A Rehearsal for Love Page 9

  But being here really wasn’t an option either. I mean, how could I be under the same roof as Blaise and not crave more of his touch, more of his kisses, more of his… attention?

  Even if he has a weird way of showing it…

  I put a hand to my lips, quivering as I remembered the way he had pressed his against them. And just the thought of doing it one more time, even if it was the last time, was enough to get me out of bed.

  Since the studio was closed on Sundays, I wasn’t surprised to find Blaise sitting on the couch in his living room like any normal person would be. But I was surprised to see him shirtless, wearing only a pair of gray sweatpants and quite obviously, nothing underneath them.

  “Good morning, Blaise,” I tossed out from behind the couch.

  He didn’t turn around, instead keeping his eyes fixed on the TV as he said, “Mornin’, pretty. There’s some food in the fridge if you’re hungry. Fruit, and granola, and shit. And if you want something else, we can run down to the store.”

  “No. Fruit, and granola, and shit is fine,” I replied teasingly as I made my way to the kitchen.

  Things felt relatively normal as I pulled open the door of the fridge and scanned the options. But when I bent down to reach the fruit in the bottom tray of the fridge, I heard a low whistle come from behind me.

  “Mmm… I could get use to that, pretty.”

  I hadn’t even heard him get up from the couch, but that didn’t stop me from smiling as I asked, “Use to what?”

  “Seeing your ass all out every morning. New house rule: No pants. Ever.”

  I laughed as I sat the fruit on the counter, pulling a few drawers out to find a knife. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Blaise.” In fact, I had honestly forgotten that I ditched his basketball shorts in the middle of the night. Luckily his t-shirt was long enough to cover most of me.

  “Why not?” he asked with the most serious expression.

  I made myself busy slicing a few strawberries as I explained, “Because if the rule is no pants, then that means you can’t wear them either.”

  “So what’s your point?”

  “Blaise!”

  He leaned against the counter space next to me, crossing his arms over his chest in a way that made his biceps look glorious. But we weren’t talking about shirts; or lack thereof.

  We were talking about…, “Pants are constricting. I prefer my freedom. You’re lucky I have any on right now.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh as I put the fruit back in the fridge and pulled out the carton of yogurt I planned to mix it with.

  “Whatever, Blaise. Do you want some of this?”

  His eyebrow piqued as he smirkingly asked, “What exactly are you offering?”

  “Blaise!”

  “What? That’s a serious question. Yeah, you have fruit on the counter. But you also have your ass out. Doesn’t that mean I have options?”

  I laughed again, stepping right in front of him to clarify, “I was talking about the fruit.”

  But instead of laughing with me, he gently put one hand against my waist and another in my hair that forced me to look him in his eyes. And it didn’t take long for me to get lost in those deep dark pools of everlasting passion.

  “Malia, this is really hard for me,” he said in a voice just above a whisper.

  I could hardly breathe, let alone think hard enough to push out anything other than, “Wh-what do you mean?”

  “Having you in my crib, having you in my life, as just a… friend. I don’t wanna be your friend. And I damn sure don’t wanna be your brother.”

  “Well what do you want, Blaise?” I knew if I didn’t take the opening now, there may never be another opportunity to ask. And this was exactly what I was waiting on; Blaise to express with something other than actions that he was legitimately interested in me.

  He sighed, gliding his hand from my hair to my cheek as he answered, “I want… you. All of you. The woman. The dancer. I wanna be with Malia. And I’m not talking about the Obama one.”

  Everything he was saying, everything about this moment, felt so perfect. But there was still a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that forced me to ask, “What about Charlotte?”

  Just because he was letting me stay with him, and had kissed me didn’t necessarily mean they were no longer. In fact, it made me sick just thinking about them still being a couple with all that had already happened.

  But his face only scrunched with confusion as he said, “Charlotte? We’ve been broken up for awhile now. I wouldn’t have kissed you like that if we were still a thing.”

  “Hmph. Sure didn’t stop you the first time.”

  He smirked, grazing his fingertips against my skin as he replied, “That was different. You were giving out lap dances and shit. I couldn’t help myself. Just like I can hardly help myself right now.”

  Now it was my hands that were grazing his skin, running themselves along the intricate tattoos on his chest. “Oh yeah? Well what do you have in mind?”

  He ran a finger along my lips as he replied, “Well… that depends.”

  “Depends on what?”

  “On how much time you have. You gotta go to work, right? And we still have to go get your stuff from your mom’s too. So maybe we should… wait.”

  “I don’t wanna wait, Blaise,” I whined, far too turned on to turn back now. And the second he opened his lips to say something new, I pushed my hand beyond the threshold of his waistband, wrapping it around his dick and gliding it along the veins as I stroked up and down.

  He didn’t budge, instead smirked as he said, “Malia, you better stop.”

  “Why, Blaise? He doesn’t want me to stop.”

  “Malia…” he pushed out in a breathy tone as my strokes became more calculated. I felt so… powerful, so sexy, so in control as I watched his response to my touch. And that alone was enough for me to up the ante, using my free hand to tug his sweatpants down and free the erection I had created.

  Then I dropped to a squat, taking as much of him as I could into my mouth. He instantly groaned with satisfaction, putting a gentle hand in my hair as he closed his eyes and tossed his head back. I used one of his massive thighs to balance myself while using my other hand to stroke the parts of him I would gag myself trying to reach. And just as I was catching my groove, Blaise’s hand went from my hair to under my arms as he easily lifted me from the floor onto the kitchen counter.

  I fell back onto my elbows, licking my lips as I lifted my hips so that he could pull off my panties. Then he went face first, devouring me as he licked and sucked and nibbled on places that hadn’t been touched in far too long. And even when they had been touched, it certainly wasn’t done with this much enthusiasm.

  But Blaise was nothing like the guys I had dated in the past. He was grown, established, knew what he wanted out of life. And even if he had a weird way of showing it sometimes, in this moment, I knew for a fact that what he wanted was me.

  Blaise

  She called in.

  After touching her, and tasting her, there was no way I could let her go to work without being inside of her. And once I was inside of her, I couldn’t stop wanting to be there. So things quickly went from, “I’m gonna be a few minutes late” to, “An emergency came up and I can’t come in.”

  Hell, in all honesty she could’ve quit her job right then and there and I would’ve taken care of her ass for the rest of her life. But it scared me to be that fuckin’ caught up already. I mean, obviously I wanted to be with her. But to already be imagining something long term was… intimidating.

  Malia was still young, still trying to figure out how to navigate the world while I was well past that point. She was just now establishing her career as a dancer and I had already lived through mine. I was slowing down, settling down, and Malia was just now warming up. I couldn’t help but wonder if our age difference - our life differences - would begin to show its face.

  But I couldn’t worry myself with that right n
ow.

  Right now was about being in the moment, holding Malia against my chest as she stole a few minutes of sleep before I’d be waking her up to go at it again. I felt like an addict as my mouth began to water just thinking about tasting her again, my ears began to tingle thinking about the sounds she made when she came, and…

  Fuck it.

  I slid from under her and she smiled in her sleep as she readjusted on the pillows in my absence. I kept my body light as I hovered over her, sneaking my lips into the crevice of her neck that was practically begging for me to kiss it.

  She giggled, her eyes still closed as she moaned, “Blaise, what are you doing?”

  “Nothin’, pretty. Just… kissin’ you.”

  “Mmm… feels like you’re trying to do a little more than just kiss me.”

  She was absolutely right as I used my knee to part open her thighs and settled in between them. “Kinda hard not to want to do more. Do it all the time. All fuckin’ day.”

  She giggled, putting her hands to my chest to stop me. “Well we already did that. Remember?”

  “In fact, I don’t. I think I need a reminder,” I said, going back in for more.

  And she didn’t resist, couldn’t resist, even as she replied, “Blaise, you know we have to get up soon. The studio isn’t gonna run itself and my body isn’t gonna condition itself for this tour.”

  “Pretty, this is all the conditioning you need.”

  She laughed again, giving me a real push as she said, “Blaise, I’m serious. I won’t make it through the day if I don’t get this sleep.”

  I sighed, not disappointedly but understandingly, as I climbed off of her and then pulled her into a spooning position. “Fine, Malia. But just know when you give me another chance, I’m tearin’ that ass up.”

  “Oh, you better,” she replied as she snuggled further against me.

  I knew for a fact that I wouldn’t be able to go to sleep with her ass right against my dick that was steadily growing regardless of the rest we were supposed to be getting. And Malia didn’t make it any easier as she grinded back and forth to get into the perfect position. Then she linked my fingers that were resting at her waist with her own and pulled them around her into a snug hold.

  I felt… full - complete - as our breathing went in sync and that only made me wanna try one more time, “Malia, you sure you don’t wanna….”

  “Goodnight, Blaise.”

  &

  I was sitting in my office trying to tend to a Monday morning worth of emails, but I couldn’t focus knowing Malia was right upstairs doing who knows what. When I got up to come down to the studio, she went out for a run in some of the only clothes of mine that even relatively fit her, which quite honestly didn’t fit her at all even rolled up a few times over. But that didn’t stop her from making it work so that she could hit the pavement.

  Now she was back, probably already showered, maybe raiding the fridge, maybe raiding the fridge… naked.

  “Shit,” I cursed to myself as I thought about how sprung she had me. Quite honestly, I felt sprung long before the magic of the day before.

  But now… now it was official, even if we weren’t official.

  I didn’t wanna feel like I was pressuring Malia into anything she wasn’t ready for, even if I already kind of felt like I was by having her in my crib as not just any ordinary guest. But knowing that she was probably still vulnerable after the situation with her mom, I knew I needed to just be there for her; wait my turn.

  So I tried to focus back on work, but the incessant thumping coming from above didn’t allow me to. Since the sounds came consistently, I could pretty much assume that Malia hadn’t just dropped something, or dropped herself. But I was curious - and wanted an excuse - to go check on her. So I left the office, making my way up the stairs into the apartment.

  It didn’t take long for me to realize what was causing the noise; Malia dancing in the living room. Why she chose to dance up here instead of in the studio that was empty for now was beyond me. But I let her dance for a little while before I interrupted her.

  “You know you can come down to the studio, right?”

  She jumped, putting a hand to her chest once she realized it was me. “Shit! Blaise, you scared me. I didn’t even hear you come in.”

  “Sorry, pretty. You were in the zone. But… why are you dancing up here?”

  She bit her lip, looking down at her bare feet as she answered, “Well I’d usually dance at home, but… you know.”

  “I meant like, why don’t you just come down to the studio? There won’t be a class in there for another two hours. Then we can go get your stuff when I’m done with the class.”

  She sighed, strolling over to me and wrapping her arms around my waist. “Blaise, you’ve already done plenty. I don’t wanna impose.”

  I used my hands to tilt her head back so that I could kiss her, though pulling away from what was supposed to be a quick peck was way harder than I expected.

  “Malia, it’s empty. That’s not imposing at all. And besides, I’d much rather you dance downstairs than make all this noise trying to dance up here.”

  She went a little stiff in my hold as she asked, “I was loud? I’m sorry, Blaise. I didn’t mean to disturb your work.”

  It was cute to see her be all concerned, but it was really no big deal at all.

  So I gave her another kiss to relax her, this time to her forehead before I told her, “Malia… chill. It’s fine. Now come on downstairs. I’ll show you how to work the sound system and you can have at it until the next class starts showing up.”

  Malia

  By the time the first round of tiny dancers started showing up, I was already drenched in sweat. With the rehearsals for Zalayah’s tour coming up, I knew there were still a few skills I needed to sharpen so that I wouldn’t make a complete fool of myself on the first day though it was almost inevitable. This was my first paying gig, and it wasn’t just any gig. It was multiple shows, all in major venues, with one of the most popular stars in the world which for me, was practically a recipe for disaster.

  Or maybe not.

  I mean, they believed enough in me and my potential to give me the job in the first place. And even Blaise claimed I had been a major standout amongst the rest. So maybe I really did have what it took to do well.

  I didn’t have much time to dwell on it as I heard Blaise laughing his way into the dance room. And he wasn’t alone, accompanied by Knox who smiled wide the second he laid eyes on me. I offered a more half-hearted one, surprised by his presence but even more so nervous, not knowing what all Blaise had shared. I mean, we weren’t exactly a thing, but we also weren’t… not a thing.

  Before I could come to a reasonable explanation, Knox was already pulling me into a hug. “Ms. Malia. So good to see ya again. Blaise was just tellin’ me ‘bout the major gig you snagged. Congrats, babe.”

  “Uh... thank you,” I pushed out as he tightened his squeeze, letting it linger a little longer than necessary. His moves didn’t make sense considering the conversation we had shared on his last visit. And though I couldn’t see Blaise’s face, I imagined it was pulled into a tight scowl as he watched his friend do the absolute most. Thankfully, he pulled away before things could get anymore awkward.

  “So you excited for the tour? I know Amerie’s choreography is gonna be some killer shit.”

  “Really?” My insides were already churning at the thought.

  Blaise stepped in with more of a smirk as he told Knox, “Don’t scare her, man. She’s already nervous about it.”

  Nervous was an understatement.

  But my eyes went back to Knox as he asked, “Nervous? Nervous for what? Your moves are on point, babe. There’s nothin’ for you to be afraid of. I just meant Amerie is good at what she does. Really good.”

  Blaise wasted no time firing back, “You’re only sayin’ that cause you trained her inside and out.”

  Wait what?

  Amerie and Knox were a thi
ng?

  I honestly shouldn’t have been surprised. Being a professional dancer left little time for outside relationships. So to find a relationship inside of dance was probably a dream come true. Someone to tour and see new cities with, someone to rehearse with, someone to...

  Knox tossed his head back with a laugh. “Damn, Blaise. You ain’t gotta put my business out in these streets like that. Sure, Amerie’s my girl. Once she quits playin’ that is.”

  Blaise shook his head with a laugh of his own. “Nah, you know you ain’t gettin’ that back, bro. Not now. Not ever.”

  Knox only shrugged, still amused as he replied, “Eh, we’ll see. But anyways, like I said babe, nothin’ to be afraid of. You got the juice, now it’s time to show off.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at his compliment. “Well thank you, Knox. I appreciate it. I’m gonna… go upstairs; get out of you guys’ way.”

  The amusement on Knox’s face was incredibly enhanced as he asked, “Upstairs, huh? I see your status around here has changed.”

  “My status?”

  “Yeah. If you got upstairs privileges now, Blaise must’ve finally got off his ass about you.”

  I knew Knox was right, but that didn’t stop Blaise from interjecting, “Bro, chill. Malia, you can stay down here and help with the class if you want. You know these little ones are a handful.”

  “Umm… actually, I think I’m gonna go take a shower. Worked up quite a sweat in here.”

  I watched as both of their eyes went wide, before Knox turned to Blaise with a silly grin. And instead of smiling back, Blaise just shoved Knox in the shoulder causing him to laugh.

  “I can handle the kids alone, man. Go handle your business. Or maybe I should go handle your business, and you should stay here.”

  “I swear to God I’ll…”

  Knox jumped back, holding his hands up to stop Blaise from hitting him. “I’m playin’! I’m playin’!”

  Then he turned his attention to me, still laughing as he said, “Malia, it was good to see ya. And tell Amerie I said hello when you talk to her again.”