Chapter 10
For the past month, me and Reni had been locked in like a muthafucka. And I ain’t even gon’ lie, that shit felt good in a way I wasn’t used to sayin’ out loud.
I had been showin’ up when I said I was gon’ show up, answerin’ my phone when she called, and actually movin’ like I had some sense about somebody else’s feelins besides mine. It wasn’t forced either. A nigga just… wanted to do right by her.
Reni ain’t make it easy all the time, though. She still had her lil’ moods and them moments when she would fold her arms and look at me like I was really doin’ somethin’ wrong. But I learned how to deal with the shit.
I would pull her in, kiss on her, or just let her get her shit off until she cooled down. Half the time she wasn’t even mad for real. She just needed to feel like I was payin’ attention to her.
I had been takin’ her out more too on real dates, and not no last-minute pull ups or none of that lazy shit I used to do.
I had been pickin’ her up on time, openin’ her door, takin’ her somewhere nice, and actually sittin’ there with her, talkin’ and listenin’ to all the shit she wanted to talk about.
I wasn’t halfway doin’ it. When I was with her, I was with her. Phone down, attention locked in, lettin’ her talk, jokin’ with her and makin’ her feel me without her havin’ to ask for it. That shit mattered to her, so it mattered to me.
And when we got back to her place, I wasn’t playin’ with it either.
I made sure I was givin’ her what she really be needin’.
I took my time with her, havin’ her laid out, kissin’ all over her body, suckin’ on her neck, her titties and draggin’ my tongue down her stomach slow just to hear how her breath start changin’ on me.
I kept them legs open, lickin’ all on her pussy, takin’ my time with it, lettin’ her feel every move of my mouth while she be grabbin’ on me, tryna hold still but can’t.
A nigga stayed sittin’ right between them thighs, eatin’ her up until she was shakin’ and cussin’, pushin’ on my head but still wantin’ more at the same time.
Then when I slide that dick in her, I don’t just be fuckin’.
I be in that shit deep, makin’ her feel every inch of me before pickin’ up the pace up and knockin’ her down.
I be talkin’ to her while I’m in it too, low in her ear, tellin’ her how good she feel and how that pussy mine while I got her pinned under me, and she be meltin’ every time.
By the time I be done with that ass, she don’t be sayin’ too much after. She just lay there, all soft, body loose, lookin’ at me like she don’t even know what to do with herself, and I already be knowin’… I did that.
Today we was goin’ to her parents’ house for lunch, and I ain’t make nothin’ out of it. I told her what time to be ready, got myself together, and pulled up how I was supposed to.
The whole drive over there, she kept fixin’ herself in the mirror, checkin’ her hair, her lips and her outfit like she ain’t already look good. I peeped it but ain’t say nothin’. I just reached over, grabbed her hand, and rubbed my thumb across it.
When we pulled up to her people house, I cut the engine and grabbed my keys, sittin’ here for a second.
Her pops, Roman Harper, designed the whole damn house, and you could tell just by lookin’ at it. Everything just lined up the way it was supposed to, from how the space opened up to where everything sat.
That architect shit wasn’t just somethin’ he said he did. It showed.
I glanced over at Reni while she was unbucklin’ her seatbelt, calm as ever, like this was just another pull up for her, which it was.
We got out the car, and I grabbed her hand as we walked up the driveway. I brought it up and kissed the back of it real quick before we stepped inside.
Soon as we walked in, her pops was already comin’ from the back like he knew we had pulled up.
“Renza.” He said my name like he always do, firm and straight to it.
I reached out and shook his hand the same way every time.
“What’s good, Mr. Harper?”
He held my hand for a second, lookin’ at me like he was weighin’ somethin’ without sayin’ it out loud, then gave a small nod and let it go.
“Come on in,” he said, steppin’ aside.
Her mama, Zaria came around the corner not too long after, already smilin’ when she saw Reni. She pulled her into a hug first, holdin’ her a second like she ain’t seen her in a minute, then she looked at me.
“Renza, it’s good to see you again.”
“Yes ma’am,” I said, noddin’ my head and pullin’ her in for a light hug.
Her energy had always been calm, but not weak. It was that energy that made you straighten up without feelin’ pressed to do it, and I respected that.
We all moved into the livin’ area and sat down, everybody just fallin’ into place.
Her pops started talkin’ after a minute, tellin’ me about one of the spots he was workin’ on and how he had it laid out. He was breakin’ it down while we sat there, and I was followin’ him, noddin’ here and there, askin’ him a couple things about it so he knew I was tapped in.
“That’s you from start to finish?” I asked him, leanin’ back a lil’. “Like you design all that before they even touch the ground?”
He nodded. “Everything starts with the design.”
“Ain’t gon’ lie, that’s hard,” I said, meanin’ it.
After a minute, I glanced over at her mama. “How work been for you, Mrs. Harper?”
She looked at me and smiled a lil’. “It’s been good. Busy, but good.”
She started talkin’ about her job as a speech therapist and how she be dealin’ with different people every day, helpin’ ’em get they words out right, build they confidence up, and just stayin’ patient through it all.
I listened, askin’ her a couple things too, keepin’ it flowin’ instead of just sittin’ here quiet.
Conversation just kept movin’ with everybody talkin’.
Sittin’ here with both of ’em, hearin’ how they carried theyselves and how they spoke on what they did, it made a lot of shit about Reni make sense.
She grew up with a lot of structure, routine, and with everything in its place.
The way her pops moved, the way her mama carried herself, the way everything flowed without nobody havin’ to say too much… I could tell that shit rubbed off on Reni heavy, whether she realized it or not.
When we sat down to eat, that’s when the pressure started creepin’ in.
Her mama mentioned her sister first. “Ryan said she’s been trying to get in touch with you,” she said, lookin’ at Reni.
Reni sighed a lil’, already knowin’ what was comin’. “I’m gonna call her. I just been busy, Ma.”
“With what?” her father asked. I wouldn’t say it was rude, but that shit was direct as hell.
“My businesses,” she said. “The salon, the lounge, and I had a few clients at the morgue.”
Her mama nodded, but she still looked at her. “We understand that, but you can’t forget about your responsibilities to your family.”
I sat here quiet, eatin’ and listenin’, but I felt that shift in the air. They wasn’t goin’ off about the shit, but they was holdin’ her to a standard.
Reni nodded. “I said I’m gonna handle it.”
Her father leaned back a lil’, then his eyes came to me.
“So,” he said, calm as ever, “what exactly are your intentions with my daughter, Renza?”
I wiped my mouth with a napkin, sat back in my chair, and looked at him without rushin’ it. I already knew what type of time he was on, but I also knew he was just bein’ a father.
“I’m serious about her,” I said. “I don’t play about her.”
He nodded once, but that ain’t move him.
“Serious is a start,” he said. “But that don’t always mean structure. I’m talking about long-term. She needs stability, and direction.”
I heard him. I really did. And I respected it, ’cause I knew he wasn’t just talkin’ to talk. He was speakin’ from how he raised Reni, from the life he built for her.
But at the same time, I wasn’t no lil’ ass boy sittin’ at this table.
“I get where you comin’ from,” I said, noddin’. “And I respect that, for real. I’m not takin’ none of what you sayin’ light.”
I leaned back further in my chair, keepin’ my eyes on him.
“I care about Reni the right way,” I went on. “Everything I’m doin’ with her got intention behind it. I just want it to be done the right way, not rushed or halfway.”
Reni shifted next to me, and I felt her knee press against mine. I ain’t look at her, but I knew she was listenin’ close.
Her father nodded slowly, like he was takin’ that in.
“Love and intention matter,” he said. “But again… so does direction. I just want to know she’s buildin’ with a man who understands that.”
“I do,” I said.”
He looked at me for a second, like he was sittin’ with what I said, then gave a small nod. Then he shifted the conversation.
“So how do your parents feel about you and Reni?” he asked.
That one hit a lil’ different.
I ain’t even get a chance to answer right away ’cause my mind went somewhere else for a second. It wasn’t that I ain’t think about bringin’ Reni around my people… I had. Plenty of times. But my family wasn’t regular, and I knew that.
The women in my family ain’t play about me. Once they latch on, that’s it. I knew they was gon’ treat her like she was locked in for life, and if shit ain’t go how it was supposed to, it wasn’t gon’ just fall off clean. It could turn into tension. And I wasn’t tryna put that on Reni.
On top of that, we had just got through ’Lo’s trial, and that shit had the whole family movin’ different for a minute.
Everybody was already dealin’ with enough, and bringin’ my girl around in the middle of all that would’ve had everything feelin’ heavier than it needed to. She would’ve got overshadowed for sure.
I knew what I felt about Reni. I knew where I was goin’ with her. I just wanted it to be right when I did it. That’s really it.
Before I could even say any of that shit out loud, Reni shifted next to me.
“Daddy…” she said, givin’ him that look. “You doin’ too much.”
He glanced at her, then back at me like he wasn’t even tryna be funny with it.
“I’m just asking a very simple question,” he replied.