Page 9 of All She Ever Wanted Was a Real One
“Me? Y—yeah, Liv. I’m good. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“What were you and Oak talking about?”
I swung my head. “Oh, nothing. Just small talk. He asked if he was getting an invite to the wedding.”
She snickered. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“What’d you say?”
“Nothing, really. I mean, I didn’t think he’d even be around. And now that he’s back, . . . I guess he can come as your plus one if you want.”
“My brother as my plus one? Ew. No.”
I giggled. “Fine, then. I guess he’s gonna have to sit this one out.”
I tried not to show how relieved I was with her response, but on the inside, I wanted to do a praise dance and backflips around the backyard. To be honest, I’d buried all my childhood feelings for Oak deep down inside me to where I rarely thought about him. But the moment we were face to face,everythingresurfaced to the point where I kept questioning if I’d even be able to make it down the aisle knowing he was in the crowd watching me.
Later that night,I was back at Liv’s place, settling in. My large military bag was on top of the full-size, neatly made bed with a dozen throw pillows on it as if it were on display in a department store. There was a nightstand with a touch lamp with a USB charging port and gray blackout curtains covering the window across from the bed. My clothes were strewn across the floor near the closet, waiting to be hung up whenever I bought some hangers, and my shoes were lined up in a row at the bottom.
I set my phone and wallet on top of the dresser next to the framed picture of Lex and Liv. It had been hours since my surprise welcome home party, and I still hadn’t managed to get Alexis Rosewood off my fuckin’ mind, let alone the news that shewas engaged to another nigga. The protector in me wanted to know his name, where he lived, what he did for a living, and who his family was. But I knew I had to chill.She was off-limits. Or at least that was what I’d been telling myself for years. Nothing would change that now, especially not with another man’s ring on her finger.
I didn’t see any good coming from me thinking about her pretty ass for too long. What would it change? Absolutely nothing. So why hadn’t I been able to stop? The whole car ride home, I’d tried to pretend that I hadn’t thought about what things would’ve been like for us if I hadn’t left for the military after taking her virginity. If she wasn’t my sister’s best fuckin’ friend.If I’d gotten the opportunity to put a ring on her finger before someone else did.
Besides, twelve years was a long time. It was foolish of me to think she’d saved a place for me in her heart or between her butterscotch thighs. But no matter how many times I told myself that I didn’t come home to be a menace to her heart or that I couldn’t get caught up, there was something about the lack of sparkle in her almond-shaped, coffee-brown eyes when she mentioned her wedding that had me feeling a way. Out of curiosity, I wanted to probe Liv for more information on Lex’s man, but I told myself I had to be careful. I knew my sister might disapprove of me meddling in her friend’s business, and the last thing I wanted to do was mess up Lex’s life or their friendship.
I closed my eyes, replaying how good she fuckin’ looked. Lex had always been a pretty girl, but now, she was far from my baby sister’s homegirl who had spent years at my house or the young adult I’d messed around with years ago. She was a grown-ass woman, and more beautiful than ever. Her face card was bad enough to snatch souls without ever having to give up the pussy. Her brown eyes were fringed with long lashes, and she had a dainty, button nose and thick, arched brows.
Her chestnut-brown hair was styled in bouncy, romantic curls that cascaded down her back and framed her round face. The sleeveless white dress she had on showed off her poreless, honey-brown skin with yellow undertones and clung to her petite frame, accentuating her curves and cleavage in a way that still left something to the imagination. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to imagine. My hands studied every part of her body in the back seat of my car the night she gave herself to me. I was sure I hadn’t unlearned the location of her sweet spot and exactly how to reach it.
Before I knew it, my dick was bricked up underneath my joggers. “Shit,” I hissed, trying to push it down.
It was no use. I had to take the fuckin’ edge off. And fast. I marched into the guest bathroom and locked the door. I pushed the shower curtain back and listened to the water sputter out of the showerhead. As I waited for it to heat up, my mind replayed the moments of the night I took Lex’s virginity. The night she rode me like she was on a four-wheeler.Fuck.My eyes rolled back in my head at the thought of how tight she was around my dick.
I stripped down and wrapped my hand around my shaft, holding it firmly while sliding my hand up and down. I stepped inside the shower, feeling the warm water slide all over me. I bit my lip at the memory of kissing both sets of her full, lush lips. I stroked my dick faster as the thought of fucking her again after all these years washed over me. I remembered the sound of her moans. The way she said my name. The sting of her nails clawing at my back. Everything.
“Fuckkkkkkkk.” I growled through my clenched jaw.
My orgasm surged from the soles of my feet all the way up to my hair follicles as I spilled my seed onto the shower floor. I knew thinking about Lex in that way was wrong, but I didn’t regret it. Not then. Not all these years later, either. And if shewanted it to happen again, I swear I’d take my sweet time drowning in her ocean.
After showering, I hung my damp towel on the bar. I stepped out and wiped my hand over the steamy mirror, smearing the water droplets across the glass. I brushed off my feelings, deciding to keep quiet about them and chalk up our past as just that, the past. The only question was, did I believe myself, or was I finding ways to try and justify why I couldn’t have what I wanted.
I threw on some basketball shorts and a T-shirt before walking down the hallway toward the kitchen. Liv was in there heating up some leftovers from my party. I leaned against the kitchen counter and saw the wedding invite on the fridge.
“Yo, Liv. I was thinking, now that I’m back and not in the middle of the ocean, I could be your plus one to Lex’s wedding.”
She twisted her neck to look at me. “She mentioned something about you wanting to go. I just didn’t think you were serious.”
My broad shoulders rose and fell with a lazy shrug. “Yeah. Why not?”
“You sure you wanna be there? I won’t be around to babysit you with all my maid-of-honor duties and all. Plus, Dad’s walking her down the aisle and sitting at the special table with Mom.”
My lips twisted to the side. “So the whole family’s gonna be there, but me?”
She shrugged nonchalantly. “I guess I didn’t think about it like that. I’m so used to you being away and missing everything.”
“So . . . wassup?” I encouraged her.
