WHAT ARE FRIENDS FOR
For some reason he was antsy and every time the phone rang, he nearly jumped out of his skin to grab it.
"Hey, man. What's going on?" The day before the birthday party, he heard his friend's voice on the other end of the receiver.
"Not much. What about you?" Ben replied. Hearing Tad's voice put him on edge for some unexplained reason. He was invited over to Tad's house to toss back a few.
"Make sure you bring your appetite. I'm grilling some steaks." After the invitation, nothing more needed to be said. Cold beer and steaks always sounded like a good plan. Ben grabbed his keys and headed out.
As soon as he reached the familiar light gray, dark gray, and white brick house, Ben walked around to the backyard and found his buddy by the grill. That was a badge of honor for a Southern man to have skills on the grill, and of course, Tad thought he was the best. As he walked through the gate, he grabbed a cold Bud Ice and sat on one of the lawn chairs.
He should have known beer and steak weren't the only reason he was invited over. Not long after he made himself comfortable, his so-called friend's ulterior motive for calling him came to light.
Tad was and always had been a complete asshole. He told Ben that he saw someone they both knew and a friend of hers earlier that day. As long as he'd known this moron, he knew when he was up to no good. During the meal, Tad revealed his snake-like nature.
"Guess who I saw when I left the office today?" His friend's devious smile hinted that it was someone close to Ben.
"Who?" He simply replied.
"I saw Jolie and one of her friends walking around downtown. Just before I had a chance to say anything to them, they walked into Auntie's Kitchen. Since it was lunchtime, I found a parking space and went inside." Tad glanced over at his buddy as he recounted the experience. The grin on Tad's face gave away the fact that he was definitely trying to start some shit.
"So, what was she up to?" Ben questioned cautiously.
"They were enjoying lunch. When I introduced myself, she blushed when I mentioned you are my friend." The light in his eyes gave away what he was doing. Even though Ben was well aware of his friend's attempt to make him jealous, he could not control the emotions boiling on the inside. Tad was highly successful at pissing him off.
The rest of the day went by without any mention of Jolie. Occasionally, he would catch a smirk on Tad's face that he desperately wanted to knock right off as quickly as he'd seen it, but he refused to give the instigator the pleasure.
When he made it home, he could not get the thought out of his head that his friend wanted Jolie for himself. Even though nothing like that was said, his gut told him that Tad's predator-like senses were already locked on her the way a hawk locks in on a mouse.
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As he lay on the couch, Ben recalled the number of times Tad stared at him with a shit-eating grin on his face.
Reliving that visit did exactly what he'd hoped it would do. Ben was so focused on figuring out ways to get back at the bastard he called a friend, that his mind released its hold on the images of Jolie butt-assed naked.
It took a little more time for him to drift off, but eventually, his eyelids began to bump against one another repeatedly as he fought with the sleep that was trying to push him into the void.
As Jolie lay in the bed and Ben struggled with sleep in the den, neither of them realized that they had been under surveillance since the birthday girl was rescued from someone's intentional manipulation of her senses.
A trap had been set. It was laid out with the sole intention of placing Jolie in a compromising position.
When she was handed a cup laced with a substance known as "the love drug", it was intended to knock her out to allow the aggressor to have sex with her, record the act, and use the tape as blackmail.
Even though Jolie thought it took Ben forever to reach her, he pulled up in about five minutes. Had he not reached her when he did, the person watching his home had planned to snatch her up and spoil everything people believed to be so special about Jolie.
Because he showed up to save her from the disgraceful fall that had been planned, Ben was pulled right smack in the middle of a few disgruntled actors' attempts to put a stop to the notion that a black boy and a black girl could be made to look like heroes in Loveall.
He was unaware of the danger building up for Jolie and himself.
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PLAYING WITH FIRE
Ben lay on the sofa for nearly three hours drifting in and out of sleep.
Struggling to sleep was a common occurrence during his college days, but that was a long time ago.
After a brief resistance, rest finally welcomed Ben as he drifted off.
Even in sleep, his dreams were still troubled.
A vixen revealed in a game of temptation as she displayed her goodies but refused to allow Ben access to her body. No matter how hard he tried to reach her, nothing worked to bring her close to him. Finally, he became so frustrated that he began to seek out a way to escape the dream.
Just as his eyes opened enough for him to register that he was no longer alone on the sofa, Ben felt the pressure of something on him. He opened his eyes wide to find that Jolie was actually on her knees straddling him.
She wore a loose-fitting T-shirt and nothing more. The curve of her thighs, buttocks, and the imprint of her sweet little kitty kat rested on his naked abs. As she sat there facing him, Ben insisted he must have drifted off to find himself in some sort of cruel wicked fantasy.
Instinctually, his hands slid down to where her cheeks met his stomach. The firm yet soft texture of her flesh made every cell in his body jump to attention. All he'd desired for the longest time was to ravish her thoroughly until she pled with him to make her come over and over again. His body begged for the opportunity to sample the sweet juices he dared to seduce from her wellspring.
"Jolie, get up, hun. I think you need to go sleep off whatever you were given earlier." Ben did the honorable thing.
Despite the maniac inside of him that was scratching and clawing to get out, he had no desire to take advantage of her. He gently lifted her to pull away from her when his resistance was met with an unexpected kiss.
Just like the amateur she was, Jolie lowered herself until her plump glossed lips circled his. Briefly, he moved in an attempt to separate himself from her but his resistance was short-lived. Ben pulled her until he felt the firmness pressing through the cotton t-shirt she was wearing. Her nipples told him everything he needed to know, but he had to hear it from her for himself.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" The question was a plea for clarity before he proceeded beyond his bonds of control as his hands caressed the silky skin along her jawline.
"Yes, Benjamin. I've dreamt of this for a long time, now. Please don't make me wait any longer."
If he hadn't heard it, he'd never believe that a woman could touch his soul just by saying his name. It was as if warm honey dripped from her lips. The subtle yet sensual whisper broke down whatever defenses he had left.
No one ever made him want to hear his full name spoken. Ben desired to hear her say his name... scream his name... over and over again. Just thinking about it made his manhood bulge against his shorts and threaten to break free. When she shifted onto the rock-hard mass beneath her, Ben lost his will to resist his need for her any longer.
He sat up with her still on his lap and stood while holding onto her ass as she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. In no time, he crossed the distance as if it were a few steps and made his way into the bedroom. With as much restraint as possible, he gently eased her down on his bed.
Ben knew there was only one first time and he wanted nothing more than to make this the most sensually stimulating experience of her life.
"I'm going to teach you something you must never forget." His finger brushed lightly against her as its tip caressed her inner thigh.
Jolie's wide dark brown eyes locked on the face of the man few women were ever granted the privilege to adore from the comfort of his bed.
"There exists a careful balance between pleasure and pain. It is a sensation unlike any other you have ever properly explored. I can assure you... once you have tasted it, your life will never be the same without it."
Her pulse began to quicken as the sweet sensuous tone of his voice purred against her virgin skin.
A sticky slickness coated the deepest measure between her inner thighs as his hand caressed the mound just above her sex. Jolie's hips raised to greet him hungrily seeking out the firm fingers hovering dangerously close to a flower none had ever plucked. How many, given the chance, would pay dearly for the opportunity to coax her petals open if only to savor the nectar waiting inside?
"I pledge to take my sweet time stroking that wellspring of pain and pleasure until the geyser deep in your core bursts forth like a fountain of sinfully delicious bliss all over my tongue." Ben's husky tone moaned the words in her ear that would be Jolie's undoing.
For months she wondered what it would be like and how it would feel. The butterflies in the pit of her stomach alerted her that everything would change between them after it was done.
Every cell in her body insisted it was ready and willing as he disappeared to set the scene for a lesson she'd waited patiently to learn from the man she craved most.
Ben turned on old-school R&B music before he walked into the bathroom. He filled the jacuzzi tub with hot water and ridiculous amounts of bubbles. Massaging jets were turned on low as a hypnotizing hum drifted into the bedroom.
Jolie lay on the bed not sure what to expect. When he entered the room, he reached out to her and encouraged her to follow him.
They walked into the master bathroom hand in hand. His hand tapped a remote that turned the lights down low with the candles surrounding the tub tasked with illuminating the space.
Ben quickly discarded his clothes as he removed her t-shirt. He coaxed her to step into the tub beside him. He pressed another button allowing the vibrations to massage all of her tender spaces as she eased her body down into water that was just a bit hotter than she could stand.
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