Chapter Fourteen #2
I quickly showered and rubbed on my favorite combination of santal oil and Jo Malone Beach Blossom. While I allowed my scent to settle before applying more oil and perfume, I curled my hair and put it in pin curls before doing my makeup.
A FaceTime call came through. It was my baby’s name. I slid my finger across the screen to answer while I tended to applying my makeup.
“Hey, baby.”
“Hi, Mom. What are you doing? I can’t see you.”
Her face was fully in the camera while I was doing my least favorite part of makeup–– my eyeliner.
Guiding that pen across the rim of your eyelid was absolute torture; however, I had been doing it since high school, so I didn’t think I could stop. My makeup felt incomplete without this step.
“Doing makeup, Zira.”
“Man, I can’t wait until I’m able to wear makeup.”
She sulked, and I laughed because this had been a conversation in our home since she was five.
Nazira always watched me do my makeup whenever she was home, and I loved seeing her expressions as I painted my face like I was performing magic right before her eyes.
In a way, I was. These dark circles and marks weren’t going to hide themselves, and I didn’t get enough sleep to go into meetings without concealer.
“I don’t know why you want to wear makeup when your skin is already amazing,” I replied, finishing my makeup and propping up my phone.
“You look beautiful, Mom.”
“Thanks, baby.” I blushed at my daughter’s compliment.
Nazira was someone who made me feel good. Anytime she saw me dressed up, she made it a point to compliment me. I always made sure to tell her how beautiful she was, and I think that’s where she got it from.
“Where’s Nazir?”
I looked at the phone, but she was looking at something on the counter, so she didn’t see my alarmed facial expression.
“I’m sure he’s around here somewhere…protecting the space.”
“Oh, okay. I like that he has the same name as me.”
I smiled. “Yeah, that is pretty cool. Aja hasn’t come to pick you up yet?”
Nazira popped a grape into her mouth and shook her head no. “She’s on her way.”
“Is everything all packed and ready?”
“Yes, Mommy. I can’t wait to swim in the pool and hang out with everyone,” she said, excited to be around girls her age.
Aja’s great niece was around her age, so I couldn’t wait for her to come home and tell me all about it.
“You look beautiful. Where are you headed?” Bloom took the phone as Nazira hurried off to grab something she forgot.
Bloom propped the phone up on the counter and looked at me.
“Dinner with Nazir…I think. He said he made reservations but didn’t say if he would be joining me.”
“Hmm, dinner. That’s a step in the right direction,” she teased, knowing I would roll my eyes and wave her off.
“It’s not even like that. Even if he does join me, do you expect me to forget everything for the sake of a meal?”
“Never said that. All I’m saying is you need to get out how you feel so that man can fuck you all up and through that hotel.”
Bloom quickly covered her mouth and glanced around. Once she made sure Nazira was nowhere in earshot, she chuckled.
“I am not having sex with that man.”
“Your man.”
“Girl, bye.”
Bloom chuckled and then sighed. “As much as you want to believe that the feelings aren’t there, they are. The minute you saw him, those feelings came back.”
“It really sounds like you want me to ignore the past and just jump his bones, Bloom.” I brushed out my curls, made a side part, and sprayed some mist to keep the flyaways down.
“If you are so over him and this is water under the bridge, why are you so angry?”
I blankly stared at her through the screen. “I can be angry and not have feelings. Maybe you should try it.”
“Pass me those chips, Emmy!” she hollered, and I saw her grab a bag of chips from someone out of the camera’s view. “Girl, I don’t catch feelings. Feelings end with you angry and hurt. I don’t aspire to be either.”
Since ending things with her boyfriend, who worked at the club, Bloom had no attachment to men or relationships. She was perfectly fine messing around, as long as there were no strings attached. I used to chalk it up to her free-spirited vibe and her not wanting any children.
Bloom was the eccentric, rich auntie who let the kids do whatever they wanted. At times, I couldn’t tell who was watching who when she was with Nazira.
“Anyway, kiss my baby for me.”
“Pop-Pop, what are you doing here?” I heard Nazira say in the background.
Bloom looked over her shoulder.
“My godfather is there?” I asked.
“Apparently so. I think Aja is in the car. Want to talk to him?”
I fixed my stubborn eyebrow. “No. I had emailed him yesterday. We have lunch plans when I’m back home. Kiss my baby for me and tell her that I love her.”
“Will do.”
I didn’t need to ask what she was going to get into. Whenever she didn’t have to watch Nazira, she usually went ghost for a few days and reappeared with the craziest stories.
My stomach growled loud enough for me to put some pep in my step.
I quickly slipped into the golden silk dress waiting on the chair for me.
The fabric caressed my body as it slid down, hugging every curve and draping perfectly.
Golden against my skin, it highlighted every warm undertone, making me look like I’d been dipped in the sun.
I looked like a thick Emmy award, and I couldn’t be mad about it.
To break up all the gold, I applied a bold red lipstick, the color popping against my skin. Before giving myself a quick lookover, I grabbed my red Brandon Blackwood clutch, the perfect little accessory to tie it all together.
Staring at myself in the mirror one last time, I smoothed my hands down my hips and left the bedroom for the main living area.
When I entered the kitchen, I saw roses on the counter with a card.
I looked around, waiting for him to coolly make his appearance.
Fumbling with the envelope, I read the note.
I don’t need to see you to know you look beautiful. Come downstairs, dinner awaits…
Nazir.
I sniffed the roses before heading to the door, where security held it open for me.
If Nazir couldn’t be with me, he was going to make sure someone else was there to protect me.
I took the elevator down to the lobby, and my heart fluttered.
Why the hell was I so nervous? I shouldn’t have been nervous because this wasn’t a date.
For all I knew, he had a table reserved just for me.
The elevator opened, and I stepped out into the nearly empty lobby. Across the lobby, I spotted him sitting by the water fountain. I would say we spotted each other at the same time, but I was almost certain he saw me the moment I stepped out of the elevator.
I tried to walk to him, but he waved his finger no, leaving me to wait in the middle of the lobby.
The minute he stood up, I took in his entire appearance.
He was dressed in all black, wearing a short-sleeve fitted button-down shirt and matching black pants.
On his feet, he had on a pair of designer sneakers.
His scent greeted me before he did, and I stood there trying to play it cool, pretending I never loved this man once upon a time.
Who was I kidding? Had I ever stopped loving him?
Maybe there was some truth in what Bloom had said.
Maybe the reason I was so angry was because the feelings never truly left.
They had been buried deep and only surfaced when he came near.
When he finally approached me, he bit down on the corner of his lips as he examined me.
Staring down at me, he had a perfect view of everything I was wearing. If I had a closure, he would have seen that, too. The minute I raised my eyebrow was the moment he realized I was looking up at him, and he broke from his trance.
“You ready?” I asked.
“Shit, I don’t fucking know now.”
I looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“Tata…that dress on you. We can do room service,” he suggested.
I waved him away and took a few steps forward, the echoes from my heels sounding throughout the lobby.
“I’m going to have a good dinner––either alone or with company. The choice is yours,” I said, then turned and walked away.
The restaurant was within walking distance of the hotel, and the heels I wore were comfortable for a short walk. Like my own personal shadow, I felt Nazir come beside me.
“You look beautiful, Tata.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
I could tell from the way he spoke––his voice rougher than it usually was––and the way his eyes roamed every inch of me that he wanted to say more.
Even do more.
Once we reached the restaurant, Nazir held the door open for me, his hand hovering at the small of my back as I walked in.
His touch was innocent, simple even, and it nearly had me come undone.
Feeling his hand on any part of my body caused it to become warm.
Nazir knew the power he held over me, and years later, that power was still relevant.
The restaurant was dim, with small lamps provided so the patrons could see the menu.
It whispered opulence, expensive, and every other word that meant money.
Soft music floated through the air––that old school R&B.
The kind you didn’t realize you knew until you found yourself humming the song word for word.
The hostess led us to a private booth tucked away in the corner.
As we settled into the velvet and gold accents, the hostess fucked Nazir with her eyes.
His broad shoulders, height, tattoos, and brown skin glowing under the chandeliers made him enticing to her, and she couldn’t pretend she wasn’t attracted to him.
He didn’t care. Honestly, I don’t think he noticed because his eyes had been locked on me since we walked into the restaurant.
He probably only said two words to her, besides giving his name for the reservation.