#michaelbjordan

It always started with noise. Summer in Mississippi wasn’t just heat and humidity—it was loud. Between the swatting screen doors, the bugs flying, kids playing double dutch with mismatched ropes, and the rickety hum of box fans, it was hard to hear yourself think. But for young Juicy, the noise was a comfort… until it wasn’t.

Back in ‘95, Juicy was about eleven, braces still fresh, glasses sliding down her nose every five minutes, and dressed in a floral pattered dress that matches her sisters, though hers fit her more boxier than it did on the older girl. But she didn’t care much about appearances, and it didn’t help that her mama always compared her to her older sister, Sinclair, thin and pretty like the girls in those Jet beauty ads or the ones on the perm boxes. “If only you laid off them pork chops,” was her mama’s idea of encouragement. Her daddy didn’t say much at all.

Juicy found her peace elsewhere—mainly across the street.

The Moore twins, Elias and Elijah—known as Smoke and Stack to others—were about six years older, fast-mouthed, sharp-eyed boys sly grins and problems they never spoke too loudly about. Their father was known around the neighborhood for being the kind of man who left bruises instead of blessings, and their mother was long gone. But the Hall’s took to them like family. Martin, Juicy’s older brother, clicked with them right away over cassette tapes and corner store hustles. Sinclair even crushed on Stack for a while, though he never acted on it.

But it was Juicy—a little awkward, big-bodied, and always scribbling in her notebook—who lingered in the background. She wasn’t really friends with the boys, not like her siblings were. But some days, when things were too loud at her house and Mary, her only friend, couldn’t come out, Smoke would let her sit on the porch with them, passing her a freeze cup and tossing her lazy jokes that made her laugh until her gums showed. Or when Stack would let her old onto him as she rode on back of his bike as he made stops around the neighborhood.

Those little moments were enough. They made her feel seen.

And then, they were gone. Moved up to Chicago when she was fifteen, chasing something bigger—money, maybe, or just a way out. Life moved on. And the city was still as loud as ever.

But in 2003, the block got loud again in their return.

They came back in a long black Lincoln, rolling slow like they owned the pavement. Elias drove, toothpick between his teeth, silver chains glinting in the sun as she rubbed down his waves. Elijah was in the passenger seat, shades low on his nose, hair in tight cornrows. They’d filled out—solid, broad-shouldered men now, still dressed in dark clothes with just enough shine to show they had money. Word spread fast.

Smoke and Stack were home.

First stop was the gas station—for fuel and the liquor store next to it, then the old park where half the benches were gone and the other half were tagged up in Sharpie and knife scratches, looking for their homeboy in his usual spot. A few heads turned, so they dapped up old friends, nodded at familiar faces.

But the real reunion happened on Vernon Street.

Martin Hall was leaned up against his Impala, blunt behind his ear, gold ring glinting. He caught sight of the car before it even parked at the house across the street, and when he caught sight of the men in the car, he instantly grinned.

“Nahhh, I know this ain’t who I think it is.” He shouted, arms already wide open.

Stack stepped out first, grinning, and then Smoke followed. The three embraced like no time had passed at all, Martin falling the men up. Loud laughs, back slaps, the kind of reunion that made neighbors peek through blinds.

“Man, what the hell are yall doing back? And ain’t told a nigga?” Marin asked as he leaned backed against his hood, taking the blunt his girlfriend passed him from her place in his serving seat.

“It was quick to us too, man.” Smoke said, shaking his head a bit. “Them Chiraq niggas different, too much shit going on up there.” He said, placing his hands in the pockets of his black hoodie, his baggy white tee hanging from underneath a bit.

“Money was good, though.” Stack smirked, moving his gaze away from the woman in the car that was eyeing him with a lustful glint in her, to look at the against the hood.

“I bet.” Martin smirked. “I could only imagine what you niggas got up to up there. Especially to come back as fly as that.” He said, nodding over to the cars in front of the boys old home as he blew away the smoke from the blunt.

“Shit, us?” Stack questioned. “Look at you. The jewelry, new whip. Seems money down here moving smooth.”

“Mmm…it’s aight.” Martin shrugged, causing the twins to chuckle with a shake of their heads.

“You know we gotta celebrate.”Martin said, standing from the car a bit as he handed the blunt to his shorty in the car. “Whole block been a bit dry without y’all. Let me throw something together for tonight.” He suggested. “Plus, I gotta clean some paper anyway.” He shrugged, trying to ease the blow of an unexpected gathering upon the men.

Smoke and Stack exchanged a glance before both men looked back at their old friend and shrugged Martin clapped his hands with a smirk. “Aight.” He nodded. “Tracy, go call yo homegirls and shit, tell ‘em to come through while I get shit situated.” He said to the girl in his drivers seat. Tracy didn’t even say anything, she simply got out the car and made her at into the house, bit before making a bit of a show of pulling down her booty shorts. Stack and Smoke exchanged another look at that, but nothing was said further.

Plans were made fast. A block party. Speakers, coolers, grills were pulled out faster than the men could think. Now they just had to get everything jumpin’.

The men sat around Martin’s car catching up, reminiscing on old scams, and laughing at things they never got caught for. Smoke lit a cigarette while Stack leaned back, tapping his fingers on the dashboard.

That’s when they saw her.

Juicy.

She came walking up the sidewalk with Mary next to her, both of them laughing at something too far to hear. Juicy was still thick, but this time, she wore it like armor. Curves hugged up in a baby pink Juicy Couture set, midriff peeking under the hoodie. Her wedged flip flops clicked against the concrete with purpose. Her acrylics—French tips—glinted when she lifted her lollipop to her lips. Lips lined and glossy, brown skin smooth and glowing, gold hoops in her ears catching sun. Her sunglasses were perched on her head, the blonde highlighted tresses in a bun, looking like it just came out of a fresh roller set. It was only when she got closer that they could see that she still had the tiniest gap when she smiled, but now it looked like part of the charm.

Mary had her own vibe—low-rise jeans, rhinestone tank and a high pony—but no one was looking at her. Not the twins at least.

It was Juicy who had the street paused.

Smoke sat up a little straighter. Stack cocked his head. “Lil’ Juicy?” He mumbled.

And just like that, the heat of Mississippi summer wasn’t the loudest thing on the block anymore.

The heat clung to the air, and the bass from someone’s backyard radio pulsed low in the distance. Juicy walked like she owned the sidewalk, hips swaying in perfect rhythm with the click of her heels. She was curvy in all the right places—thicker than the girls on TV, but built with softness and strength that couldn’t be ignored.

Smoke and Stack hadn’t said a word yet. They’d gone still the second they saw her. Not obviously—nothing as sloppy as ogling—but they noticed everything. The gloss, the tips, the squinting, whenever from the sun or her needing her prescription. They both could remember how they used to slide down her nose every few seconds.

She no longer looked like the quiet girl who used to sit on the porch with a notebook. She looked like a woman now. A whole one.

Martin lifted a hand. “Juice! Come say what’s up.” He called out, waving the girl over.

Juicy raised a brow as she stopped at the curb, Mary lingering just behind her. “You actin’ like I don’t live here.”he caused, causing Martin to smack his lips. “You know what I mean.”

Juicy clocked the twins as soon as she approached. But her eyes didn’t widen, she didn’t blink. She just popped that lollipop out her mouth slow, head tilted, and said—

“Well, well. Look who finally came home.” All soft like.

Smoke stepped forward, arms crossed, head tilted just slightly. “Ain’t seen you in years, Juicy.” He said, voice a little lower than usual.

Stack nodded. “You done grown all up now.” He said, his eyes subconsciously giving the girl before him a quick once over, one that had him wanting to trace his eyes over her body again.

Juicy didn’t blush—she never did. She just looked between them, slow and deliberate, then popped the lollipop from her mouth and smiled, tiny gap and all. “Y’all look the same.” She said, though they really didn’t. “Maybe taller. Maybe.” She shrugged, not hiding the way she analyzed the men from head to toe, taking in their otherwise plain street wear, which she knew had to still be a decent penny for.

Martin chuckled. “They back for good. Figured I’d throw a little somethin’ tonight. Let the block know.”

Juicy nodded, barely glancing back at the twins. “That’s cute. I’ll see what’s up.” Then to Mary, “Come on.”

She turned without another word, strutting toward the house, and the two men made it their mission to not look at the rhinestones bedazzled on her booty, reading ‘Juicy’ across the span of the area. Mary, however, lingered just a second longer. Her eyes locked on Stack like she was sizing him up for dessert. No shame at all. She flashed a grin that was all teeth and trouble before jogging up the steps behind Juicy.

When they were gone, Martin lit his blunt, shaking his head. “Y’all look like you saw a ghost.” He said as he blew the smoke out. “Was it Mary? Yeah, I know, still freaks me out a bit to see her down here.” He added, not even waiting for an explanation from them.

Smoke leaned against the hood, eyes still on the porch. “Nah.” He muttered, voice tight. “Yeah, you right. Just didn’t expect that.” He said, though he was simply agreeing to save face.

A few minutes later, it seemed as though this party was about to take off as people began to show up, their drinks of chose and blunts in their clutches. This made Martin head inside to grab more beers while the twins stayed posted at the car, quiet now that the noise of the street settled down.

It was silent between them for a bit before Stack spoke up, not even looking at his brother. “Juicy is far from the girl we left them heard back.” Stack said, rubbing the back of his neck, internally questioning himself over the quick flashes of ‘not so pure’ thoughts he had about the girl he grew up with.

“Yeah.” Smoke replied. “She is.”

They didn’t say anything else for a moment, both thinking the same thing—how time had a funny way of flipping the script. How the girl who used to scribble doodles on everything and watch them from the corner of the porch now walked like she didn’t owe anybody her attention.

Smoke remembered the way she used to listen when he talked—really listen—without judgment or noise. How he used to feel stupid for sharing some of his serpent moments with someone so young. How at first he just needed her for an ear, and she levered that, and when he needed some answers, she was quick to help as well. And she had those same eyes. Soft but knowing. That hadn’t changed.

Stack was still thinking about her walk. The way she didn’t give them a second glance, like she’d seen men like them a thousand times. It didn’t bruise his ego—it just made him curious.

“And I peep she’s got a smart mouth on her now.” He finally said, half a smile on his lips.

Smoke nodded, but his gaze didn’t leave the front door. “Yeah.” He muttered, and that’s all he seemed to be able to say, as if she had rendered him speechless.

Stack’s smirked widen, longing his lips as a thought crossed his mind.

“Wonder who she’s lettin’ have it.”

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“kari, heyyy,” she sang out finally when she’d taken up residence on a overstuffed armchair in the mezzanine. students scurried around on the ground floor beneath her, heading in every direction, resembling a hive of swarming bees. some chatted with friends or held hands with lovers, most were engrossed in their playlists or lectures pouring through headphones. 

“hey babygirl, how’s your day going?” michael hummed sweetly. the deep timbre of his voice caressed her, adding to her desire to be at home with him catching up on her never ending rewatch of insecure instead of staring down the barrel of more meetings, office hours, and one more Hail Mary bisulfite sequencing to hopefully salvage three days worth of work. 

“don’t ask,”she replied, pout heavy in her voice, “how about you?” 

the flurry of a production office blared from the other side of the phone. 

“that bad, hmm?”he asked over the cacophony of sounds and voices behind him. 

taking a cursory glance around the office, he spied zinzi and ryan gesturing excitedly at a whiteboard in the conference room they had rented while they were on location. their newest collaboration, Tenure, would be a thriller based on a professor at an hbcu that uncovers a conspiracy, putting himself and his family at risk. michael would, of course, be the leading man, starring opposite wunmi. 

“worse.” 

he chuckled lowly as he caught eyes with the cooglers, and they gestured for him to join them. holding up a finger, he turned his attention back to her. he could sense the wound up tension within her though the phone, and he wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and comfort her. they had been like ships in the night since he had started pre-production on this film a few weeks ago, and she returned to school for the spring semester. he missed her more than he was ready to let on. 

“hey, you think we could change our names and make it to bali unnoticed?” 

“uhh, not likely mr. international superstar. i’d definitely leave you in your throng of fans and make my great escape though,” she countered easily, descending the stairs toward the library’s cafe for a much-needed iced matcha latte. 

“that’s cold, baby, ice cold. you have much left for the afternoon? i’d love a lunch date,” he said, checking to make sure his afternoon was open.

“ugh, I wish I could. i have wednesday evening recitation with my organic chemistry students and another meeting with my department chair about my dissertation. i’m grabbing a matcha before my office hours start at six.” 

“you’re too damn busy, girl,” he replied pinching his eyebrows into a frown, “can I at least get one of the interns to send you some food?” 

“no Michael, no production intern envisions spending their afternoon dropping off lukewarm pad thai to an overworked ta.” 

“it’s called payin’ dues, but I respect your compassion. hey listen, I gotta go talk to zinzi and ryan for a second. I’ll text you later to see how everything is going. love you.” 

“love you too,” she giggled back. 

michael smiled and ended the call. he really worried about how much she was putting on her plate, but not because he didn’t think she could handle it. her ambition was one of the things that immediately drew him to her. she was just like him: always looking for the next project, always looking to learn something new. he just wished their shared ambition didn’t have to come at the cost of missing out on quality time with each other, the late night phone calls and early morning check ins just weren’t cutting it anymore. 

 as he made his way toward the conference room, he could hear the cooglers chatting back and forth. michael admired the easy way they were with each other, how even if they disagreed on creative choices (as they seemed to be doing now) they still operated with so much love between them. 

“great that you’re here, bro,” ryan said as michael swung open the door, “can you please tell my girl that a microscope scene has way more cinematic potential than a shot of him scribbling in a notebook at the library?” 

“still arguing about that montage, I see,” michael chuckled as he slid into a seat at the large mahogany table. 

“will you please tell my husband that a large part of a grad student’s life is spent in the library? this montage has to encapsulate his whole journey through his phd so that we can get into the juicy stuff,” zinzi replied, snacking on an apple slice. 

“ya’ll know I never take sides, but I will say that the library bit is pretty accurate. my girl is actually there right now readin’ some stuff to help her re-run some experiments tonight.” 

“I’m a genius, zinzi coogler, you are a genius!” zinzi exclaimed, pointing directly at Ryan.

michael looked between them, confusion knitting his brows. he saw the millisecond they did their usual zinzi-ryan jedi mind reading shit and shifted their attention back to him. 

“should I be nervous?” michael said, leveling them both with a narrow glare. 

“of course not, Mike, we’d never put you in a crazy situation. don’t look at me like that, i already apologized for all the fake blood, damn,” ryan said with a snort, “what if we could get consultation for pre-production done while simultaneously solving your scheduling conflicts with dr.boo?” 

“never say dr.boo to me again,” michael groaned scrunching his nose, “and that would be amazing, but how could we pull that off?” 

“i’m so glad you asked!” zinzi cut in, joining michael at the table, “what better way to crack the ‘phd years’ depiction for the film than you actually shadowing a phd student and getting a feel for the day to day experience? we’re thinking you’d sit in on her lab time, tag along to a lecture or two, and attend office hours. just really get into her rhythm.” 

he wanted to get into more than just her rhythm.

“wait, you want my girl to do ‘take your boo to work day’?” 

“so you can say boo?” ryan said rolling his eyes. 

“let him have this one, baby. so not the point right now,” zinzi smiled patting his hand. she turned to michael conspiratorially. 

“i’m in. who do we need to clear this with?” Michael said clapping his hands together once with a sharp pop. He felt his body thrum with an awareness that he’d be in close quarters with her for the next few days, seeing her in her element. He was excited. He was anxious. He was…horny as fuck. 

“it’s all handled bro,  I was contactin’ everyone while you and zinzi was doin’ that lil song and dance. get ready to go to school tomorrow,” ryan said with a dismissive wave not looking away from his laptop. 

the next day

she blinked rapidly as her alarm tone broke the sound barrier from the nightstand. she groaned loudly turning her head away from the offensive sound and brutal sunlight pouring through the floor to ceiling windows in michael’s bedroom. only rich people do senseless shit like inviting the sun to sit in their room first thing in the morning, ruining any chance of overworked underpaid graduate students getting an extra fifteen minutes of sleep past their alarm. 

“shut uppppp,” she spat at her alarm, tossing the pillow she’d used to shield her eyes from the sun’s assault at the screaming clock. she kicked the comforter back with a huff. the slight thrum in her left temple let her know what type of day she was in for. 

staring straight up at the ceiling she (not for the first time this week) considered her life choices. days like this were the fucking worst. all she wanted to do was curl up under her man, eat too much, and take nap after endless nap. much to her chagrin, today she met with her dissertation committee to discuss the progression of her project. most of the committee was on her side and very excited about her endeavor to map epigenetic markers of racialized trauma in black people of marginalized gender. dr.barrett, on the other hand, made it his personal mission to be a thorn in her side during each and every committee meeting, and today, she simply wasn’t in the fucking mood.  

glancing over to her left, she remembered that michael had likely tipped out in the super wee hours of the morning to beat everyone to the production office to get the day started. she simultaneously loved and hated that he had such an amazing work ethic. 

kissing her teeth, she jumped out of bed before turning off the alarm and quickly making her side of the bed. of course mike had a cleaning service, but she didn’t believe in leaving things in disarray just because. 

stepping into her slippers and wrapping her robe around herself with a pout, she drug her feet across the floors with a steady schht schht. mindlessly, she entered the kitchen to find that michael programmed the coffee machine to brew her a perfect caramel macchiato five minutes after her alarm sounded. he had taped a sticky note to the side of her mug and left her a bottle of water and extra strength tylenol next to the machine. bless that god of a man.

“have a beautiful day on purpose. love, kari,” she read aloud, a smile teasing the corners of her lips. she missed him so much she could scream. 

giving herself ten minutes to mindfully enjoy her coffee and take in the immaculate view outside his apartment, she fought the urge to write a mental to do list for the day. as soon as the thoughts started swirling, the anxiety would rush back in and her mood would plummet. she shook her head to banish any thoughts that were not directly related to the scenery in front of her, the mug warming her hand, the cool caress of the air conditioning against her bare thighs beneath the robe. She reveled in the act of just being.  as she reached the bottom of the mug, she instructed the surround system to begin her ‘getting ready for the day’  playlist. cleo sol filled the air, and she shimmied along to the music through her entire morning routine, bolstering her confidence for the meeting. twenty minutes later, she was slinging her backpack onto one shoulder as she walked down the hallway toward the revolving doors in the lobby. 

“have a great day mister harvey!” she called to the doorman as she stepped out onto the sidewalk. the cool morning air kissed her face, and she was grateful the tylenol had finally kicked in. 

“you too, darlin’. don’t stay out too late tonight. y’know avery gon’ let me know if he sees you comin’ in without mr.jordan past midnight. you really should call the desk and let us send a car for you at night,” he wagged his finger at her. mister harvey and his son avery trade shifts at the door of the building and unfortunately they take michael’s instructions to ‘look after his girl’ very seriously. plus, they both really like her and don’t like to know she’s walking home from campus alone at night most nights. 

“shhh! you know mike has spies all over this building. he’d be livid if he knew I was still walking home! i enjoy the fresh air. but, i’ll make a deal with y’all. if I’ll be walking home late, I’ll call the desk and let y’all know so if I don’t make it within twenty minutes ya’ll can call the teen titans to rescue me,” she said raising her hand in the girl scout honor salute. 

“mhmm, I’ll hold you to it!” mr. harvey replied with a smile. nodding back, she turned toward campus and set off with a newfound determination to have a great day. 

that was until the strap on her backpack broke sending the contents skidding across the lobby of the genomics building. and the elevator to the seventh floor stalled at the second, leaving her to climb the remaining five. and her reaching her office door only to realize her key had likely fallen under one of the couches in the lobby in the skirmish, requiring her to descend and ascend the seven floors again. 

irritation pulled her eyebrows together in a tight embrace, mild headache back with a full vengeance and through her shaky breaths, she could hear conversation around the corner near where her office door was. faintly, she could make out the grating timbre of dr.barrett’s voice and fought back a groan. not this early. 

rounding the corner, she could see him in an animated conversation with a gaggle of people and wondered why in the fuck they’d stopped in front of her office door. the last thing she wanted in her state was to have to give cursory small talk since she’d have to get past them to get inside. As she got closer, the group turned to watch her approach, and she stifled a gasp as she locked eyes with the same cinnamon pair she’d gazed into before she fell asleep the night before. michael. in the flesh. at her school? what. the. fuck?

her steps stuttered as she approached praying he wasn’t there to deliver any bad news.  looking past him, she saw the cooglers smiling at her. okay, so it probably wasn’t bad news. her hands trembled a little less as she reached the group. 

“ah, here she is!” dr.barrett said proudly, gesturing grandly at her, “she is by far the best and the brightest PhD candidate in our department and will be perfect for your project.” 

project? her eyes danced across all of their expressions noting the smug smiles on the three musketeers’ faces, and the wide grin dr. barrett was sporting. 

“i’m sorry, good morning everyone. wh-what project? what’s going on?” 

“good morning. this is zinzi and ryan coogler of proximity media and I’m sure you know who this guy is. killmonger, adonis creed, the smokestack twins, and more, mr. michael b. jordan!” dr.barrett excitedly gestured at all of them, eyes glazing over from the fact that he was clearly meeting people he deeply admired. hmm, dr.asswipe was a film nerd. interesting. 

“nice to meet you,” michael said politely, his gaze tracing a blazing path across her body. 

they’d gone through great lengths to keep their relationship out of the public eye, so no one at her school knew that they were together. it was known around the industry that mike was dating a woman who wasn’t in the business in any capacity, but her identity was a mystery to everyone but his closest friends, topping that list was zinzi and ryan. 

“likewise, I’m a fan of your work,” she said back, returning his hungry gaze, stopping at the lips that just a few nights ago had trailed along the column of her throat and on—she needed to lock the fuck in. shaking her head, she reached out to shake hands and greet each of them individually. 

“they’re in pre-production for a film that centers around a tenure-track professor, and the reached out to our department to see if there were any PhD candidates that could act as a consultant. we couldn’t think of a more qualified student for the job than you,” dr.barrett beamed, smile tight with faux-admiration.

shit, she thought,it wasn’t his choice, which means he gon be on one in the meeting later. 

zinzi met her gaze with a quirked brow, and an entire conversation passed between them telepathically. 

“well, dr.barrett, we want thank you so much for connecting us with your brightest. We trust your judgment wholeheartedly, especially after your lecture on environmental racism at the naacp national convention last year,” zinzi said sweetly, cutting her eyes in satisfaction at her as barrett preened under her praise. 

“you guys caught that?” 

“absolutely, bro. very insightful,” ryan chimed in with a hint of sarcasm, subtly sizing him up. 

“I know you must have a busy day ahead of you dr.barrett, and I am definitely excited to get started with my shadowing. my team will be in touch about the logistics of the press conference at the end of the week,” michael said with a curt nod.

“oh, uhh, of course. please enjoy your time at our institution, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything!” 

the four of them glared at his receding back as he traipsed toward his office. once he was out of earshot, the other three turned their attention on her. 

“so that’s the dickhead you were telling me about at brunch?” zinzi whisper yelled, grabbing at the student’s shoulder. 

“the one and only.” 

“yeah, you were right babe, he definitely hates women,” michael said with a snort, “meanwhile he was finna cum in his lil wing tips cause I remembered his name.” 

“definitely didn’t need the visual, bro,” ryan barked out a short laugh and shook his head. 

just then the lovers remembered they would be spending the entire day together, and the world around them fell away. she captured michael’s gaze in a searing embrace, causing him to tuck his lip ever-so-slightly between his teeth. heaven help him if he was going to make it through today. the silence around them lengthened, and ryan subtly cleared his throat to cut into the tension. 

“yeah so we gon’ leave y’all to it, cmon zinzi.” 

ryan captured her hand in his sending a smirk down to her. 

“y’all be good.” zinzi threw over her shoulder as they walked away. 

and then it was just them. the air around them was almost congealed with yearning. wordlessly, she moved to unlock her office door. he was hot on her heels, the heat from his shortened breath fanning across the nape of her neck. a groan lodged itself in her throat as she felt the strong line of his body meld into her from behind. they stumbled into her office clumsily, clutching at each other the moment the door closed behind them with a click. 

“nice office,” michael said huskily, pressing her back against the door. 

“you ain’t even looked at it for real,” she said, her gaze locked on his bottom lip. daringly, she tipped onto her tip toes and captured it between her own. he gripped her hips tightly as he deepened the kiss. 

“my favorite part about it is that thing we did against the door that time,” he said hotly, against her damp lips after breaking off their searing kiss. 

“which time?” she asked, voice dazed. 

“hmm, must’ve been future me talking for a second,” michael said, pushing his fingers past the waistband of her pants. She yelped at the feel of his middle finger ghosting over the seat of her already damp panties. 

“I have a lecture to give at 10,” she huffed out, swirling her hips to chase more friction. 

he tsked, before sliding his fingers fully past the barrier of fabric, zeroing in on the exact part of her body that was screaming for his attention. her legs instinctively parted for him. 

“you doubting me already, baby? I know it’s been a few days, but tell me something professor. how long before you cummin’ on my fingers?” 

“five minutes plus or minus one,” she said on a small moan, pulling him even closer. 

six minutes later, they were composed and headed across the quad toward the chemistry building for her 10 am organic lecture. the much needed orgasm flushed her features and cleared her aura before she went in to deal with high-strung pre-med, pre-dental, and pre-pharmacy students in her class who were always prepped and ready to argue her down for a percentage point increase on their grades. she hoped michael’s presence wouldn’t be too much of a distraction for them—or her for that matter. that office door would likely never look the same to her. shaking her head, she looked over at michael as he was taking in the ambiance of the busy campus. she could see the gears in his head turning as he began to imagine himself in the role and to embody his character. amazingly, many of the students walked right past him without noticing him. She wouldn’t want to chance it will her ten o’clock though, those little fuckers were shrewd. 

“so, I think it may be best if you camp out at the very back of the class so you can get the best view while also not being a distraction,” she said as he opened the door to the chemistry building for her. 

“distraction for your students or for you?” he asked with a smirk, following her down the hall to the large lecture hall. 

“just do what I ask bakari,” she said snatching open the door and beginning her descent down the stairs toward the stage. 

“middle name in public is crazy, ma.” 

“says the man with a wikipedia page.” 

“touché,” he said, finding a seat in a dark corner at the top of the room and pulling his hood up to conceal himself. 

he watched as she readied herself for her students’ arrival, and he found himself enthralled at the sight of her in her element. as students began to trickle in, they greeted her and vied for her attention to discuss quiz grades and homework assignments. the more students engaged with her on the way to their seats, the more he could see the tension work its way back into her face and shoulders. 

kari luv🥰: tell your shoulders to break up with your ears. they don’t make a cute couple. 

babygirl, PhD👩🏾‍🔬: fuck you. these damn kids blowing me already! 

kari luv🥰: on the bright side, they got a fine ass professor. you sure none of these lil niggas be in yo office hours tryna get fresh? i don’t mind catching a case. 

babygirl, PhD👩🏾‍🔬: goodbye michael. 

kari luv🥰:  wait wait, no fr. I think I need some one on one tutoring. 

babygirl, PhD👩🏾‍🔬: GOODBYE. MICHAEL. 

he watched some of the tension melt from her body as she smiled and locked her phone. she cleared her throat to get the attention of the class. a hush swept through the room, and to his surprise, she transformed before his eyes into someone he’d never seen before. not that he didn’t know she was intelligent and a rigorous academic, that was a given. it was something about the way she deftly navigated conveying concepts while intuitively knowing when to push and pull with her students and help them understand the material. HE was even following the lecture, and he didn’t even know what the hell a substitution reaction was. 

“as we’ve previously discussed, substitution and elimination reactions can fall into the categories of sn1, sn2, e1 or e2. what type of base will drive a reaction toward the sn2 mechanism?” 

“a strong nucleophile,” a young black man with a curly taper fade said from the front row. She sent a proud smile his way and nodded. michael watched as the lil nigga sat up straighter and puffed his chest out in pride. oh, he couldn’t wait until office hours. 

“very good, mr. jackson,” she turned toward the projector build into podium and wrote out the beginning of a reaction, “can someone suggest potential products for this reaction?” 

another girl midway through the lecture hall raised her hand, and she waved her down to the podium to give the answer a shot. the short girl reminded him of younger pictures he’d seen of her at her mom’s house over christmas break. her face cracked with joy as the girl drew the correct product, and she clapped for her excitedly. 

“wonderful, ms.reed! I’m so glad this is starting to click for you.” 

“thanks prof, your office hours really helped.” 

the girl blushed with pride all the way back to her seat, and michael fell in love with her all over again. the way she took an active role in her students’ success, even with all the other things on her plate. her intellect. her passion for learning. he was utterly and completely enraptured. 

forty minutes later, she was wrapping up her final conversations with the students who hung back after class, suggesting that they could finish things during her office hours that afternoon. once the coast was clear, he ambled down the steps toward the stage as she bent down below the podium to finish gathering her belongings. 

“mmm, mmm, mmm, professor. you sure I can’t get no one on one tutoring?” He groaned, turning his head to the side to ogle her fully, “I think there’s a lot you can teach me.” 

“down boy, we don’t have time. my cells are coming off incubation in 15 minutes and we gotta run now if we’re going to make it in time,” she said with a huff, pulling him by his hand. 

they skidded to a stop outside of the lab twelve minutes later, and she tossed a lab coat and safety glasses to him absentmindedly. snatching the door open, she made a bee line to the incubator and pulled out her plates and stacked them on her benchtop. 

“you can come watch me but don’t talk. if you contaminate my samples, I will resent you heavily.” 

She cleaned the bench off with isopropyl alcohol before removing the parafilm from one of the plates. taking a pipette tip, she isolated a colony and mounted it on a microscope slide. gesturing to him to follow her, she walked to the bench top microscope and focused the bacteria into view and moved so he could look at it. 

“wow, this is so cool baby. you a whole ass scientist,” michael said peering down into the eyepiece with wonder. 

“I’m a whole ass geneticist, but yeah,” she laughed, gaze softening as she watched the man she loved be fully engaged in her life’s work. 

he stayed back as she moved to process her samples for the next phase of her experiment. she moved between tasks smoothly and confidently, and he could tell that she had been fine tuning the process for months. she reminded him a lot of himself when he was fully immersed in a role. the movements became second nature, whatever persona he was embodying became an extension of himself. 

“so, when did you know this was the career for you?” 

“I guess I’ve always known in a way. when I was five I told my mama that I wanted to be a marine biologist,” she giggled, “don’t even know where I got that from. my granny would take me to the museum of natural science all the time, and I guess I just fell in love with it there. over time it has evolved through many applications and iterations, but it wasn’t until undergrad that I learned about epigenetics.” 

She turned from the bench and placed the rewrapped plates into an industrial fridge. after gesturing at him to remove his coat and glasses, she then guided him outside of the lab and back toward her office. 

“and epigenetics is?” 

“epigenetics is how behaviors and environmental factors affect gene expression and function without altering the genetic code itself,” she answered easily as she unlocked her office door and stepped inside. 

the mental image of his mouth on her pulse and his hands all over her assaulted her as she rounded her desk. yup, office officially ruined. 

“oh wow, so you’re saying depending on what you do and where you live, you can develop certain conditions?” 

she nodded, waving at a chair for him to take a seat. 

“exactly. my project is looking specifically at how epigenetic modifications can be passed down, especially through black women and people of marginalized gender. when your grandmother was pregnant with your mom, you were inside of your mother as an egg. think about the ways stress, environment, and access to resources could’ve affected not only your mom’s development, but yours. now zoom out and think about how that cycle can be relevant even going back to slavery, jim crow, and the civil rights era,” she gushed excitedly, her eyes on fire with passion. 

never mind, now he loved her more than he previously thought humanly possible. 

“I love the way your mind works. you are genuinely one of the most intelligent, interesting people I’ve ever met,” he said, rising to kiss her forehead.  

she melted under his embrace and praise. he always had a talent for seeing her just as she was, and beyond everything being seen and understood was all she ever wanted.  

“aww, thanks baby,” she said, pecking his lips, “now get away from me, office hours start in five, and I don’t wanna be tempted.” 

“I’m very concerned that we haven’t stopped for a break yet and it’s almost 1 pm,” he observed, “are your days like this every day?” 

She looked up in thought. 

“uhh, no actually. today has been pretty slow for a thursday.” 

“unacceptable. I demand that we take a break after office hours,” he replied quickly stretching his legs out in front of him. 

“can’t, have a dissertation committee meeting after,” she said flatly, typing away on her computer. 

shaking his head, he navigated to his team’s group chat and instructed his assistant to contact dr.barrett and reschedule the committee meeting. he heard the Microsoft outlook tone and watched as her eyebrows knitted in confusion. she narrowed her gaze in his direction, and he smiled devilishly. 

“what did you do?” 

“took care of it. now we got time for that lunch date.” 

“I love you. I love you. I love youuuu,” she said jumping into his lap and kissing him all over his face. 

“save these kisses for somewhere else,” he said wiggling his bushy brows. 

“you freaky frog, unhand me.”

he tightened his arms around her waist to hold her in place. she pretended to struggle to get out of his grasp, but neither one of them wanted to let the other go. it wasn’t lost on her that this was the longest they had spent together uninterrupted in a minute, and it felt amazing. their movements slowed as they caught each other’s gaze. 

“kiss me,” she whispered, leaning into him. 

his hand tipped her chin upward to meet the descent of his lips. her lips parted on a sigh, and she readjusted herself to straddle him, threading her arms around his neck. as he deepened the kiss, she ground against him. his hips bucked slightly to meet hers, and they both groaned softly at the friction. 

a knock at her door startled them apart, and she jumped up to compose herself. he sent an angry glare in the direction of the intrusion and ripped his hoodie off to conceal the extremely noticeable (and uncomfortably throbbing) bulge in his pants. 

“mr. jackson, right on time,” she said breathlessly. she watched as her student ahmad, looked over her shoulder and noticed michael. 

“holy shit prof, is that—”

“shhh! come in, ahmad, we’ll explain,” she said, looking back and forth down the hall and shuffling him inside the office. 

ahmad stayed close to the doorway as if moving closer into the room would make michael disappear and blinked with a stunned gaze in his general direction. michael sized up the young man and sent a smile his way. 

“wassup, bro. I’m michael,” he said, reaching out to dap him up. 

“I’m ahmad. what, uh, what are you doing here?” ahmad squeaked out, returning his dap. 

“your brilliant professor has graciously agreed to help me prep for an upcoming role. I’m shadowing her for a while. speaking of, I was really impressed with you in class today. you’re pretty smart.” 

“y-you were in class today? whoa,” ahmad shot a look at his teacher with his eyebrows raised in stunned surprise. 

she nodded slowly and smiled. 

“yes, mr. jordan is here to observe so just ignore him. pretend this is a normal office hour. do you have any questions about what we’ve covered in class so far?” 

ahmad took the other seat and to his credit, he was quickly able to put his focus squarely on his professor. a little too much focus for michael’s taste, but he couldn’t blame the boy. hell, he was even squirming in his seat watching her this closely. 

twenty minutes later, they sent ahmad on his way with the promise of tickets to the premiere if he kept the sighting to himself. the last thing they needed was other students pretending to have questions to catch a glimpse of him. 

after repeating this with four more of her students and a few nosy colleagues, they were on their way to their favorite thai spot for a late dinner instead of the lunch they’d originally planned. they got their food to go, and she brought him to her favorite spot in the library. the rigors of the day were starting to take its toll on both of them, but having this quiet time was welcomed wholeheartedly. 

“so how did you manage to get access to the library after hours?” he asked, handing her the container of shrimp pad thai. 

“I have friends in high places,” she grinned, pulling her chopsticks apart with a snap.

“mmm, okay. it’s been so fun being in your world today. you work way too fuckin’ hard, but seein’ the way you light up with your research and your students, I don’t know. it just makes me realize why you push through the bad days,” he said smoothly, taking in the sight of her balancing her textbook on one knee and her food on the other. her glasses were perched on the tip of her nose, and he leaned forward to push them back into place. perfect.

“aww kari, thank you,” she pouted, “it was amazing seeing you immersed in my work today, and I really been missing the hell outta you so this was exactly what we needed.” 

he nodded before leaning over to peck her on the lips. taking the book from her knee, he softly read to her as she ate. molecular genetics never sounded so good. 

three sections later, she was laying her head in his lap and staring up at him as he continued to read to her. her body was thrumming at the intimacy of the moment, at the tension that had been building between them all day. 

“mike, stop.” 

“did I say ‘chromatid’ wrong again? my bad,” he said, turning the page to continue. he was way too into this. 

“no, I’m not thinking about studying right now,” she said raising up from his lap and placing a hand on his jaw. 

“are you tryna take advantage of me in this library?” 

“you don’t want me to?” she said, raising an eyebrow. 

“Nah, hell naw, I ain't say that. I just was being respectful of your sacred space,” he said quickly pushing her back against the plush carpet. His hands began to roam over her, stopping at just the right spots to have her wound tighter than a snare drum. 

“nigga please, my first kiss was in a library,” she giggled around her quickening breaths. he stopped his ministrations. 

“on brand.” 

“fuck you.” 

“oh, you bout to.” 

before she could reply, he was on her. he made easy work of removing her clothes.  between his hands and his mouth, there wasn’t an inch of her left untouched. the steady thrumming had increased to a fever pitch of need for him, and he was more than happy to oblige. 

“michael.” 

“I’m here mama, what you need?” he said huskily as he continued to kiss a trail down her body. her hips bucked up toward his mouth, and he let out a sardonic chuckle, “is that right? I got you.” 

he dipped his head and kissed her. sweetly at first. reacquainting himself with her taste. once he got that though, he deepened the kiss. she moaned at the hunger with which he devoured her and reached down to tug on his hair. her fingers traced lazy circles in his scalp as he claimed her stroke by decadent stroke. he tugged her clit softly between his lips and traced her nipples with his fingers. she was writhing beneath him. practically begging.

“fuck, I missed you,” he whispered against her lips, continuing his assault on her senses. he was everywhere and no where at once. she wanted to push him away and pull him closer all at the same time. 

“show me then,” she whimpered, pulling him up to kiss her. she tugged at his shirt as he hastily unbuckled his pants. before she knew it, he was sinking into her softly, allowing her to adjust to the stretch. a tear escaped at the combination of it all. the feel of him buried so deeply, so magnificently, the feel of the plush carpet at her back, the scent of the books around her. 

“I love you so much,” he groaned as he stroked into her slowly, doing his best to etch this moment into her memory, “so fuckin’ much.” 

“I love you too.” 

moments later, they lay cuddled up still physically connected. michael lazily traced a finger along her shoulder and stared at her as her eyes fluttered sleepily. 

“maybe we should get outta here before we get busted for indecent exposure,” he yawned, tapping her hip. 

“five more minutes. I owe this to undergrad me. pretty sure she wrote fan fiction about this exact scenario, I need to soak it in,” she hummed before pecking his lips. 

“wait, you wrote fan fiction about me?” he snickered. 

“the word you’re looking for is write. I write fan fiction about you.” 

“why write about it when you have the real thing, weirdo?” he said, tickling her. 

“I believe in manifestation,” she said soberly, gesturing to them. 

he laughed and shook his head. she buried her face in his chest as he pulled her closer and allowed himself to soak it in too. 

“we owe zinzi one hell of a wrap gift.” 

one year later

zinzi, michael, and ryan took the stage to accept their award at cannes. tenure was slated to be their most lucrative film yet, and there was already oscar buzz about michael’s performance. he looked out into the crowd and caught her eye as she cheered loudly for them. just a week earlier, he was inconspicuously camped out at her graduation screaming his head off as she accepted her degree with highest distinction. over the past year, they had really found their stride with balancing both of their demanding careers and schedules. he was truly grateful for the opportunity to use their shared experiences that day to give his role the edge it needed, but he was even more grateful for the new level of intimacy they reached after that day. the ring box weighed a ton in his pants pocket. he winked at her as he approached the mic to give his acceptance speech.