Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
RHODES
I dropped my bag on the bed as I looked around my hotel room. My apartment would be ready tomorrow. The furniture store would be delivering my shit in the morning. I couldn’t wait until then to get here though. Even with all that I had going on, my mind was still on Karima… KD. That woman was my weakness and my strength, and she didn’t have a clue. If she knew how much I really cut for her… how much I loved her, she would give into me without an ounce of hesitancy.
I’d been loving her ass since high school, and she friend zoned me. I didn’t give a damn. I just wanted to be anywhere her country ass was. She was so different than what I was used to dealing with in Oakland. My life was full of sack chasers, gold diggers, hoes, and bitches. I wasn’t looking for anything permanent with women like that. I was eighteen years old when my parents sent me packing to Cheek, Texas, to live with my aunt.
Although I felt like I was a grown ass individual, my parents saw it differently. As long as I was still in high school, I was still a kid. Moving was the last thing I wanted to do. I was a senior in high school and had six or seven months until graduation. I wanted to walk that stage with all my friends, most of whom I’d known all my life. Then to add insult to injury, I ended up at a predominantly white school.
Back in Oakland, I had problems with a white gang during middle school. My dad had actually killed a couple of them muthafuckas to send a message. His son was off-limits, and they were risking their lives by fucking with me. Ever since then, the sight of white people made my skin crawl. Thankfully, that shit had gotten better over time, but back then, I was angry.
My parents shipped me off because of some serious death threats my dad was receiving. He’d gotten himself into some shit that he couldn’t get out of, and I was still unaware of exactly what that was. All I knew was those people didn’t give up on taking his ass out. It took them nearly ten years to exact their revenge on whatever the fuck he did, eight and half years to be exact, but here I was, three and a half years later, missing my parents.
They killed both of them, along with two of my uncles, and I had the daunting task of burying all of them. When I left for Texas, I wasn’t allowed to visit. I could only FaceTime them. The only remaining family I had was my aunt, her husband, and two cousins. The world seemed to stand still for a while. I didn’t know what to do. I’d just received my bachelor’s degree, and they couldn’t be there for fear of being followed and putting me in danger all over again.
I was grateful my aunt Kimiko and uncle Paul took me in as their son and offered encouragement, support, and love, helping me find my way in this fucked-up world. I was certain that my love for Karima had a lot to do with that as well. I wasn’t a quitter. I didn’t give a fuck about her boyfriend. She could have gotten married, and I still would have held hope in us one day being together.
This time, I didn’t give a fuck what it took. She would be mine. After my parents died, I received millions. I didn’t have to work another day if I didn’t want to. During those years after their deaths, I worked at a ranch and went back to school for my master’s degree in animal science. That country shit became interesting to me, and again, I knew it had a lot to do with that country princess from Nome, Texas.
After taking a deep breath, I decided that I would go and get lunch. Checking the Find My Friend app, I saw that my target was walking into Doll’s Family Café. That was only a couple of miles from me. I quickly requested a Lyft and headed out to make sure I would be able to make contact. Once I got to the lobby, I went outside to wait the three minutes for my ride.
I was sure to wear my glasses today and look slightly educated, since I was around all these professional individuals. I had an interview in the morning with the Bill Pickett Association. I needed to look like I belonged here until people were comfortable with me. My swag and mentality were far from country or friendly. Most times, I wore chains around my neck and let my dreads hang free. My demeanor was never perceived as approachable. People assumed I was a thug.
I didn’t give a fuck what they thought about me, usually, but I had to get this job. The person I was tracking was working there, so I had to seal the deal. My Lyft arrived, and I got in the back, barely speaking to the driver. My mind was on one thing and one thing only: doing what I set out to do by moving here.
When he dropped me off at Doll’s, I quickly made my way inside. As I looked around, I saw her sitting in a booth in a far corner, and she looked to be reading. I went to the counter and ordered my food. It was somewhat of a buffet style setup, so I got my fried fish, mac and cheese, potato salad, and green beans immediately. After paying, I made my way to her booth. Before I could reach her, she lifted her head and met my gaze.
When she saw me, she quickly slid out of the booth and covered her mouth. I put my tray of food down, and she hopped in my arms, hugging me tightly.
“Rosewood! What are you doing here?”
I closed my eyes as I hugged her, soaking up her aura. “KD, I couldn’t let you come all the way out here by yourself, baby. Ever since I reconnected with you, I’ve been having a deep desire to be with you. You don’t feel that shit?”
She pulled away from me and swallowed hard, then put her hand to my cheek and ran her nails through my beard. I leaned in, my sights set on her pink glossed lips. She closed her eyes, and I lightly kissed them. Damn, her lips were soft as hell. She pulled away and smiled, then bit her bottom lip. “I’ve always been attracted to you, Rhodes. I just?—”
I brought my fingers to her lips, stopping her from voicing her reasons for not being with me. “I don’t need to know why. All that matters is the present.”
I extended my hand to her seat, and she slid back into the booth, and I did the same across from her. I glanced at my food and licked my lips. This shit looked good, but not as delectable as the full-course meal sitting across from me. Closing my eyes, I blessed my food, then lifted my eyes to hers to see the tears falling from them.
“Karima, why you crying, baby?”
She knew I couldn’t stand to see her tears. I never could. Nothing had changed in the time I hadn’t seen her. “I just can’t believe you would even consider following me here. You always had my back, and I hate I threw our friendship by the wayside to appease a nigga that didn’t give a fuck about me.”
My eyebrows lifted. Karima rarely dropped the F-bomb. She had to be in her feelings big time to allow that to happen. Reaching across the table, I grabbed her hand. “I get it. I can’t hide my attraction to you. I can’t be around you for an extended amount of time without shooting my shot. I can see how that would have caused problems. Just know, I never stopped thinking about you and wishing you were mine. I swear, you don’t realize the power you hold.”
I licked my lips as I stared at her pretty ass, and she blushed. She pulled her hand from mine and ate some of her peach cobbler. So the moment wouldn’t be so tense, I changed the subject. “So how is it? I saw it up there, but I was hesitant about getting it.”
Once she swallowed, she said, “It’s good. I mean, it’s not on Aunt Jen’s or Aunt Chrissy’s level, but it’s good. It’s not even my mama’s, but it’s close enough.”
I chuckled. She always bragged on her people. I’d only visited the diner a couple of times, but the food was really good. She wasn’t gassing them up simply because they were family. When I looked up at her, she had her spoon extended to me with a bit of cobbler on it. I gave her a one-sided smile and took it into my mouth. My eyes never left hers as I slowly pulled it off the spoon. Her cheeks reddened.
It didn’t help she was high-yella like her father and older brother. She would never be able to hide shit around me because her face always gave her emotions away. As I chewed, her eyebrows lifted, I assumed waiting for me to say what I thought of it. I gave her a slight smile and said, “It’s okay. I’ve had better. Like you said, it’s still good though.”
She smiled and finished it off as I ate my food. Once I’d gotten my fill, I asked, “So what’s up tonight? You wanna go out for drinks? I saw this sports bar on my way here.”
“Sure. Umm… question. When did you get here? Have you been following me all week?”
“You just thought to ask that question?”
I chuckled as she shrugged. “Yeah. I was just so happy to see you, I didn’t even think about that.”
“You share your location with me. You forgot? I can always find out where you are, KD.”
“Damn. That was years ago. I forgot all about that. I can’t believe you still have me on there. I figured you would have deleted it by now.”
“Just because you dropped a nigga like he had COVID, don’t mean I was petty enough to do the same to you.”
She laughed. “Like you had COVID? Really, Rhodes?”
“I mean, I’m just saying.”
I chuckled as she gathered her things and slowly shook her head. “Whatever. I have to get back to work. So, I’ll see you later?”
“Mm-hmm. Can’t wait.”
I stood from my seat and helped her from hers. She smiled up at me and wrapped her arms around my neck. I slightly lifted her as she giggled. When I lowered her, I went for it and kissed her beautiful lips, gently tugging her bottom one into my mouth. When she pulled away, she cleared her throat. Her face was red. I slowly shook my head, waiting for her to look at me.
When she did, she quickly turned away when her eyes met mine. She was about to walk away, but I gently grabbed her arm. “Karima, why you acting like you don’t know me, baby? You know I want you, and now that you’ve told me that you’re attracted to me, too, I just wanna be full steam ahead.”
“I know. I just have to get my mind to adjust. I still see you as my friend. It feels a little weird to kiss you that way. I’m sorry.”
“No apology necessary. I get it. Be careful, baby. See you tonight.”
She smiled and nodded, then left me standing there watching her leave.
* * *
“If you don’t shut that shit up, nigga!” Karima said, then laughed loudly.
Baby girl was feeling lovely. Shiiiid, I was too. We’d been here for nearly two hours, talking about old times. Hell, I was ready to make some new memories. She didn’t seem to be on the same wave, but I was happy she was relaxed though. She ordered another shot of tequila as I lifted my eyebrows. She was gon’ be pissy drunk by the time we left. “KD, you sure you need another shot?”
“Yeah. This will most likely be my last one.”
Suddenly, she broke out in tears. I frowned and quickly put my arms around her. “KD, what’s wrong, baby? You gon’ make yourself throw up.”
“I’m homesick. I’ve only been here a week, and I hate it here.”
I kissed her forehead. “I’m here now though. I’m gonna make you forget how much you hate it here. I know I can’t replace your family, but I would like to think I hold a lil weight.”
She gave me a soft smile as she stared up at me. “What would I do without you, Rosewood?”
I leaned over and kissed her lips. “You’d probably be on a flight home tomorrow instead of spending the day with me.”
She lowered her head for a moment, then stared back up into my eyes and said, “Make love to me, Rhodes.”
My fucking heart skipped a beat, but I did my best not to show I was shocked by what she said or excited about what this could mean. “Naw. You drunk.”
“I’m not drunk. I’m tipsy. The reason I wanted to have drinks with you is so my wall would come down, and I could have the courage to give you what I’ve wanted to give you for years. I was just afraid of your lifestyle and that it would ruin our friendship if things didn’t work out.”
I could only nod as the bartender set another shot in front of her. She downed it, then said, “Will you?”
I took a deep breath. I wanted to tear her lil ass up, but at the same time, I wanted her to be sure about what she was doing.
“You gon’ make me beg?” she asked when I remained silent.
I turned to her on my stool and stared at her until her gaze lowered to my erection. She had me showing out in here. When her hand slid over it, I quickly grabbed her wrist, snatching it away from it. Her eyes were low as hell. Finally, I said, “Let’s go then.”
She bit her bottom lip and slid the strap of her crossbody over her shoulder. I closed out our tab and requested a Lyft. Grabbing her hand, I led her to the door, not believing this shit was about to happen. I could only hope she wouldn’t regret it.