Chapter 4 #3
“Dyani,” he said in that deep, sultry voice of his, and I slowly turned to look at him.
“You’re beautiful, funny, and sweet as fuck.
I think it’s cute that you want to sleep with me genuinely, but baby, the kind of man I am would break you in fucking half and I ain’t even talking about that nice little body of yours. ”
His eyes went to my mouth. He licked his lips. His thumb trailed softly up and down the side of my throat. I leaned in automatically.
My voice came out breathless. “I’m not scared of you, Arris.”
“Good because I’d never hurt you or any other woman on purpose.
” His thumb slipped to the side of my throat and he gripped me.
“I want you to listen to me real good, Dyani. I don’t do shit without actually thinking about it, and if I’m going to war with your brother, it’s got to be for something real.
I’ve got self-control. I’m not throwing away a relationship with another DP for one night of fun when I could fuck anyone for some validation and a nut. ”
“So, you’d have to date me to fuck me?”
“With the intention of marrying you,” he said. “I’m too old to play stupid games and bring chaos to my life. I’m a grown ass man with a son. I’m not playing games.”
I nodded once. “Okay.”
“Okay.” He let my throat go, but he didn’t pull back all the way. He moved some of my hair out of my face. “So, now what?” he asked.
“What?” I blinked at him.
“I think there’s nothing wrong with us getting to know each other and seeing where shit goes or doesn’t. That’s it. If we decide we’re good off each other, cool, but if we decide to make shit exclusive, I’ll break the news to Darryl and I’ll break yo’ lil pretty ass off something real nice.”
I wasn’t sure why that statement alone did something to me, but it did. Even if we weren’t compatible for marriage, I couldn’t deny that the man was sexy and his deep voice and confidence did something to me.
The fact that he talked about potential turmoil with my brother as if it was something he would have no problem dealing with was a turn on.
“Okay,” I said softly.
“Okay,” he repeated. “So, do you want me to kiss you goodnight or you not down for the gamble?”
His hand went to the back of my seat and he leaned into me.
I watched his eyes bounce around my face.
I swallowed nervously. I was much more sober now and I could understand Arris’s reservations.
We both knew how my brother was. He wasn’t the type to just give us his blessing without making sure Arris wasn’t on bullshit.
I also couldn’t just blow past the fact he’d just told me he had a son.
For some reason, the longer we stared at each other, the less it seemed to matter.
I’d just met Arris. I knew that, but I could admit he was handsome and the speech he’d just given was attractive.
I appreciated that he wanted to date for marriage and longevity, that he didn’t just think with his dick, and that he liked to make sure he thought his choices through before he did it.
Those were all good signs in my opinion.
I decided not to think about it too hard. This was just a kiss. It wasn’t even us locking in a date.
I leaned into him and he met me halfway for our lips to meet.
It was me who deepened the kiss, but he let me.
His tongue met mine and I practically sighed as I let him lead.
One of my hands drifted to his knee. He cupped my jaw in one hand.
Fuck. He was a good kisser. I felt like I melted into him and I loved how sweet he was.
I’d expected a hard, rough, fiery kiss, but Arris hadn’t done that.
He kissed me softly and sweetly, like he felt like I was something breakable. I liked it.
We kissed and kissed and kissed like two teenagers in a new season of dating and slowly pulled apart when his phone vibrated in his cup holder.
We stared at each other for a second before Arris leaned in and softly kissed my lips one more time. He settled into his seat and my eyes went to his phone as he reached for it, several text messages actively coming through.
I blinked a few times. My head jerked to look at Arris. I opened my mouth, snapped it shut, then opened it again.
“Blake?” I sputtered.
“What?” Arris looked at me, genuine confusion on his face.
The background on his cell phone was a picture of him and Blake in front of some sort of monument.
“Blake is your son?” I asked.
“How do you know Blake?”
“I know Jayme.” I scoffed. “Fuck. I— We— She helped me pick out some furniture. My brother connected us.”
“Of course he did.” Arris scoffed and shook his head.
He locked his phone and tossed it back in his cup holder.
“Look, I love Jayme. She’ll be a part of my life and my family for the rest of my life, but that’s where shit between us ends.
We were young when we welcomed Blake and that little boy is our world, yeah, but we, uh, became adults who changed our hobbies and what we wanted and how we showed up for each other and it made us stop fitting together.
It got real toxic for a while, so we called it quits.
Then Jayme realized I’m not her type for real.
” He shrugged. “Shit between us is platonic and she’s dating women now.
There’s no reason to be in your head or feel like you did some crazy shit, alright?
She don’t give a fuck about who I kiss or fuck or date. ”
I nodded at that.
“Okay.”
“I’m not proposing to you or no shit like that, Dyani. It was a kiss, and if you never want to kiss again, we’re still cool.” He gave me an award-winning smile. “Get out of your head.”
“Okay.”
I swallowed and shook my head slightly, as if that was going to help.
He opened his mouth then closed it and nodded.
“Alright.” He exhaled and pushed his door open. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.” He circled the car, opened my door ,and helped me out.
Arris accompanied me all the way to my apartment. I unlocked my door then turned around to tell him thank you. I stopped when he leaned into me. My eyes fluttered shut. He planted a quick kiss on my forehead.
He winked at me when I opened my eyes.
“Go ahead.” He nudged his head toward inside.
“Thank you for everything and be careful getting home please.”
He nodded once. “Goodnight, Dyani.”
“Goodnight Arris.”
I pushed inside and gave him one last look before closing my door and locking it into place.
I sighed and kicked my shoes off at the door.
Of course the man I thought was fine as hell was the baby daddy of one of the only two women I could see myself hanging out with around here.
I cursed under my breath.
I didn’t necessarily owe Jayme anything, but I truly felt like she was a sweet and genuine person who I’d been looking forward to hanging out with more.
Thinking about sleeping with her baby daddy was crazy if I was going to be smiling in her face, no matter how I sliced it, and I fucking hated that realization.