Chapter 4 #3
I rested my head against his shoulder for a second, and when I looked up, he was grinning from ear to ear.
“Why you running from a nigga?”
“I’m not.”
“I know Nuri gave you my message.”
“She did.”
Before he could say anything else, the waitress slid our drinks across the bar. Shit, that was perfect timing. My heart skipped a beat. It had only been a few weeks since I’d seen Givenchy, but somehow, he looked even better tonight. I let my eyes travel over him.
All of him.
It should’ve been a crime to be this damn fine. A few hoes nearby were eye-fucking him shamelessly, but he hadn’t taken his eyes off me. Givenchy’s dreads were freshly twisted, his goatee lined up to perfection, and from head to toe, he was dressed in Amiri.
Typical dope-boy shit. I looked at him a little longer than I should have.
Givenchy had always had money, but tonight he looked expensive as fuck.
I’m not surprised. Out of all the places I could’ve come tonight, Givenchy was bound to be at Bleau Gene’s.
This party brought every dope boy in the city out.
Givenchy handed me my Lemon Drop. I took a sip.
Damn… That was good. I could feel him staring a hole through me.
Before I knew it, he pulled me back against his chest, wrapping his arms around my waist. His Dior Sauvage cologne filled my senses, and his grip was tight enough to tell me he wasn’t ready to let go.
God, just a few weeks ago I was standing in his arms, exactly like this. I always felt safe, comfortable, and secure with him. The memory hit me harder than I expected. I had to catch myself. No, I needed to put some space between us.
Fast.
Before I could move, Givenchy slowly ran his tongue across my earlobe, sending a chill racing down my spine.
“Aye, Fumi…”
“Yeah?”
“I’m raining on your parade tonight.”
He laughed. I looked up at him and couldn’t help but smile.
“Nigga… I’m single.”
“By choice.” His grin widened. “But not for long.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He leaned in until only I could hear him. “You’ll see, we ain’t finna play this game all summer.”
“Noted.”
“You know I want you.” He looked me straight in the eyes. “All I’m saying is… answer when I call.”
“I will.”
“I’mma hold you to that.” He smiled, then stepped back. “I’mma let you enjoy your night. Call me when you leave…” He paused. “Or you can leave with me.”
I smiled. “I’ll call you.”
Before walking away, Givenchy flagged down the waiter. “Her drinks go on my tab.”
Typical, always trying to do something and make a statement.
A second later, my phone buzzed. Damn… A bitch can’t even have a little privacy. It was the group chat.
Carmani: Where are you?
Me: Headed your way.
Carmani: Cool. I want you to meet someone.
I rolled my eyes at Carmani’s text.
Meet somebody?
Baby… The way Givenchy’s fine ass had just blown up my spot was crazy. The amount of hate coming from these hoes after he walked away? Even crazier.
I finally made my way back to VIP and dropped into the seat beside Carmani.
“It took you long enough.”
“Yeah… it did.”
“I want you to meet somebody.”
“Bitch… who?”
“You’ll see.”
“I don’t like surprises.”
“I know.”
A few seconds later, Carmani’s man walked over with the last person I expected to see tonight.
Cohen.
The second our eyes met, we both smiled. I hadn’t spoken to him since earlier. Carmani looked from me to him, completely oblivious.
“Hey, Cohen.” Carmani smiled. “I want you to meet my best friend, Fumi.”
Cohen looked at me like I was the only woman in the room. Damn… I know I still smell like Givenchy. He reached for my hand, and I stood. Instead of shaking it, he pulled me into a hug.
Sheesh. Cohen is so damn fine. His skin is the color of peanut butter, and it’s blemish-free.
A fresh cut and neatly trimmed goatee. Waves so deep they’d make any bitch seasick.
A thick gold Cuban link rested against his chest, paired with a black Balmain tee, Balmain Gene’s, and matching Balmain sneakers.
Yes, this nigga looked expensive…Without trying.
Carmani cleared her throat. “Wait…” She looked between us. “Y’all know each other?”
Cohen and I looked at each other, then nodded. “Yeah.” A laugh escaped both of us.
Carmani threw her hands in the air. “Excuse me?!”
The whole section burst into laughter. I buried my face against Cohen’s chest.
Damn… He smelled good as fuck. Creed. Same cologne as always. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, sending butterflies straight through my body.
“Where you been?”
“Peeping the scene.”
He gently cupped my chin, forcing me to look up at him. Damn. It should be a crime to be this damn fine. Cohen slowly ran his tongue across his lips. Damn… Looking at this nigga for too long was dangerous. I could get lost in him.
“I’ve been here for a minute,” he said, never taking his eyes off mine.
“I didn’t know.”
He nodded toward the crowd.
“So… What’s out there?” He pointed across the club, then looked back at me.
“And I’m right here.”
I laughed. “We came out to party.”
“I wasn’t expecting Carmani to be with your boy or Nuri to be boo’d up.” I shrugged. “I didn’t want to be sitting around looking crazy while everybody was with their man.”
He smiled. “So… You single by choice?”
“I am.”
A slow grin spread across his face. “So, you ain’t pack that bag?”
I laughed and shook my head. “I didn’t.”
Truth be told… I did not want to have this conversation in the middle of the club.
“Why not?”
“Because you never told me you were coming to Bleau Gene’s.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “I wanna be wherever you are…” He paused.
“If you’ll allow me to.”
I smiled. “We can make some arrangements.”
“When?” He cocked an eyebrow. “Because I’ve been waiting since earlier.”
“I told you where I was going.”
“And I’m here.” His eyes never left mine. “I’m here tonight with you.” He glanced around the packed club, then looked back at me. “It’s too busy in this motherfucka. I want some time with you…” His voice dropped. “Without all this noise.”
See… Cohen is low-key perfect. Tonight might be his lucky night. I’m ready to go anyway. This night isn’t turning out the way I thought it would. Carmani is with Jaysen, Nuri is with her man Cash, and somehow I ended up entertaining everybody but the people I came with.
I always enjoy Cohen’s company. It isn’t about sex with him. He’s intentional.
“You still wanna block out the noise?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“I didn’t pack a bag…” I smiled. “But we can slide.”
A grin spread across his face. “Let’s do it.”
“I need to let Carmani know I’m dipping.”
“Cool.”
“I’ll let Jaysen know I’m out too.”
Cohen and I walked back over to Carmani and Jaysen. The second we stopped, Cohen stepped behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and buried his face in the nape of my neck. Yeah…It was definitely time for me to go.
Carmani looked at us with the biggest smile on her face.
“Carmani, we finna slide.”
“Oh yeah,” she beamed.
Jaysen dapped Cohen up. “Yeah…” He laughed.
“You got some explaining to do.”
Cohen didn’t miss a beat. “We made plans earlier.” He looked down at me. “Now she’s following through.”
Carmani and I burst into laughter.
“I’ll see you later, friend. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Call me in the morning.”
“I will.”
Just like that, Cohen and I started heading toward the exit. Shit, I needed to tell Nuri I was leaving. Her section was right beside ours. I looked up at Cohen.
“I need to tell Nuri I’m leaving. She’s in the section next to ours.”
“Cool.”
“I’ll come with you.”
Cohen and I walked into Cash’s section to find Nuri. As expected, all eyes were on us. Ask me if I gave a fuck. Nope. I spotted Nuri sitting comfortably in Cash’s lap, smiling from ear to ear.
The second she saw Cohen beside me, her smile widened. Cash looked at me, then at Cohen. He gave me that look. Cohen? He didn’t give a fuck about the stares. He can handle his own.
“Hey, y’all.”
“Hey,” we said in unison.
“I’m leaving, Nuri.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“I love you. Call me tomorrow.”
“I will.”
She smiled. “And call me when you reach your destination so I know you made it safely.”
“I will.”
With that, Cohen and I finally walked out of Bleau Gene’s together, blocking out the noise.
I could feel the energy, the stares from people in the club, and their opinions.
Fuck the assumptions, because that’s all they were, and unnecessary noise.
And I wasn’t feeding any of it. Before Cohen and I left the club, my phone started going off.
Buzz.
Buzz.
Buzz.
The first text was from Givenchy. The next round came from Nuri and Carmani. I smiled to myself. They could wait. I’d read their texts tomorrow.
It took us damn near thirty minutes to get out of Bleau Gene’s. That club was packed.
Cohen was low-key a big deal around the city. I knew he was getting to the money, but I wasn’t exactly sure how. I knew he’d recently opened a shoe store on the Southside. He didn’t seem to care about the attention, but every few steps someone stopped to talk to him.
Thank God he parked in the VIP section. His Corvette sat just a few spaces from Carmani’s Lexus. By the time we reached it, my feet were screaming. Cohen kept stealing glances at me.
“Why do you keep staring?”
A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Because I got you walking too far.” He looked down at my heels. “Let me carry you.”
“Okay.” Cohen was a grown-ass man.
Cohen scooped me into his arms as if I weighed nothing and carried me the rest of the way. These heels weren’t built for all that damn walking. When we finally reached his Corvette, he set me on my feet.
I smoothed my outfit. Before I could say another word, Cohen stepped in and backed me against the passenger-side door. I looked up at him and smiled.
“So, this what we doing?”
“Somewhat.”
“I thought we were blocking out the noise.”
“We are.”
His voice dropped. “I’ve been wanting to do this since I saw you walk into that section.” He leaned in and stole a kiss. I didn’t stop him. In fact, I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and kissed him right back.
We finally broke the kiss.