Where I Wanna Be (18 page)

“
Watch me work,” she winked at him. She slid her body down his, kissing his neck while her hands ran up and down his body, causing Eli to release several deep breaths in both anticipation and frustration. She knew when her hands wandered towards his shaft but didn’t touch it did a number on him. “Daddy likes that?”

“
Shit, Faye…” Eli hissed.

“
Shhh… you keep talking like that and I’m going to get the gag ball out,” she warned him. She began kissing her husband’s body again, focusing on his nipples. A free hand worked the right one as she nibbled on the left. From there, she planted a trail of kisses down his mid-section and finally to the beginning of his pelvic bone. When she reached his shaft, it was bouncing in anticipation. “What do we have here?”

She kissed the inside of Eli’s thighs, intentionally not placing her mouth where he wanted it the most. Eli moved his hips upward, non-verbally telling his wife what he wanted her to do. No. she was going to tease him. She was going to lap her tongue against the inside of his thighs. She was going to breathe in his musky scent. She was going to place kisses around his shaft, but never venturing there.

Eli closed his eyes and sighed heavily. Faith always knew how to get him going. All she had to do was lick her lips and she knew he would be thinking about her full lips for the rest of the day. He loved to kiss them, feel them on his body, hear them part while she screamed his name over and over.

She finally placed her mouth on him and Eli thought he was going to explode. Her full lips gently sucked the bulbous head, her tongue swirling around the slit and tasting his pre-cum. Her mouth was so hot and delectable, her tongue hungrily swirling around his full length, taking him all the way in and out. The flicks, the licks, and the kisses she gave him were porn-star legendary and Eli only wished he wasn’t handcuffed.

She suckled on the swollen tip before she took the entire length of him inside of her mouth, causing her husband to lose control. He saw the stars, the moon, the earth, the sun, the universe. It was horrible; he was tied up. Each flick of Faith’s tongue made him lunge forward. His chest rose up and down, trying to stave off the impending orgasm. No use. He tried to curl his toes and clench up his thigh muscles. That didn’t work.

A few more flicks of Faith’s magical tongue combined with the rapid-fire motion of her hand, and Eli shot all over her mouth and neck. “Fuck!” He gave a guttural groan and collapsed against the bed.

“
That’s it, Daddy,” Faith purred as she milked his cock, “that’s it. I wanna taste your hot cum, baby.” She placed her mouth back on Eli again and deep throated him, swallowing everything he had to offer. She then moved her way back up to her husband, placing tender kisses on his washboard abs and finally to his neck, where she buried her face. “One hole down,” she nibbled on his ear, “two more to go.”

There wasn’t a doubt in Eli’s mind right there—or even ever—that his wife was worth the five-carat yellow canary diamond ring he upgraded her to on their anniversary. He only wished he’d gotten the ring for her sooner.

Simone stepped out into the cool April morning. The forecast said it was going to be sunny and they were correct. They failed to mention how it was going to be around 60 degrees. Maybe it was the Texas heat she was used, to but Simone didn’t care for the obvious weather change that New York was known for. The East Coast residents loved to boast about their four distinctive seasons and accompanying weather changes.

Simone begged to differ.

She moved back to New York at the height of one of its worse winter storms in years, a move that still made her wonder what the hell she had been smoking. She could remember January in Georgia being cold, brisk even. But what she was experiencing in Manhattan at the moment was nothing less than pure and utter bullshit. She remembered why she moved to Savannah, Georgia instead of staying in New York. The weather.

Simone stepped out of the cab and briefly looked down at the street. There was snow on the ground. It was the month of April and there was still snow on the ground.

Nevertheless, she bundled herself up and put on a brave face. She was the face and CEO of Simone Harris Events or SHE for short, a full-scale event planning service she’d created fresh out of college. She was one of many wedding planners in New York and she knew her work was cut out for her.

The wedding planning business was fast-paced and high-stress. It was also cutthroat. The stories of businesses planting fake stories about their competition and stealing lucrative clients were not unheard of or surprising. Simone couldn’t say she was innocent in any of it; she had been guilty of doing the same many times over.
Hunt or be hunted.

She walked into her business and was greeted by her assistant, Pepper, who immediately handed Simone a hot coffee and warm blueberry muffin. “What’s on the agenda today?” Simone asked as she strolled to her office.

“
We have a jam-packed day, Moni!” Pepper handed her boss a schedule. Pepper was a short White woman of average size. She wore purple frames and kept her blond mane up in a tight bun. If there was anyone who was more excited than Simone about wedding and event planning, it was Pepper. “We have a meeting with a new bride, Delilah, at noon. Then we have a fitting with our March bride, Lisa, at two. And finally, we have a vendor meeting with Nicola D’Amato of Madre’s at four.”

Hearing Nicola’s name made Simone smile. She was always so warm and receptive to anyone and everyone she came across. Several years later, Simone could think of the short Italian woman with a loving fondness. “Oh yes, Nicola, I remember her.” Simone smiled. “I used to date one of her sons.”

“
Oh? Which one? They’re all fine as hell!” Pepper laughed.

“
Eli,” Simone fondly remembered. “He’s the second-youngest. Let’s see there’s Nick, Kieran, Joey, Eli, and Tony. We dated a little in high school, three months.”

“
Three months? Wow, that’s forever in the high school world.” Pepper smirked.

“
It felt like it. We broke up because my parents got divorced and my sister and I went to stay with my mother back in Houston. We never really kept in contact, though.” Simone shrugged.

“
No Facebook or anything? Everyone has Facebook nowadays.”

“
I never thought about adding him or trying to reconnect with him,” Simone wondered why she didn’t. “I guess it never really crossed my mind.”

“
Well, now you have the chance to reconnect,” Pepper tilted her head, “and see if he’s still single?”

“
I’m sure he’s married with a family by now,” Simone smiled.

“
I’m not talking about you. I was referring to me.” Pepper grinned.

“
And that’s why I said that.”

****

“
Okay, so today officially kicks off wedding season,” Joey began at the weekly meeting with the staff at Madre’s, “we’ll be dealing with stressed-out brides, cheap event planners, and all sorts of drama.”

“
I love this time of year!” Nicola D’Amato clasped her hands together and bounced in her flats.

“
Because of that, we have to be on top of our game, all right? Professionalism at all times. If a bride yells at you, show them the door. If a customer wants thousands of dollars for a few hundred bucks, negotiate and throw in a few freebies. Always keep the tea and pastries coming. Offer fresh fruit if they’re not into pastries. And remember to smile and be friendly, no matter how much you want to strangle them.” Joey smiled.

“
That’s not nice,
mio figlio
,” Nicola politely warned her son.

“
And neither are some of those brides,” Joey offered. “Any questions? All right, if there are no questions, this meeting is over. Have fun and let’s make some money.”

After everyone dispersed, Nicola met privately with her sons. “We have a busy day today. Several wedding planners in both locations. Joey, I want you to go to the Long Island location and meet with the contractors there. I’m going to the NYC location today since I need to meet with my girls at the non-profit. So Eli, that leaves you here at the Manhattan location to handle business.”

“
That’s fine,” Eli scanned over the itinerary for the day. The day was busy with various appointments and the walk-ins. He did recognize one name from the list—Simone Harris. Could it be? Could it be the same Moni from high school? The coincidence would’ve been incredible. “Simone…”

“
What’s up?” Joey asked.

“
No, I’m looking at the list here.” Eli pointed to the list. “I’m wondering if this is the same Simone Harris I used to date in high school.”

“
It might be a common name?” Joey guessed.

“
It might be,” Eli smiled. “I wonder if it is her, though. That would be a trip.” Eli remembered fondly. Simone was his first love and he occasionally wondered what she was up to. “She always went against the grain.”

“
Well, as you’re strolling down memory lane with her, I hope you don’t let her talk you into a cheap deal.” Joey stood up and gathered the paperwork. “We have a lot of business to do.”

“
I know, I know.” Eli agreed. “Business as usual.”

After the meeting, Eli went online to look up Simone. A quick search of her name pulled up several results. Her event-planning company, SHE, was first in the search results. He went to the website and was astounded to see a picture of Simone in the right corner. She was more beautiful than he remembered.

She had light blonde hair pinned at the top of her head. Her lips were lightly painted with a soft pink lipstick that contrasted with her honey almond complexion. Eli smiled as he remembered a past conversation he had with Simone, convincing her there had to been some White in her family because he had never seen a Black person that light-skinned before.

“
I’m Creole,
” he could recall her saying to him with her Texas accent.

Her parents moved to New York for a job position her dad took in the airplane manufacturing industry. She arrived on campus in the middle of the school year and the moment she stepped foot on the campus, every teenage boy had his eyes set on her. Even the nerds who weren’t into girls were vying for Simone’s attention.

Eli sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin. He was going to see his first love again for the first time in many years. He occasionally wondered how she was doing, if everything was okay with her parents. Now it was time for the two of them to play catch up.

Simone knew Madre’s was a big floral shop. She couldn’t imagine it was
this
big.

It was located in downtown Manhattan, on one of the busiest intersections. An island by itself, Madre’s was a huge store, standing over two stories tall and was designed like a home. It was located in a renovated two-story brick building with several windows.

When Simone stepped inside the store, she was greeted with the sweet scent of eucalyptus. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, letting the calming scent course through her body. Within moments, she felt relaxed and was ready to negotiate.

“
We intentionally placed the eucalyptus there,” Eli came out from behind the counter, “to calm down the brides as they walk in.”

“
Smart move,” Simone opened her eyes and a smile grew on her face once she recognized him. “Eli?”

“
Moni, is that you?” He gave her a warm embrace and then pulled back from her. “How have you been? You look great!”