your happiness. Or mine, for that matter. I don’t care what color you are. We both bleed red, Max.” My anger simmered below the surface, ready to break free. “We’re not living in the 1950s, for shit’s sake. Get a grip, Max. Clearly, you have other thoughts. I didn’t hear you saying no to my big white cock as you screamed my name.”
She winced. “You just wouldn’t understand.”
“I don’t. I wasn’t raised to look at a person’s skin color. When I look at you, Max, I see beauty. The inner glow and fierce attitude that emanate from you have drawn me to you.”
“My family is my everything, Anthony.”
“Mine is too,” I hurled back at her. “But I wouldn’t let them dictate my future.”
“I can’t.”
“Fucking stop saying that shit!” I yelled, slamming my hand down on a display case next to me.
She jumped from the loud clatter of the jewelry display as it moved with the impact.
“Don’t tell them,” I begged. “What if you don’t tell them about me? I don’t need to come over for dinner on the weekends. I don’t care if I ever meet your parents. All I want is you. Just you. Only you, Max.”
She closed her eyes as tears streamed down her face and fell to the floor. “I don’t know.”
“Max,” I pleaded. “Give me—no, give us —a chance. I don’t want to look back and wonder what could’ve been. Maybe we’ll fall apart and the flame we have for each other will fizzle out. At least we’ll know we tried. To deny ourselves the ability to know if there’s something more between us is just plain cruel.” I stepped toward her, cradling her face in my hands as I caught her tears with my thumbs.
Small crinkles formed near the corners of her eyes as she strained to keep them closed. Her tears grew until she trembled in my arms.
“I want to say yes, Anthony. I want to more than anything,” she sobbed.
“Then do it.” I brushed her skin with my lips, basking in her softness. “Be the strong woman I met in the bar weeks ago. I don’t care if I have to hide as long as I’m with you.”
She kept her eyes shut and didn’t respond.
“I’ll hide in the shadows for you. I’ll be your dirty secret. As long as I get to touch you, kiss your lips, and see where the sparks lead us, I’ll do anything. Just don’t shut me out.”
“Okay,” she whispered as her eyes fluttered open. Tears hung in her eyes, ready to fall again as she looked at me. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. Your touch stayed with me for days, Anthony. It scorched my skin, burning hotter than the sun. I can’t promise a future, but I can give you the now.”
Taking a long, slow inhale, I felt relieved that she had given in. All I wanted was the now. We could implode and collapse like the tallest skyscraper during demolition, but I wanted to know we’d tried. That I hadn’t let her run away without exploring the first true feelings I’d ever felt for a woman.
That was how we began.
I hadn’t been expecting him. I thought I’d done enough and been cruel to the point he’d never want to cross paths again. Naturally, I was wrong. He wasn’t the type to give up, but the one thing I thought I had going for me was that I was just as bullheaded as he was.
As he turned around, my heart stopped. I felt a void inside my chest from the rhythmic beating that I’d grown to ignore, but when it ceased I took note. I wanted to jump into his arms and kiss his face but I refrained.
I tried everything I could think of to get him to understand we couldn’t be together. The problem with that was he didn’t believe a word of it. I felt the spark just as much as he had. Maybe even more since I hadn’t let anyone touch me for years.
I’d lied to him. I couldn’t believe what popped out of my mouth when I felt backed into a corner. I’d pay someday for that shitty-ass lie. My family wouldn’t care that he was white. Denzel was engaged to a white girl, after all. It was the only thing
She winced. “You just wouldn’t understand.”
“I don’t. I wasn’t raised to look at a person’s skin color. When I look at you, Max, I see beauty. The inner glow and fierce attitude that emanate from you have drawn me to you.”
“My family is my everything, Anthony.”
“Mine is too,” I hurled back at her. “But I wouldn’t let them dictate my future.”
“I can’t.”
“Fucking stop saying that shit!” I yelled, slamming my hand down on a display case next to me.
She jumped from the loud clatter of the jewelry display as it moved with the impact.
“Don’t tell them,” I begged. “What if you don’t tell them about me? I don’t need to come over for dinner on the weekends. I don’t care if I ever meet your parents. All I want is you. Just you. Only you, Max.”
She closed her eyes as tears streamed down her face and fell to the floor. “I don’t know.”
“Max,” I pleaded. “Give me—no, give us —a chance. I don’t want to look back and wonder what could’ve been. Maybe we’ll fall apart and the flame we have for each other will fizzle out. At least we’ll know we tried. To deny ourselves the ability to know if there’s something more between us is just plain cruel.” I stepped toward her, cradling her face in my hands as I caught her tears with my thumbs.
Small crinkles formed near the corners of her eyes as she strained to keep them closed. Her tears grew until she trembled in my arms.
“I want to say yes, Anthony. I want to more than anything,” she sobbed.
“Then do it.” I brushed her skin with my lips, basking in her softness. “Be the strong woman I met in the bar weeks ago. I don’t care if I have to hide as long as I’m with you.”
She kept her eyes shut and didn’t respond.
“I’ll hide in the shadows for you. I’ll be your dirty secret. As long as I get to touch you, kiss your lips, and see where the sparks lead us, I’ll do anything. Just don’t shut me out.”
“Okay,” she whispered as her eyes fluttered open. Tears hung in her eyes, ready to fall again as she looked at me. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. Your touch stayed with me for days, Anthony. It scorched my skin, burning hotter than the sun. I can’t promise a future, but I can give you the now.”
Taking a long, slow inhale, I felt relieved that she had given in. All I wanted was the now. We could implode and collapse like the tallest skyscraper during demolition, but I wanted to know we’d tried. That I hadn’t let her run away without exploring the first true feelings I’d ever felt for a woman.
That was how we began.
I hadn’t been expecting him. I thought I’d done enough and been cruel to the point he’d never want to cross paths again. Naturally, I was wrong. He wasn’t the type to give up, but the one thing I thought I had going for me was that I was just as bullheaded as he was.
As he turned around, my heart stopped. I felt a void inside my chest from the rhythmic beating that I’d grown to ignore, but when it ceased I took note. I wanted to jump into his arms and kiss his face but I refrained.
I tried everything I could think of to get him to understand we couldn’t be together. The problem with that was he didn’t believe a word of it. I felt the spark just as much as he had. Maybe even more since I hadn’t let anyone touch me for years.
I’d lied to him. I couldn’t believe what popped out of my mouth when I felt backed into a corner. I’d pay someday for that shitty-ass lie. My family wouldn’t care that he was white. Denzel was engaged to a white girl, after all. It was the only thing
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