Between Friends by D. L. Sparks

me take over.
    I worked my hips in small circles, watching him as he looked up at me, enjoying his show. He reached around and smacked my ass, and my rhythm picked up some speed.
    â€œYeah, girl, you know how I like it. Work that ass.”
    Sweat ran down my body onto his as he grabbed my waist and began thrusting his hips upward, causing me to cry out. I held on to the headboard and rode him faster.
    â€œUh! You ... gon’ ... make ... me ... cum,” he said, his breathing ragged.
    Just then my eyes snapped open and I stared, emotionless, at the wall in front of me.
    That’s exactly what I’m trying to do, I thought.
    I placed my hands on his chest and moved up and down on him. I was so wet; the sounds of my body filled the room.
    I teased him—pulling him out, all the way to the tip, and then taking him all back in. I did that, over and over again, until I felt his hands grip my waist.
    â€œCum for me, baby,” I whispered.
    When I felt his body tense, I hopped off him, slid down his body, and took him in my hand. I worked him up and down. I licked and sucked his tip as he cried out. I felt him throbbing and twitching as he came; his warm seed spilled out onto my hand.
    I got up and went into the bathroom for a towel to clean up. I turned the water on in the shower and let it run as I looked at the woman staring back at me in the mirror. Tried to justify the things she’d done in the name of love and family.
    When I realized I couldn’t, I climbed under the streaming water.
    You do what you have to do, I thought.
    I cleaned up and brushed my teeth. After brushing my hair back into a ponytail, I climbed into bed. Linc was already half asleep, but he pulled me close to him as soon as he felt my body next to his.
    â€œYou know I was thinking about something,” I started.
    He reached up and rubbed my hair. “What’s that?”
    â€œThere’s a lot going on and I can’t focus right now, with Grammie being sick and you working on this case.” I took a deep breath. “What if we pushed the date back for the wedding? Just for a little while.”
    He got quiet and I held my breath.
    Held it so long that my lungs began to burn.
    â€œNah, date stays the same.” He grabbed his phone and silenced the ringing, officially dismissing me.
    â€œI mean, don’t you think it would make sense—”
    â€œDrop it. The date stays the same,” he said, cutting me off. “Oh and Idalis.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œDon’t get Trip fucked up.”
    My eyes went to the ceiling, and got lost in the fan’s movement.
    Became hypnotized by its smooth rotation.
    I lay there, trying to find comfort in the midst of chaos.
    Is that even possible? I asked myself.
    I guess anything is possible, when you have control over nothing.

Chapter Eight
    Trip
    I slid the plastic key into the door to my rented home and took a deep breath. The suite at the W definitely wasn’t my house back in New Orleans, but until this case was complete, it was home for now.
    I tossed the files I had in my hand onto the glass coffee table before heading toward the bathroom. I was in desperate need of a hot shower. I opened the glass door and turned the knob. The marble-and-glass room quickly started to fill with steam as I pulled off my clothes. The Velcro from my vest cut into the silence of the room as I tossed it to the floor.
    As much as I hated to admit it, my mind was on Idalis. We had history—a history that no one would understand but us. Hell, she was my first kiss. I smiled at the memory of us hiding under the back steps of her grandmother’s house. We were only seven years old. I remember how she tried to act like she wasn’t scared, but from the way she was shaking, I could tell she was just as nervous as I was. It was just a peck, but I remember walking away, feeling like I’d just become a man.
    I also remembered how Idalis used to help me hide the