12. Renza Mensah
Greystone City
The whole time I drove, Sha’Nelle acted like she had an attitude with a nigga, but I ain’t give a fuck about none of that shit.
She could sit over there lookin’ out the window, keep her lips poked out and answer me whenever she felt like it ‘cause the only thing I cared about was finally havin’ her in this car with me.
I had spent four damn days droppin’ flowers off, leavin’ notes on her car like some lovesick ass nigga, and doin’ whatever else I could think of just to wear her stubborn ass down.
I hated havin’ to do all that shit, but I already knew I wasn’t leavin’ Greystone City without really gettin’ some time with her.
Every now and then, I glanced over at ‘Nelle while she sat in my passenger seat with her purse in her lap. She was pretty as fuck even when she was irritated with me, and that lil’ attitude ain’t do shit but make me wanna fuck with her more.
I could tell she was tryin’ not to look my way too much, but every once in a while, I caught her eyes slidin’ over to me before she looked right back out the window.
I ain’t call her out on it. I just kept drivin’ ‘cause I had finally got her out that house.
Once I got a lil’ further across town, I picked my phone up at a red light and started lookin’ for somewhere good to eat.
The part of Greystone where Sha’Nelle mama stayed ain’t have shit around there I wanted to sit down and eat at, and since my Airbnb was all the way across town anyway, I kept drivin’ until the area started lookin’ a lil’ more like what I wanted.
I wasn’t takin’ her to no loud ass spot where we had to yell across a table or somewhere with plastic menus stuck to the damn table.
I wanted some smooth shit where we could sit down, eat good and enjoy ourselves.
“What you got a taste for?” I asked ‘Nelle while scrollin’ through a few places.
“I don’t care,” she answered without lookin’ at me.
I glanced over at her and nodded. “A’ight. Don’t be complainin’ when I pick then.”
“I’m not gon’ complain, Renza,” she replied, finally lookin’ at me.
“Mmhmm,” I murmured ‘cause I already knew better.
Sha’Nelle rolled her eyes and turned her attention back toward the window, and I smiled to myself before findin’ a breakfast spot about ten minutes from where we was.
The pictures looked good, the reviews was straight, and most importantly, it looked like somewhere I could sit down and enjoy my food without a bunch of bullshit goin’ on around me.
When I pulled into the parkin’ lot, Sha’Nelle looked toward the restaurant but ain’t say nothin’. I parked, grabbed my phone and got out before walkin’ around the front of the rental toward her side.
She already had her hand on the door when I got there. I tapped the window.
She looked up at me, then moved her hand from the handle with another one of those damn eye rolls.
I opened the passenger door and stepped back enough for her to get out. The second she was on her feet, she adjusted her purse on her shoulder and turned toward me, but I ain’t move out her way.
Instead, I stepped closer until she took one step back and her body pressed against the side of the car. I kept movin’ until my chest was against hers, and her eyes immediately went somewhere over my shoulder ‘cause she knew exactly what the fuck it was with me.
“What, Renza?” She asked, tryna sound annoyed.
I ain’t answer her ‘cause I ain’t need to.
I leaned closer and let my face move beside hers, close enough for my beard to brush against her cheek.
I could smell whatever she had put on before leavin’ the house, and between that and the scent of her hair, I had to remind myself that we was standin’ in the middle of a damn parkin’ lot.
Then she turned her face away from mine. “Why you all on me?”
“Why you keep actin’ like you don’t want me on you?” I asked against the side of her face.
Her lips pressed together, but she still wouldn’t look at me.
I let my face move down toward her neck without kissin’ her, and I felt the way her body shifted against mine. That was what I knew better than all that attitude she kept givin’ me.
Sha’Nelle could say whatever she wanted, but I knew when she was really uncomfortable with me and when she was just fightin’ herself.
Right now, she was fightin’ herself, and I could feel that shit every time she tried to act like havin’ me this close wasn’t doin’ nothin’ to her.
I lifted my head and looked down at her. “You gon’ look at me today?”
“I been lookin’ at you,” she answered.
“Nah, you been lookin’ everywhere but at me,” I told her.
She finally turned those big ass eyes up toward mine, and I smiled a lil’ ‘cause that was all I wanted.
“There,” I told her. “That wasn’t hard.”
Sha’Nelle looked like she wanted to say somethin’, but I pushed away from the car before she got the chance. I closed her door, reached for her hand and started toward the restaurant with her beside me. I could feel her lookin’ at me now, and that was cool with me too.
When we got inside, the hostess greeted us and led us toward a booth near the back.
I let Sha’Nelle slide in first before takin’ the seat across from her, and after the hostess handed us our menus and walked away, I leaned back and looked at the woman I had been chasin’ around Greystone for the last four days.
She opened her menu and acted like it was the most interestin’ shit she had ever read. I smiled and opened mine.
I wasn’t about to pressure ‘Nelle into talkin’ to me every five seconds. I already had her out the house, and for right now, that was enough. I wanted her to get comfortable around me again without every conversation turnin’ into some argument about what happened between us.
A server came over a few minutes later and introduced herself before askin’ what we wanted to drink.
“Bring us two mimosas,” I told the server before looking at Sha’Nelle. “I’ll take cranberry juice and then orange for my woman.”
Sha’Nelle lifted her eyes from the menu and looked at me.
“What?” I asked her.
“I can order for myself,” she reminded me.
“I know you can,” I replied. “You like orange.”
She stared at me another second before lookin’ back at the menu, and I had to stop myself from laughin’ ‘cause that attitude was gon’ be the death of her.
When the server returned with our drinks, I had already decided what I wanted. I ordered steak and eggs with breakfast potatoes, fresh fruit and French toast on the side ‘cause I was hungry as hell. Then I looked across the table at Sha’Nelle, who was still pretendin’ to study her menu.
“And for her, she want the French toast with strawberries, eggs scrambled soft with cheese and turkey sausage,” I told the server. “Potatoes on the side, but she don’t want all that onion shit mixed in ‘em.”
Sha’Nelle lowered her menu, but I kept goin’.
“And bring her some extra syrup on the side,” I added before handin’ my menu to the server.
The server looked toward Sha’Nelle. “Anything else for you?”
Sha’Nelle looked at me before turnin’ back toward the woman. “No, that’s fine. Thank you.”
When the server walked away, she pushed her hair away from her shoulders and gave me a look.
“You done?” She asked.
“I ordered breakfast,” I answered.
“You ordered my breakfast,” she corrected me.
“Was I wrong?” I asked her.
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
I smirked at her. “Exactly.”
She rolled her eyes and reached for her mimosa.
“You get on my nerves.”
“I know,” I replied as I reached across the table and took her free hand before she could pull it away.
She looked down at our hands. “Renza.”
“What?” I asked her, already knowin’ what she wanted.
“Give me my hand,” she told me.
“Nah,” I replied.
Her eyes came back to mine. “Renza, give me my damn hand.”
I rubbed my thumb across the back of it instead. “You been keepin’ everything else from me for four days. Lemme have the hand.”
The corner of her mouth moved before she caught herself, and I leaned back in the booth ‘cause I saw that shit.
“You almost smiled,” I pointed out.
“No, I didn’t,” she denied.
“Yeah, you did,” I told her.
“I really didn’t,” she insisted.
I squeezed her hand light and watched her. “A’ight, ‘Nelle.”
She tried pullin’ it back again, and this time I held on just long enough to aggravate her before she finally snatched it away.
I let her have about thirty seconds of peace before I stood up and walked around the table. Her eyes followed me until I slid in the booth beside her.
“Why are you over here now?” She asked, shiftin’ when my thigh pressed against hers.
“‘Cause you too far away over there,” I answered.
“It’s a table, Renza,” she reminded me.
I reached up and moved her hair away from her shoulder, and she looked straight ahead like she had suddenly decided the restaurant was fascinatin’.
I leaned down and pressed my lips against the side of her neck.
“Renza…” she murmured as her hand came against my thigh.
I kissed her neck again, slower this time, and felt her fingers press into my jeans.
“You smell good as fuck,” I murmured against her skin.
Sha’Nelle ain’t answer me. I kissed underneath her ear and felt her move a lil’ beside me, then I caught the exact second her teeth sank into her bottom lip.
That shit made me smile against her neck.
“You bitin’ that lip now?” I asked her.
She turned toward me and looked directly into my eyes. “Can you stop?”
“No,” I answered without hesitation.
She stared at me, and there went those damn eyes. That was always the shit that got me.
Sha’Nelle had these pretty ass eyes that told everything she was tryin’ not to say.
Right now, she wanted to look irritated with me so bad, but I could see everything under all of it.
I saw how much she missed me, how hard she was fightin’ whatever she still felt and how close she was to lettin’ herself stop thinkin’ about all the shit between us for a minute.
I moved my hand to the side of her neck and leaned closer. She looked at my mouth before her eyes came back to mine, and that was enough for me.
I pressed my lips against hers.