Authors: Marissa Monteilh
The ten family members and friend had an enjoyable meal of shrimp spaghetti, garlic bread, and a salad, while a few of the
adults sipped on White Zinfandel. Venus made a lemon cake that was the hit of the evening.
Torino scooted his chair back and took his plate to the sink. “I hate to eat and run but we’re about to go. I need to get to the grocery store before it’s too late.”
Sequoia followed behind him, noticing a slight buzz. “His cupboards are typical of a bachelor. Not even paper towels in the kitchen.”
“Oh, it’s not that bad,” Torino rebutted.
Venus said, “Thanks for coming, you two.”
“No, thank you, Venus. Everything was lovely,” said Sequoia with a hug.
Claude stood up to walk them to the door. “Thanks for coming. And come back again Sequoia.”
“She will,” said Torino, speaking for her.
Mercedes took each of her family members’ plates and rinsed them in the sink, placing them in the dishwasher. “We’re right behind you. We’re about to leave, too.”
Rashaad and Cameron looked at each other as if they had other plans. Rashaad said, “Mom, can we all play Scategories first? Just one game.”
Mercedes glanced at Mason who shook his head affirmative and then acquiesced, “Okay, just one game.”
“Good night,” Torino said, exiting the front door.
Sequoia and Torino entered the grocery store to pick up a few things. They held hands and talked like two teenagers. She responded to his every word and seemed a little more demure, a little calmer, and a little more relaxed.
“What’s with all the canned food? Can’t we make it fresh?” Sequoia asked as they walked down the wide aisle in Ralph’s Superstore.
“You’re right but canned is faster and just as good.” Torino placed two cans of string beans in the cart. “Now I can get down with the fresh ingredients when I want to.”
“I believe you.” And then she told him as though she’d made a
mental list, “Okay, now. And you need face soap, toothpaste, Ajax, and paper towels.”
“I’m on it.”
“I’ll get in line,” Sequoia said, after noticing only one checker open on a packed Sunday evening.
Torino came back with a small version of everything, and a small box of condoms. He threw them into the cart on the sly.
“What’s that?” Sequoia asked, knowing good and dang well she knew.
“Just a few condoms.”
“For what?” She even blushed as she inquired.
“I always keep those around. It’s just a habit.”
“I’ll say that much. I’ll bet you’ve come here before just for that one item, huh?”
“It is a necessity. Almost like a staple.”
“A staple?” she ragged on him.
“Yeah, no single man should be without it.”
“Or single woman, I suppose.”
“Oh, I guess you stay supplied, too?” Torino asked.
“Yes, it’s just that mine are probably expired by now. But yours keep disappearing, huh?”
“Funny how that is.”
“Yeah, funny,” she teased him.
Sequoia reached up toward the top cabinet in Torino’s kitchen, realizing that like most men who are tall, Torino liked to stack things high. She stretched up, high on her tippy-toes as her heels rose from the base of her three-inch mules. She struggled to balance two cans of creamed corn, trying to push them back, all the way in.
Torino smiled as he walked up behind her, checking her out from the bottom of her flexed, elongated calves to the tips of her raspberry painted fingernails. “Let me help you,” he said, touching her back with his right hand. He scooted the cans into place with ease. She slowly lowered her heels, feeling herself pressed between him and the counter as she tried to turn around.
“Thanks, dear,” she said, feeling his pants zipper in her lower back. She leaned back, resting her head on his chest and brought her right arm back to wrap around his neck.
Torino put his left hand on her stomach and pressed her into him even more. She rested her left arm over his.
“This feels so good,” she said, sounding comfortable and safe. “Feels like I’m in good hands.”
“Yes, you are,” he said, turning her around to face him.
He drew her eyes to him. She looked up at him and studied her own reflection in his eyes.
She moved in closer and kissed him with a soft peck on the lips. He wanted more. He took her lips to his, opening his mouth to meet her tongue. Moaning with each movement of their tongues, he sucked her lips and pulled away again with a gentle peck.
In silence, Torino guided Sequoia to the center island of his kitchen. He took the box of condoms from a plastic bag and then back-armed any items that remained, scooping them off and onto the floor. He lifted Sequoia to sit on top of the tile countertop, unbuttoned her blouse and removed it, leaving it to fall to the kitchen floor. He passionately squeezed her ample breasts together while they peeked through her underwire bra. He undid the snaps and took both of her saluting nipples into his mouth, breathing like a man who’d not had a meal in years. Sequoia leaned back on her hands and looked down to see him enjoying her. Her bottom half squirmed with excitement as if it was finally about to happen. He released her breasts and slipped her out of her blue jean skirt, sliding it to the side.
Torino laid her flat on her back, at the same time parting her legs right in front of him, bending her knees upward and removing her high heels, placing her bare feet flat against the edge of the white tile.
He puckered his lips and kissed the outside of her panties. He licked the outlined shape of her vagina until she started to groan in anticipation. He flicked his tongue up and down along her middle and licked the cotton fabric, teasing what lay beneath. He almost ate her tangerine panties with his teeth, finding a way to
move the thong aside just as he slipped the tip of his tongue around the outside of one lip. She jumped and squirmed for more. He licked both lips, side to side, finally pointing his tongue inside of her, tasting her excitement with a tongue screw. He noticed her coils of dark brown hairs, long and unshaven and wild, just the way he liked them. He raised his attention to her clit, touching it lightly and then sucking it and licking just below. His mouth devoured her. Sequoia began to buck like a wild pony yearning to be tamed by his talents. She started to rub her own breasts and moved her hips in cooperation with his strokes. Her legs were now pointed straight out into the air above his back. She had a leg lock on his head so tight that you could only see the top of his dreads.
Sequoia felt a rush that was different, it was intense, it was powerful, and it was coming fast. She held back for a second and then gripped the back of his head, giving him all that she’d been saving. She became so dizzy and so foggy, that she started to cry. Tears rolled down her cheeks while she gave in to the rush.
Torino rose and noticed her emotions. They were spelled out in her dreamy, teary eyes. He came up to wipe her cheeks, while she turned her head almost feeling ashamed that she’d let him get to her like that.
“Don’t cry, baby. Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said softly.
“Are you sure?” he asked, looking her dead in the eye.
“I just lost control.”
“I’m glad you did,” he said.
Torino took a condom from the box. He bit the foil end with his teeth, taking out the lubricated rubber and securing it on his long, dark, stiffness. He then pulled down Sequoia’s thong and pulled her to a standing position. He bent her over the island, laying her tummy flat on the counter. She rose up on her tiptoes so that her hips exacted the height of the edge of the island. Cautiously, he inserted his wide, middle finger into her moist opening. Sequoia tightened up for a moment, and then exhaled deeply, relaxing so as to enjoy his penetration.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yes, I am,” she said. She looked back at him and caught a glimpse of his girth. She was surprised and impressed. She braced herself.
Torino took hold of his own penis and guided himself into her, careful to sense her physical reaction as he worked each inch into a full entry within a matter of seconds. He pumped his way into her and listened for her groans of pleasure with each gradual motion.
Indeed she did moan upon his entry. He was deep and his size took up all of her.
“Sequoia?”
“Yes.”
His heartbeat mirrored her rhythm. “I think I’m in love with you, baby. I think I’ve been in love with you for a long time. Just say you’ll never leave me.”
“I’ll never leave you.”
“Say you belong to me.”
“I belong to you, Torino. Nobody but you.”
His face was within an inch of her long hair, flowing down her back. It smelled of sweet orange as he took in the aroma, almost feeling dizzy from the sensation of being inside of her. “Can I come inside of you?”
“Yes.”
“Can I come inside of you?” he asked again.
“Yes, you can,” she replied louder.
He looked at her, spellbound by her flagrant sexuality, hoping to catch eye contact. But Sequoia’s head was bent down with her eyes shut.
“Sequoia, I’ve wanted you for so long. I watched you when you danced and I watched you when you walked. I’ve been wanting you for so many damn years.”
“Well, it’s yours now.”
“There’s no turning back, baby. I’m coming for you now.”
“Give it to me. Give mamma all of your stuff,” Sequoia said, finally looking back to watch him work it.
Torino saw her brown, sultry eyes looking back at him and exploded before he could release his next word. He pumped and then froze, tightening his glutes and allowing his shooting juices to pulsate into his new woman.
He spoke while still grunting. “That’s what I’m talking about, right there. That’s how it’s supposed to feel.”
All Sequoia could say was, “Torino. I love you, too.”
He kissed her back softly and then removed himself, grabbing the base of the condom. He then rested his chest on her back. Both breathing in exact unison. Both drained. Both having released their emotions for the other. Both collapsing through a slow, lasting exhale.
Mercedes left for work in the morning. She decided to go in a little later after dropping off Star and Rashaad at school. Just as she pulled out of the garage, Sequoia was strolling down the side walkway from the back house, prepared to start her day as well.
“Hey, girl. I’m going to have to start charging you rent, too,” Mercedes yelled out of the driver side window.
“I wouldn’t blame you. Even my mom is starting to trip. She says I’m never home. I moved her in with me and now I’m gone all the time.”
“You’re still paying for that duplex in Culver City?”
“Oh, come on now, I haven’t been around for that long.” Sequoia was running her fingers through her hair. “I need to get him some new mirrors in that tiny bathroom. I need to be able to see the back of my nappy head.”
“Your hair looks fine. I’m surprised Colette hasn’t come by trying to start something. Check your tires now,” Mercedes kidded.
“She calls every now and then, but for the most part I think she’s been pretty quiet.”
“Where are you headed anyway?” Mercedes asked.
“I have to stop by IBM and set some travel arrangements for one of their executives.”
“And that’s it?”
“So far.”
“Shoot, I’ll be at that office all day trying to book these models for a show Eve is doing next month.”
“If anyone can do it, you can,” Sequoia said, glancing at her wristwatch. “Maybe I’ll see you later, okay?”
“I’m sure you will.”
Sequoia started toward her lag when Mercedes called her back.
“Sequoia?”
Sequoia stopped and turned around. “Yes, girl. What?”
“You really like Torino, don’t you?” Mercedes asked.
“Yes, Mercedes, I really do. He’s just different. It’s like we have a history together. We seem to know each other so well. Nothing shocks either one of us.”
“That’s important. Just be careful, Sequoia. Take it slow and make sure this is what you want.”
“Mercedes, we’re just dating.”
“It seems like you’re living together, almost,” Mercedes said with a wink.
“Well, we’re not. But, we are spending a lot of time with each other. Believe it or not, Torino is a man who is generous in spirit and sex. I am really happy.”
“I can see that.”
Sequoia sounded as if she was hypnotized. “I’ve been alone for so long, I just can’t describe the feeling. It’s like we just fell into sync with each other.”
“Like I said, be careful and ease into it.”
“I think I’m beyond easing into it. Why do you keep saying take it slow? What’s up with you?” Sequoia asked.
“Just that he’s fresh off of dealing with Colette. You never know what his feelings really are about her,” Mercedes explicated.
Sequoia sounded assured. “He’s over her, believe me. She’s the least of my worries. Look, I’ve got to go.”
“Okay, girl. Call me later if you can. I want to hear more,” Mercedes said as she prepared to put her car in reverse.
“Sure. I’ll give you a buzz.”
“Okay, girl. Have a good day. I guess I can’t call you the born again virgin anymore, huh?” Mercedes joked.
“Born again, yes. Virgin, hell no,” Sequoia said with a melody. She threw her hands up to the blue sky and sashayed away.
Sequoia had Colette on her mind most of the day, without even knowing why she was really bothered by her. It was not like Torino was giving Colette the time of day or anything. Sequoia barely made it into her two-bedroom home that evening when she sat down to pour herself a glass of white wine. She called Mercedes at home and found herself inquiring about Colette.
Sequoia told Mercedes, “She’s just a trip, that’s for sure so I don’t feel sorry for her. And I must say that she’s no fan of mine anyway.”
“Colette doesn’t like too many females. And you’re saying that you don’t feel sorry for her about what?”
“About breaking up with Torino. She smothered him like gravy on a pork chop.”
“That she did.”
“And about being pregnant.”
Mercedes replied, “Oh, she’s not really pregnant.”
“Yes, she is.”
“Please. She’s just trippin’. With her vain and shallow self, she’s not
even
going to ruin her figure or her career trying to get a man with the I’m
pregnant
game.”