This November

Chapter 5

She was extremely happy to be back in St. Louis. She never wanted to see Atlanta again, or the man she hated right now.

As soon as she arrived at her condo in downtown St. Louis, on Washington Ave., she did not put her suitcases away, she went straight to the shower to wash her worries away. She pulled her twists up into a bun on top of her head, undressed, and stepped in. The thought of those kisses from Leek, his hands on her, touching his body, the way he smelled, it was intoxicating. There was not enough hot water to wash his touch away, or the fact that they did not finish things.

She finished for herself. All the pent-up sexual energy she felt for Malik.

The release felt nice. She finished showering and grabbed her big, white fluffy robe. She walked barefoot over to the sliding glass door to the balcony so she could watch the traffic below her. Uneventful for a Saturday afternoon. She really did miss her city. She loved it, despite all its issues and racism, violence, and poverty.

She grew up lower middle class, with both her mother, stepfather, and three younger siblings. She was the only one with a different father, who she never really knew. He was in her life when she was younger, but quickly made an exit before she hit ten years old. It was okay, her stepfather was more like her father anyway.

Her younger siblings, she never looked at them as "half-siblings" they were her brothers and sister. She was closest with her sister Noelle-Yves, who they just called No. She was four years younger than her, so they never were in the same school except for that later part of elementary school when she was nothing but a bug-a-boo. Now they were peas in the pod.

She thought of calling her and telling her of all her adventures in Atlanta, but instead, she looked at her phone and there was only one person she wanted to call.

The man who had her heart.

"Sweetheart, you're home, you're safe? You're good?"

"Yes."

"I missed you."

She smiled, feeling almost like a shy schoolgirl. "Carter, I missed you too."

"Another day of Spring Break, what do you want to do?"

She knew exactly how she wanted to spend her last free day, and so did he, no words were needed. She quickly moved her luggage to a corner, no time to clean or get tidy, she cleaned before she left. She slathered her body with cocoa butter and did a light spray of vanilla-scented body spray. She pulled her twists down so they cascaded around her shoulders and down her back.

She brushed her teeth, flossed, and rinsed. She moisturized her face, and put on just a smidge of lip gloss, she hated crusty lips but did not like glossy ones.

She finished freshening up when she heard her front door open. That brought a smile to her face. She rushed out of her bedroom to greet the man she fell in love with nearly two years ago when she started her job teaching. He was all she cared about right now.

She jumped on him, wrapping her legs and arms around him, planting a passionate kiss on his lips.

"I see you really did miss me," Carter grinned, his arms snaked around her waist.

"I missed you so much!" She kissed him again. "I will never go on another vacation without you."

"No, you needed that, you needed to hang with your friends, be young, and have fun."

"I can have fun with you, here, anytime I want, right?"

"Yes, my love," he said, putting her down on the floor. "I go crazy when I am not with you. I wish I could spend every single night with you and hold you in my arms. I missed everything about you babe."