Chapter 11
Eleven
My eyes danced all around her frame as I assisted her from the car by the tips of the fingers on her right hand. The black number she had on was lethal. It was high up on the grown and sexy as fuck spectrum and I was just happy to be with the woman rocking it. The clinginess of it along with the silkiness made her legs look a mile long and her hips look as if they’d expanded in the last hour.
“You’re gorgeous, Brisk,” I informed her, hoping she already knew.
“Please. You’re making me nervous,” she shied away, crushing my hopes in the process.
Fuck. It made her even finer. Not knowing the power or beauty she possessed. Yes, I loved a confident woman, but there was something about a woman that had yet to step up to her full potential. Watching her rise, grow, and overcome whatever set before her was everything.
Brisk was well on her way, whether she knew it or not didn’t matter. By the time she finished fucking with me - hopefully, it wouldn’t be before the death of us - she’d be walking, talking, singing, eating, looking, healing, and feeling different. It was my mission to be the nigga to enhance every good thing about her versus dragging her pureness through the mud. God had done his thing putting us in the same house on the same night and I had a feeling I’d be thanking him for the rest of my days on this earth.
“Don’t be.” Comfort was the only feeling I wanted her to experience at the moment.
“I can’t help it,” she turned and said to me.
“What’s the matter?” I stepped closer, disintegrating the air between our bodies.
“It’s just that… I’ve never really… I’ve never been on a date.”
There wasn’t much that could come from Brisk’s lips that I wouldn’t believe. The ignorance of the youth was one of them. Any nigga who’d passed her up had been a blessing to me, so I wouldn’t complain, but damn. None of them motherfuckers had taken her on a date and I was already coming up with ways to accommodate for their mistake.
“You’ll be begging me to quit asking you on them when it’s all said and done.”
“Will you comply?” She sniggered.
“Does it look like I will?” It was rhetorical in my opinion.
“No,” she shook her head.
“Then, I’m glad you’re learning me so quickly.”
Taking her by the hand, I led the way into Dolce, where the majority of the guests had gone home for the night. There were only two parties with full bellies and empty plates waiting for their checks to end their night of fine dining. The hours on the door insinuated they were closed, but the people who it mattered to knew that for the right price, the doors of Dolce would stay open for as long as we needed them to.
“I think they’re closing,” Brisk whispered as we made it to the host’s station.
“For us, love, they’re just opening.” A hand to her shoulder, and I could feel the effect of the air-conditioned building on her skin.
“For us?”
“And we can stay as long as you’d like. Time isn’t a factor tonight… or ever for the matter. Not for us,” I rubbed the length of her arms with my hands, hoping to draw heat from my body and transfer it to hers. The instant warmth of her skin was confirmation that it wasn’t in vain.
“You’re a very nice person, Bello,” she turned around to tell me. I liked it. The way she wanted me to know that I had her undivided attention when she spoke while demanding mine simultaneously. It was as if she needed me to witness her sincerity and accept her honesty. And, I did.
The validation she silently sought piqued my curiosity, leaving me to wonder about her story and why at only twenty life had humbled her so fucking gracefully. Soundlessly, her eyes questioned: Do you see me? Do you hear me? Can you feel me? Can you acknowledge me?
“When necessary, Brisk,” I cupped the sides of her face and looked into her eyes as I responded to her silence with, Yes, I can see you. Yes, I can hear you. Yes, I can feel you. Yes, I will acknowledge you… forever if you let me .
“Bello!” Dolce rounded the corner.
My eyes didn’t leave Brisk as a smile raised my cheeks a few inches, “Long time no see nigga.”
Before breaking my stance, I needed to be sure that she was sure. Until then, nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, else mattered at the current moment or the next.
She smiled, too, assuring me that it was okay to let go and assuring me that she was satisfied with my response. It wasn’t until then that I dropped my head to meet her lips and then let her face fall from my hands. Placing an arm across her back and pulling her closer, I faced the owner of the fine establishment we’d be dining at.
“Ah. Makes sense,” Don Dolce pointed with a shake of the finger, “I was wondering what had been prominent enough to get you back to Channing, and to stay this long - nonetheless.”
Though about ten years my senior, the man didn’t look a day over thirty. His success was my success in my eyes. His and any other black person near or far. There was simply something about seeing someone with nigga in their blood thrive beyond the world’s expectations. It got my blood pumping and filled me with unspeakable gratitude.
“She’s definitely part of the reason, but there are others. I’m feeling like she’ll be the reason I remain, though. That’s set in stone,” I assured him, turning to Brisk before continuing, “This is Brisk, my date. It’s her birthday and we’re hoping you can help us celebrate.”
“Hello, Brisk. Happiest of birthdays,” Dolce stopped to acknowledge her before turning to me, again, “I know this nigga will make it special but we’re going to try our best to help him out! I came to seat you so that we can get started. Follow me this way.”
Appetizers were being served, but I wished she’d been on the menu. I would’ve ordered far more than my share, devouring it and making room for more of her. But, she wasn’t so I settled for lamb bites while she decided on crab cakes. I commended her choice.
“Why is everyone missing you? Where have you been?” She inquired, forking the crab cakes with seemingly no intention of eating them.
Putting my fork down to give her the attention she needed, I replied, “Are you comfortable?”
Confusion batted her eyes while revelation straightened her posture as she returned, “Yes. I’m comfortable.”
“Good, because I don’t want you to leave this place hungry. I heard your stomach growling all the way over here before ordering, so I know you’re starving too. You’re pretty enough. Starving yourself tonight won’t make you any prettier,” I leaned over and grabbed a fork full of one of her delicious cakes before answering her question, “I broke my mother’s heart.”
The reality of my confession slammed into my chest like a boulder. The look on Brisk’s face didn’t help much at all, either. She completely dropped her fork, waiting for more to come but there wasn’t anything more to say.
“I’m so sorry.”
“For what?” I wanted to know.
“For breaking yours in the process. I can see that… it still hurts.”
She was such a speedy learner. Yes, of course, I’d broken mine in the process and that shit hurt worse than any pain I’d ever experienced. It was why I’d chosen to keep my distance. It lessened the pain and helped me cope with shit better, even if it meant not seeing the people I loved more than the world itself.
“It does,” I nodded, suddenly not feeling much of anything other than the woman that sat across the table.
“How did you break your mother’s heart?”
“By selling dope.”
I’d never regretted my choices unless they concerned my mother. But, as Brisk’s face sagged at my response, I was second-guessing that fact.
“I don’t understand.”
“Why that look all of a sudden?” I needed to know.
“No reason. I have no qualms about how you choose to survive. I’m more concern with the condition of your heart… and your mother’s. That’s all. I’m no stranger to surviving.”
“I am, which is why it broke my mother’s heart. I’ve always had everything my heart desired. My parents were determined to make sure I didn’t follow my dad’s past, but I guess that shit was just in me. And, I’m sorry, Brisk, that you’re no stranger to surviving. Tell me. Tell me why you’re so familiar with it.” That humbleness that had been apparent all night was within her gaze as she stared back at me with batting eyes.
“I don’t want to ruin my birthday,” she smiled through the obvious pain the subject caused, “but with time I will tell you.”
Satisfied, I nodded but decided to steer the conversation in a much lighter direction.
“Tonight, though, I want to know why you’ve never kissed a guy.”
She sucked the skin of her teeth before bursting into laughter, tossing her head back and sending my heart into overdrive. Brisk was glorious and I was grateful to spend time with her on her special day. There wasn’t anything she could request at the moment that I wouldn’t grant her.
“I didn’t think you’d catch that.”
“How couldn’t I when you left your saliva all over my face?”
“Did I?”
“You did, but it’s all good.”
Her lack of experience concerned me, but it was intriguing simultaneously. At twenty, I had been inside of so much pussy I’d lost count. I was in college, where pussy was plentiful and easy, having the time of my life.
“I have some things to learn, Bello. I’m hoping you can teach me,” she purred, finally taking a bite of the crab cake to ward off the nervousness she must’ve felt making such a bold statement.
“Indeed.” Nodding, I made a mental note of exactly how she sounded, her posture, and how she looked when she said the words that she’d wish she could take back later down the line.
“Can I have some of what you’re drinking?” she asked, staring at my glass.
“Today is your twentieth birthday, Brisk,” I reminded her.
“I know.”
“Have you ever had a drink?”
“No.”
“Then, you won’t start, today. My influence won’t ever come from possible toxicity. Alcohol can be just that, love. Besides, something tells me that you’re not the type of person who’d enjoy one, anyway. It makes your chest burn and your belly swell,” I chuckled.
She felt nothing of my decline, simply smiling in return. “I hate the smell of it, even. Always have. It just seems to have you in a good move and I think it would help calm these nerves of mine. I feel like I’m all over the place.”
“You’re right here, baby,” I found myself calling her without regret, “Right where you need to be.”
The rest of dinner was a blur, but very clear and concise at the same fucking time. Though I remembered every detail, time smeared along the way. After our entrees, we stayed for dessert. By then, we were both hanging onto the back of our chairs hoping to stretch our bellies enough to accommodate the food we’d stuffed them with.