It’s been almost a week since my and King’s little rendezvous, and although I told him to not be controlling, I can’t help but wish he would. Tomorrow is my mom’s anniversary, and I’m dreading it. If he were to text my boss again and make up another lie, I’d be happy this time, but I won’t tell him that.

I’ve got the day off and that’s most important. Had I needed to work tomorrow, I’m not sure how much help I would be. I’ve never worked on an anniversary of my mom’s passing, because I’m simply a wreck. As I wash up in the ladies’ room, Mistee comes in and says, “You did a great job today.”

“Thanks, girl.”

“You wanna do something tonight? I can bring wine and cupcakes over again.”

“I can’t. King and I are hanging out.”

“Okay. Things seem to be getting serious with him.”

“Yeah, I guess they are.”

“You guess?” she retorts. “You’re with him all the time, he drops you off, picks you up, you missed the happy hour we had the other night…”

“I’ve been spent, dude; running the kitchen is a lot.”

“I know, I’ve done it.”

She walks away from me and goes into the stall to pee. “I’m only trying to look out for you, girl. I don’t want you to jump into anything too fast,” she says

I roll my eyes. “I won’t, trust me. King is good to me.”

“Good, well, as long as you’re happy…then I’m happy.”

“Thanks, I’m gonna run, babe,” I tell her and dash out of the restroom, ready to get out of here.

Walking out the back door, it is pouring rain. I stop dead in my tracks, not wanting to get wet, and before I can even think about what I should do, King says, “Hey, beautiful,” holding an umbrella over himself, hiding under the eaves. “Hey,” I say and step under it with him.

He kisses me hard, like he hasn’t seen me for a year and I melt into him. Needing him to get me through tomorrow. In such a short time, I’ve grown to depend on him so much. As he leads me to the car and guides me in without a raindrop hitting me, I smile, thankful that I hit the damn jackpot with him.

Once he’s in, he tosses the umbrella in the back and touches my cheek. “Long day?” he asks, sensing the exhaustion in my eyes.

“Uh huh, thank God I didn’t take the job at Dellagio’s; that would be even longer hours.”

He chuckles and says, “Speaking of, I had lunch there with a client today and Lorenzo said the job offer is still open.”

I chuckle a little. “That’s very nice of him.” Resting my head back and gazing out the window. He grabs my hand, gripping it, causing me to look over at him.

“Did you decide what you want to do tonight?”

“I think I want to stay in. Is that okay with you?”

“Of course, it’s what I figured you’d want to do.”

He backs his car out and makes the quick trip to my place. As we pull up, I’m thankful the rain has stopped. We get out of the car and he’s got quite a few bags to carry inside. “Do you want help with all that?” I ask him.

“No.”

“What’s in there?” I peek as we walk into my building.

“Nothing.” He yanks them away and I giggle.

Once we are inside, I go straight for the shower. I can still smell food on me. As the hot water flows over my exhausted body, I can’t kick the stress of how tomorrow is going to be. Taking in a deep breath, I remind myself that I can make it through another anniversary. I’ll be strong. It’s what my mom would want, and thankfully, for the first time since her passing, I’ll have King to help me along.

“Here,” he says, opening the shower curtain and handing me a cold beer.

“Oh my God, I love you.”

“You do?” he asks.

I nervously take a sip of the beer, not sure how to respond – that came out all wrong. “I’m only fucking with you, baby,” he says, letting me off the hook. And as much as that should come as a relief, when I look deep inside myself at how dependent I’ve become upon my and King’s relationship and what he means to me, how much he means to me, I wonder, do I love him?

He sits on the toilet with the curtain cracked, watching me. I hand my beer back to him and he leans on the back of the toilet, seemingly content, staring at me. Which is not like King. Normally, he’d already be in here, pressing me against the wall, drilling his cock into me.

“You okay?” I ask him.

“I’m perfect,” he responds, and as I rinse my hair I notice him staring at the beer bottle he’s holding.

“You gonna drink with me tonight?” I ask, wondering why he never gives in.

“Nah, I’d rather get you drunk and take advantage of you.”

“So you think you got this in the bag?” I tease him, knowing there is no point to probe. If he doesn’t want to drink, then that’s his choice. We’re not in high school, I’m not going to peer pressure him into it.

Running my hand down my body, touching myself, he gives an exaggerated nod with a grin from ear to ear, liking what he’s seeing. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see about that.”

“I guess we will.” He passes me back my beer and pinches my nipple before walking off. “Enjoy the rest of your shower.”

“Hey,” I shout at him walking away from me like that. I finish showering and dry off, then notice his bag on the end of my bed. Unzipping it, I rummage through it and pull on a pair of his boxer briefs and a comfy t-shirt.

Strutting into the living room, my senses are filled with the most amazing smells. “What is that?” I ask as he’s standing in front of the stove.

“I don’t know, some shit Lorenzo sent with me today.”

“Christ, that man is killing me.”

“I like your clothes,” he says, hugging me and placing the spout of another beer to my lips.

“They’re yours – you should,” I respond after swallowing a bountiful amount of the hoppy fluid.

“I know they are, but I really like you in them.” He reaches behind him for a gift bag.

“What did you buy me?” I immediately ask, worried that he went way over the top.

“It’s nothing big, don’t get all crazy.”

Glaring at him, I say, “Remember who the crazy one is.”

I take the bag and peek inside, immediately smiling when I see the array of tiny liquor bottles. “Ahhh, you got me more shooters?”

“Yeah, I knew you were getting low.”

“You are so thoughtful.” He kisses me and the timer on the oven beeps. “It’s done already?”

“I guess. He said to only put it in for ten minutes.”

I grab two plates and King pulls out four to-go containers. Each one he opens has a different amazing food in it. We each dish some out onto our plates, and then I ask King, “Are you okay if we eat on the couch?”

“Baby, whatever you want is good with me.”

As we sit down and indulge in the amazing food, my eyes are drawn to one of the letters my mom wrote to me that is on the coffee table. It sends a twinge of pain through my heart and King senses it as I stop eating and reread it. “Are we still having dinner with your dad tomorrow?” he asks me.

“Yeah.”

“You sure he’s cool that I’m coming?”

“Are you kidding me? He loves you.”

He smiles and asks me, “Did you decide what you want to do tomorrow?”

“Well, I don’t want to do anything.”

“I’m sure you don’t, baby, and if you don’t feel up to it in the morning, then we’ll stay in and make it through the day together. But getting out might be good.”

“I agree, I want to try. When my mom was battling cancer, she couldn’t hike like we used to. But we would go to the Newport Cliff walk. It was an easy flat stroll with amazing views. I haven’t been there since she passed, and with you by my side…I think I’m ready.”

“Okay,” he says and squeezes my thigh. “I like that idea, we’ll go there then.”

After we are finished eating, King takes our plates to the kitchen and cleans up. Lying back on the couch, I love watching him in my home. “Hand me those shots, baby?” I ask and he tosses me the bag that I dig around in until I find the perfect one. Sipping on it, I let the alcohol burn away the pain that is climbing its way to the surface. He comes back over and hands me another gift that he has hidden behind the couch. Sitting up, I look back there to see if he’s got any more buried away. “King?”

“What? It’s nothing big and I promise you’ll love it.”

The bag is huge and I worry it’s another goddamn dress. “It better have not cost a lot of money.”

“Shut up and open it,” he says rolling his eyes as he sits down, pulling my feet onto his lap.

Taking out the white tissue paper, I let it fall to the floor and ask him, “What is it with you and white?”

“I thought you liked white?”

“Just because I’m a chef doesn’t mean it’s my favorite color.” Taking out a huge white box, I set it on my lap and tell him, “My favorite color is baby blue.”

“Damn…really?”

“Yes.”

Removing the lid, I am flooded with emotions as a picture of my mom, dad, and I stares back at me, filling the entire front cover of a photo album. My hand flies over my mouth and a hurricane of tears rushes down my cheeks. King leans over and opens the first page for me, as I sit up so we are next to each other.

Glancing down at the page of memories, the weight of the book is so heavy and not only physically, but emotionally too. Then a picture of my mom and dad on their very first date gazes back at me and I push away the pain, reminding myself of what they shared. God, they were so happy and free, both had their whole lives ahead of them.

“Is this okay?” King asks me, looking for reassurance as I sob like a baby.

“Yes,” I respond, leaning into him as he kisses the top of my hair, and I begin to turn the pages. Each one goes a little further and further in my parents’ lives, then there’s me. “God, I was an ugly baby.”

“No, you weren’t,” he says, “You were beautiful, like you are today.”

I smile as these pictures all bring back so many happy times, times that I think maybe I’ve suppressed because I’ve been living in the grief of my mother’s passing.

Page after page after page is a roller coaster of ups and downs, from tears to smiles and laughs. Then I come upon one of her and I at the cliff walk, and I tell King, “This is the place I was talking about.”

“Your dad told me.”

“He did?”

“Oh, yes. When I stopped by his place and talked to him about making this for you, he talked all about how much your mom loved going there. He was adamant that this picture be in the album.”

Coming to the last page, there is a small thin video screen of my mother blowing a kiss. I blink watching her as it replays again and again. Then I break down, crying harder than I have since the day I watched her take her last breath. King pulls me onto his lap as the album falls to the floor.

He lets me be, as an ocean of tears, six years worth, flood out of me, and all I can picture is her blowing that kiss, wishing more than anything that she was here to do that for me.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he says.

“You didn’t,” I respond through a hiccup from crying so hard. “I just wasn’t expecting that.”

“Was the album okay?”

“It was perfect. How did you get that video?”

“It was on her computer. Your dad let me take it to get everything I needed to make this for you.”

I’m not sure how to thank him. This is by far the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. Rubbing my thumb over his lips, I feel his cock grow beneath me and lift my shirt – his shirt – above my head, tossing it aside. I need to show him how grateful I am and to get lost in what we are. He takes both of my breasts into his hands, caressing and sucking them. I moan at his touch, his tongue providing an insurmountable amount of pleasure.

My hips rock against his. He needs me as much as I need him. Reaching for his shirt, I unbutton it as fast as I can, then tear it over his head as he shimmies his pants down. My eyes are fixated on his mouthwatering cock, and I stand to completely undress, but King kisses me, making it hard. However, once we are both naked, I kneel back over him and he pushes his dick towards me. Slowly, I slide down on him. He growls, entering my body, and I gasp at how hard he is. Jiving my hips, relishing in the fullness, our fingers intertwine, stretched high above his head as I lean down and kiss him, barreling my tongue into his mouth the same way his cock is fucking me.

“Yessss,” I murmur as he squeezes my fingers, taking away all the remorse that is running through my mind. Our bodies blend together so perfectly, the force of our movements so strong you’d think this was the last time we were ever going to be together. But thankfully with King, I’m confident we’ll ride off into the sunset of forever.

Trying to catch my breath, I pull back. His chest is pounding as he takes our hands and places them over his heart. “Are you okay?” I ask, worried that I can feel his heart beat so strongly.

“Uh huh,” he responds, with passion blazing in his eyes.

His hard shaft is rubbing me just right and I tell him, “I’m gonna come.”

“Let go, baby,” he says harshly, his deep voice mixed with sin, and a powerful explosion of bliss rains down on us as we both fall from the reality we live in, into a world so amazing, where nothing else matters, except our pleasure and our darkest desires.