Chapter 6
Nicholas
I had always been a light sleeper, so it was pointless for Jameela to try to slip out of bed unnoticed. I respected her for trying though. Watching her curvy silhouette move through the dark room made me miss her warmth already.
It was crazy how I wanted to be inside of her again when it was less than an hour ago when I covered her mouth to keep her from screaming when I woke her up for round three.
What I said was becoming more and more evident.
I was addicted to her. It wasn’t just about good sex, but I couldn’t lie; that sealed the deal.
Jameela was magnetic. Everything from her sass to her stifled giggles intrigued me. Everything about her warranted my undivided attention. She was an experience to behold.
Silently, I tracked her movements as she found the buzzing sound from somewhere on her side of the bed. The glow of her phone illuminated her steps as she slipped into the bathroom and pushed the door closed behind her.
Damn, did she have a man? Not that I cared that much about it, but in my quick search, I found little information about her aside from the name of her hometown. She wasn’t a criminal at least. That was a good thing. I had enough of that in my life for both of us.
“Why the hell do you keep calling me? It’s two in the morning?” she asked whoever had disturbed our sleep.
The tone of her voice made my feet move. She was quiet for a minute as I approached the door. I could hear him yelling through the phone, and she didn’t even have it on speaker.
“Where are you, Jameela? I want to see my daughter. I’m at your door.”
Before I put my hand on the doorknob she spoke again.
“Get the fuck away from my house, Tremaine. You know damn well you don’t want to see your daughter at this time of night. Cut the bullshit,” she whisper-shouted.
“You want money to get your car fixed but don’t think I should get anything in return. You really are a piece of work, Jameela. You only cut me off to try to force me to go public with our relationship. You know you miss me. You know you need me.”
“I don’t need you or anything you have.”
“Open this door, Jameela.”
“Fuck you, Tremaine,” she spat.
I debated letting her hash out her own shit for a second before I nudged the bathroom door open.
Her palms were face down on the counter while she stared straight ahead in the mirror.
She never looked in my direction as I walked over and slipped my arms around her from behind.
The softness of her middle made me nuzzle closer.
I kissed the side of her face, then took the phone out of her hand and ended the call.
“Block his number, Jameela. You don’t need anyone you have to beg for help,” I told her, backing up and slapping her hard on the ass before walking over to the toilet to pee.
“It’s not that simple. He’s my daughter’s dad.”
I emptied my bladder and flushed the toilet before responding to her statement.
“You said he doesn’t spend any time with your daughter.
He only provides financially. He wants you to have sex with him in exchange for helping you to get your car fixed.
We don’t need him for shit, Jameela. I told you I was handling your car.
We’re going to see the mechanic in the morning. ”
“I can’t let you do that, Nicholas.”
“It wasn’t a request, habibti. I want you to take that asshole off child support too. I wanted two more kids anyway. Now I have a new baby girl to spoil.”
She pouted, but her watery eyes made me walk over to her. When we were toe to toe, I cupped her chin in my hand and kissed her lips.
“That sounds good and everything, but we just met, Nicholas. I have to be realistic. Even if I let you take care of my car, I have to think long term. He’s her father.
Hopefully, one day he will come to his senses and want to be in her life.
I don’t want to close the door on him before that day comes. ”
“I’m not telling you to do that. I hope that he does come around, but if he doesn’t, she won’t ever have to know she didn’t have a loving father, Jameela.
Let me do that for you. I can’t stand to see this sadness in your eyes.
If I can do something to change that, then that’s what I’ll do. I want to make it better.”
“OK, I hear you.”
“I want you to let me in. Let me earn your trust. I’m not afraid to prove myself to you.
I want to prove that I deserve to be in your life.
Ed-daayra ma’foola li-sabab. It means the circle is closed for a reason.
It was the motto my uncle drilled in our heads to remind us to limit who we let in our lives.
I apply it to every area of my life. I don’t let many people get close to me, but I’m a gambling man.
That’s how I achieved my success, gambling and taking chances.
I want to take a chance with you, Jameela. Let me in, habibti.”
“My love,” she whispered. “I looked it up to make sure.”
“Come back to bed. I want to take you to breakfast in the morning before we go to the mechanic.”
“What about my friends?”
“They can enjoy the hotel amenities. We have some of the city’s best restaurants.”
“I have to get my bags though.”
“I’ll have someone bring them up. Come to bed. We will hash out the details tomorrow.”
She sighed but didn’t protest when I took her hand and led the way back to the bed.
Once she was comfortable, I walked over and snuggled up next to her.
I couldn’t remember the last time I slept next to a woman, but I was pretty sure it was Cindy.
With my arms around something soft and warm, I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.
“Habibti,” I mumbled, jolting from my sleep when I realized that I was talking.
I didn’t have to look around to know that Jameela was gone. I couldn’t feel her energy. Her side of the bed was cold. That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to her.
It was just before eight in the morning. I was usually an early riser, but the pussy coma Jameela put me in had me dragging a little bit. Apparently, I didn’t have the same effect on her. I picked up the phone on the nightstand and called Antoine, the concierge.
“Yes, sir,” he answered, likely seeing that the call was coming from the penthouse. I was one of the only people with access.
“Make sure the ladies in room 1119 don’t leave before checkout. Have someone take up the family breakfast feast and some complimentary chips.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Antoine, I need you to personally go to the room and put Jameela on the phone. Don’t let her refuse,” I told him.
“Yes, sir,” he repeated before ending the call.
I jumped out of bed and snatched the pair of boxers I’d discarded on the floor and put them on. I hated for anyone around here to see me dressed down, but I needed to move fast. I grabbed a pair of sweats from the closet and threw them on just as my phone rang.
“Mr. King, just one moment,” Antoine spoke before I heard some women talking in the background.
“You do not summon me!” Jameela fussed as soon as she came on the line.
“So, you really thought you were just gone put that pussy on me like that and disappear into the night?” I asked.
The laughing that erupted from the other end of the line made me smile.
“Wow, I had you on speaker,” she chastised.
“Put me back on speaker. I need the world to know how fucked up you got me. Somebody needs to know how used I feel.”
“We had a nice time, but I have to go get my daughter and figure out what I’m going to do about my car. What’s the address to where my car is?”
“Jameela, if you try to leave this hotel before I make it down to you, we are going to have problems.”
“I already have plenty of those, kind stranger.”
“Stop calling me a stranger and let me get to know you.”
“Look, thank you for an amazing night, but I’m not interested in anything more than a fling. As you can see, I don’t have room for anything else in my life right now. Maybe we will run into each other again,” she said, ending the call before I could respond.
I plopped down on the bed, tossing my phone to the side as I buried my face in my hands.
I had always considered myself more of a pursuer than a chaser.
I never chased. I didn’t have to chase. I pursued the things I wanted relentlessly, sometimes sacrificing sleep and sanity to achieve my lofty goals.
Once I had the money, power came naturally.
Still, I liked to work for the things I wanted.
Working for things seemed to make you appreciate them more.
I wanted Jameela. I could even understand her stance in wanting to take care of her car on her own.
My woman didn’t take care of things on her own.
Hell, even the mother of my child didn’t take care of things on her own.
Just like I wanted Cindy to be stress free while she was raising my child, I needed my lady well rested and stress-free so she could take care of me.
I didn’t need her worrying about bills and car repairs.
I was tired of telling her that though. I had to show her through action.
I made it to their room just as Jameela was pushing past Antoine and telling him what she would do to him if he didn’t get out of her way.
“Wow, so you just running away, habibti. I thought we made an agreement.”
“Everything you said sounded good, Nicholas, but I have to be realistic. Thank you again, but this is where we go our separate ways.”
Looking over her shoulder into the room, I ignored her words and acknowledged her friends.
“You ladies feel free to take advantage of any of the hotel’s amenities and whatever Antoine had to promise you to keep you here for so long.
I’m going to take the feisty one off your hands,” I said, reaching past Antoine and taking Jameela’s hand.
“Take your hands off me,” she snapped when I pulled her into the hallway.
“You were just yelling to the top of your lungs about how you wanted out of this room, habibti. Make up your mind.”