Sleeping with My Enemy Pt. 01

"Before I knew it, he started to come over almost every night for dinner. He started going home later and later. They began to hold "prayer sessions" in her room, with the door closed. Then one morning, I woke up and went to the kitchen to get something to drink, I turn the corner and there he is; standing in his boxers with morning wood. I could smell my momma's cooch all over him. The bastard didn't even have the decency to take a shower first. Instead of him excusing himself, he just stood there; like he lived there, almost daring me to say something. All he could do was pass closely by me and say; "Good morning." The ultimate insult though came when I almost had a nervous breakdown. He was the only one home with me. He came into my room and asked me what was wrong. I couldn't really tell him other than I had run out of my psych meds. He offered to pray with me. He told me to get on my knees, so we could pray. Before too long, he stood up and placed his hands on my shoulders, like he was trying to bless me. But when I opened my eyes, he had positioned himself, so I was staring right at his crotch. The mutha'fucka had a hard ass dick pointed at me while he was praying, steadily trying to pull me closer. I punched his ass right in the nuts as hard as I could and ran out of there. I just couldn't stay there any longer. I walked around the city for hours."

" I finally came back home about 10:00 that night when I knew my momma was home. I tried to tell her what he did, but she slapped ME INSTEAD! Saying I was trying to bring my whorish ways into her house. Trying to take her man from her by being a harlot. That I embarrassed her as a daughter by wanting to fuck my soon to be step father! The bastard left the house and bought her a wedding ring to cover his tracks when I got home to tell her. So, she made us talk it out in the living room and he came up with a bullshit plan. He would pay for me to get back into college, IF I played nice and was one of her bridesmaids. I could get a huge payment if I kept my mouth shut, acted nice to him, listened to my mother and let the marriage go through without a hitch. I kept up my silence as long as I could. I just couldn't hold it in anymore."

Angry tears began to flow down Azia's cheeks. Her knuckles blanching against the glass in her hand, almost to the point of breaking. Steven grabbed her other hand, in a show of comfort. Azia looked at their hands intertwined. Her anger and hatred lessening in the face of comfort.

"Cuz..would it be ok if I gave you a hug?" Steven asked.

"I would kill for one."

Steven changed positions in the booth. Wrapping his arm around his cousin, he held her tightly to his chest. Azia slumped against his body. Her mind surprised her. It concentrated on her cousin in ways she never thought it would. His body was warm, hard, surprisingly muscular. His scent was musky, manly, filling her nostrils with the most wonderful smell. He felt so familiar...open, kind.

"So, I've filled you in on all my dirt...what's holding you back?"

"A cold heart." Steven replied, as the music changed on the jukebox.

"Dannielle was my heart throughout High School. We started dating as Sophomores and continued all the way through college. I went for Accounting, she went for nursing. My grades were among the best in my class. She could barely draw blood without passing out. But she had potential. Potential I needed and wanted. She became my project...my love. I eventually graduated and she wanted to get me a present. It was a pregnancy test. It said I was an expectant father. I was over the moon. We had talked ad nauseum about having kids and being a married couple. Growing old and dreaming of grandchildren. So soon after I got a job at Walther, Spencer and Associates we got married. But as time moved forward, she didn't get any bigger. At least...not with child. She then told me some bull crap lie that she lost the baby. I was devastated. So, I put all my attention into work. I pulled in tons of small accounts that brought the company millions. This gained me the attention of my boss, who had me train his son. His name was Lee, your typical, privileged, white guy. I made the mistake of bringing Dannielle to our Christmas party and introducing the two of them. At first I thought it was no big deal. But he began to want to hang out all the time. But, the more we hung out, the more his dad started giving me harder assignments that took up time. Initially I was ecstatic. More responsibility, more autonomy, and of course; more money. I got 3 raises in the span of 8 months. I was making really good money. But I wasn't able to spend as much time with her."

"She began to get all in her feelings, even though I was the one who was paying all her bills and keeping her in Nursing school. Amazingly, it was during this time that I noticed her grades turned around. She became so much better at doing her studies and passing her tests. I was happy for her accomplishments, but we argued all the time. This brought on a ton of stress for me. I began to lose weight, not sleep, and I wasn't able to relax. I even fell asleep behind the wheel of my car at least 4 times. Fortunately, I never wrecked or got caught by the cops."

"Finally, I went to work and got stressed the hell out. My coworkers told me I blacked out and hit my head. I had the worst headache in the world, plus a gash on my head. My boss sent me home and told me not to come back for a week. When I got back to the house I shared with Dannielle, I saw Lee's car in the driveway. I ran in the house and saw him fucking my wife on the sofa I bought!! I cracked Lee in the jaw as hard as I could. But instead of apologizing to me or trying in any way to argue against what she had been doing, Dannielle started talking mad stuff! Telling me they had been fucking since after the Christmas party. Two, three, sometimes four times a week! Especially after Lee made sure the work I got would keep me at work till late. Also, that she had never been pregnant. She took her sister's test and showed it to me, but that she was now pregnant and there was no way in the world it was mine! I blacked out again. I don't remember anything."

"All I know is I woke up in the back of a squad car handcuffed. They said I beat the shit out of Lee and Dannielle. They of course pressed charges against me. I lost my job while I was in jail. Dannielle filed for divorce after she emptied our account, as well as filing for a restraining order that kept me out of my own house. Furthermore, she burned all my clothes, equipment, but most important of all...my paperwork. Everything that proved who I was. My accounting degree, accounting license, and all of my paperwork regarding my stocks, bonds and mutual funds. She in essence, left me destitute. My mother had to put her home up as collateral on my bail. I had to take a serious pay cut just to work in my field. I barely hung onto my license. Then I had to take anger management classes I HAD TO PAY FOR!! Plus, Dannielle got the house and the new car I bought her in the marriage. She's still trying to run me through the courts for more money. Dragging my name through the mud."

This time Steven pulled a long gulp from his glass.

"But there is one Silver lining to this story."

"What's that?"

"Lee's father almost disowned him when he found out that his "darling son" was about to taint the gene pool with "one of them..." So, he dumped Dannielle like a bad habit. You know that she tried to put me on those child support papers. But the judge had the good sense to stop that one right in its tracks."

Azia picked up her glass and toasted her cousin. "Here's to Silver linings." After taking a couple sips, she asked;

"OK...so there's that ONE female. But , I KNOW you have women lined up around the block."

"Nope. I keep to myself. Trying to pay moms back on the house, pay off my lawyers fees, and get my reputation back take up all my time. Plus, most of the women I run into want either a "high powered" sugar daddy; because he can get them all the nice, expensive trinkets she wants or the local "hoodlum," because he's "exciting." Either way...I don't fill either of those roles. I'm just an average guy, living an average life."

"Cuz...you talk about me...I knew at least 20 girls at my college that would kill to get close to a guy like you. You're smart, accomplished, ambitious, have a good head on your shoulders, I mean you're about something. It helps that you're not bad lookin..."

Azia cut herself off. It must have been the alcohol. She almost let it slip. Or were those her REAL feelings? Quickly, she changed the subject.

"Hey...you have any coins?"

"No...why?"

"Give me a couple dollars."

Reaching into his pocket, Steven pulled a $5 off the roll and handed it to his cousins small hand. For a split second their skin touched. A bolt of electricity shot through their beings. The cousins jumped at the contact...but just stared at each other and smiled. Getting up, she walked over to the bar and had Dawn change the bill into coins. Next she walked over to the jukebox at the edge of the dance floor.

Steven was perplexed. Here was the woman that vexed his very existence for years. But now she had grown so much. Been through so much. He knew he shouldn't, but as Azia walked, he couldn't help but check out her frame. The way she walked so sexy even without trying. The way her hips flared out just right. The fabric of her jeans hugging her curves like a second skin. Her small waist. Not to mention the "onion" that punctuated the whole thing.

Steven sank his hands into the palms of his hands. What was he thinking?!! This was his COUSIN!! Not only was she a woman that had been through a lot of stuff with men. She probably was thinking of never having sex AGAIN! Plus...and more importantly...she's related to him...BY BLOOD!! Ain't no way in HELL she would even CONSIDER doing that!!

The next thing he knew, the music changed and Azia had returned, grabbing his arm to pull him to the makeshift dancefloor. "Come on! Don't be a stick in the mud...dance with me! I missed the one at the wedding."

Steven knew he wasn't a good dancer...it was one of those things he just never put a lot of time into. But he did find the beat. Thinking back to all the moves he saw in those rap videos. Shifting his feet left and right. Stiff as a board and cornier than a field in Iowa. Azia could do nothing but crack a smile the harder he tried. But she played along anyway, turning her back to him and backing her ass into his mid-section over and over again. To his credit, he found a rhythm that matched her own, grinding and bumping into her. A faux act of sexual copulation, in the midst of so many strangers. Right before the last of Azia's songs ended, Dawn sauntered over to the jukebox and payed the tab for another selection.

"Ok...you two young ones showed me you could dance like a pair of blind rottweilers on acid...can you show me how you dance as lovers?"

The strings of an oldie began to play. Long, mournful, and known to the entirety of the older sets of black folks sitting in the bar. Many of the patrons that had been nursing a drink or paying attention to the game on the TV, stopped in their collective tracks, as Tommy Barnett and the Tommy Guns began to sing their one and only hit, "This Love I Found." The cousins looked at each other, tentative and unsure. But Steven held out his hand in a hope against hope that Azia would take it. To his amazement, her touch was feather light. The skin of her hands, soft, supple and malliable. Taking her in his arms, her body fit neatly into his own. A perfect match. Slowly they began to dance. The simple, sensual, two step of lovers. She followed his lead, as if they had done this a million times.

Steven's nose was placed in the perfect position to inhale Azia's sweet mixture. The scent of her perfume and her own natural sweat coalescing into an aphrodisiac that sent Steven's attention starved heart and soul onto a course for the stratosphere. The result was obvious as he began to grow between his legs.

"Shit...I'm sorry..."

Azia placed her fingers to his lips to end his protest. Re-encircling her arms around his waist.

"Not now...I'm enjoying this too much."

Azia was indeed enjoying the dance. The closeness, the heat, the feel of a man's body next to her skin. It was a feeling that had been corrupted, taken advantage of, and misused. But in that moment, she felt something she hadn't in ages. Appreciated, safe, adored. Taking a chance, she broke the pregnant silence between them.

"Cuz..can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

Steven's heart skipped a beat. How did she know what he was thinking? How could he answer that kind of question without scaring her off? It was bad enough he had a hard on pressed against her (even though she wasn't running in terror at the obvious bulge in his pants).

"Seriously? What kind of question is that?"

"A serious one. I really want to know what you think."

"Honestly...you're beautiful. Any number of men should be beating a path to your door. "

"If I weren't your cousin...could you...would you..."

Azia's words stopped short. She couldn't bring herself to finish her thought. She needed a drink. Releasing Steven's waist, she marched back to their booth and was about to chug the rest of her drink. Steven placed his hand over the top before the glass could find her lips.

"Azia...what is it? Talk to me. We've done so well thus far. You've shown more courage tonight than I have ever seen. Don't shut me out now. Finish...please."

"I was going to ask a question that's too taboo to finish. I know we have a long, strange history. I just don't want to mess all that up. Hell...maybe I don't need another drink. I don't know..."

"Just tell me Azia...I'm not made of glass."

"I KNOW Steven...and that's what scares me. The fact that what I want to ask is one way, or I'll look stupid or desperate or..."

"Or like a lovely woman?" Steven finished. "That has been through a lot. That has trusted so many...only to be disappointed over and over again? I won't disappoint you...or at least I'll try."

Raising the glass, Azia took two small sips of the lukewarm alcohol, took a couple long breaths, and let her words come out slowly.

"I was going to ask...knowing my history, OUR history, if I weren't your cousin...could you fall for a girl like me? As the night has gone on, and I've spent more time with you...I am finding you more and more attractive. All the things in a guy that I like. Maybe it's the booze. Maybe it's 'cause I'm broken. Of all the sins I could commit, to find an attraction to my own cousin...that's just...wrong."

If the electrical currents from his brain hadn't continued, Steven's heart would have stopped right there. Steeling his nerve, he took Azia's hand in his own. Softly, methodically, he traced the lines in it, before bringing it up to his face. Letting her fingers trace the lines in his.

"Azia...we were kids. Doing what little kids do. Not knowing how to appreciate one another. Not knowing how to appreciate our differences. Looking for love and acceptance in a family that fights so hard to cover it up. Azia, I too have grown very attracted to you. I've been wishing all night that I weren't your cousin. That we were really on a date. That I could hold you close, like a woman I loved. Could touch you and feel you. Not just your body, but your heart too. I guess if there is a hell for wanting to sleep with your own blood, I'd be right next to you. But I don't think God works like that. Of all the sins that he forgives, I think that one is low on his list. Hell...he forgives everything else."

Azia blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. She was so relieved to hear that.

"I don't want to push Azia, but can I ask you something?"

"Sure." She said, rubbing the dark chocolate skin on the back of his hand.

"Can I kiss you? I know you've been through a lot..."

"No." She said short and to the point.

Steven looked dejected. Just when he thought everything was going well.

Leaning in closer to his ear, Azia added; "If you kiss me like I think you can...you'll make me hornier and wetter than I already am. I can't ruin the only pair of panties I have, till I can get my stuff."

With a smile, she playfully pushed Steven in the shoulder. "Come on...let me out of this booth. I got to go to the bathroom."

"Me too. Meet you back here?"

"Of course silly...you're my ride."

Steven got up and helped Azia to her feet. Holding out his arm, he led her to the hallway that held the his and hers bathrooms. Taking a moment, he drained his hardened tool, washed his hands and looked at himself in the mirror. "Steven ole boy...what are you doing?" he said to himself.

Steven opened the door and waited a couple minutes for Azia to appear. A whistle came from the main room, and sure enough, his cousin was already sitting in the booth. Steven just chuckled to himself, shaking his head. What a woman.

Azia held out her hand as her cousin slid in next to her. Once he sat, she scooted closer to the wall and pulled him along as well. Placing her hand on his face, she kissed his lips deeply, passionately. Her lips were like a drug. Making him feel like a junky, getting a hit for the first time in years.

When they parted, he said;

"But you said you didn't want to ruin your panties."

Taking his hand in hers, she slid his fingers into the front of her undone jeans. His digits finding nothing but moist, bare skin. "That's no longer an issue." She whispered softly.

"Now kiss me before I sober up."

The more they kissed, the hornier they became. Azia unzipped his jeans, finding the large, girthy member she had never dreamed her cousin possessed. While his hand became wetter and wetter.

Azia had to stop, break away from the touch that had lit her fire.

"Ok big boy...you've gotten me hot. Now what?"

"Don't worry." Steven said pulling his sticky fingers from her pants. "I know just the place."