12. Renza Mensah #2
At first, she stayed still like she was determined not to give me shit, but I kept my hand behind her neck and kissed her slow.
I ain’t care who was sittin’ around us. When her lips finally softened against mine, I tilted my head and deepened the kiss.
My tongue moved between her lips, and the second it touched hers, I felt her whole attitude start slippin’.
Sha’Nelle leaned into me as I tightened my hand against the back of her neck and kissed her deeper, tastin’ the mimosa on her tongue while she finally kissed me back the way I knew she wanted to.
Her hand moved higher on my thigh, and I had to stop myself from pullin’ her all the way into my lap ‘cause we was still in a damn restaurant.
I missed this shit…
I missed her mouth, and I missed the way she softened when I touched her a certain way. More than anything, I missed havin’ her close enough for me to feel when all that fight she carried around me started fallin’ away.
When I finally pulled my tongue from her mouth, her lips followed mine for half a second before she realized what she was doin’.
I caught that too…
I kissed her again, softer this time, lettin’ my lips move against hers a couple more times before pullin’ back enough to look at her. Her eyes was glossy now.
I rubbed my thumb along the side of her neck while starin’ in ‘em, and for once, I ain’t have no slick shit to say. I ain’t need to tell her I knew she still loved me ‘cause I could see that shit all over her face.
Sha’Nelle looked away first. “You do too much,” she muttered.
I smiled and kissed her cheek before slidin’ out of the booth. “Yeah, a’ight.”
I walked back around the table and sat across from her ‘cause now I wanted to look at her.
Sha’Nelle picked up her mimosa and took a long sip while avoidin’ my eyes, but her lips was still wet from me and her whole face looked softer than it had when we first walked in.
I leaned back and smiled at her.
When our food came, I thanked the server and started eatin’ while Sha’Nelle tried hers. I watched her cut into the French toast and take the first bite, and when she ain’t complain, I knew I had picked right.
“Good?” I asked her.
Sha’Nelle nodded while chewin’. “It’s good.”
“See. Trust me sometimes,” I told her.
Breakfast ended up bein’ cool as hell after that.
We ain’t spend the whole time talkin’ about us ‘cause I ain’t want to.
I asked about her mama, she asked me somethin’ about what was goin’ on back home, and somewhere between the food and our second round of mimosas, Sha’Nelle finally started talkin’ to me without every answer soundin’ like I had forced it out of her. I even got a real laugh out of her.
Once we finished, I grabbed the check before Sha’Nelle could even look toward it. I paid, left the tip and stood up while she gathered her purse.
This time, when I reached for her hand, she let me take it. I just laced my fingers through hers and walked with her out of the restaurant.
The sun was up good now, and the parkin’ lot had got busier while we was inside. Sha’Nelle walked beside me with her hand in mine, and I rubbed my thumb across her fingers while leadin’ her toward the rental. When we reached her side, I opened the passenger door.
She stopped in front of me and looked up at my face.
“What?” I asked her.
“Where we goin’ now?” She asked.
I smiled ‘cause apparently she had already figured out breakfast wasn’t the end of the day.
“Don’t worry ‘bout it,” I told her. “Just get in, baby.”
She looked at me for a few seconds before shakin’ her head, but she climbed in the passenger seat without arguin’. I closed her door and walked around the front of the car.
By the time I got behind the wheel, I already knew exactly where I wanted to take her next.
I started the car and pulled out of the parkin’ lot with Sha’Nelle beside me, and for the first time since I came to Greystone City, it finally felt like she wasn’t spendin’ every second tryna figure out how to get away from me.
That was all I needed ‘cause I ain’t expect four days of flowers and one breakfast to erase the shit between us, and I wasn’t stupid enough to think one kiss meant I had my girl completely back. I knew Sha’Nelle still had shit she needed to work through, and I knew I was the reason for some of it.
But I also knew her…
The attitude was startin’ to crack, her hand had stayed inside mine when we walked out the restaurant, and when I kissed her, she kissed me back. That was enough for me to know I was finally gettin’ somewhere with her.
I rested one hand on the wheel and glanced over at Sha’Nelle as she looked out the window. I had the rest of the damn day with her, and I planned on usin’ every bit of it.
After we left breakfast, I pulled over in some parkin’ lot, rolled up and smoked with Sha’Nelle before we headed further into Midtown.
I ain’t really have the whole day mapped out, but I knew I wasn’t finna take her back to her mama house after one meal.
It had took me four damn days to get her out that house, and now that I finally had her with me, I wanted the day to feel like more than me draggin’ her from one place to another just to say I had her.
She sat in my passenger seat with one leg crossed over the other while she took the blunt from me and hit it a couple times.
She had loosened up a lil’ since breakfast, and I could tell she was more comfortable now ‘cause she finally stopped actin’ like every lil’ thing I did required some type of response.
Every now and then she would look over at me while I drove, then say somethin’ slick just to fuck with me.
By the time we got into Midtown, the whole area was lit.
Restaurants had they patios full, music was comin’ from different directions, and people was everywhere walkin’ between shops, bars and whatever else was goin’ on.
I could tell niggas had put a lot of money into this side of the city, and the big park in the middle of everything looked like they had turned half of it into some weekend festival.
I slowed down when we passed it, and Sha’Nelle leaned a lil’ closer to the window to see what was goin’ on.
The park was big as hell and stretched across a few blocks with people everywhere.
They had carnival games lined up on one side, food trucks and vendors on another, and there was music playin’ somewhere deeper inside.
Kids was runnin’ around, couples was walkin’ through holdin’ hands, and a few rides was set up further back.
“This look alright,” Sha’Nelle said while she kept lookin’ out the window.
I glanced over at her. “You wanna go?”
“Yeah, we can,” she answered, turnin’ back toward me.
I found somewhere to park a couple blocks away, and once I got out, I walked around the whip and opened her door.
She stepped out with her purse over her shoulder, and I reached for her hand before we walked toward the park.
She looked down when I laced my fingers through hers, but she ain’t say shit about it, so I ain’t either.
I just kept her beside me while we walked through the crowd.
We spent a lil’ while walkin’ through the park, but I wasn’t interested in half the shit they had set up.
I was cool with just bein’ outside with Sha’Nelle and lettin’ the day go wherever it went.
She had her Icee in one hand while I kept her other hand in mine, and every now and then she would slow down to look at somethin’ one of the vendors had out.
We passed a Black owned spot that had jewelry, shades, watches and some other shit laid out, and ‘Nelle stopped at one of the cases. I stood behind her with my hand restin’ low on her waist while she looked through it, and when she picked up this gold bracelet, I saw the way she turned it over in her fingers before puttin’ it back.
“You like that?” I asked her.
“It’s cute,” she answered before she started lookin’ at somethin’ else.
I reached around her and picked the bracelet back up before handin’ it to the woman behind the counter. “Lemme get this.”
Sha’Nelle looked over her shoulder at me.
I paid for it, took it out the lil’ box and reached for Sha’Nelle’s hand. She watched me while I fastened the bracelet around her wrist, and once I had it on her, I turned her hand over and looked at how it sat against her skin.
“Yeah,” I murmured. “That look good on you.”
She looked down at it, then back at me with that same look she had been givin’ me on and off all day. I slid my hand around the back of her neck, pulled her close and kissed her forehead before lettin’ her go.
“Thank you,” she said soft.
I leaned down and kissed her cheek. “You welcome, pretty girl.”
We kept movin’ after that, and somehow one game turned into damn near every game we passed. If Sha’Nelle stopped and looked at somethin’ too long, I was already pullin’ money out. I had already won her some shit from another booth.
We spent a couple hours out here without me even realizin’ how much time had passed.
That was probably the best part about the shit ‘cause I wasn’t lookin’ at my phone or thinkin’ about how to get this fine ass woman back.
We was just outside enjoyin’ each other, and the more time passed, the easier everything between us felt.
By the time we left the park, Sha’Nelle had enough shit in her hands that I ended up carryin’ most of it.
A big ass stuffed bear was tucked under one of my arms while I held her hand with the other, and she had her candy and some other shit in her other hand.
We probably looked crazy as hell walkin’ down the sidewalk, but I ain’t give a fuck.
There was a museum a few streets over that I had seen while we was drivin’ through Midtown, and when we got closer, I noticed the banners outside advertisin’ a Black art exhibit. I looked toward Sha’Nelle and nodded toward the buildin’.
“You wanna go in there?”
She looked toward the banners. “Yeah, I do.”