Intrigued By Danger (The Danger Family #3)

4. Elle

4

ELLE

I was finishing up the last plait on Greysen’s head while she laid her head on the pillow sleep. Her due date was coming up fast and her doctor had her on minimum bed rest. Her husband, Diesel, heard bedrest and decided to be strict about it. Bedrest was almost a luxury vacation for her because she had a midwife, doula, and a caretaker with her every day, and their daughter, Deija, spent nights with Dymon and Quinci. The only thing she had to do by herself was wipe after she finished using the restroom. Because she was on bed rest, I’d been coming to her house, washing and conditioning her hair. This time I planned to give her plaits, so she wouldn’t have to worry about her hair for at least a month.

In the middle of my five-star treatment to her hair and scalp, she’d fallen asleep. Little Diesel was giving her hell, which was the main reason she’d been put on minimum bed rest. She was so drained that we thought she was growing two instead of one, but it was confirmed that he was nearing ten pounds, and she was feeling every bit of it. It was why I wasn’t too mad about her falling asleep during our very limited girl time.

“Hmm? What did you say?” Greysen mumbled.

I laughed. “Girlll, you fell asleep on me almost two hours ago.” I shook my head. “You even slept through me parting your thick ass hair.”

“Oh my God, Elle, I’m sorry. This big ass boy is wearing me out. I’ve been doing everything short of having sex with his father to make him come out,” she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

Me and Greysen had been friends since we were younger and had been through many struggles and heartbreaks together. Seeing her happy and being treated like a princess made me happy. She’d been married to Diesel for almost two years. He worshipped the ground she walked on, and she deserved it, especially after how her ex-husband treated her. Since him, Grey’s had gotten her bachelors and master’s in education from an ivy league school and had a teaching job waiting for her after the baby was born. Last we heard about her stupid ex-husband and that bitch cousin of hers was that they were still scared to be seen in Citrus Grove because of Diesel, which pleased both of our souls.

She yawned. “Elle, what were you talking about before I fell asleep… oh! Your sub and his wife, yes. You were saying he keeps calling?”

I kissed my teeth. “Yess. And I can’t not answer because he still has my truck. I been calling around trying to figure out who has it, so I can go pay. I’m hitting nothing but dead ends.”

“He probably told them not to say anything when you call. When you answer, what is the conversation about?”

“I try to keep it short, but he talks about everything but the damn truck. He says things he knows will piss me off just to get me to… you know.”

“No… I don’t know. Use your words. Oh, God, I’m sorry. Between being a teacher and… you know.” She grinned, making me laugh.

Even though she and I were heavily into the BDSM lifestyle, we still blushed sometimes when we talked about it.

“He says things to get me to degrade him. You know it don’t take much to set me off and when he talks over me, talking about everything but my truck, I go off. I give him a nut and I still don’t fucking know where my truck is. When I get it back, I am going to block him from everything.”

“I think that would be best. I mean… that’s crazy what his wife did. Do you think you would need a restraining order?”

“Girl, no. He would not ruin his career over me. He will find somebody else before it goes that far.”

At least I thought so. I told her he’d showed up to my shop to give me the money, but I didn’t tell her he’d forced me to take the money. She would definitely force me to get a restraining order on him or she would tell her husband, so he could take care of it.

“Oh, good. You will find somebody else. You know your inbox is always full.”

“It is, but I’m getting tired of vetting these crazy ass niggas.”

“Huh?” She turned her head slightly and looked at me, squinting.

“What? Why you looking at me like that?”

I got up and went to the kitchen to turn on my electric kettle. When I came back, she was still looking at me with squinty eyes.

I sat back in the seat and continued plaiting the ends of her hair. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Did I hear you are ready to settle down?”

“How did you get that from what I said? My dad called you or something?”

She grinned, which meant he probably did. He loved to call Greysen and talk about me.

“No. Well, he did call to check on me and the babies, but he didn’t mention you, I promise.”

It was my turn to squint at her.

“No, seriously. It was just the way you said it. Usually, you sound annoyed when you have to go through the vetting process, but tonight you sound different.”

“Last night, I was thinking about it after I had to bust Leah in her nose, but just as quick as it came, it left. You know what the niggas be saying, I got needs.”

She laughed. “Oh my God, please don’t make me laugh this hard.”

“I’m just saying. You know it’s not like I wouldn’t mind coming home to the same man every day, but you know that doesn’t seem to be my reality, Grey.”

I got up and went to the kitchen to grab the electric kettle and to give myself a moment to take a deep breath. It wasn’t a secret that our relationship was changing slowly, but surely. We were still best friends, and nothing would be able to come in between that, but the reality was she was a married woman with a toddler and about to have a newborn. Eventually, she would start to push me out without even realizing it. It wouldn’t be her fault though, and the thought of Diesel making her leave her single, and childless, friend behind would never cross my mind. Naturally, wives and mothers gravitated toward each other. We both noticed it when we were at the school a while ago. All the moms were talking about the kids and their summers, essentially leaving me out. They were two hours in before Greysen realized I was still in the room. Like I said before, it wouldn’t be on purpose, it would naturally happen. It was a conversation we hadn’t had yet, and I supposed we both avoided it for our own reasons.

I walked back into the room. “Now, Greysen, sit up and get comfortable. You know how you do. You’ll wait until I dip the first ten plaits and talk about how your neck hurt.”

She laughed. “Okay, hold on.”

I stood by the chair watching her try to get comfortable.

“Okay, I’m ready. No, wait.” She moved again. “Okay, now.”

Gathering some of her braids, I slowly dipped them in the kettle.

The sudden quietness seemed so loud until Greysen cleared her throat.

“You know, Elle, have you ever thought switching up your sub profile? Like, maybe, add that you are looking for a relationship out of it.”

I picked up the towel and slowly pulled her braids out, squeezing them at the same time.

“Girl, well, honestly, no. Most men who are looking for Dommes are not looking to switch. Now, if I was open to being polyamorous, yeah, but no.”

“But—”

“But you are starting to sound more like Bill Thomas. He acts like I’m going to die old, decrepit, and single.”

She burst out laughing. “Stop, please.” She clutched her stomach trying not to laugh. “You know I try to stay as still as I possibly can, or this boy is going to start doing summersaults up in here.”

“And you also need to stay still because I have scalding hot water in my hand.”

I grabbed the other set of plaits and slowly dipped them in the water. Greysen wasn’t the type of friend to push, so she was done with the conversation, at least for now. Every time the topic of relationships came up, I changed the conversation quickly. I respected both her and my dad’s thoughts and opinions on relationships, but it was hard taking advice from either of them when they didn’t want the same things I wanted.

I pulled those plaits out of the water and toweled them dry. I wrapped the ends in the towel while I grabbed the mousse from my bag.

“You going home or to your dad’s when you’re done?”

“I’m going to pick up some food first and then I’m going to go home.”

“You can come back here and eat if you want.”

After pressing a few pumps along her scalp, I rubbed it through her hair, down to the ends. “Girl, I’m good. I’m going to eat and crash right after.”

“After her braids were saturated, I grabbed my blow dryer and started blow drying her hair.

“All done,” I said, after turning off the blow dryer. “Now, who else in the world can get me to do medium knotless plaits in the middle of the week, besides my best friend?”

She stood up and looked in the mirror, turning her head from side to side.

“I better be the only person.”

“Uh-huh.”

I took off my apron and started gathering my things. Greysen gasped and clutched her stomach, prompting me to freeze and stare at her.

“Here, here. Feel.”

She grabbed my hands and placed them on her stomach. My eyes lit up when I felt how much the baby moved around.

“Oh, my God. He does this all night?”

She nodded with a slight grimace on her face. “Girl, yes. I be fighting him back with a glass of warm milk at night.”

I laughed.

“And then Ms. Retta comes in…” She looked at her watch. “She should be pulling up in a minute. She comes in and helps us both get settled and in the bed.”

“When is Big Daddy coming back?”

“Ugh.” She scoffed. “Hopefully in a couple days for real. This boy is going to come out soon and I need some good dick before that happens. You know he took the six weeks better than me. That’s how we’re in this position now.”

“Oh!”

We both looked at the opening to see Ms. Retta standing there with her things and a slight blush to her cheeks. Ms. Retta was Greysen’s nighttime caretaker. Her job was to make sure Greysen had whatever she wanted over in the night. Minimum bed rest hardly stopped Greysen, which was the main reason Diesel hired a lot of help. He knew he would be gone, and his wife would be doing whatever she wanted to do. Her latest ‘bed rest’ activity was sorting out Deija’s newborn clothes to take them to the daycare for other little girls.

“Um…” Greysen rubbed her lips. “Hi. Ms. Retta.”

“Hey, baby. How y’all doing tonight? You two don’t have to be all shy, you’re grown women.”

I cleared my throat. “I’m good, Ms. Retta. I was just packing up my things to leave. How are you doing tonight?”

“I’m doing well. I can’t complain.”

While she and Greysen talked, I finished packing my things.

“Okay, I’ll see y’all later,” I told them.

“Text me when you make it home. Love you.” Greysen said.

“Okay. Love you too.”

Outside, I’d gotten in my dad’s truck and called The Juke Box to place a to-go order. It was Thirsty Thursday and at the top of happy hour, so I knew they were busy. After three rings, it went to a busy signal. Instead of calling again, I called one of my new stylists who worked there part-time.

“What’s up, girl?” Kimmy answered on the first ring.

“Kimmy, you at JB’s?”

“Girl, no, but the way Jackie texting me, I might need to slide up there. Why what’s up? Hold on, she’s texting me now. She says a Navy ship had to dock in the Keys and they are taking the water taxis over here. So, yeah, I’m about to slide up there and get me some extra tip money. What you needed?”

“Girl, just trying to see why they hadn’t picked up the phone, and I see why. I’mma have to go there to place an order. I’ll probably see you on my way out.”

“Okay,” she said and ended the call.

I started the truck and pulled out of Greysen’s yard, heading toward The Juke Box. It was one of my favorite places in Citrus Grove because they had the best drinks, along with great food and live music. That was the best place to mingle with the older locals of the town. My dad had been taking me there since I was too young to be inside the bar. By the time I was ten years old, I knew how each of his friends liked the tip of their cigars cut. That moment made me think of him, so I called him since I hadn’t talked to him all day. When he didn’t pick up his cell phone, I called the house phone.

He picked up on the third ring. “Della, you okay?”

It sounded like he was in the bed.

“Yes, Dad. I hadn’t talked to you all day and I texted you twice earlier. Didn’t I teach you how to text?”

“Yes, you did, but you know I’m not all that tech—did you call me just to fuss, sounding just like yo’ damn grandma. I’m in the bed catching up on my Westerns.”

That made me laugh. He always talked about how she was hell on wheels.

“Well, I was calling you because I’m about to pull up to JB’s and I was wondering if you or Ms. Sherry wanted something.”

“I’m fine, baby. Hold on for a second. Sherry, the baby at JB’s, you want something? What you grinning ‘bout? What’s going on? Hello, Dell?”

“I’m still here, Dad.”

“Oh, Sherry don’t want anything either, but she over here grinning like a Cheshire cat like she up to something. Pam texting you about a Navy ship. Oh.”

“Okay, Dad. I’ll call you tomorrow. I love you, goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

I ended the call before he could even think about playing matchmaker tonight.

Approaching the Juke Box, I saw exactly what Jackie was talking about. Outside were several huddles of men and women standing around waiting to get inside. They were all dressed semi-uniformly. After finding a parking spot, I looked in the mirror to freshen up my lips. My hat covered my wig braids, so I wasn’t worried about that. I grabbed my purse before I got out and locked the door.

I’d gotten the attention of the first group of men as soon as I stepped on the sidewalk.

“Oowee, that’s not too much truck for you, Sweetheart?” a man asked.

Grinning, I shook my head. “I can handle it, baby,” I said and kept walking.

“Damn, that Southern accent is killing me, oh my Lord.”

The low whistles of approval had me blushing as I walked through the crowds of people. One of the first big lessons my dad taught me was about confidence. Back in school, when everyone started getting taller, growing boobs, and ass, I felt left out. It was fun being a tomboy while it lasted… until the jokes about me being a boy started to hurt my feelings. My dad caught me trying to stuff my bra once, and that was what lead to the conversation that stuck with me ever since. “Della Mae, you can’t control what anyone thinks of you. If they are making fun of you because you have no breasts, what are you going to do when you have breasts, and they still make fun of you?” After that, I started to fall in love with myself, and eventually, my body caught up.

Inside of the Juke Box was just as crowded as outside. There wasn’t anyone at the hostess stand, so I walked around the bar to find a hole I could squeeze into. The music was louder than usual, but everyone looked like they were having a good time. The sailors were taking up most of the tables inside and outside on the deck.

“Excuse me,” I said to a man who stood in front of me. “Jackie!” I called out to the bartender over the music.

She came over to me. “Hey, girl. What’s up?”

“I’m trying to place an order to go.”

She looked around. “Girl, it’s going to be a minute, but come around here to the computer.”

Trying to maneuver around the crowd, I bumped into the same man again.

“Excuse me, again,” I said.

He looked down at me. “You old enough to be in here?”

I looked him up and down, smiling before walking away in the middle of him asking another question. I knew he was about to try and spit game, but I didn’t have time for that. I was just trying to get some food and go.

I followed Jackie to the computer at the end of the bar. “I’m ready,” Jackie said.

“Yeah, let me get an umm…” my eyes danced around the back deck, landing on a hooded man and making me lose my train of thought.

“Elle.”

“Girl, hold on. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Okay, just find me.”

I nodded and walked out on the back deck with my fists balled up. Approaching the table, the hooded man lifted his eyes toward me, and my fingers slowly unclenched.

“Declan… boyyy. You just don’t know.”

He looked at my hands and then back up at me.

“What? I just don’t know?”

“I thought you was your brother out here copping a squat when my girl is at home dragging a wagon in the front and the back. I was about to one, two yo’ ass, for real, and tell you to get yo’ ass home.”

One corner of his lips went up before he picked up his glass and finished it off, then set it back on the table.

“You can tell us apart.”

My eyes darted around. “Um, is that a question or a statement?”

He shrugged. Ever since I’d met him, he always seemed like the quiet one of out of his siblings. I could count on one hand how many times we had a conversation beyond a simple greeting.

“I mean, y’all look alike, but y’all not alike, if that makes sense.”

His eyebrows raised. “Makes perfect sense.”

He picked up his glass and twirled it in his hands, getting the waitress attention.

“Oh, well. Since you are not your brother, I’m about to go and see if I can squeeze in at the bar again. Goodnight, Declan,” I said, and he nodded.

When I turned to walk away, I stopped short, instantly noticing the red hair inside the restaurant making her way toward the exit with a man two steps behind her.

“Ooh.”

Instinctively, I froze and looked back at Declan, wishing I hadn’t. I could have pretended I didn’t see anything, and the moment wouldn’t have been as awkward. The only situation I’d been in like that was when Greysen’s ex-husband was running around with her cousin. I dragged her ass, though.

“You just gonna stand there,” he said while his focus remained on the door.

I cleared my throat. “Is that a statement or a question?”

“What does that have to do with your answer?”

“Oh!” My eyes rolled. “I ain’t know your mouth was this smart, Declan.”

“Here is your drink, Mr. Danger.”

Looking at the waitress, her face was unfamiliar, but the way she was smiling and pushing her boobs up at Declan meant she knew he was the richest man in the room. When she looked at me, the corners of her lips fell slightly.

“Hi. I’m Heaven. Will you be joining Mr. Danger?”

“Um…”

“Yes,” he said, prompting me to look at him. “Peace offering.” He picked up his glass and sipped from it.

Heaven pulled out her pad. “What will you be having?”

“I guess I’ll have what he’s having,” I said.

She nodded and walked away. Declan waved his hand out to the seat across from him. I obliged and watched him stare at his glass. Suddenly, the text that Winter had received while sitting in my chair popped in my mind, and I felt even more awkward.

“My bad for talking to you like that.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. You know with all the shit that’s going on—”

“What’s going on?”

He sat back in his seat, sighing and staring past me.

“You know what I find funny about this town?” He chuckled into his glass while shaking his head. “How everybody always knows everybody else business, but the couple of people I’ve talked to today acted like they ain’t know shit about shit.”

“You said this was a peace offering, so why does your voice still sound like it’s got attitude in it?”

He licked his lips. “You right. My fault.”

“I mean, now I’m intrigued.”

Heaven brought me my glass. “Would you two like to order some appetizers?”

“Yes. I would like some JB Teriyaki wings, all flats, fried hard. Truffle fries and conch fritters too. Oh, and a glass of water. Who working back there tonight?”

“Um, I’m new here, so I don’t know everyone’s names that well, but one of the guys is a little heavy and—”

“Oh! Tell Greg the order is for Elle. He’ll know exactly what I want.”

She nodded and walked away.

I looked at him. “I’ll pay for my food.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Aweee. That’s sweet of you, Declan.”

Leaning over, I wafted the smell of the liquor toward me. It smelled so strong that it tickled my nose hairs a little.

“Yeah, it’s strong. You probably should have gotten something girly.”

Picking up the glass, I took a big gulp just to prove him wrong. That shit burned all the way down to the bottom of my belly.

“Told you,” he mumbled, shaking his head.

When Heaven came to the table, I snatched the glass of water out of her hand and sucked it down until my throat cooled down.

“What is that? And how many of those have you had? Jesus.”

“I just told them to bring me the strongest shit they had. This is my third one. It’s kind of a’ight.”

“I’ll have another sip after I get some food on my stomach to see, but I don’t know. That’s strong as hell.”

“Nah. Get you something girly. You don’t weigh enough for this shit.”

“Don’t challenge me.”

He prepared to respond, but Heaven had returned with a water pitcher to refill my glass. I looked at her until she walked away, then looked back at Declan.

“Damn. She working hard for her tip. If she pushes them boobs up at you anymore, her nipples are going to poke you in the eye.”

He shook his head. “Why you think she’s flirting with me? And not just doing her job.”

“Doing too much, being overly nice. Like girl, be cool.”

“Everybody is nice here.”

“You fucking with me?”

His eyebrow raised. “I don’t follow.”

I laughed. “Okay, Declan, so tell me what you thought I already knew.”

“Winter asked for an open relationship,” he blurted out.

My eyes widened.

“I’m surprised you ain’t know. Ain’t that what you women talk about at the beauty shop, all day long, your conquests? You changed her to fit her new image. You sure you didn’t know?”

“No, I didn’t know. I have my own shit going on. Plus, the beauty salon is not like the barbershops. We have class.”

That got a smirk out of him.

“Now, tell me what’s so bad about an open relationship?”

“When one person wants it, and another one doesn’t…” He sipped his drink.

“Ahh.” I nodded. “Yeah, that’ll do it. I mean… did she give you a reason why she wanted to open the relationship?”

He looked at his glass, rubbing his lips together.

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” I said. Heaven came and set some plates on the edge of the table. “Can I have a Mai Tai, please?” I requested.

She nodded and walked away.

“Wait. But wait…” I leaned in. “Y’all not married?” I whispered.

“I don’t have a ring on.”

“Most men don’t wear—hold on…” I sat back in my seat and circled the ring of my glass with my middle finger. “I wonder if this burns on the skin how it did going down my throat.”

“More than likely, if it gets in the eyes or…” he paused and rubbed his lips together. “Ah, I got smart again, didn’t I?”

I nodded sarcastically. “Yeah, you one smart remark away from getting wet up.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Realizing how crazy that sounded, I took a sip of water. Thank God, his facial expression told me he didn’t catch it.

“My fault, for real. It’s just…” He sighed, shaking his head.

Greg came to the table with my food on a tray. “You know I had to deliver your food personally. What’s up Elle? I can’t hug you because I’m sweaty. You staying out of trouble?”

“You know I always try to stay one step ahead of trouble, but it catches up to me sometimes.”

He laughed. “Y’all enjoy.”

As soon as Greg left the table, Heaven came and dropped my Mai Tai off.

“How does it feel living in a town where you know everyone, literally?” he asked.

I tasted my Mai Tai and closed my eyes, savoring the taste.

“See. More your speed, huh?” He chuckled.

When I opened my eyes and squinted at him, he held his hands up.

“Blessing and curse, but I don’t think I would change it for anything in the world. I should be asking you that. Are you adjusting well? But that’s probably not a question to ask someone who’s been living here for a couple of years now. I mean, but you literally moved from one of the biggest and busiest cities in the world to the smallest town you’ve probably ever visited. I am sure it was a culture shock.”

“Hell yeah. Seeing the same people all the time was crazy for a minute, for real, and then having to remember to throw my hand up every time I saw the same people took some getting used to.”

“You had to learn how to be courteous?”

He chuckled and nodded. “A’ight. You got me.”

When he picked up his drink, I bit into a conch fritter. “Have some?”

“I’m good.”

“Have you eaten anything today?” I asked.

“Yeah, earlier. Nothing here, though.”

“Then you should eat, if you gon’ keep drinking that strong ass shit. You asking to be gripping the toilet in the morning.”

“I’m a big boy, Ella. Thank you, though.”

“E. Elle,” I corrected. “Have a fry, then. Or a wing.”

“So, you’re just going to make me eat?”

“Yes.” I pushed the plate of fries toward him. “Sometimes, men just need a little guidance. You’ll thank me in the morning.”

He chuckled before picking up a single fry and eating it. We stared at each other as he chewed. The thought of Benny doing that just to piss me off crossed my mind and it made me smile.

“Look at that smile on your face. You get a rise out of telling men what to do?”

My smile faded into a smirk, because if only he knew how loaded that question was. Or maybe he did know. Then my smirk slowly faded. If he knew, how did he know? Greysen would never discuss my personal business with Diesel, but Diesel had his ways of finding out information. Citrus Grove was small, but my Domme life was a speculation only. Ms. Sherry heard one of those nosy ass night nurses claiming they heard I liked to beat men for money. I told her it wasn’t true, but that was before my dad stumbled onto my box of accessories.

“Ella. Did I lose you?”

I blinked. “Huh? No. What do you mean?”

He squinted. “You smiled and then your face just went flat.”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Are you lying to me?”

“Why would I lie to you? I don’t have a reason to lie to you,” I spit out.

“Right, so why are you doing it, then?”

Oh.

Did something move?

I cleared my throat. “Doing what?”

“Lying,” he said with a nod, like he was certain.

My lips slipped apart automatically, and I sipped my drink to play it off. Ignoring his raised eyebrow, I continued to drink to let my brain reset. I should have been drinking my damn water. It had been so long since I’d had a regular conversation with a fine ass man like Declan, and my brain was misfiring a lot of different cues. The man had just found out about his girl cheating on him, and there I was, getting lost in harmless conversation.

When he shifted in his seat, his hood came off, giving me a perfect out.

I jumped back in my seat. “Oh! I see why you got that hood on.”

He sat back. “Excuse me?”

“See, that’s why you need to stay out that barbershop and come to my beauty salon, so your hairline can be straight, because it’s giving obtuse angle.”

He laughed. “And just who is going to cut my shit at the beauty salon?”

I pointed at my chest.

“Bullshit. Something is giving obtuse, but it ain’t this hairline, Lil’ Bit.”

“Oh,” slipped out of my mouth before I caught myself.

My pussy clenched automatically, and my body responded vocally. Heat rushed to my cheekbones. I didn’t think anything could get more embarrassing.

“Um… excuse me for a moment, I’m going to go to the ladies’ room.” I stood up. “Don’t go anywhere.”

He sat back and clutched his hands together on his lap. “You’re really a bossy lil’ thing.”

I shook my head. “I mean…”

“I have nowhere to be, Ella. Go take care of your business.”

Oh God.

Commands. Pet names. The way the synapses in my brain started firing, it seemed I was floating on air to the bathroom. I knew he stared at my ass because I wore my super stretch high-waisted black pants that hugged everything tightly. If I didn’t have on my slightly oversized cropped shirt, he would have saw how hard my nipples were. Thankfully, there wasn’t a line to the bathroom or anyone standing at the sink when I walked inside. I pulled a few paper towels from the wall and wet them with cold water.

“See, Elle. That’s what happens when you’re too damn picky with your pussy,” I mumbled to myself as I patted the cool paper towels against my neck.

I hadn’t had good dick since I went on tour over a year ago. I wasn’t even supposed to get any dick then, but I fucked around and let the bodyguard talk me out of my panties. Being close to somebody for over twelve hours a day, it was easy to build a connection, and that was how he got me to begin with. After finally letting him hit, I realized it was just too fucking good for him to be single. Lo and behold, I found out he was married at the last show when she popped up to surprise him. Since then, I hadn’t been able to make a conversation last long enough to even talk about the color of my panties.

After getting myself together, I left the bathroom and walked back out on the deck. Approaching the table, Heaven was leaned over lighting Declan’s cigar. I rolled my eyes, slightly wishing she’d burn her damn eyebrows off. I hated thirsty women.

“Oh!” she immediately stopped grinning when she turned and saw me. “I’m bringing you another Mai Tai.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

When I sat down, I watched Declan puff on his cigar. With his hood off, he looked even finer. His dark brown skin was smooth and looked so moisturized. His God-given bone structure and slim goatee made him look distinguished. The small gold hoops in his ears and rope chain around his neck gave him the edge that would make any woman want to throw their panties at him. If he rubbed his tongue over those semi-full lips or showed his perfect set of thirty-two, he’d get more than the panties. That was just his face. His body—another thing only the universe could give someone who was their favorite. On top of him looking like he lived in the gym, he worked outside. Who didn’t love a fucking man who got sweaty as his occupation? I’d been at Greysen’s one time when he was leaving, and I’d never wanted to be a pair of Calvin Klein briefs so bad. A part of me felt weird for drooling over Declan when he looked exactly like my best friend’s husband, however, when I looked at Diesel, I never fathomed the thoughts I had about Declan right now.

I filled the quiet moment by eating and making sure not to look at him.

He blew a cloud of smoke away from me. “And they say I have avoidance issues.”

I looked at him. “What are you talking about?”

“Lying. Switching subjects. Running.” He mumbled and puffed on his cigar. “All that is avoidance, so they say.”

“Okayyy?”

He shook his head. “Just listening to you lie and watching you squirm before you hit a four flat away from me made me realize I actually might have avoidance issues.”

“You needed me to do that to know that about yourself?”

“I guess so.”

Now that I’d clenched my raging hormones back up into my pussy, I could see that Declan was really hurting behind Winter. I felt terrible for thinking he was flirting with me.

“Is that why you came here tonight? To avoid something.”

“Nah, I wanted to see something.”

“See what?”

“Are you going to think I’m weird?”

“No. I have no room to think anyone is weird, trust me.”

“I came here to watch her. To see what kind of passion she says she need, since she won’t tell me. She says I should know, but all I’ve seen so far was that she wants to be treated like a slut. Wants to fuck in bathrooms. That was the other night and with another man.” He took a sip of his drink. “Tonight, I watched a man play with her pussy under the table.”

“Whoa.”

“Yeah.”

Heaven came to the table, brought us another round of drinks, and refilled my water glass. I tasted my drink, and it tasted even better than the first one. When I looked at him, he was eying me with an unreadable expression, sending heat to my cheeks again.

“Um, did you like what you seen?”

“Is that a trick question, Ella?”

I opened my mouth to correct him, but him licking his lips stopped me.

I needed to get it together.

“No, it’s not. You said you came here to watch. Did you like what you seen, Declan? Did you learn anything?”

He blinked slowly as if he was contemplating the answer.

“Honestly…”

My phone vibrated on the table, and I quickly snatched it up as if I tried to hide something from Declan. It was Benny. I rejected it and put my phone on ‘do not disturb’, then set it back on the table.

“Am I keeping you?”

I shook my head. “I have a question. And please tell me if I’m overstepping, but have you talked to your dad about it? Aren’t him and Mrs. Vivian in an open marriage?”

He chuckled. “I don’t know what the fuck they got going on, but whatever it is, they too fucking old to be doing it.”

That made me laugh so hard.

“It’s funny, but I have to disagree, Declan. It’s very possible to teach an old dog new tricks.”

“But what’s the purpose of teaching an old dog new tricks, though? Why you bothering the dog when he just wants to live out the rest of his life in comfort? You don’t think it’s selfish of the owner to want to teach an old dog new tricks, and what for? To show off to other people. No one talks about the old dog learning new tricks and then performing them for a new master.”

I sipped some of my drink. “You’re taking it too literal, Declan.”

“Then use another analogy, Ella.”

“And your refusal to listen is the reason you’re sitting here, haven’t learned a damn thing, which you claimed you came here to do.”

When he threw the rest of his drink back roughly, I thought he was about to get up and leave, but he didn’t. He looked at me as if he was holding back his thoughts.

“Help me eat this,” I said, pushing the plate of wings toward the middle.

“You’re just dead set on being my boss, aren’t you?”

I smirked while nodding slowly. When he ate one of the wings, I had to look away when he licked the sauce from his thumb.

“Dec, this is going to sound like I’m taking up for Winter but I’m not. I’m just speaking as a woman. Women just want to feel wanted, loved, and lusted after. But most importantly, reassured. Sometimes, being fine and having money ain’t enough, especially now. You and her have been together for decades. She’s spent a lot of your money and had yo’ kid, and now, it’s like, what else? I mean, do you look at her like the hot light just came on at Krispy Kreme? Do you still date her? Sweat her? Look at her across the table at a restaurant and tell her you can’t wait to get her home.”

I stretched my hand across the table asking for his cigar. When he handed it to me, I couldn’t tell whose hand lingered first, but we both pulled away quickly at the realization.

He watched me as I puffed on the cigar and blew out smoke.

“She’s getting older, and she needs to know you still want her, bad. She needs to know how hard she still makes your dick when she first touches you. You guys have been together long enough to where you both should feel comfortable enough to experiment with different things.”

“Experiment with different things,” he repeated.

He took his cigar back from me and pulled on it. That was all I needed because I was feeling a good buzz from my drinks.

“Yes. Things can be positions, toys, people. Anything. When was the last time y’all had sex?”

My eyes widened when he took too long to answer the question.

I shook my head. “The last time y’all had sex, what position did you start in?”

“Our sides.”

“Okay, okay. That’s the perfect morning or second round position. Did you whisper in her ear as you fucked her? Bite her shoulder? Dig your hand into her waist and slam her into your pelvis?”

He licked his lips. “Nah.”

“That is pitiful. Why not?”

He didn’t respond.

“How often do you eat her pussy and for how long?”

“As often as she wants me to, and for about ten, fifteen minutes. It used to be longer, but…” he shrugged.

“My brother in Christ?”

He chuckled, rubbing his chin. “Yes, Ella?”

I playfully rolled my eyes. “All these changes and you ain’t questioned it not once? Help me understand. You had to have known that girl just ain’t wake up and decide she wanted to be fucked in the bathroom.”

He thought about it for a moment.

“I guess that’s where my avoidance issues come in at.”

“Oh, I see. Can I make a suggestion?”

“You been making them all night,” he quipped.

I smiled. “Tomorrow night. It’s Friday. You get off from work earlier. Make her cancel her plans. Make her get dressed up. I don’t know if you can get reservations for something in the city this late. Well, yeah, you can because your last name is Danger. Take her on a real nice date and compliment her often. In the car, do all but take her lips off. Her lipstick needs to be all over your mouth. And then when y’all get home, don’t even go the bedroom, take her down right in the foyer.”

“That is a lot of taking.”

I chortled. “Declan, I am trying to help you.”

“How old are you? Twenty-five?”

“Old enough to know how a woman wants to be fucked from time to time,” I hissed.

The buzz I had was guiding my words because they came out harsher than I anticipated, but it was the truth.

Declan slouched against the back of his chair, massaging his chin and staring at me as if he was in deep thought about what I’d said.

“You think that’s the way a lady should speak.”

My lips parted but nothing came out because my other set of lips started purring.

“You about to run again?”

I couldn’t even shake my head.

“Your lips did that the last time… before you took off running to the bathroom.”

“I really had to use the bathroom, Declan.”

“I didn’t say you didn’t,” he said with a smirk.

I’d been so focused on him that I didn’t see Heaven approach the table.

“Can I get these out of your way? Happy hour is getting ready to end if you want to put in for more drinks.”

Declan never took his eyes off me. “Would you like another drink, Ella?” he asked, smoothly, as if he hadn’t just clocked me needing to get away from him.

I was feeling so many things that I couldn’t speak. He looked at her and nodded subtly. She gathered the plates and walked away, and suddenly, I could breathe again.

“Ah, no more Mr. Danger, huh? Did you say something to her?”

He shook his head. “She probably got scared of that look of steel you had on your face when you came back to the table. It would scare the average woman.”

“Look of steel?”

“Yeah. The way you were looking at her, tight lips, jaws tight, halfway squinting your eyes, basically a pretty scowl.”

“How could a pretty scowl scare someone?”

“Quiet, but deadly. Challenging. That’s the type you really have to worry about.”

“You noticed all that, but didn’t—”

“I’d rather you not finish that sentence.”

“Yes sir.”

His right eyebrow went up as if he was surprised by my response. I held my breath, waiting for what came next.

“It’s good that you’re great at listening,” he said.

“And if I wasn’t?”

He smiled. “Now, it’s my time to run.”

When he got up, my eyes went to his crotch, and then immediately to his eyes. His slight chuckle let me know that he noticed me eying him.

“Don’t go anywhere,” he said, before walking away.

I inhaled the trail of cologne and sighed. On top of our back and forth and him smelling so good, my girl was getting too many mixed signals. She ain’t know what to do. I grabbed my phone to text Greysen.

Me: This is a stupid question and has no meaning whatsoever, but is Declan a lowkey Dom?

My finger hovered over the little arrow to send the message. Since she’s been with Diesel, I’d never thought to ask her if Declan was a dom. Maybe it was because he had a girlfriend. Girlfriend. Declan had a girl and I needed to remember that.

Instead of sending the message, I erased it.

I smelled Declan before he made it back to the table. He’d taken off his hoodie and slung over his shoulder. His white tee could have been a size or two bigger and his muscular ass arms would’ve still stretched the arms of the shirt. Looking into his eyes was just as dangerous as looking at his pecs that were sticking out the front of his shirt. This was how women got in fucking trouble because he didn’t even have to take his hoodie off, enticing me. There wasn’t a safe place to look at on his body without going feral.

“Here we…oh,” Heaven said, approaching the table.

Exactly.

I couldn’t even get mad at her for being caught off guard by those wide ass shoulders and arms.

She sat our drinks down and topped my water off, before bouncing away from the table.

He picked up his drink and held it toward me. “Last one because you look like you about to lean over.”

I nodded, picked mine up, and tapped his glass. “Lean over? Please.”

When he maneuvered his arm, I saw Winter’s name and it was hard not to roll my eyes.

“It’s cool, Lil’ Bit. I already knew you couldn’t hang with the big dogs.”

“I can hang. Catch me on a good day.”

“This was a bad day for you?”

My eyes darted around. “Not really. I just been doing Grey’s hair for most of the evening. A good day would be if I was well rested before I came out. On a good day, I could out Viking you.”

He laughed. “That’s cute. I’mma hold you to that.”

My cheeks warmed.

He leaned to the side and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“What’s up, Son,” he answered. “What are you doing up so late? I thought we were getting ready to get back on our school schedule of sleep this week.”

He listened for a moment.

“Give me a few minutes and I can be right there.”

Whatever his son said had him smiling, and it was the cutest thing. He shook his head as he ended the call.

“Don’t let me keep you, Declan. This was fun.”

He stood up. “Yeah, but I’m not leaving you here alone while you’re wasted. Come on.”

“Don’t you have to pay?”

“Nah. I just tipped Heaven when I came from the bathroom. I have a tab I pay at the end of every month.”

“Hope you tipped her well with how hard she was working to make you ask for her number.” I gasped. “You should. I mean, only if you want to explore the open relationship thing.”

“Is that what you want?” he asked.

“I… I… what you mean?”

“I’m asking you if that’s what you want? For me to ask for her number. Is that one of your suggestions?”

I squinted at him. “Are you being smart?”

He held his hands up. “The look of steel. Don’t hurt me.”

I burst into a fit of giggles, making him smile.

He stood up. “Come on, Lil’ Bit.”

When I stood up, I wobbled a little.

“Uh-oh, the Viking need some more practice, ain’t it.”

I grinned. “Shut. Up.”

Walking back into the restaurant, some of the sailors had cleared out, but it was still packed.

“Oh, this my shit,” I said when they started playing Wizkid and Tems song, Essence.

Throwing my hands up, I winded my hips toward the ground, completely forgetting that Declan was behind me.

“A’ight now. I see you, Lil’ Bit.”

“Oh my gosh.”

“What you stop for?”

Before I could respond, Kimmy walked by me with drinks in her hand.

“You out of here, Elle?”

“Yeah, girl. I’m faded. I should have known yo’ ass was making my Mai Tai’s.”

She laughed. “See you later.”

Outside, I wobbled alongside Declan toward my dad’s truck.

“Where is your truck?”

“Long story.”

When I unlocked the door, Declan opened it for me and helped me inside.

“Yo’ let me drive you home.”

“I’m good, Declan. I’ve done this so many times.”

“That don’t mean shit.”

“Declan. We like, live on an island kinda. I can make it home. Plus, how are you going to get home if you drive me home. I’m not going to my dad’s.”

“I have no problem walking a few miles.”

“But then I’d worry that the tourists would rob the lone rich man walking in the dark.”

He chuckled. “You don’t think I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can.”

We stared at each other for a moment.

“Let’s compromise. Can I see your phone?” I requested.

He reached into his pocket and handed it to me.

“It’s good you’re great at listening,” I mumbled, mocking him from earlier and making him smile. “You don’t have a lock on your phone? That’s crazy.”

“I don’t have anything to hide, and I know you don’t think I keep important information on my phone.”

I looked at him. “Bank accounts? Emails? If I just went into your Cash App or Zelle and sent myself a grand?”

“I do not have those type of apps, Lil’ Bit.”

I feigned shock. “Excuse me, Richie Rich.”

He laughed.

I typed my number into his phone and called it. When my phone started ringing, I answered it, and held it up.

“We can stay on the phone until I get home. Is that okay with you?”

“No, but it will work.”

He closed me in, and I let the window down.

“Ella, promise me you’ll be careful.”

“Dec, it’s literally less than five miles.”

He sighed. “Okay.”

Staring at him, I put the truck in drive and went forward a centimeter. “Oopsie.”

“See, no. Move over.”

“I was kidding, Dec. I promise,” I said, laughing.

Putting the truck in reverse, he watched me back out of the parking spot.

He put his phone to his ear. “Pick that phone up and stop playing, girl.”

Grabbing my phone, I put it on speaker and peeled out the of the parking lot, revving up the pipes on the truck.

“Do you wanna give me a heart attack, Ella?” Declan’s voice boomed through my phone’s speaker.

I giggled. “No, Declan. Now, I can ask why you’re continuously putting an a on my name.”

“Because you blush when I say it.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Uh-huh. I’ll let you have it then.”

“You know, one thing I ain’t know about you was that your mouth was smart as hell. I thought yo’ ass was quiet. Turns out, when you open them lips, any and everything fly out. You been popped in it before?”

He chuckled. “Nah.”

“Well, keep on.”

“Keep on. That lil’ country accent.”

“It gets the dicks hard, so I hear.” Instantly, I regretted saying that, even though he laughed. What Declan didn’t know was that though I was perfectly okay to drive home, if he had of taken me, he would have been late to see what his son wanted. Those Mai Tai’s and looking at his fine ass had my pussy purring.

“Oh, is that right?”

Oh God.

The purring was so close to coming out of my mouth that I considered telling him I was home, so we could get off the phone. It didn’t help that his voice was deep, velvety, and smooth. A small part of me wondered if he wanted to drive me home because he knew my legs were close to flying open for him, but he really didn’t seem like the type to fuck around.

“Ella? Are you there?”

“Yes. Just watching these tourists cross the street,” I lied. “What did you say?”

“Nothing. How far out are you?”

“I’m about to turn on my street in less than thirty seconds.”

“Okay, good.”

“How far are you? Wait, where are you going?”

“The beach.”

“Declan! I could have taken you to the beach.”

“Baby girl, I needed this walk. I’m okay, I promise.”

I pulled in my driveway and stared at the house. The pet name ‘baby girl’ would always be my undoing.

“So, I am in my driveway. Um, do you remember what you supposed to do, tomorrow.”

“Take her. In the car. In the house. Take her.”

I burst out laughing. “I can’t tell if you’re being smart, so I am going to go in the house and let you go.”

“I want to hear you go in the house and lock your door behind you.”

“Gosh, Declan. And you call me bossy.”

“It’s important to switch roles sometimes, right?”

The audible gasp that came out of my mouth prompted me to quickly end the call. Before I could get out of the truck, he called back. When I didn’t answer the phone, he called again. The third time he called back, I picked up.

“I’m sorry, I lost connection as I was getting out of the truck.”

“Ella, you are a terrible liar. Did I say something wrong?”

“No, I had you on speaker and my…” I paused as I stuck my key in the door.

“Your finger slipped, or you lost connection?”

I walked inside, closed my door, and locked it.

“Did you hear my alarm system letting you know I’d opened my door. I’m closing and locking it now and resetting my alarm. Do you hear that?”

“Yes. That’s perfect. Thank you for tonight. Goodnight, Ella,” he ended the call before I could say anything else.

I slammed my phone down and let out the most frustrating scream I could muster.