Chapter 9 #3
“Every single one. You don’t got to worry about me,” the man said.
He was known for his drinking problems too.
A failing burger business and a daily 12 pack of beer had lost him a wife and two kids years ago.
Nyair was his only consistent friend. Nyair had helped him repurpose his life and had baptized a grown man.
Their bond was evident. “If don’t nobody come see me, this one right here gon’ come see me,” the man said gleefully to Lauren, while pointing a finger at Nyair.
“Rain or shine. You keep the heat on in here. What can I get you? Same ol’ same ol’? ”
“You know it. Two double cheeseburgers, grill them onions, though, and add bacon. Large fry, large onion ring, and two vanilla milkshakes,” Nyair ordered.
“Whose going back to work after all that?” Lauren protested.
He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “So don’t go back. Take the day.”
“I can’t even remember the last time I took a day off,” Lauren said.
“So let’s change that. You give me the day, I’ll make it worth your while.”
Lauren sighed as she weighed her options. It was time for her to do something other than work all day and go home to mom duties.
“Okay,” she agreed.
Pastor Ny! Here are my famous milkshakes. I know you asked for two vanillas, but this beautiful lady looks like she likes chocolate.”
“You’re a smart man,” Lauren said, smiling. She couldn’t believe she was eating ice cream in twenty-degree weather, but she took the milkshake. She picked up the spoon and tasted it. “Mmm,” she moaned.
Nyair chuckled. “It’s that good, huh?”
“It really is,” she nodded, taking another spoonful. Nyair grabbed a second spoon and dipped it into his own.
He held it up for her. “It ain’t better than that, is it?” He asked.
“I don’t know which one I like best.”
They retrieved their food and then sheltered inside the car.
“What you think? You going back to work or you want to take a day off? I don’t live too far from here,” Nyair said. “Maybe you can show me some of them plans for the banquet.”
“Is that not work, too?” She asked.
“That’s charity,” he laughed.
“Your home is beautiful,” Lauren said. “You live here alone?”
“I bought it when I was in the league. I wasn’t supposed to live here alone. Life just shook out that way. It’s more space than I need, honestly.”
There was sadness in him that told her not to pry further. It was clearly a bachelor’s pad. It was missing the feminine touches like flowers and plants, throws and pillows, but it was large enough to raise an entire family.
“You don’t get lonely here?” Lauren asked.
“Nah, not really,” he answered. “Kitchen’s this way.”
They posted up on the barstools and unwrapped the greasy food.
“You’re sharing those onion rings,” Lauren stated, reaching into his meal and stealing one.
“You’re welcome to whatever I got, Lauren,” he offered, sliding the fries to the side.
“Lo,” Lauren said. “My friends call me Lo.”
Nyair nodded as he smiled bashfully. He rubbed his hands down his Caesar cut and then finessed his chin. “You just friend zoned a nigga so smooth.”
Lauren laughed. “Nooo… I mean, yeah I did, but you’re a pastor, Ny. I don’t know how to act around you. Like, what are the rules?”
“I’m a man, Lo. I can interact with women,” he said, chuckling.
“Interact how, exactly?” Lauren needed clarity. “Like, be specific.”
“However you want me to,” Nyair answered.
Lauren stood and stepped closer to his chair. He sat up straight to welcome her into his space.
He put a hand on her waist and pulled her closer, and she placed a hand on the side of his face.
“Like this? This is fair play?” She asked, softly caressing the side of his face.
“Fair play,” he confirmed. It was their stare for her.
She couldn’t break it, and she didn’t want to.
Her attraction to him had started innocently.
He had been the fine-ass football coach that made sitting through two-hour practices worth it.
Just a few hours in his presence, being the focus of his attention, made her feel seen and heard in a way that she hadn’t in years.
“Nyair, I…”
He inched closer, and she felt frozen.
“What up?” He asked. “You got something to say, Lo? You want me to stop? Or you want me to answer the question we both been asking ourselves all day?”
“Is this chemistry real?” She asked.
He licked his lips, but he was so close that she felt the wetness on his lips instantly.
“Is a kiss, okay? Can we do that?” She asked.
He didn’t answer. He swallowed her words, pressing his lips to hers as their tongues danced timidly.
He was going easy on her, she could tell.
A divorced woman had some reservations, so he couldn’t beast on her, but the softness in his touch was electrifying.
Her heart ached in the sweetest way. If Demi had left her wounded and open, Nyair’s kiss was the triage that stopped her from bleeding out.
The kiss wasn’t lustful. It wasn’t one that made her feel like an object.
It was appreciative and assertive, and it stole her breath away.
She kept her eyes closed, but their lips disconnected, and she pressed her forehead to his.
“I really like you, and it terrifies me,” she whispered.
Lauren pushed out a nervous breath. “You’re my son’s coach. I don’t want to change more dynamics for him. You know? He’s my priority. I just want him to be okay.”
“If you’re trying to convince me to lose interest in you, you’re failing. You’re a phenomenal woman, Lo. For real. I respect you for putting DJ first. He’s a great kid,” Nyair said.
“I have to think about him first,” she said. “He admires and respects you. You’ve been his safe space through this divorce. I can’t steal that from him.”
Nyair nodded.
“Maybe I should get you back,” Nyair said. “Cuz I hear everything you’re saying, but all I can think about is kissing you again.”
He stood, but she didn’t give him space to walk away. They stood with no room between them. “I won’t be able to say no twice, Ny,” she said. “We should go before I get used to this feeling. If we stop now, it won’t be hard to let it go.”
“Okay,” Nyair said. He stepped around her and headed for the door, and Lauren had to wipe a tear from her eyes before following behind him. She wanted to simply be a woman at that moment, but she couldn’t. She had to be a mom, and entertaining her son’s football coach could only end in disaster.