Zola bit her lip and went quiet, as if thinking hard about it. “You’re already bigger than my daddy.”
Although her father and Mrs. Ellen weren’t together anymore, he came by to visit and had them for some holidays and parts of the summer. Her dad hadn’t been too excited to have a tall boy in the house with his daughter, especially one coming from such a troubled family.
But Mrs. Ellen had a motto. “Have a complaint? Write it down on some paper. Fold it up and put it in the Complaint Box, which we also call the trash can.”
Mrs. Ellen didn’t deal with complaints, critiques, or suggestions. As a single mother, she had control of our lives and joy for every minute of the day. And she did it by herself, often falling asleep on the couch with her laptop open as she tried to finish her part-time college courses and still make it to a full-time job the next morning.
Therefore, she had no room for people telling her what and how she needed to do anything. That being said, I did my best to behave, especially around Mrs. Ellen’s ex-husband. I didn’t want Mrs. Ellen to get in trouble from taking care of me.
“You’re so tall.” Zola had that mischievous grin. “Like a warrior tall. You’ll be married soon.”
“Married soon?” I quirked my eyebrow. “But, I’m not even eighteen, yet.”
“One day you will be.” She tossed another ill-fated stone into the pond. “You’ll move far, far away and get married and that will be your family…and you’ll forget about me.”
“No.” I slung a rock.
For the first time, it sunk in the water with a big splash. Zola laughed and picked up several rocks as if invigorated by my failure. If I could suck, maybe she could win. And I hoped she would find that it was true.
Seconds later, she skipped her first rock with precision.
I smiled. “No kids for me, Zuzu.”
“Why not?”
“I would be a cruel parent.”
She widened her eyes and stared at me as if I had a real crystal ball. “How do you know?”
“It’s in my DNA.”
“I didn’t know that could happen.”
“I’m sure it does.” I winked at her. “Lucky for your kids, your DNA is perfect, sweet, and caring.”
She blushed. “No. I won’t have kids either. We can just stay with Mom and live together forever.”
“Not a bad idea.” I shrugged. “I’ll consider it, if I don’t rule the world first.”
She frowned and scooted closer to me. “No. You have to promise me one thing.”
Only she could make me smile. “What, Zuzu?”
“No matter how big and bad you get, you’ll never stop loving me.” She held up her pinky and gave it to me.
“Never, ever.” I locked my pinky with her. “You’ve got my heart, Zuzu.”
We left the pond, and she convinced me to get her some ice cream and take her to the library down the street.
Never in that moment did I think that our sweet, loving bond would shift into twisted, sexual darkness.
Why did my love for her have to turn into lust? Sure, the love was still there, just more intensified, more obsessive. Before, she was my Zuzu—warm hugs and cookies, books and running through a field of lilies.
Now Zuzu was Zola—hot, lush curves that I wanted to bite. I no longer wanted to cuddle with her with a mug of cocoa and a cozy novel. Now, I wanted to rip her clothes off, spread her legs open, and fuck her like no hero had ever done to a heroine in any novel she’d ever read.
Jesus. Buddha.
The sight of her in that zebra bikini flashed in my head.
Yahweh. Jehovah.
My cock grew in my pants.
Zeus. Hades.
I rubbed my face and returned to the suite. There was no need to worry about Zola striking the conversation back up. We both had to get ready for this stupid event tonight.
Her team rushed around her. Alexander showed her this dress and that. One woman began brushing her hair and spraying stuff on it. Another painted her left hand’s nails. With her right hand, Zola nibbled the food I’d ordered earlier.
I brought her over a glass of wine. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” Smiling, she nodded, but her eyes said she wanted to talk. “I’m okay for now.”
We will talk, Zola. We will.
“There we go, girl.” Alexander had been talking most of the time. “Oh yeah. I never got that drink I asked for.”
I was sure he was talking to me, but I did a decent job of tuning him out while I watched her. Poor Alexander sighed and walked over to the bar himself, making his own drink.
The rest of Zola’s team scampered around her.
Everything will be fine. I’m on guard now. I’m focused.
Zola sipped a little wine, then leaned forward. The pose exposed her cleavage, and all I could think about was how soft and warm and wonderful it would feel to bury my face between those soft mounds.