Charmaine
Nervous should’ve been what I felt being around Naeem, but I was more than comfortable.
It didn’t frighten me either that a stranger brought on comfortability quicker than someone I’d known for years.
When it came to meeting new people, I wasn’t a fan because I felt that everyone in my life as of now was a permanent fixture.
Men were exchanged more than anything, but I was good.
“Are you sure with spending the night here? I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable in any way.”
“I’m sure. Besides, I told Serenity that I would be here for breakfast. I lie to big kids, not little ones. My things are still by the door though. Do you have a spare bedroom I can crash in?”
“Yeah, my bad. Follow me.”
He led the way down the hall after grabbing my luggage. I didn’t know how I would get through the night with alcohol in my system.
Naeem was fine as hell. The second we came inside from the car I was hit with a whiff of his cologne.
I wasn’t sure if it was in the air or just radiating off him.
That was the first thing that captured my attention.
His looks were what locked me in completely.
His chocolate coated skin was one to eye and when he smiled…
it caused my heart to skip a few beats. I knew nothing about this man, yet I wanted more of him.
I hadn’t thought about Courtney or Dre since he rescued me from the blizzard that was still ongoing outdoors.
My attention went to his daughter but the entire time we kicked it, I could feel his eyes on me.
I wanted to steal glances his way as well, but I knew the time for me to stare him down was coming soon.
When I got the confirmation at the dinner table that we could have our moment after Serenity was in bed, I felt anxiousness course through my body.
This weekend was supposed to be one where me and my crew threw our middle fingers up to men and worked on us.
Instead, I was more intrigued with the man that had a story to tell.
I knew by the end of the bottle that one of us if not both would be under the influence and revealing more details about ourselves than we intended to.
However, I was prepared for it. Naeem’s aura was too welcoming not to.
He opened the door to a room that looked like it wasn’t a spare at all. I was already intruding; I didn’t want to put him on the couch as well.
“Here it is. The bathroom is through the door in the corner. Whenever you’re ready to converse for a bit, just join me in the living room.”
“Naeem I am not taking your room away from you. I will sleep in my car if I have to, but I refuse to make things uncomfortable for you.”
“Charmaine, take the space. I’ll be fine on the couch. Towels are in the bathroom as well.”
“Naeem.”
“I love the way you say my name, but this isn’t debatable. I’ll be in the living room with a glass waiting.”
“Naeem, I…”
He left me alone as I stood in the middle of his bedroom. A gentleman at its finest because no man from my past would’ve ever done anything like this for me. That man was too good to be true from what I’d seen so far.
I moved to the dresser where he had several pictures of him and Serenity.
He was such a handsome man. His chiseled features and muscular body were the most beautiful thing I’d seen on a man.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the beach photo they took.
He was the main attraction. It seemed that the more I saw him in different photographs, the more I saw him potentially gaining memories with me.
He was a father and one that showed his affection to his daughter the same way mine did to me and Willow.
That was one of his most attractive features.
“Jesus Christ that man is fine. I have got to get out of here and fast,” I said aloud.
Shaking my head, I put the picture down and proceeded to find me something to wear that was appropriate even though, I honestly didn’t think I had anything.
I packed to be comfortable under my girls, which meant I didn’t really need decent lounging clothes because we’d seen each other naked on more than one occasion.
All I had was pajamas that was in my ass, and I didn’t think that was lady like.
“Damn, now what am I supposed to walk out there in. Lord, let this man overlook my cheeks hanging out.”
I grabbed the floral two-piece pajama set that I got from the downtown boutique and headed for the bathroom. I knew it could potentially cause an issue but that wasn’t my goal at all. I just didn’t have the attire and I would apologize for that several times over.
As the water ran, I washed my face and brushed my teeth.
Afterward, I threw my wild hair up into a bun.
I had good, moisturized skin but damn I couldn’t help but think about how creamy Naeem’s was.
His was milk chocolate with a glow to it that made you do a double take. Physically, that man was flawless.
I stripped down then stepped under the water and allowed the warm water to coat my body.
For the life of me, I didn’t know where I went wrong with the directions, but I couldn’t say that ending up here was a bad thing either.
Naeem and his hospitality was a treatment I didn’t receive often from anyone that wasn’t close to me.
A stranger pretty much made me feel more special than any man I’d given my time to in the past.
Shaking him out of my thoughts temporarily, I washed my body and got out.
I didn’t know whether he needed to bathe as well so I wasn’t going to use up all his darn hot water.
I grabbed a towel from the rack and dried off.
Lotion and spray were applied directly after and then I stepped into my pajamas.
It was more like lingerie than anything, but I truly didn’t have anything else to put on.
“Please don’t let this man think I’m trying to seduce him because even though I don’t mind doing him, I don’t want to disrespect anything he has going on,” I coached myself before leaving out the room.
As I walked to the front, I noticed that the lights were turned off and natural lighting was coming from the fireplace. I was grateful for it because too much of me wouldn’t be on display. I approached him nervously.
“H-hey,” I said.
He looked up at me ready to respond but was quickly at a loss for words.
He eyed me intensely from head to toe with his mouth gaped open.
I knew from that point that I could possibly end up on this man’s lap going round for round.
I could see the lust in his eyes and that caused my center to start a slow leak.
“I packed to be around my girls so material as such is all I have. I was wondering if I could receive a shirt or something to cover up with. I don’t want to disrespect your household.”
“Uhh, yeah. Let me just grab something for you.”
He got up from the couch and scurried to the back returning with a wife beater in tow.
I immediately threw it on, and it fit the way it was supposed to covering all of my assets.
I took a seat on the ottoman and grabbed the glass that had been poured for me.
I took it to the head to wash away the nervousness I had been filled with.
“So, you have a very comfortable home. It’s welcoming and all that good stuff,” I said breaking the ice.
“I appreciate that. This was my grandparents’ home actually. They left it to me when they died not too long ago, and I been kicking it up here for quite a bit. I prefer the isolation now that I’ve elevated and matured more.”
“I am such a city girl that this silence would bore me. Then again, this is such a relaxing scene. It’s very quiet here but it gives you time to think and evaluate things. It’s like you’re on a permanent vacation,” I voiced.
“The quietness can get to me at times, but I love the way that I can do me without being judged up here. However I want to run my life, I can do it without someone badgering me about it. I’m content.”
“I want to get to that space so bad. Right now, with me being a lawyer, I don’t have the luxury to stop and do anything other than work. This weekend will be the first time I’ve been away from home in years.”
“What kind of attorney are you?”
“Criminal defense. I get stressed piled on me by the day. At times I regret it, but it is what it is. I’m here now and have been for six years.”
“That’s dope. So, where are you from exactly because I know it’s not from around here.”
“I am from the Queen City. North Carolina is such a big state. I can get to Atlanta in those four hours you know.”
“I learned early on that this wasn’t a small state no matter how small it looks. You got to understand that the Carolinas used to be one big state at first. It’s a lot of area covered.”
“Yeah, I know a little bit of history. Any who, the topic from earlier… what happened between you and Serenity’s mom?”
He went silent and poured him up another glass. I kept quiet and sipped on my wine as he sat in thought. I wasn’t going to rush him to explain or answer whatever I inquired about because it truthfully wasn’t any of my business and if he wanted to ignore it then he could.
I stood and went to grab the blanket from the back of the couch to get more comfortable when my wrist was grabbed. I was pulled down occupying the seat beside him. I didn’t know what was happening but surprisingly, I wasn’t afraid of what was happening.
“Are you okay, Naeem?”
“Why is it that when women ask for a good man and receive him, they don’t know how to treat them?
Sunny was the chick I thought I could spend the rest of my life with until she showed me her true colors.
Where we started out as a team, quickly became a one-man project.
She cheated on me with my best friend and for a while I questioned my daughter.
I couldn’t be there for Sunny during her pregnancy because she didn’t know who the father was.
I missed out on a lot and couldn’t bond with Serenity until the DNA test came back.
I didn’t want to gain an attachment and be disappointed. ”
I understood where he was coming from. Attachments are one thing but gaining one with a child is fragile. They’re innocent in everything but the adults use that vulnerability against each other and try to hurt someone as much as they can. I hated how hurt people hurt people.
“So, Serenity’s mom is your last?”
“Unfortunately. Even after we broke up, we still engaged with each other physically. I had a hard time winging myself off Sunny. She was a love that I couldn’t let go of.
I had a lot of healing to do within. Enough about me for now.
What about you? What is it about men that made you and your girls take a step back to get yourselves back on track? ”
“Oh God.”
I did a small chuckle and reached for the glass on the floor. I took a gulp and let the alcohol settle before I spoke. Talking about my past wasn’t hard for me but it reminded me on how men treated me. The lack of respect I received damaged me more than I thought it did.
“Well, for starters, I love, love. I’m a hopeless romantic, so whenever a man comes at me with compliments and charm, I tend to fall for it. I know better than to believe everything I hear but I’m gullible, so it happens.”
“I don’t think that makes you gullible. I think it makes you innocent. If you believe what they say to you, it’s because you’re too trusting. You need to put up some type of guard. Not every man cares but not every man is a dawg either.”
“No, I get that but because I have this thing where I don’t bring baggage into the next thing, I tend to just trust and allow you to strip that away yourself.”
“I like that but still, not everybody has good intentions Charmaine. I learned the hard way and all it took was for me to get my heart broke once. It’s like you set yourself up for disappointment.”
That was something I’d heard from just about everybody that mattered in my life.
They’d tell me how open I was and how that could hinder me.
I didn’t realize how acceptive I was to people until it was too late.
I just wanted to receive love, and I was welcoming any and everyone into my world to get it.
This trip was to elevate my mind and fix that.
The wall he was talking about was supposed to be built over the three-day weekend.
“I don’t try to, but I can’t control people’s motives or intentions. I take it and move on.”
The conversation died down the more we drunk.
With us being so close, I smelled his cologne more and more causing a tingling sensation to occur.
He was already sculpted to perfection and now I was taking in his features up close and personal.
I even caught a glimpse of thick his shaft was when he adjusted his sweats.
I craved him without receiving anything other than conversation and gentle gestures. He was making a damn good impression.
When he threw his head back and stretched, I wanted to straddle him right then and there.
I was fighting temptation by the second.
It seemed as if all the wine I drank, went straight to my coochie.
I was purring like I was in heat and this man hadn’t flirted or touched me in a sexual way.
His aura and handsome features had turned me on and up.
I was trying to control my thoughts, but he made it hard to do so when he licked his lips.
“Make a move Charmaine. I can feel you watching me like a piece of meat. I’m straightforward with everything I do so if this what you want, take it.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice.