Khan loved the way Buddy avowed the deliciousness of her sex without shame, and she felt the same.
“There are as many ways to make love,” Buddy said in the throaty, caressing voice she had come to love, “as there are stars in the sky.”
As he exquisitely stroked her buttocks, she gasped. And his fingers touched, ever so gently, the two secret openings to her body, time after time, with a soft little brush of fire.
“Mmmm. Ahhhh. Ahhhh. Hhhssh.” Buddy exclaimed against the side of her dampened face. Together, they slid to the floor.
Buddy lowered his head past her abdomen and past her blond bush. He stopped at her ankles, delicately kissing the moist beads of sweat there. She felt his tongue move up the exterior of her thighs and her breath quickened, anticipating the ecstasy. She held her breath. Her mind begged him—no, willed him—to go farther. Inches closer. And then finally, when she felt his tongue touch the outer lips of her vagina, she shuddered.
Khan lifted her head and looked down at him. His mouth touched her soft mound and she prayed that he wouldn’t stop.
He grabbed the curve of her buttocks. His tongue, in short brushstrokes, dipped inside and outside her flaming lips. Her heart beat more thunderously than the storm outside her window. Her knees grew weak and fell open like an oyster revealing its prized pearl. When she felt his hot breath blow against her desire-fevered vagina, pressure rising like black steam, she lost all thought.
Khan’s hands gripped his head and pressed it deeper within her, inviting further his erotic exploration of her throbbing vagina. Her bones quivered. And then she felt it—exquisite torment. A thrill like she had never experienced before ran through her. She broke like a pane of glass, then relaxed, soaked from pure joy.
The whole surface of her skin was stimulated, the way swimming naked made her feel. Only what she felt now was compounded by sensuality. All the hairs on her body moved like seaweed in an ebb tide, and the current was guiding her with his persistent fingers exploring every part of her nerve endings. The sweat on her feet felt like a squish of wet between her toes. She was drenched in an orgasmic tidal wave, and nothing could stop the torrent. The buoyancy of their bodies blended in one long and delicious tremble, like a chord, and for a moment, the light of their souls shone like living torches.
When they paused to take a breath, the thunder outside had stopped.
The cool wind howled outside, and white flurries had begun to fall.
Afterwards, Khan kissed him slowly on the lips. Her breath was like new-mown grass. “I love the taste of you,” she said to Buddy.
She had no recollection of lying down, but there they were. She reached up and raised the blinds, letting the moonlight flow over their naked bodies. They were so comfortable with each other. Everything felt so right, so new, so fresh.
“I know it’s early, but I wish it would really snow. You know, like ten inches or so.”
“It’s not even November yet, Blondie.”
“Still, I love fall. But my favorite is winter. That’s why I love living in Michigan.”
“Tell you what, they’ve probably got fourteen inches of snow in Aspen, Colorado. I’ll call my travel agent and book a trip. If not there, then we’ll go to Minnesota—Or maybe we’ll say fuck the snow, and spend a week in the Sahara Desert.”
“Stop kidding! Someday I’d love to travel all over the world.”
“It’s a great experience. But only if you share it with someone. I spent five lonely years traveling the globe after my parents died.”
“Why?”
“Because I was angry, and alone. But now I’ve found you, and I’m not lonely anymore.” He kissed her ever so gently.
Her own smile felt good to her as it slid across her face.
Buddy pulled her back down next to him. He eased his hand down lower and lower over her sweaty body and pressed his palm over the hub of her vagina.
Khan felt the lips of her vagina swelling, anticipating, waiting, demanding full entrance. Relief came seconds later, when slowly, ever so slowly, he slid his fingers back inside her.
Her eyes took on a dreamlike quality and her breathing became harsh. The corners of Buddy’s mouth widened in a satisfactory smile. “I’ve got a helluva lot to do with Mother Nature, Blondie.”
“Amen, brother.” She led him to the bed. “Don’t stop now.” She was in the midst of a caravan of pleasure. And she didn’t want the trip to end.
And it didn’t. Not for a while.
Later, they lay in each other’s arms feeling the pleasure of remembering their pleasure. It was a feeling they would share for years to come, a special feeling. One they knew would last a lifetime, no matter what else happened.
Stripped as they were, both Buddy and Khan began to talk to each other from that place deep in the soul.
“I want you with me always, Khan. Not just tonight, but every night.”
Khan was afraid. She wasn’t sure what he meant. Did he mean marriage? Or did he mean a live-in relationship? She decided to play it safe. She didn’t want Buddy to hurt her like R.C. had.
“You know, Buddy, it’s strange. When I hired on at Champion I didn’t plan on being there long. I would work a few years, find a rich man to marry me, and retire by age twenty-five. After the first year I noticed how many people
didn’t
want to retire. There were so many people with thirty-five, forty, and forty-five years’ seniority who seemed afraid to retire. Then I found out why. The people who had retired kept coming back to the plant every week like they were desperate for company.” Her eyes were moist with tears. “I never wanted to be like them. Now, here I am praying that I can go back so I can maintain my little hut here. You know, take care of my bills and send my Mama Pearl a few dollars.” She sniffed, and more tears began to fall. “I know it’s a simple little job, but I think now I want more. I just don’t know if I’m up for it. Working at Champion brought me many things: love, happiness, and oh yes, I found hurt. I spent some of my darkest days at Champion. But it wasn’t until I went outside the scope of the plant that I was able to find you.”
“That’s sweet, baby.” Buddy’s voice turned serious. “I’ve got a job for you, Khan. It doesn’t pay as much as Champion. But the wages are fair. And it’ll allow you to take any classes you need.” He grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and wiped her tears.
She dried her eyes. “How much?”
“Fifteen an hour.”
It was seven less than she made at Champion. She frowned, and her body shrugged as well. She could tell that Buddy felt her displeasure, because he spoke quickly.
“If you take into account our combined incomes, we’d gross about thirty grand a month.”
“What are you talking about?” Khan was stunned. “Did you say thirty—thirty thousand a
month
? You make that much money?”
Buddy lifted her chin up toward his and smiled. “Sure do. Up until now, I didn’t think it was important for you to know.”
In a flash, she thought about R.C. and his broken promises. She thought about Mama Pearl and all her advice. “Well, it isn’t, but—” Then her hopes died, and her voice reflected her worst fears.
“What is the job?”
“You’ll be working for the shortening company,” he said with a smile.
“What exactly are you asking me?”
“I don’t want to spend another night without you. It took me this long to find you, and I don’t ever want to let you go. Living together isn’t for me, Khan. I want to marry you now, while your Mama Pearl is still alive. I don’t want her to miss out like Aunt Viola. Mama Pearl deserves to see her grandchild walk down the aisle, don’t you think? I want to devote the rest of my life to loving you and making sure you’re never lonely.”
Khan couldn’t help but think back on her Aunt Ida’s words: “Lust, love, devotion,” and she knew she held the world in her arms.
The relief she felt was overwhelming. She couldn’t bring herself to believe. “Are you serious?” Lord, it was just like her Mama Pearl said it would be. “Buddy—”
Buddy pulled her toward him and stripped the sheet from her body. His naked eyes lusted over her body like lasers until she felt that the heat was unbearable. She started to speak, and he stopped her with a touch of his fingers over her open lips.
“I forgot to ask, Khan. Will you marry me?”
__________
Let me tell you about Tomiko and R.C. Well, as you might have guessed, R.C. lost all but one Champion dealership, the used-car lot he started with. He lost the ranch in Paris, Kentucky, as well. Even so, you know how much sister girl loved her R.C.: so R.C., well, he’s hooked for life. Tomiko’s modeling career has continued to build, and the couple is doing okay.
Now what do you think is up with Thyme? I’ll let you take a peek at the letter Khan received from her just before Thanksgiving:
Hello, my friend. You’re probably wondering where I’ve run off to. I’m in Ghana. Yes, girlfriend. In Africa. I’ll bet you’re laughing now. But Khan, I’m serious about my life, more serious about who I am—about being black and living black. I hadn’t realized that by marrying Cy and living the life we did, how far away I had turned from myself and my blackness.
I’ve filed for a divorce from Cy. I love him. And I would venture to say that he loves me. But it’s over.
I’m sure a lot of women who date or marry white men don’t have a problem holding on to themselves. I pray that they don’t. But I wasn’t able to separate myself. No, that’s not true—I wasn’t able to be myself, because I was too busy trying to gain acceptance. Truly, Khan, I wasn’t ashamed of being black. I merely wanted recognition. Recognition for my talents, my education, and for who I was. That didn’t happen. I had to sue to get respect from a company to which I gave over twenty years of my life. The money doesn’t matter. Because it can’t buy respect.
Cy’s written to beg me to come back home. There’s no way. I can never go back to lies and deceit. And those children won’t disappear, I don’t care how far away they are or how much Graciella believes she can keep him from seeing them. They’d always be between us. No, it’s better these days. I’m hurting, but I’m taking control of my life and not looking back.
I’m loving where I am. I’m working at Atheneum Enterprises as their new operations manager. I also head the Small Plastic Parts Division. They’ve set me up in a beautiful home just outside the city, and I have a maid, driver, housekeeper, and the best cook I could hope for. And, as you might expect, I’m no longer a size six. I’m closer to a ten, and I’ve gotten rid of all my permed hair. And you know what, I’m happy and I’m home.
You won’t believe this: I’m pregnant! Forty-six years old and pregnant! Can you believe it! I plan to marry my child’s father in June. I hope you can come for a visit when the baby is born in December.
Enclosed are my address and telephone number, and a ticket good for one year. Khan, there’s also a ticket for Buddy. I hope by then the two of you will be married.
Wishing you love and happiness.
Love always,
Thyme.
Now tell me you weren’t surprised. You knew that fine-looking black woman had to find her a hot-blooded black man who would bless her with some younguns, didn’t you?
* * *
As for Khan, well, Mama Pearl indeed saw her granddaughter’s wedding. Buddy and Khan put on a fine show. The newlyweds decided to take a whole month off work. Then, after a nice long vacation, Khan returned to work—this time for her husband. But Khan ain’t no blue collar worker, no sir. She’s got new collar status now and she’s right up there in the office working with Buddy every day. And don’t let me forget about children. You know they want some, but that’s a long way away.
You didn’t think Khan forgot about her friend, did you?
Right now, they’re planning a trip next year to Ghana to visit Thyme. Khan returned the tickets, however, explaining why they didn’t need to take them—and in the same letter informed her friend it was too late to hope they got married because they already were!
* * *
And what about Cy? Well, Cy opened up his own engineering firm and is very successful. Presently, he’s holding on to another woman—a black one.
Now, you know he’s gotten used to that dark skin. But anyway, he wasn’t all bad; he really did love Thyme. God must’ve given the brother a break and forgiven him for his sins, because Cy didn’t sue Champion for ten million dollars. They gave him twelve.
* * *
I know what you been really waiting to hear about: Ron’s implant. Yes, the man is still screwing his ass off with other women. Did you think he would ever change? ’Course, Ida ain’t concerned. She took out a $250,000 insurance policy on Ron and made his two grandsons the beneficiaries.
Yeah, yeah, Sarah had another boy. But this one ain’t too pretty. He looks just like his grandpa Ron. After the baby came, Sarah thought the best way to keep busy until her husband came home was to get a job. And where you think she headed straight for? You got it, the repair shop. She’d been watching Valentino repair those sets for years, though he didn’t know it. And when he comes home in a couple of years, they might just be able to swing opening a small shop of their own.
Hold up. You wondering if Valentino is in the brick bitch switching his booty like some he-she. Naw. Valentino’s learned his lesson after killing Luella. If he’d admitted the problem he was having then, trying to figure out who he was, and accepted himself, he might have never killed her. He has pictures of his sons pasted on every wall in his cell. One day he will sit down and tell them what it takes in life to be a real man.
Guess what! You won’t believe what Graciella did. She took the kids back home to Mexico and moved to Mexico City. In less than a year she had moved a twenty-two-year-old matador in with her and opened up a chain of soul-food restaurants. With their newfound wealth, it didn’t take long for Graciella and the kids to forget about Cy.
Oh yeah, don’t let me forget about Sydney. Well, the bitch is still sizzling about Cy and his new black chick that dresses like an African queen and is three shades darker than Thyme. She’s sick over the fact that her brother has broken all contact with her. Hmm, she deserved as much—don’t you think? Sydney even took Thyme up on her suggestion to see a shrink. She’s been through three more of them. She’s still a size two. You didn’t think she’d get all depressed and gain weight, did you? Gracious no. The hussy spends money on personal trainers, face-lifts, tummy tucks, lyposuction, collagen treatments, and skin peels. She’ll keep fighting truth and what’s real forever.