Chapter 8
I didn't know what to expect from Jamari.
It had been a week since I'd introduced myself to him.
We texted each other on and off until three days ago.
He stopped texting me back. Then I'd send a text to make sure he was good, but he hadn't responded.
That crushed me, but I didn't know what to do about it.
I hated that he wasn't trying to meet me halfway.
I didn't know if I wanted to give up or not.
That was something I couldn't do because I wasn't a quitter.
I had the night off, so I was home lounging around.
Sometimes I wished I had a man in my life to do things with, but the last two relationships I had weren't shit.
I thought the guys that I was with would have a forever, but that didn't happen.
The bad part about that was that I had given each relationship my all.
My last relationship lasted only six months, and that was when I knew I needed to stop trying.
I wanted everlasting love with a man. I was twenty-seven, ready for marriage and a family.
That wasn't too much to ask for. I knew what was acceptable in a relationship and what wasn't. It was just hard giving a man my all when he didn't meet me halfway.
I sighed as my thoughts took me back to Jamari, the man I wanted and didn't want to give up on.
It was the sadness in his eyes that beckoned me to him.
I just didn't understand why he wouldn't just talk to me.
I knew I was a stranger to him, but we were getting to know each other, so that should've counted for something.
In the middle of my twisting around in the kitchen, my cellphone rang. I stopped, put the liquor bottle down, and went to answer the phone. The name I saw on the phone caused my heart to beat faster. I never rushed to answer the phone the way I did when I answered Jamari's call.
"Hello?" I leaned against the counter.
"Wassup? What are you up to?" It was the sound of his voice on the phone that did something to my insides. It was deep but soothing to my ears.
"I'm mixing drinks to test out. What about you?"
"Chillin' while my brother and sister are in school. I want to see you."
Oh, how I'd waited to hear those words from him. For some reason, they got me excited. It had me wanting to jump up and down, but I held it in.
"Sure. You can come over. I'll send you my address when we get off the phone in case you forgot that night."
"Word. I'll see you soon."
Once we hung up, I sent Jamari the address before rushing to get ready.
A quick shower never hurt anyone. I stared at myself in the mirror, at my brown skin, and saw a glow I didn't know I had.
Before jumping in the shower, I put my burnt orange hair in a messy bun and removed my glasses from my eyes.
I smiled as I thought about Jamari remembering I wore them.
I'd be making sure I had them on when he came to see me.
Ten minutes later, I was out of the bathroom and in my room, trying to find something to wear. That was the hard part. I didn't want to do too much since I was at home, so I decided to wear a black-and-white dress that fit my curves perfectly.
Just as I exited the bedroom, my doorbell rang, so I wasted no time in going to the door to let Jamari in.
I then realized I hadn't put on any lotion or perfume.
Damn it! I hurriedly rushed back into my bedroom and sprayed on some perfume.
I reached for the lotion and put some on my arms and legs.
The doorbell sounded again. Shit! If I don't hurry, he might leave.
I power walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to the front door. Once there, I calmed my racing heart and took deep breaths. One thing I needed to do was hit the gym. I couldn't believe I was out of breath that fast.
I opened the door to let him in and gulped. Jamari looked too damn good, even when he wasn't dressed up. His dreads flowed across his shoulders. He wore a plain white T-shirt, black basketball shorts, and Nike slides. He looked comfortable.
I moved aside to let him in with a smile on my face.
"Hey. Welcome to my home. You're not cold?" I closed the door behind him.
He chuckled, shaking his head. "Nah, not really. You have it toasty in here."
I chuckled. "Yeah, I've got to have my heat on when it hits a certain temperature outside. How are you?" I went into the kitchen, and Jamari followed behind me.
"I'm straight. Nice place you have here."
I shrugged, peering around my home. It was decorated in my favorite color, red, with hints of black, gray, and white. I couldn't go all red. People would think something was wrong with me.
"Thank you." I went back to the counter where I mixed the drinks. Jamari sat down at the kitchen table. "Do you want to be my taste tester?"
"Will it get me drunk?"
I laughed. "Maybe."
I poured Jamari a glass of one of the drinks I had made.
It was the raspberry limeade one that had me on my ass the first time I tried it.
It was too strong, so I needed it to be mixed perfectly.
Hopefully, Jamari liked it and gave me the okay.
"Here you go." I handed him the drink, and he gulped it in one swallow.
"Damn, this is good," he complimented.
My eyes ballooned. "Wait, it is? It's not too strong?"
He shook his head and handed me back the glass. "Give me another one. I'll try to drink it slowly and see if it's strong, but when I tasted it before, it wasn't."
I went back and poured Jamari the same drink, pouring one for myself too.
He came and stood at the counter with me.
I slid the glass to him. When he put it to his lips to take a sip, my lips parted.
This man could mess up my head if I let him.
Everything he did turned me on. His eyes landed on mine when he removed the glass from his lips.
"I said it right the first time. It's not strong. If anything, it's just right."
I smiled brightly. Those were the words I needed to hear.
"Good! Now I have to come up with a name for her, but it can wait for now. Thanks!"
Jamari nodded slightly. "Give me another one."
I giggled. "No. Wait until I make the next one. I need you to taste that one too. I have two more."
Jamari grunted. "Fine. While I wait for you to make the next drink, tell me a little about yourself. Although I know your likes, dislikes, and some of your favorites, what else is there to know about Cheyanne?"
The way my name rolled off his tongue made me shiver.
"Well, one day I want to sell my mixed drinks and make a living off of it. Besides that, I hope to get married and have kids one day. I still have a lot of time for both, but sometimes life can be too short."
It had always been my dream to get married and have kids. It was something that hadn't happened yet. I didn't want it to be too late either. He had me curious about him, too.
"Word. There's nothing wrong with that."
"What about you?"
Jamari shrugged. "I don't really want anything at the moment. I have a good job, and my kids... siblings are being well taken care of. That's my main focus right now. Maybe in the future, I'd get married and have more kids, but that's not something I'm thinking about now."
I busied myself with making the next drink. "What kind of work do you do?" I poured the lime juice into the blender. My eyes met his and held before I turned back to the task at hand.
"I remodel old houses and rebuild them to make them better."
"Oh, nice. No wonder you said you like working with your hands."
Jamari leaned on the table. "Yeah, you can say that."
After I finished making the drink, I poured us both a glass. Jamari and I took our time drinking this one. I cringed because it was strong. I had to blow air out of my mouth to get the taste out.
He groaned and shuddered. "Yeah, that one is too damn strong. You've got to work with that one. I felt it in my chest."
I threw my head back and giggled. "Sorry, I felt that one too." I fanned myself.
As I worked on perfecting the drink, we took shots of it. Nothing seemed to work, and I was drunk, too damn drunk, and needed to chill out for a minute.
Jamari blew air out of his mouth. "Man, damn. We drink too much. I'm feeling it."
I leaned against the counter, too tipsy to take another step. "And I still haven't got it right. I need to take a step away from it."
"Yeah, I think you got me drunk on purpose," Jamari teased.
My mouth dropped. "Nuh-uh. You wanted to drink with me. But was it good?"
"Hell yeah. You're doing your thing."
I beamed with happiness. "Let's try to make it to the couch. Can you walk?"
Jamari scoffed. "Yeah, I can walk. It's not rocket science."
I rolled my eyes, knowing I'd be walking slowly to the couch.
I felt him behind me, and as much as I wanted to look back, I didn't. Having Jamari in my space felt like he belonged.
I was happy that he called and wanted to chill with me.
I wondered if I'd be too forward if I let this man know what I wanted.
It had been a while since I had felt something for someone the way I did for him.
We reached my white and black couch and took our seats close together. Being this close to him had my body on fire. I needed to turn off the heat or turn it down. I knew I felt hot, too damn hot.
"Are you going to turn on the TV or something?"
I chuckled and dropped my head. "Sure, I can, but the remote's on the entertainment center, and I can't move right now."
Jamari dropped his head back and closed his eyes. That move had me wanting to kiss the side of his neck.
"You gotta stop looking at me like that," he voiced.
I lifted a brow. "How am I looking at you?"
He opened his eyes and peered at me. "Like you want to get fucked."
I chuckled, dropping my head. "Oh, you have no idea what I want to do to you." The liquor gave me the courage I needed to talk that big girl talk.