Chapter 13

Zora

Everything hurt by Saturday, my head, stomach, body all had aches and pains. I couldn’t keep anything down and diarrhea had me home bound.

I had the flu and Sasha nor Justine would allow me to get near any of the players. Pete even called to forbid me to come and let Justine lead everything. I turned on the game, and with pride, watched the ladies take a knee, but it was soon replaced by sadness as I thought of what I’d lost.

Harvey.

The ladies were playing hard, but they were struggling defensively. Giving away shots, so I text Justine, to get Sasha on the forwards and have them take a charge when those guards came in there like they owned the damned paint. She called a time-out and I guess she must have relayed my message because the turning point of the game was when Shawn and Hightower were fouled and a charge was called on the other team, back to back.

As much as I could celebrate, I tried, but I was shivering, teeth were chattering and my body was sweating profusely.

My doorbell rang, causing me to get up slowly and see nobody but Mr. Harvey Black outside.

“What?” I coughed.

“Open the fucking door,” he snapped.

“Go away.” I tried to snap back, but it was really hoarse.

“No fucking way. I’ll stand out here and shout this house down, if you don’t open this door,” he said in a loud voice.

Shit, he damn sure would.

Unlocking the doors, I said, “Leave me alone.”

“You’re fucking sick,” Harvey snapped as he pushed through the door, closed it with his foot and dropped some bags on the floor.

His next move was to scoop me up in his arms and carry me upstairs.

“Harvey, what are you doing?” I said through chattering teeth.

He swore under his breath and continued on his mission, in which I held on tighter. After laying me on the bed, he turned on the shower, then stripped me and put me inside. 

“I’ll be right back,” he said and left.

After washing my body at a snail’s pace, Harvey returned and toweled me off. In the bedroom, the television had the game on and we were in the lead. Soup, tea and buttered bread were on my night stand, along with some medicine.

Harvey tucked me in good, so I could warm up, gave me the meds and the food. I did not have the strength to fight with him or even stay up to watch the game. I drifted to sleep, with five minutes left, we were down by three points.

When I woke up the next morning, Harvey was in the bed, over top of the covers, sleeping. His hands were crossed over his chest and it was in that moment, I saw he did not look so great himself. He had bags under his eyes and his usually trimmed mustache and beard, were a little scruffy. His hair was longer than normal and despite everything I wanted to kiss him to let him know that it would be okay. I didn’t really know if it would be okay, but I hated seeing him like this. Fuck, I hated feeling like this.

The man must have felt me looking at him because his eyes popped open, causing me to jerk back.

“You alright?” he asked.

I nodded in confirmation.

“What’s wrong?” Harvey sat up on the bed in a thermal and pants.

“Nothing, just wondering.” I turned to leave the bed.

“About?” he asked.

“Us,” I said before closing the bathroom door.

I needed some space from the man, but damn, I just wanted to be up under him. Sick and all. I felt much better but I must have sweated out most of the sickness because my nightgown was soaked through. There were no aches but a dull headache that was looming in the background. I climbed in the shower, washed off and returned to an empty bedroom.

Quickly throwing on some clothes, I went downstairs to see Harvey over the stove stirring what smelled like oatmeal with two cups of tea on the side, cooling off. I forgot his tea stash was here somewhere. The tea connoisseur.

“Sit,” he told me and since I was going to anyway, I did at the counter, on the other side of the stove. “You feeling better?”

“Yes,” I answered then looked to him. “Thank you, Harvey.”

“No need to thank me.” He kept stirring. “When I didn’t see you at the game, heard you were sick and knew you were too proud to call anyone for help. When I’m right, I’m right.”

I nabbed one of the teas and took a sip. It was delicious, and the warm liquid seemed to settle me almost instantly. 

“That’s good,” I commented.

“Yeah, it has healing qualities,” Harvey added before he turned off the burner.

Moments later, a bowl of hot oatmeal with a splash of milk was in front of me and Harvey.

“Eat, sweetheart,” he commanded. “You need to get your strength up, so you can go and make history this season.”

I turned my head to him and in that moment his eyes met mine and I knew, I was in love with him. There was no doubt about it, he made me fall in love with his crazy ass. Harvey leaned forward, held up the tea cup to me, as if he was toasting something and took a sip.

Shit, he knew it too.

By the end of breakfast, nothing much was said, except the Lady Vikings had won our game and if I kept drinking his special tea, getting some rest and eating right, I’d be ready by the game on Saturday. I had answered all of my texts and congratulated the ladies on their big win from last night. A reminder popped up on my screen, saying I had dinner with the Blacks that evening. Harvey must have received the same notification because he raised his head and said, “Don’t worry, I told them you were sick. They want to reschedule.”

Awkward.

“Don’t you have to be at work?” I asked him as he lingered around after breakfast was over.

“I called out,” Harvey said while looking up at me. “I had more pressing issues to attend to.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” I shared.

He gave me his usual knowing smile and said, “You may be done with us, but I’m not. I take care of what’s mine.”

“Harvey, I don’t want to argue,” I announced. “I won’t.”

“Me either. You need to get well and that’s the priority.” He stood up and cornered me while I was still sitting on the stool.

On its own accord, my hand moved up his hard chest until both hands wrapped around his neck. Then I finally said, “Thank you Harvey. I’d kiss you but I’m full of cooties.”

His serious gaze seemed to penetrate through my soul. But, then, he smiled, made me blush and said, “Promise if I get sick you must take care of me.”

“We will not take turns being sick,” I said with a shake of my head. “That’s just unhealthy. I felt like shit yesterday.”

He rested his forehead to mine for a short bit, then he said, “I’m going to go, but rest. There is soup in the refrigerator, plenty of juice in there too and your meds are on the nightstand. Also, keep up with the tea. I’m telling you, it works.”

“Okay,” I agree.

“See you, Zora. I’ll call later.” He kissed my hair and left me sitting there wishing he could have stayed.

Later, Sasha and Justine came over for the same reason Harvey came by, but once they saw I was good, they got out of there, claiming cooties were contagious. By Friday, I felt like a new woman, just a little slower than normal. Harvey texted me and called to see how I was doing, had me taking my temperature and ensuring I was resting. He didn’t come by anymore and I was a little disappointed by that but I was the one that set the tone for what we were at that moment.

By Saturday, I was back on the court with my ladies and we beat, yet another team who had strong players, with a winning streak like ours. The league was buzzing about our domination and there were other teams chomping at the bit. 

Another three weeks went by where we continued to win and take our game to the next level. I started rotating players in and out, so I wouldn’t tire out my starters. We had already met the capacity to make the playoffs.

During that time period, I rarely saw Harvey, even though I heard he was at the home games and he’d text me to see how I’m doing. We were cordial, but it was different and I missed him. He no longer met me after the games, or came over unannounced. It was like, he’d moved on, and I guess that was good because neither of us could reconcile how we felt about the situation.

Mid-season, there was a fundraiser which was also a sports banquet. I went alone, like I always do but caught up with Sasha, Justine and her partner, Lauren. Desiree was there as well, still flirting and claiming she knew I wasn’t gay but hoping that I was at least bi-curious. I shooed her away. That had gotten old too. Thirty minutes after the banquet had started, Harvey comes in with a leggy blonde in a red chiffon dress.

Aww, shit.

My table started to buzz but my coaches were cussing.

“Y’all,” I called. “Stop. We’re not together, so stop.”

“Fuck that,” Justine called.

Pete simply looked at me, as well as his wife, but I kept my face impassive and continued to eat my food. Maybe too much of it. After another thirty minutes, I went to the restroom to relieve myself. Once I stepped outside, I saw the leggy blonde in front of me and Harvey on the side of the ladies room door.

“Zora,” he called with a smile.

“Harvey,” I called back with no smile but kept walking back toward my table.

“I miss you,” he said in a low voice, causing me to stop in my tracks.

I turned to look at him, and then the blonde with utter confusion, and said, “Really?”

The blonde took that moment to walk toward me with bright eyes and said, “I understand your stance on the take a knee initiative. I think it’s even more empowering that you gave up the man you clearly love because of it, but it is killing him. Uncle Harvey is no fun anymore.”

I turned my head toward Harvey, who merely shrugged and said, “That’s not all. Go ahead and ask her, Beth. That’s why you wanted to come, remember.”

“Oh yeah,” her eyes grew bright again. “Would you be willing to come and talk to my class about Black Lives Matter and convince them they should give a damn about what happens to the citizens of the United States.”

I nearly choked at the words spilling from those red lips of hers.

“How old are you?” I asked.

“Twenty-one,” she said. “I graduate this May from Villanova. Our Senior Colloquium class is the one I want you to speak to. It’ll mean so much to them. There are a lot of women athletes in my class too. I played volleyball.”

“I see.” I looked at Harvey again. “Well, I don’t mind coming to speak to your class, but I’m not sure about convincing them of anything. I couldn’t even convince your uncle.”

Her eyes grew big, then she said, “Oh yes you did… He even—”

“Beth,” he called out interrupting her. “She said, she’d come. Now give her the logistics.”

“So bossy,” she muttered. “See what I mean. He’s no fun anymore.”

“Oh, I know what you mean.” I chuckled but jumped when Harvey tried to swat at my ass. “Hey.”

“Stop talking about me like I’m not right here.” He looked annoyed.

Beth was attempting to dig in her small clutch for paper and a pen, but I said, “Come with me. I have a card. The best way to reach me is via email.”

When we arrived at my table, everybody was on red alert. To put folks at ease, I introduced everyone to Beth.

“This is Harvey’s niece, Beth, and she’s having me come to speak to her class about Black Lives Matter.” I explained, then the normal vibe begins to flow again and daggers weren’t being thrown at Harvey anymore.

He waved to everyone but kept his distance. Once I’d given Beth my card, she gave me a big hug and scurried back to her seat. Harvey lingered. I turned to him when he said in hushed tones, “I miss you.”

I lowered my voice, and I muttered, “I miss you too.”

He ran his hand down my arm, then grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to him. My body complied because he totally had control over it.

“Can I see you tonight?” he said against my lips.

“Harvey, must we do this here?” I asked, while trying to back away.

“Can I see you tonight?” he asked again. “Just one night, please. I’ll walk away again in the morning.”

My eyes closed and nobody else existed in that moment, except us. I wanted him so bad, my pussy pulsed with the absence of him and the knowledge of what he could do to ease the ache I carried every day since we were last together. The agony in my chest from the fact there was no way I could be without the man I loved. “I don’t want you to walk away,” I told him, honestly. “I just don’t know how to reconcile the two.”

He nodded and said, “Give me tonight, please.”

My eyes opened, and I looked up to him, pleading for him to let me go, but I knew he wouldn’t. He was in pain, just like me. The only way to stop it was to go to the root. I was his root, and he was mine.

“Okay,” I conceded. “One night.”

“After this.” He nodded before he kissed my lips. “As soon as the speech is over, we leave.”

“Okay.” I agree.

Harvey walked away and took my arm with him until he was too far away and let it go. It fell lifeless back to my side.

“Sweetie, you okay?” Sasha was standing behind me.

“No, not really.” I turned to sit down and ignore the faces staring at me like I was a lost puppy without its owner.

Shit, maybe I was.

That’s how I felt.

****

As soon as the speech was over, I stood to go, and Sasha went with me. My driver dropped her off home and then me. When I reached my house, Harvey was already standing outside on the steps. I slowly walked toward the door, unlocked it and began to undress right there in the foyer. Harvey was not slow on the uptake, and followed suit, before he had me pinned against the back wall, with his hands on my ass and my legs wrapped around waist.

My pussy hovered over his hard dick and it wasn’t until I wrapped my arms around his neck that he entered me nice and deep.

“Ohhhh, Harrveeyyy,” I cried out.

“Fuuuuccckkk,” he groaned. “God, I missed you.”

Harvey bounced my ass up and down on his dick until I came hard around him and he followed up with a punishing mark on my right shoulder, and a roar that would wake the neighbors, as he filled me with his seed.

He carried me up the stairs to the bedroom where he continued to fuck me nice and slow, then fast, then he had me ride him before I sucked him off and he ate my pussy and my ass. The sun was rising by the time, we finally stopped fucking but the man knew how to make one night last.

“Harvey.” My words were slurring because sleepy delirium had checked in. “I miss you so much, it hurts.”

“Me too, sweetheart. Fucking hurts bad,” he replied pulling me closer into him.

“It hurts because I love you so much,” I shared unnecessarily as sleep began to take me. “I knew it was real though. Maybe another lifeti…”

I trailed off.  I was in lala land, but I felt Harvey’s body get tight.