”

“Nah, it’s cool,” Donovan said. “Your kids are great compared to the knuckleheads I have to deal with at school.”

“Are you going to sleep?” Kyra asked.

“No. I’m going to make some coffee. Want some?”

“You don’t have to drink coffee,” Kyra said. “You can go to sleep if you want to.”

“I haven’t had you in my bedroom for a whole week,” Donovan said. “I plan to enjoy tonight, for at least three more hours, before I go to sleep.”

Three hours? Damn. Kyra’s heart fluttered at the possibilities. “Well, in that case, I’ll have some coffee, too.”



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They ate the leftover cookies with their coffee, and then Donovan went out back to feed his dogs. He invited Kyra to tag along. Doc and Wyatt were scary, hulking creatures, especially at night. But they were friendly beasts. They surrounded Kyra and sniffed her and allowed her to pet them. Thankfully they didn’t jump up and soil her clothes with their grubby paws.

Donovan didn’t return to the house immediately after feeding them. He took a seat on a wicker sofa he had next to the back porch. Kyra sat with him and star gazed while she held his hand. Everything about Donovan’s home was perfect. Kyra wondered if she was a fool for not taking him up on his offer to move in.

“Your dogs fit you,” she said as she watched the four-legged buddies frolicking in the yard.

“Why’s that?” Donovan asked.

“Because you’re all big and ferocious,” Kyra said. “It makes sense that you have a German shepherd and a pit bull.”

“But I’m not ferocious,” Donovan said.

“And neither are your dogs. They didn’t bark at me or nothing.”

“That’s because you’re with me. If you jumped the fence one night by yourself, it would be a different story.”

“Same as you,” Kyra said. “You’re like a big, ole teddy bear. But if you have to take care of business, you wouldn’t hesitate to whoop a nigga’s ass.”

Donovan laughed. “I haven’t had a fight since high school.”

“You still got it in you, though,” Kyra stated. “It never goes away.”

Donovan shrugged.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, and then Kyra said, “There’s something I got to tell you.”

“What’s up?”

She swallowed. “I talked to Kat’s daddy the other day.”

She felt Donovan tense up. “Do you want me to kick his ass?”

Kyra smiled nervously. “No. But I am worried about something.” She sat up so she could look him in the eyes. The porch light provided enough illumination to see that Donovan was already worried as well.

“What’s wrong?”

“He’s been calling for a couple of weeks,” Kyra said. “I wouldn’t call him back, and I told my aunt not to give him my cell number. She didn’t, but I think she told him when to call back, so he could catch me at home.”

“Are you talking about that Leonard guy?”

She nodded.

“What does he want?”

Kyra sighed. She wished she could leave her past in the past, but some things never go away. “He said he wants to see Kat. But I know it’s really me he wants. He’s just using Kat as an excuse.”

Donovan’s expression was hard to read. “What’d he tell you?”

“He said I was wrong for taking Kat to Texas, and he’s gonna take me to court. He said he’s going to try to get custody, but he’ll be happy with visitation rights, so long as it’s in Arkansas. He wants me to go back.”

“Why do you think he wants to be with you?”

Kyra hesitated. She didn’t want to tell Donovan the whole conversation. When she talked to him, Leonard was practically crying on the phone. He begged Kyra to come back to him. Each time she said no, Leonard brought up Kat again, threatening legal action.

“He asked me to go back with him,” Kyra said. “He said I was wrong for leaving him while he was in jail. When I said no, that’s when he started talking about suing me.”

“Why did you leave him?” Donovan asked.

Kyra’s stomach twisted. When she first returned to Overbrook Meadows, she told Donovan approximately 75% of her hard times story. She wanted to be completely honest with him now, but she couldn’t. It would break Donovan’s heart, if he knew everything.

“He ruined my life,” Kyra said. “He was doing drugs and selling drugs, and the police were coming by the house all the time, them and all of Leonard’s dopefiend friends. I wanted to leave him, but I felt trapped. When he went to jail, I felt like I was finally free to get away from there. That’s why I came back to Texas.”

Donovan swallowed her story as easily as he did the first time. Why wouldn’t he? Kyra never lied to him before. “So, do we need to go to Arkansas?” he asked.

Kyra’s heart grew to twice its normal size. For as long as she’d known him, Donovan never let her fight a battle alone.

“I’m not going back to Arkansas unless I get a summons,” Kyra said. “Leonard’s just talking noise. He’s not gonna do anything. Every judge he ever saw sent him to jail. He’s not going to run to them for help. And I know he can’t afford a lawyer.”

“But what if he really does want to see Kat?”

“Then I would do my best to work something out,” Kyra said. “But he doesn’t, Donovan. When I talked to him, he begged me to come back to him for five minutes before he asked about Kat. He didn’t give a damn about her before he got locked up, and he doesn’t give a damn about her now.”

“Okay. I’m with you,” Donovan said. “Whatever we got to do, just let me know.”

Kyra wrapped both arms around his torso and kissed him tenderly. She wished there was a way to fully express her gratitude for everything Donovan had done for her. She could spend the rest of her life trying and still not come close.

He stood and stretched his back. “You ready to go inside?”

Kyra nodded, but she grabbed hold of him before he made it to the door. They hugged beneath the stars for what felt like hours. Neither said a word, but their touch and their tenderness spoke volumes.



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Donovan wanted to take a shower. Kyra did too, so he scrounged up another outfit for her to put on when she got out. He led her through the spare bedroom where his second bathroom was. It was a lot smaller than the main one, but there was a shower, and it was impeccably clean.

Kyra started to undress, but she changed her mind midway through. She left the bathroom wearing only a tee shirt and followed the sound of running water to Donovan’s main washroom. She knocked on the door, and Donovan said, “Come in.”

The shower curtain was closed. Donovan pulled it back far enough to poke his head out when Kyra entered.

“What’s wrong? I forgot to leave soap in there?”

Rather than respond, Kyra pulled her tee shirt over her head. Donovan’s eyes widened at the sight of her nude physique.

“Can I come in there with you?” she asked.

Donovan looked her up and down as he pulled the shower curtain back further. Water began to bounce off his body and spray on the floor. Neither of them cared. Standing fully naked, Donovan was a sight to behold. Standing fully naked and dripping wet put him on a whole new level of sexy. And he was easily excitable. Kyra watched as his penis responded to her body. It swelled and grew longer as she approached. Kyra stepped into the tub and pulled the curtain closed.

Donovan had his back to the water. His bathtub was large enough for him to step around Kyra and switch places with her. Now the showerhead sprayed water on the back of Kyra’s neck. Her hair was soaked in a matter of seconds, but she wasn’t concerned about her perm. Donovan watched the water drip over Kyra’s shoulders, down her stomach and into her pubic hair. His erection reached its peak. It seemed to be pointing right at Kyra’s face.

She dropped to her knees suddenly, and the water began to spray on Donovan’s chest. Kyra took his manhood into her mouth with such little warning, Donovan muttered, “Oh, shit,” and took a step back. Kyra couldn’t take all of him in before the head pushed the back of her throat. The water was all over her now. She placed one hand on Donovan’s stomach and held the base of his dick with the other. She worked her tongue as she backed out and sucked on the head for a while. She then took him in as far as she could.

“Oh.” Donovan’s whole body tightened. He placed a hand on her shoulder and tentatively touched her head with the other.

Kyra reached up and placed her hand over his. She pushed his fingers into her wet hair and gripped his hand tighter, urging him to do the same. When she released his hand, Donovan felt more comfortable. He clutched her hair as Kyra’s head bobbed back and forth. Donovan shuddered, and she tasted the saltiness of his pre-cum. She swallowed greedily and sucked harder, wanting more.

The feel of her jaws and tongue on his meat made Donovan’s legs tremble. The water was hot. Kyra’s mouth was warm. Donovan looked down and lost all of his composure when he saw Kyra’s lips wrapped around him, her jaws concave.

“Oh, baby, stop.”

He tried to pull out, but Kyra wouldn’t let him. She swatted his hands away when he tried to remove her face from his throbbing erection.

“Baby, I’m finna cum,” he stressed.

Kyra heard him just fine. But Donovan was wrong in thinking that news would deter her. In fact, Kyra couldn’t have been more thrilled about the prospect. The muscles between her legs were already tightening in anticipation. She was wet on the outside and just as wet on the inside. She began to moan through her nose, and that was all she wrote.

“Oh, f*ck, baby!”

Donovan’s dick jumped with each squirt of semen it pumped out. The pre-cum was an appetizer. This was the main course, and Kyra loved every drop of it. She swallowed when her mouth was full, and she sucked harder, making sure to get it all out. Donovan didn’t think he ever had an orgasm so powerful. His toes curled so hard, Kyra heard them rubbing the bottom of the tub. She didn’t back away for another thirty seconds. She looked up at him, her eyes low, her lips parted, water pouring down her face, Donovan’s erection still jumping slightly in front of her nose.

“I…” He took a slow breath. “I can’t wait to get inside you. I want you to cum as hard as I just did. I want you to fall asleep with me still inside you.”

Kyra didn’t please him in anticipation of a reward, but his comments delighted her immensely. She tongue kissed his dick again before she rose to her feet. Donovan’s hands were immediately all over her. Kyra never took a dirty shower before. It was an experience she would never forget. She was glad that she shared it with her best friend and the love of her life.