Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 142866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
I keep it loose, fighting the urge to crush her softness against me. She smells so damn good, I briefly tighten my arm around her waist and dip my head to catch the scent at her neck. It’s something fresh and clean, with top notes of fuck me against a wall. I’m instantly hard, and keep my arm at her waist, not willing to let her go yet, but insert a few inches between us so she doesn’t feel the effect she has on me from jump.
It’s my first time seeing her since the trip to Colorado. Despite her objections on the phone, she looks beautiful. I drink her in, noting that her hair is still damp from the fresh wash and tamed into two braids, the tips of which brush her shoulders. Her skin is flawless and a deep, luminous shade of chestnut brown. She must only be wearing lip balm or something simple because the natural chocolate-rose color of her lips is in evidence. I think of A Different World reruns when she smiles. She has a Kim Reese grin; wide and blindingly white and infectious. How could anyone not smile back at this woman?
She licks her lips and pulls out of our hug.
“Um, it’s good to see you again, too.” She hooks a thumb over her shoulder toward the floating stairs that lead up to a loft. “Like I said, need to grab my bag.”
“I’ll be right here,” I tell her, taking a seat and spreading my arms across the back of the couch.
Her apartment is exactly what I would expect, but also different from what I envisioned. A cream-colored couch dominates the front room, its overstuffed cushions punctuated with pops of fluffy pillows in shades of cool green, muted violet, and pink. Dark hardwood floors are splashed with area rugs along the same color palette. A brass-toned bar sits against one wall, fully stocked with bottles of liquor and glasses.
The loft above is walled and I can’t make out much detail, but I’m certain that’s where she sleeps. I’d love to be invited up there someday. To be invited into her bed. Into her life. It will never happen if she doesn’t know I want it to. That’s what tonight is for. I know giving me a shot involves risk for her, but I want to convince her it could be worth it. Risk is coded into my DNA. I’m completely comfortable with it like a boa constrictor you keep as a house pet. I fool myself into thinking I’m safe long enough to do what needs to be done.
And this needs to be done.
When she comes back, she’s topped her two braids with a dark blue Braves baseball cap. Her denim romper shorts fit loosely everywhere but the ass. The material clings to the alluring curvature of rounded hips and butt, hitting midway down her smooth, thick, firm thighs. Oversized hoops brush her cheeks, and a gold ankle bracelet rests just above her Samba Adidas.
“Ready?” She tightens the strap on a Prada cross-body bag. Fiddles with gold bangles stacked at her wrists. Tugs at the end of one braid on her shoulder. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was fidgeting. I’d think she was nervous.
“Yeah, ready.” I nod toward the door. “Lead the way to this culinary institution.”
She exits the apartment, locking up before we start down the hallway. I let my hand rest at the small of her back. She’s warm and soft beneath my palm. I want to turn back around and say fuck wherever we’re going. I’d rather hole up in her apartment all night while we get acquainted with each other’s bodies. Trade memories, fears, dreams in a cocoon of privacy. She tenses beneath my hand before she steps away from my touch.
We got a ways to go before we get there, but that’s okay. Hendrix will be worth it.
Once in the car, she leans forward and whispers the address to the driver. They laugh quietly for a second before she sits back and raises the privacy partition.
“What’s so funny?” I ask. “Where we going?”
“You’ll see.” She smiles, eyes lit with mischief. “It’s not that big of a deal. This place is nothing fancy. Believe me. The opposite. I’m just guessing you’ve never been to one.”
“To one? So it’s a chain?”
She zips a finger across her lips. “Talk about something else.”
So I do. While the city’s lights blur past the windows, I focus all my attention on Hendrix. The deal she’s been working on for her client Imani. An update on her mother’s condition, which seems to be holding steady as of now. When she tells me Aspire decided to take on the cannabis founder, I’m proud that I had at least a little to do with that move. We even debrief about the last episode of Top Boy we watched. We’re now into episodes I hadn’t seen yet, and the storytelling is fantastic.