Page 36 of Heavy Lifting
“I don’t give a damn let them watch,” I shrugged.
“I’m serious,” he reiterated.
“Stop being so damn uptight,” I rolled my eyes.
“Well, we sort of both own businesses in this parking lot, and I want people to look at us professionally,” Zumo said.
“We’ll just tell them I raped you.” I shrugged and he busted out laughing loudly while holding me closer. The smile that spread across my face came without permission. Laughing with him, being around him, fucking him, talking to him, it all felt easy. There weren’t any expectations from either one of us. I didn’t expect him to pay my bills, buy me bags, and take me on dates. All I wanted from him was what he was giving. After everything I’d poured into rebuilding Brick & Co., I didn’t realize how badly I needed someone who simply let me breathe.
Zumo noticed when I went quiet because he was so intuitive.
“Are you okay?” he asked me as he grabbed my hand and began to thread his fingers through mine. I nodded, allowing myself to sink deeper into his chest.
“I’m better than ok,” I admitted honestly. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t have any worries. Zumo was fucking me better than I had ever been fucked. The drama Cozart caused had tripled memberships and paid for the window three times over. My father was healthy and happy focusing on his latest home improvement project, and Kaliyah had finally come to terms with her and Cozart’s separation. Over lunch her and I talked, she apologized for breaking the window, agreed to sign the divorce papers, and promised that she wouldn’t keep me from my niece and nephew. I joked that If I had known that we would get triple our memberships from the scene she caused, I would have told her to come and bust the window a long time ago.
Things weren’t simply good, they were great. It was almost too good to be true.
“I’m not stressed.”
“Trust me I know.” Zumo laughed deeply and I rolled my eyes and hit him on the chest.
“I’m serious, I’m not stressed and that terrifies me,” I told him honestly as I looked down at my hands.
“So, you are upset because you aren’t stressed?” he asked as his voice softened.
I nodded my head realizing that it sounded ridiculous being repeated back to me but one of the things I loved about Zumo was he never made me feel silly. I could talk to him, and he never made me feel judged.
“I think that’s something to celebrate baby not to be upset over. You have been carrying all of this alone for years, dealing with one crisis after another, nervous system in shambles. You are finally in a place where you can exhale and not look over yourshoulder, you deserve that,” he assured me as he kissed the back of my hand softly causing my eyes to close.
“I just want to make sure that I’m not letting anything fall between the cracks while I’m letting myself be happy. Do you know how many people depend on me? How many people depend on the gym?”
“It’s a gym baby not the pentagon,” he chortled causing my eyes to go wide as I snatched my hand from his.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? You don’t take my business seriously? Last I checked you make juice and you only have one other employee. I have trainers, contractors, a full staff, my business made over six figures last year how much did you make?” I questioned him as my nostrils flared. I felt like he was minimizing me and my ego didn’t like how that felt.
“I didn’t mean to offend beautiful. I only meant-” he began before I cut him off.
“It doesn’t matter what you meant. You’re right and this is inappropriate,” I said as I leaned up and began to look for my shirt. I reached over him and found my panties, bra, and my jeans. I searched for my shirt as he tried to explain that he didn’t mean it that way as I ignored him.
“Looking for this?” he asked as he held my shirt by the tip of his finger.
I nodded my head, avoiding his gaze, and grabbed the shirt. I placed it over my shoulders and pulled my hair from beneath it.
“Look at me Brick,” he whispered quietly. I continued to look everywhere but, in his direction, until he grabbed underneath my chin gently and turned my face in his direction.
“I didn’t mean any harm and I’m sorry I offended you. Forgive me and don’t allow fear to make you run from me.”
He was right and we both knew it. I couldn’t admit that to him though, because then I would have to admit that I thought about him more than I wanted to. Every night before I went to sleep, I fantasized about him. Every morning when I woke up, I pictured him on top of me, waking me up to his amazing dick. I was becoming more addicted to Zumo by the day, and I needed to create some distance between us. He had just given me the perfect reason to do so.
“We have been seeing each other a little too much and we just need some space. I have an uptake in memberships, so I need to do it.”
“You need to create a stressful situation because you don’t know how to be you if you aren’t stressed. Somehow you think if you stop moving for five minutes, the whole building is going to fall apart,” he finished my sentence. I didn’t bother replying, I just stepped out of the car and waited for him to finish getting dressed so he could get out as well.
He stepped out, grabbed me by the back of the neck, pulled me into him, and kissed me on the forehead.
“Let me take care of you Brick,” he murmured.
“I can do it myself,” I retorted.
