Push The Button (6 page)

The pace quickened as He felt Himself coming close to the end. David knew He wouldn’t last long and He didn’t care. He needed to fill her up and remind her, and maybe Himself, that she belonged to Him now. Now, and for as long as HE decided. Looking down at her tear-stained face, half-closed eyes, puckered lips, and pulsating neck, He decided then, that it would be forever.

He came inside of her with a force He’d never experienced before that moment. She wrapped her legs tightly around His waist, drawing Him in closer than was possible. He collapsed on top of her, face again buried in her neck. Their breaths were short and rapid, balancing each other with alternating inhales and exhales. Their bodies began to relax as the heat began to escape them. David leaned up and looked down at Nicole’s face again. She met His eyes and smiled.

“Marry me?”

Her eyes widened briefly. Then, she slowly raised an eyebrow, saying nothing.

He smiled down at her, shaking His head.

“You WILL marry me, Star.”

She smiled, slyly, biting her bottom lip. She stared intently into His eyes.

“As you wish, Sir.”

9:43 a.m.

“Ayyeeeeeeee shiiiiit!!!!” He screamed in a high-pitched voice she’d only heard once or twice before. He grabbed both sides of her head by her ears and squeezed as He released His morning load down her throat where it belonged. He pulled himself out and covered her mouth, so she wouldn’t spill a drop.

“Dammit, girl, wooo shit!! Unnnhhh” He moaned, body still quivering, toes curling almost until cramping. “I… you…how…damn” He stuttered, unable to form a complete thought.

She gently removed His hand, licking her lips, and raised her head to meet His eyes but found them closed. He was panting and she could see beads of sweat across His forehead. The heat in their apartment was overwhelming at times and this morning was no different. She waited a bit before saying anything.

“You may speak,” He mumbled.

“Merry Christmas, Sir,” she greeted Him. “How do You feel?” she asked, receiving only a muffled grunt in response.

She smiled, excited because this was their first Christmas together as an engaged couple. They’d not yet announced the news to anyone in their families and planned to tell His family this evening at dinner. Normally, she didn’t make a big deal out of the holiday season because she was often working or too tired to make any big efforts. She listened to holiday music and bought gifts for her friends’ children, of course, but didn’t quite fall into the entirety of the “Christmas Spirit”. This year was different because not only had He collared her, He made a promise to marry her…eventually. Neither of them was in any particular rush to begin the wedding-planning process and each liked the idea of a longer engagement, as they were still ascending in their careers and had major projects on their respective tables. Still, Nicole enjoyed glancing at her ring finger as much as fingering her collars, feeling completeness in her connection to her One.

David rolled over, muttering “Breakfast…” before burying His face into a pillow. Nicole quickly scrambled out of the bed and headed to the kitchen. While He dozed, she prepared His favorite breakfast of Belgian waffles, fried chicken wings, and three-cheese grits. When they were still dating, she’d made this meal and He deemed it “perfect”. Now, she only made it on special occasions and holidays to preserve the “special” element of it. Her mental Rolodex of His favorite things remained well-organized, as her job was to remember everything that made Him happiest and provided Him with the greatest satisfaction.

She placed His breakfast on the dining room table and went back to the bedroom to wake Him up to eat. She paused at the door and took a moment to look Him over. He’d just gotten back from a 10-day business trip, hitting three cities in that time. She picked Him up from the airport at 12:30 a.m. and they were both too tired to do anything but collapse into bed and fall deeply asleep. She knew how to wake Him up though.

“Come here,” He called to her, face still half-buried in the pillow. Nicole made her way to the side of the bed.

“Kneel.”

She immediately descended to her knees and lowered her head, placing her hands behind her back.
David sat Himself up and dangled His legs over the side of the bed. He sat for a moment, staring down at the top of her head. She was poised so perfectly still and positioned the way He required… Beautiful. His. He got out of bed and walked around her to one of the closets in the hallway. He returned with an immaculately-wrapped thin jewelry box in His hand and stood before her.

“You are my greatest gift, Star. You are my prize… you are my strength… you are my faith… you are Mine,” He said, slowly and deliberately. He lifted her face up with one hand.

“Look at me.”

She looked up and met His gaze.

“Merry Christmas,” He said, handing her the box. He leaned against the edge of the bed as she grabbed the gift gleefully.

“Ooooh, what is it, Sir?” she asked, shaking it by her ear to see if she could detect it first that way.
“Just open it, woman,” He said, laughing at her as she ripped open the paper. Pale blue box. Tiffany & Co. Of course. She’d been eyeing the Tiffany Infinity Bracelet for some time, so she figured He picked it up for her. She opened the box and gasped, as she saw not the bracelet, but what appeared to be a custom-made Infinity necklace, which she knew was not simply a necklace. She ran her fingers along the double chains of the collar and lifted the Infinity charm. She felt ridges behind it and turned it over to find an inscription, "Mine.” The simple inscription she’d come to expect on each of His gifts was neatly engraved in delicate cursive.

“Sir…” she whispered, “This is… This is beautiful. My goodness…Oh, but it is too much!” As soon as she said the words, she regretted them.

*SMACK* A swift hand came down upon her left buttock with lightning speed. She yelped and jumped a bit.

“You know better.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Mmmmhmmmm.”

“It’s beautiful. Thank you so much, Sir.”

“Allow me…”

He took the box from her and removed the collar. He stood behind her and gingerly fastened it around her neck. Leaning down, He kissed her on the cheek, wrapped His right hand around her throat, clutching it tight and whispered, “Mine.” She closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, reveling in the intimacy of the moment. She exhaled and affirmed, “Always.”

“Get up. I’m hungry. Feed me, woman,” He commanded with a smile and a soft pat on her behind. He helped her up and they went to enjoy their Christmas breakfast together.

*****

4:35 p.m.

“Your mama hates me.”

“She doesn’t hate you.”

“Yes, she does.”

“I promise you, she doesn’t hate you. She just doesn’t… get it.” They sat in the car, parked outside of the house He lived in as a teenager.  Nicole hadn’t removed her seat belt yet, and was visibly nervous and tense.

“She thinks I’m weak.”

“I know you’re not.”

“I want her to know that.”

“She does, in her own way. She just has trouble accepting what it is that we do because of everything she went through with my father, yanno?”

“I know…”

Nicole sighed and braced herself to deal with David’s mother, Janice. She’d only met her twice before and each time, she bristled at the jabs and rather mean quips Janice made in response to the ways in which Nicole and David interacted. She learned, earlier on, that David’s father caused all kinds of trouble for his mother for several years before she eventually took David, His older brother Jonathan, and left him for good. He had a serious gambling problem, and it cost them more than David ever knew. They struggled a lot in the immediate years after, but David would come to understand that His mother did the best she could for all of them. It was several years before David was able to face His father and several years after that before He could bring Himself to forgive him. These days, He maintained a solid relationship with his father and supported him as he did his best to turn his life around.

Because of her experiences with David’s father, Janice had become a hardened woman in her older age. She was a no-nonsense, blunt woman who was never afraid to speak her mind and give her opinion about any and everything. She could be rather dismissive, especially of women she deemed “weak”. Since leaving David’s father, Janice had not been in a steady, long-term relationship. She’d had a few lovers here and there, or at least David believed so, but she never introduced any one man as “Her Man”. She even said, 
“Ain’t no man ever gonna own me again!”
 David wanted His mother to be happy with someone, but knew she carried a lot of anger, hurt, and bitterness still. David could count on His hands the number of times in His adult years He remembered seeing her smile. Unfortunately, the nature of His relationship with Nicole, which He never hid, didn’t exactly earn His mother’s approval. His brother, Jonathan, didn’t understand it, but shrugged it off because it wasn’t any of his business. David had no intentions of changing His behavior with Nicole, however, because He was living freely in His truth; she was going to have to respect His choices.

“Star, it’s going to be fine. She’ll be happy to hear our good news, I promise,” He cajoled. He lifted her left hand and kissed her ring finger. “She has her issues but she just wants her boys to be happy. You make me happy… and it’s Christmas. She loves Christmas.”

Nicole took a deep breath and nodded. She was to trust in Him and His guidance, always. She smiled at Him. “Let’s go!”

“Yeah, let’s go. We’re late, your fault,” He said, with a sly smirk. She blushed, knowing they were late because she got… hungry… again.

The front door was open and there were several people in the living room, including Jonathan, his wife, Darlene, their two sons, Junior and D.J.  Nicole could hear Janice’s laughter from the kitchen, so she took off her coat and glanced at David. He gave her a nod and she proceeded to the kitchen to offer her help, greeting family as she walked through the living room. David hung up their coats and settled in with His young nephews as He and Jonathan caught up on what was going on with their respective jobs.

Nicole entered the kitchen and saw Janice and two women she didn’t recognize. She smiled and waved, making her presence known.

“See, now, this here is my youngest baby’s girlfriend, Nicole,” Janice said to her friends, Carol and Brenda, as she waved Nicole over for a hug. Nicole walked over to her, hesitant in her embrace, but she welcomed it nonetheless. She hugged the other ladies, too, greeting them with a warm, albeit skeptical smile.

“It’s nice to meet you. Can I help with anything?” she asked, looking around the kitchen to see what she could get her hands into. She began rolling up her sleeves when Janice surprisingly grabbed her left arm.

“Ohhhh myyyy gooodnesssss!!!!!” she yelled loud enough for the entire house to hear. “What is this on your…? Did my boy…? DAVID!!! David you get in here right now!!!” she yelled towards the living room.

Nicole was caught off-guard, but didn’t feel any negativity. Janice was smiling and staring at the ring on her finger, waving Nicole’s hand around for Carol and Brenda to see. “Y’all see this rock?? Whewwww my boy did good with this one!!”

Just then David entered the kitchen, confused, looking around to see what was on fire. “Mama, what’s wrong? What happened??”

“Nothing is wrong! Come here and give your mama a hug!!” She dropped Nicole’s hand and made her way over to her youngest son, pulling Him into a strong embrace. Like Nicole, David was startled by the gesture, as He always knew His mother to be more reserved and less affectionate.

“Mama, you ok?” He asked, just as skeptical as Nicole.

“I’m fine, baby! Don’t you have something to tell me? Hmmm?” she asked, looking in Nicole’s direction. She was smiling wide, and while David wondered where it was coming from, He rolled with it, not wanting to dampen His mother’s good mood.
“Ahhh well yes. A few weeks ago, I asked Nicole to be my wife and she agreed. Well, more like I told her she was going to marry me and she accepted it,” He said with a wink towards Nicole. She chuckled and shook her head, walking towards His extended arm. She nestled in by His side and nodded her head.

“Yes, David told me I was going to marry Him. How could I say No?” She instinctively fingered her new collar and smiled.

“Well congratulations to you both!” Carol said. “Janice, you know you’re gonna have a good ole time planning this wedding! You know, Pastor Wright would have no–”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, ladies. Slow down,” David interrupted. “Nicole and I are not getting married anytime soon and we haven’t discussed any plans remotely related to a wedding. We don’t even know if we’re having a big wedding or if we’re gonna go to Vegas and elope,” He said. Janice glared at Him, shifted her eyes to Nicole, then back to Him.

“Well now, what you mean y’all ain’t getting married anytime soon? How long you plan on being engaged? You know you younger folks don’t know anything about tradition. You wanna do things all new and different. Elope? That’s not a real marriage. You need to get married in church, by a good preacher and under the eyes of God, ya hear me?”

“Mama, I don’t think we need to get into this right now,” David responded.

“I don’t see why not, being as though you brought the girl in here with this fancy ass ring and didn’t even tell me until weeks later,” she chastised.

“Well, we wanted to surprise you,” Nicole chimed in. She felt a pinch on her lower back from David, meaning she needed to stay out of this one. She lowered her head.

“Mama, we’re going to do this the way we want to and that is final,” David stated, firmer in His tone.
“You sound just like your father,” Janice said, dismissing Him with a wave of her hand. She turned back to the collard greens that were finished cooking on the stove and began dishing them into a serving bowl. “You know, he was just as stubborn as can be too.”