Chapter 5
The next day . . .
The sound of the front door slamming snapped me from the trance I was in.
I glanced over my shoulder just as El came shuffling into the kitchen.
She plopped down at her kitchen table with a huff.
I forgot all about the chicken I was seasoning when I saw her bottom lip quiver.
Without warning, she burst into a sob that nearly dropped me to my knees. I was beside her in an instant.
“What’s wrong, Princess?” I removed her hands from her eyes and forced her to look at me.
She sniffled, used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears, and sighed. “Shamar fired me.”
I flexed my fist and said the last thing she wanted to hear. “Good. I was going to catch a case if you kept working there. You deserve to be respected and to feel safe while you’re working, El. Just because you’re a beautiful woman doesn’t mean you should be subjected to harassment.”
She hiccupped, then tossed her hands in the air. “I know, but I still have bills to pay. I bet you my landlord don’t give a fuck that I was being harassed at my job, because it kept my rent paid.”
I pulled out the seat closest to her and positioned us so her legs were between mine.
I wiped away her tears and smiled at her.
I wasn’t in the best position, but I was willing to help her out in any way I could.
El stuck her neck out for me last night by bringing me to her house.
She just didn’t know how badly that turned up the loyalty dial in me.
I didn’t play about my people. If you had my back, then I had yours.
“Some things are not worth what they cost. Even jobs.” I swiped my thumb over her bottom lip.
Even all flustered, she was such a beautiful woman.
If I wasn’t careful, I was going to fuck around and give her what was left of my heart.
“Listen. What if you started your own business?” I nodded toward her backyard and the shed where I’d found her lawnmower earlier.
“You could take clients in the shed back there.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip and shook her head. “It’s not equipped for that.”
I chuckled. “That’s not what I asked you, Princess. If you could take clients in there, would you?”
She sank deeper into her seat, brushing her leg against mine.
I tried not to think about having those thick muthafuckas wrapped around my face during our drunk rendezvous last night.
If I focused on that, this conversation would be forgotten.
I also didn’t want her to feel like I was using her or anything like that.
El was a good woman, and the same way I was preaching how she needed to be respected at work, the same applied to her personal life.
I wouldn’t cross any lines she didn’t want me to.
She blessed me with her beautiful smile when I wiped away more of her tears.
“If I could start my own business, then I would.” I nodded while rubbing my hands together.
My mind was already doing the numbers, trying to figure out how I could put this together for her.
“But I’ll only take clients in the shed under one condition. ”
I paused my game, planning to focus on her. “What’s that?”
She swallowed a mouthful of air, then said the unexpected. “You move into the guest room.”
“Huh?”
She giggled innocently. “Don’t think I’m crazy, but I’ve never felt safer than I did after the way you protected me at the shop. You need a place to stay, and I have the space.” She shrugged like it was simple math, when it really sounded like that ‘girl math’ shit I heard about.
“Nah, I don’t want to crowd your space, Princess. I’ma be alright.”
She took my hands into hers. “I want to. Star put you in a fucked-up position. If you have my back, then I have yours while you get on your feet.” Her voice was so sweet, I found myself leaning closer as if I could inhale it.
“Rockel . . .”
“You cut the grass,” she noted randomly. “And took out the trash.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, I figured I would be useful.” When she woke up this morning to get ready for work, she told me I could stay until she got back. I was an active man and could never sit still for long, so I found things to do to keep me busy.
She tightened her grip on my hands. I loved the way they fit into my bigger ones like a puzzle piece.
When I made the mistake of returning my eyes to hers, I swear I saw my future in their brown depths.
After what Star did to me, I should’ve been guarded, but around El, I couldn’t do it.
The way she opened up her home to me made me trust her wholeheartedly.
Not to mention, this was the girl I thought I couldn’t have.
After the night we had together, I wouldn’t mind getting to know her better.
“You’ve been very useful,” she joked. “Listen, I’m not going to force you into anything, and I might be a little crazy for even suggesting it, but I really think you should consider it. What do you have to lose?”
The reality of the answer to her question being nothing slammed into me like a freight train. Leaning closer to her, I asked, “You sure?” She matched my energy by leaning close too.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
This girl was so fucking dangerous. I needed to be careful. “Aight, cool. I’ll take the guest room.”
She clapped her hands excitedly. “Welcome home, Perfect.” Without warning, she wrapped her arms around me in a hug I didn’t even realize I needed.
I was frozen for a second because of the way hearing home roll off her tongue shifted some shit around in me.
I swear, Star and her treachery were forgotten as I swallowed El in my embrace.
I inhaled deeply and fell in love with the vanilla scent on her skin. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She released me and smiled. “Now, what were you over there doing when I came in?”
I laughed. “Cooking you some dinner.”
She nodded and licked her lips. “Yeah, I think this arrangement is going to work out just fine.”