9. Saige
9
Saige
S aige let out an annoyed sigh when she checked the time on her Breitling watch and noted that Moon was running late. Moon had begged her to go to dinner at a restaurant in Virginia Beach called Tulu. She had been seeing it all over TikTok and wanted to go with her big sister. The restaurant was located next to the beach, and it even had a pool. The setting was beautiful and with the sun going down, it gave off an amazing glow inside the restaurant. The doors that led to the pool outside were propped open, and the breeze that was blowing off the ocean felt good against Saige’s skin.
“Is this seat taken?”
Saige’s heart stopped as she looked up into the face of Quadir. She unwillingly licked her lips at him. He looked good enough to eat, standing there in a red, short sleeved Dior shirt that hugged his arms just right and his tattoos on full display, dark colored jeans, and red and white Dior sneakers. His diamond chains and earrings shined brightly and complimented the outfit perfectly. Whatever cologne he was wearing was attacking Saige’s pussy in the worst way. There was nothing she appreciated more than a man who smelled as good as he looked.
Analyzing him from head to toe, she realized they were matching. She had on a red Alexander McQueen off the shoulder top paired with dark denim Levi jeans that hugged every curve and red Jimmy Choo heels on her feet. She looked around him to see if Moon was anywhere in the restaurant.
“She’s not coming, beautiful,” he informed her, taking a seat anyway.
Her eyes jumped over to him. “Moon? How do you…”
Her words trailed off as it hit her what was going on. Moon declined her request to come pick her up because she claimed she had a ride. She also urged Saige to send her a picture of her outfit to make sure they were on the same wave. For the last two weeks, Moon had been talking non-stop about how cool of a guy Quadir was. A low chuckle fell off of her lips after she put everything together. Moon was one sneaky ass child.
“This was all her idea,” Qua threw his hands up.
She smiled slightly. “That child is something else.”
“She told me that you deserved a good date, and I wanted to make that happen. Is that true? You haven’t had a good date?”
Saige got lost in Qua’s gaze as he awaited her response. Something about him was just so damn dreamy to her. As she searched her mind for a clever response, the waiter approached and took their drink and food order. Saige was starving, as she hadn’t eaten all day in preparation for her supposed to be date with her little sister.
“Why haven’t you had a good date when you’re dating Carmine?”
She sucked her teeth, hoping like hell that he had let that topic go. “Just because Moon hasn’t seen me on any dates, it doesn’t mean I haven’t been on them.”
“And why wouldn’t your sister know about the man that you’ve been dating for a few years?” He continued probing.
“Um,” she shifted in her seat and looked around the restaurant again.
She’d sworn to Carmine that she would never tell anyone about their arrangement. The aura that Quadir radiated made her feel insanely comfortable though. His demeanor was commanding but calm. Powerful but settling. Everything about him was big dick energy , and while she loved Carmine, he didn’t exude the energy that Quadir did.
“You can tell me,” he let her know, relaxing into his seat.
“Well,” she sipped her water then slowly looked up at him. She took a moment to appreciate his fresh line-up. “Things with me and Carmine are just… different. ”
“In what way?”
“You’re nosey, you know that?”
He laughed which instantly turned her on. “You think me trying to get to know you is nosey? No wonder you don’t date.”
She wanted to be offended but the sexy ass smirk on his face wouldn’t let her. Instead, she was getting turned on even more at the fine ass man that sat across from her. Crossing her legs, she rolled her eyes at him and smiled at the waiter who placed their alcoholic beverages in front of them. Saige took a long sip of her pineapple margarita before looking at Q. It was obvious that he wasn’t about to drop the subject.
“We’re not in an official relationship. He looks out for me, I look out for him,” she shrugged.
“Ohhh, I see. You give him some ass, he gives you some cash?”
She scoffed and rolled her eyes again. “For your information, Mr. Know It All, I’m a virgin, so I don’t give Carmine any ass.”
Qua stared at her for a few moments before he let out a deep laugh that reached the deepest parts of Saige’s lovebox. “A virgin ? Be fuckin’ for real, Saige. Ain’t no way you with a nigga like Carmine, and he ain’t fuckin’. I don’t believe that.”
“Well, I don’t know what the fuck to tell you,” she fired back. Her feelings were slightly hurt that he laughed in her face like that. “You don’t have to believe me. Actually, your opinion doesn’t mean shit to me, Quadir. I’m a virgin, end of fuckin’ story.”
“You dead ass?” He leaned forward after she didn’t crack a smile.
“Who the fuck would lie about being a virgin these days? If anything, bitches is pussy poppin’ on a handstand for free on the internet. Yes, I’m dead ass, and I’m proud of that shit too,” she stated with confidence.
He nodded slowly as he leaned back again. Saige watched as he mentally digested that information. Even though she said she was proud of it, she was slightly embarrassed of it being in Q’s presence. She didn’t want him to look at her like a little girl, but she couldn’t change the facts.
“Carmine knows that you’re a virgin?”
“Yes, he knows! Why does that matter to you?” She rolled her eyes again, picking up her drink and taking long sips from it.
“I was just curious about how you look out for him if it’s not through sex?”
Finishing her drink, she placed the cup back on the table and stared at Quadir. “Why are you so concerned with the dynamic between me and Carmine?”
“Like I said,” he tossed back his shot. “I’m just trying to get to know you. I think you’re beautiful, but if I’m wasting my time because your focus is on Carmine, then let me know.”
They stared at each other silently. Saige didn’t know how to respond to that statement. She knew Carmine wasn’t going for her entertaining another man, even if he was married. She was still slightly in her feelings about that, but she had been trying to work through it. True enough, she loved Carmine, but she didn’t love the feeling of being second to another woman. Especially a woman that had birthed not one, but two children for him. If she had to be a side bitch, at least it was a paid one, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep up with it.
“You’re not wasting your time,” she lowly stated, breaking their intense stare, and looking down at the table.
He leaned across the table and lifted her chin then sat back down. “Look at me, beautiful, not the table. If I’m not wasting my time, then where do we go from here with you having a boyfriend?”
Her ringing phone distracted her for a moment. Picking it up, she saw that it was Carmine and decided to ignore it. She knew he’d probably just call right back so she put her phone on Do Not Disturb.
“I just told you that he’s not my boyfriend, and we move forward by getting to know each other,” she told him.
“Ima be straight up with you, Saige. I’m not the kind of nigga that you want taking your virginity. We can be friends though.”
Her feelings were hurt a little more. “So…because I’m a virgin, you won’t date me?”
“It’s for your own protection. If I take yo virginity, I can’t promise that I’m going to be the type of nigga that you need. You seem like a sweet girl. Feisty, but sweet, nonetheless, and I don’t even want to do you like that,” he expressed genuinely.
She fought back the urge to cry. Her first official date, and it was already over before it really got started. She didn’t think her being a virgin would be a problem for men. Mainly because the first man she really encountered offered her a different kind of solution. On top of that, Carmine never acted like her virginity was an issue for him. He simply told her that he wanted her to be 100% sure about it if they ever took it there. She’d never reached that 100%, and they were both okay with that.
“You’re a pompous asshole,” she spat, grabbing her phone and standing up.
Storming out of the restaurant, she was pissed that she never even got the chance to eat. After she got in her car and started it up, the tears that she fought so hard to hold onto spilled over her eyelids. Saige hated that Quadir had her as emotional as she was. In a way, he made her feel like no nigga was going to want her virgin ass.
She jumped when she heard a knock on the window a few minutes later. Glancing up, she was surprised to see Q standing there. Quickly trying to suck her tears up, she wiped her face and rolled the window down.
“What?” She questioned stalely.
He held up a brown paper bag with the restaurant logo printed on the front. “I figured you didn’t want the food to go to waste. Can I get in so we can talk?”
“Give me the food, first.”
Quadir slid the bag through the window, and Saige placed it in the passenger seat. Without even rolling the window back up, she peeled out of the parking lot. Her feelings were already hurt, and she didn’t need him getting in her car making her feel even worse. She planned to go to her father’s house, sit with Ramel, cuss out Moon, and eat her food. She was officially over men for the day.