Imani #2
“No. Never,” Tiece says and I fake fainting back on the booth. “Girl,” she says as Moon and Hazel laugh. “I guess I better look them up.”
“Please do,” I sigh. “That’s going to be cute.”
“You should come. Daymir would love to see you there,” Hazel says.
“See who where?” Presha asks as she slides into the booth. I didn’t even see her walking towards the table.
“That’s some stealth shit you just did,” I admit with a laugh. “I didn’t even see you.”
“I didn’t want to interrupt,” she says.
“Says the lady asking a question as she sits down,” Hazel teases. “I was talking about the Halloween party.”
“Oh yeah. You should come, Imani. Daymir would love to see you and you can see how he looks in daddy mode. It looks good on him,” Presha says.
“What happened to not talking about him? I told ya’ll we are on a break,” I insists, trying to mask my genuine curiosity. Of course I want to hear about him. I miss him.
“Girl, fuck that break,” Hazel snaps. “That man is doing good with DJ. He started school Wednesday and they have a whole little routine. He’s taking care of his son and is good.
You better get that man before one of these other women do.
There’s something about those big, fine Crew men.
Ask Tiece, she was on Daymir before you got here,” Hazel says then cuts her eyes at Tiece.
Hell, a tinge of jealousy and my territorial instincts have me cutting my eyes at her too.
Defensively, Tiece says, “That was a long time ago. Besides, nothing ever happened.”
“Nothing happened,” Hazel adds. “I’m just saying. If you don’t want him, someone else will grab his ass.”
Not on my watch. Not today.
“I’m not worried. He and I are just on a break, for now. He is definitely my man; there’s no room for no other woman,” I say as my mind churns. If he and DJ are doing fine, why should I deprive myself of him? That shit makes no damn sense. The break ends tonight.
Our server returns with our drinks and appetizers and we order our food and hookah.
The conversation is fun, light, and centered around the men who are and aren’t in our lives.
My attention is mid at best. Although I’m engaging, I’m also trying to figure out my plan for the evening.
After my delicious food, a few puffs of the hookah, and two of my flights, I compose the perfect plan and leave DayLux, mission focused.
Dressed sexy but kid appropriate in cargo pants, my orange and beige crop sweater, and Miu Mius, I’m sitting in my baby, parked in a visitor spot at the Millennium, stalling for some unknown reason.
After leaving DayLux, I didn’t waste any time.
I took my ass to the Marketplace and picked up the ingredients to make honey-pepper chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese, glazed carrots, and sautéed broccoli.
Food always makes a great peace offering.
I had to do something. Hazel’s words and the look on Tiece’s face was enough to set me in motion.
Too much of a break might cause me to lose the beautiful thing we were building.
I like him and I really like us together.
And, hell, I miss the shit out of him. I’m just praying he and DJ haven’t eaten yet.
Everything is still hot and packed in my insulated thermal bag.
I just need to get out of my damn car. So, I take a deep ass breath, check my face in my visor, then text him.
Me: Do you still want to see me?
His response is damn near immediate and it causes me to smile like a teenage girl.
Daymir: Always
Me: Then, tell the security to let me up. I’m in the parking lot about to walk in your building.
Daymir: I’m coming down to get you
Daymir: Don’t come in yet
Daymir: Stay in your ride
Me: Ok
I pull down my visor for one final check, apply a little more burgundy lip liner, and finger comb my locs to the side.
I have an oil roll-on in my tote so, I grab it, apply a little behind my neck, in my cleavage, and then on my wrists.
Then, I kill my engine and wait for Daymir.
I don’t wait long because not even a minute later, I spot him walking out of the building, looking like he owns it.
He treks over to my ride and opens my door.
When he does, his woodsy scent with amber notes fills my nose and I smile. I missed that smell.
“Why couldn’t I come up? You had to get rid of your girl or something?” I tease.
“How can I get rid of her when she’s right here, looking edible as fuck,” he says as his eyes lazily take a tour of me, from the top of my head down to my Miu Mius.
“Damn, I miss you,” he says while holding his hand out for me.
Of course, I take it and when my feet are on the pavement, he pulls me up and into his big, strong arms.
“Mm,” I sigh from being back in his embrace. I really missed him.
My arms fly around his neck and he buries his head into the side of my neck.
After inhaling me, he peppers soft kisses on my neck then on my ear.
“There’s no other woman that feels like this,” he says as his hands caress my back.
“And not once that tastes as sweet as this,” he utters before kissing my neck again.
I was already melting into him but now, his words have me putty in his hands.
“In case you’re wondering,” I say. “The break is over.”
His head lifts and we are eye to eye. “Damn right it is,” he says before capturing my mouth with his.
He doesn’t just kiss me, he possesses my mouth, stills my breath, and obliterates any thoughts, past, present, and future, of us ever breaking again.
When he eventually lets me breathe, it takes me a minute to gain my composure and speak.
“Can I come upstairs?” I ask.
“Yeah, but you can’t leave.”
“So, you’re kidnapping me?” I say with a smirk.
“Most definitely.”
“Well, grab my bag out of the backseat.”
“Oh, so you planned on staying.”
“I was talking about my food bag. I cooked ya’ll dinner but my emergency spend-the-night bag is in my trunk,” I reveal and his handsome face contorts.
“Spend-the-night bag for who?”
“For when I take late night drives with no destination in mind. I’m always prepared.”
“I’ll grab that shit but we got to talk about that later.”
“It’s not for a man,” I tell him.
“Oh, I wasn’t worried about that.”
“Then what?”
“Later, baby. Let’s get you and this food upstairs. It’s getting late and DJ’s little ass was just asking about dinner.”
“I hope he likes it.”
“He will.”
Daymir kisses the side of my neck again then squeezes my ass before releasing me.
While he grabs my duffle from the trunk and food bag from the back seat, I grab my tote, keys, and cell.
Then, we walk into the building and take the elevator to his place.
When we walk in, he takes the food into the kitchen and I follow him.
As he places the bag on the kitchen counter, I place my tote on the small table next to his sectional then follow him.
“I’m going to take your bag into my room and get him. Do what you need in here,” he tells me before kissing my lips again.
After washing my hands, I open my bag and pull out the food and the honey mustard I made for the tenders. Everything is still hot so I grab three plates from his cabinets and fill them up. Because I don’t know if DJ like carrots or broccoli, I only give him a very small potion of each.
“Hey, Miss Imani,” I hear from behind. I’m in the fridge, grabbing ketchup and bottles of water. When I turn around, DJ is walking towards me, smiling looking just like his daddy.
“Hey, DJ. How are you?” I ask.
“I’m hungry,” he says and I grin. “Is that our food?” he asks, looking at the plates on the counter.
“It is. Are we eating here or in the dining room?” I ask.
“We don’t eat in there; we eat here.”
“Well, which one is your seat?” I ask, nodding towards the high back black stools at the counter.
“There.” He points to the one on the right end and I place his plate there. “Are those carrots?” he asks.
“Yes. Do you like carrots?” I ask, timidly, hoping that he does. With kids and veggies, it’s either hit or miss.
“Yes, the way my Maw Maw makes them,” he honestly admits.
“Well, maybe you’ll like mine too. If not, it’s cool. Do you like broccoli?”
“Sometimes. I’ll see,” he says before sitting in the stool.
Daymir walks around the corner then treks into the kitchen. Again, he kisses me and I love it. He has no problems with showing me how much he actually missed me.
“Damn, ya’ll starting without me?” he asks, playfully.
“No, sir. I ain’t even said grace yet.”
“I’m just playing, man. Go ahead and eat. You only got an hour before bed time,” he says and DJ closes his eyes and utters a quick prayer.
“What’s that?” DJ asks while pointing at my honey mustard.
“Honey mustard. I like that on chicken tenders. You can try it but I took the ketchup out too. Here,” I say while sliding the bowl of honey mustard closer to him.
He spoons some on his plate then squeezes some ketchup next to it. He tastes one of the tenders without any sauce then he dips it in the honey mustard. After eating it, he smiles then tackles the macaroni and cheese. Daymir grabs an Energized Sports from the fridge.
“Are those good?” I ask. I see those energy drinks everywhere but never bought one.
“Yeah. I drink at least two a day. This white grape one is my favorite. You want one?”
“Is it going to keep me up all night?” I ask and he steps closer to me. Then, he leans in and whispers in my ear.
“Don’t worry about that drink. I’m going to keep you up all night, especially them long ass beautiful legs,” he says and I’m pretty sure I blush.
“I can’t with you,” I utter while laughing.
“Miss Imani,” DJ calls out.
“Yeah, sweetie?”
“You got some more of this?” he asks and I notice that both tenders, most of his macaroni and cheese, and the carrots are gone.
“What do you want?” I ask.