The student elections were coming up and with it, the pressure on Tomasia and Khaleel intensified. It looked like the former student body president was choosing to run for another year, despite the scandal. I walked by a number of her election posters around the school already. Matilda was supporting her too, seeing as her name was added to the campaign as Tomasia's VP.
That aside, Loyal's clients weren't backing down with their demands. Ignoring their emails didn't seem to be doing much either, except moving their focus onto me. They thought I was the only one who could get the delinquent to change his mind. It was a fair assumption considering how steady our relationship had become, but I was not going to crumble to their demands.
Khaleel invited me to have dinner at the condo over the long weekend. I was happy to accept because he said Sumaya would be joining us, but she ended up cancelling at the last minute because of her job. Something about her stuck up manager at the walk-in clinic assigning her a shift without permission. I was disappointed because there were so many things I wanted to talk to her about. Like that Reyhanna girl! And how she was still pursuing Khaleel. No matter how many times he told her to stop, or said that he had feelings for me, she wouldn't take no for an answer. Then she had the nerve to say she would help Khaleel clear his past offences using her mother's connections with the school board. In exchange for leaving me!
The more I thought about her, the angrier I became. "She really pisses me off!" I exclaimed.
Khaleel peeled carrots over a cutting board on the other side of the counter. Kumar was working late today and he left all domestic responsibilities to his young housemate. If that wasn't cute enough, Khaleel was sporting his TMNT apron again. "Just forget about her," he said. "She'll get bored and move on."
"What if she doesn't?" I complained. "What if she just keeps picking at my insecurity like an insatiable parasite? I seriously might punch a hole through her head!"
Khaleel looked up from the cutting board and beamed. "You would really do that for me?"
"Maybe," I replied sheepishly. "Honestly, between Reyhanna and Zander's vultures, I might end up at the dean's office again."
Khaleel laughed. He set the peeler down and moved to stand behind me. "You know, for someone so against violence, you sure seem to have the temper for it."
I scoffed. "I'm not violent by nature! I just hate when entitled people act like they can do whatever they want without considering other people's feelings!"
Khaleel placed his hands on my shoulders. His grip tightened. His thumb pressed onto my skin and then slowly, his fingers followed suit. It felt good. Really good. "I didn't know you could give massages like this," I said, enjoying his touch.
"It's a right of passage for many brown kids," Khaleel informed. "Usually enforced by our parents."
I leaned my head back against his chest, and looked up at him. "Well, you're really good at it. Thank you for calming me down."
Khaleel's brown eyes shimmered. He leaned down, and found my lips. It was a gentle peck, something we had been doing on and off for a while now, but then it transformed into something entirely different. Something that we hadn't done since that day behind the school grounds, when his hand forced me, and my teeth retaliated by biting his bottom lip. I remembered those suffocating kisses of his, I remembered how daunting and filling they were, and I wanted to reclaim them.
I welcomed Khaleel's tongue to collide with mine for a brief second before letting our lips part. "You're so fucking cute," he said, his face completely flushed.
My eyes widened and my heart clamped up.
I was getting scared. No, it was more like I didn't know how to face him. It was too embarrassing. The stool I was sitting on screeched against the floor when I pushed it back into Khaleel. "I should help you with dinner," I said, hoping to normalize the tension. "I can't cook but I can taste things well enough."
Khaleel spun the high-stool around and shifted his body in my direction. My head instinctively reclined when he got his hands on the counter and trapped me between his arms. "Then taste me," he said.
His yearning gaze held mine, it was so captivating, I almost forgot to breathe. "I—," His mouth was on me again, more passionately than before, as if he was commanding me to let him in again. My head tilted further back, until I felt Khaleel's hand reach behind my neck to support it. He was trying to make sure I didn't hurt myself, all while stirring up a craving I didn't know I had. I got my hands around his neck and surrendered to his loving embrace, to his unyielding desires, and to the fragile barrier I had reserved for our relationship.
The scent of carrots consumed my mind. The subtle smell of his deodorant mixed with it and made my whole body quake. I felt Khaleel's hands shift down to my rear. He cupped my butt and lifted me up. Our lips parted again, our breaths heavily in sync with one another. Khaleel hurried us into his bedroom and slammed the door shut.
He gently set me on the foot of the bed and took another breather. "If you don't want to then tell me now," he said, hoarsely. "If you really just want to taste my cooking and not—"
"I want to," I said, trying not to let the embarrassing words I was about to say affect me. "I want to taste every part of you."