Chapter 7
chapter seven
Brayden.
When I left the house, Nox’s car wasn’t in the driveway. He had plans to do UrbanEats tonight which was more his thing than mine. I paid for a membership but had only shown up a couple times. It was cool, the food was usually top notch, but I wasn’t a crowd person. Nox, being Mr. Personality, loved that shit.
By the time I reached Greetings & Salutations, and parked in the side lot since the one directly in front of the building was full, I did a quick scan searching for Caeli’s car like I would recognize it in the clutter of vehicles neatly parked in rows. No luck, so I headed inside and grabbed a spot at the bar that offered a good vantage point to the door, ordered a beer, and scrolled through social media while I waited.
I was purposely fifteen minutes early since I wanted to be the first to arrive, granting me first selection for our seating, and partially because I was too damn anxious with the thought of spending time with Caeli.
It was insane how you could go your entire life not feeling much beyond simple attraction with someone and then you met a person who had you making future plans. I definitely made future plans including Caeli, most of which included us being naked and me becoming well-versed in all the ways I could make her cum.
The best part was as strong as my physical attraction was to Caeli, I was equally intrigued by her aura and demeanor. Her Type-A personality didn’t bother me. I found a strong-willed and motivated woman sexy. Caeli was sexy in the physical and spiritual sense.
Speak of the devil.
My eyes landed on the entrance and naturally navigated to Caeli who walked inside wearing a strapless cotton dress which appeared to be at war with hugging her body and fitting comfortably loose. It was pale blue and slightly tapered at the waist which I mostly attributed to the expanse of her hips. The sea of blue landed right at her ankles.
Damn she’s so incredibly sexy. She was chilling with a ball cap pulled down low on her head and oversized, square-framed glasses. The look was cute as hell but then again, any look she sported was cute as hell. However, I was biased.
She swung her head left and right in search of me and that had my dick rising. She was seeking me out. It was the simple things that had me sliding slowly toward a need for this woman. Knowing she had been strong-armed into being here didn’t matter. She showed.
I tossed an arm in the air and noticed her squint in my direction before she was moving to me. The sway of her hips briefly held my attention until I noticed the impression of nipples. Fuck, they were pierced.
How the hell had I missed that.
Another thing we had in common. I had several piercings but a little further south.
“I’m here.”
I chuckled at the clipped tone she used. “You are.” My eyes traveled the length of her body. “I half expected for you to show up looking like I forced you here.”
“What makes you think I didn’t?” Her lips curled in a mischievous smile.
“If this is you with no effort then I can’t wait to see you try for me, Princess.” I motioned to the stool next to me. They were tall backs with cushioned seats and footrests, so I figured we could be comfortable at the bar and I wanted Caeli next to me and not across from me.
She surprised me by not arguing or debating and instead lifted onto the stool. She crossed one leg over the other and placed a small wristlet on the counter before turning to face me with too-defined posture. With her shoulders rolled back, her breasts pushed forward and my eyes dropped.
“You’re pierced.”
“Yep.”
“Maybe I’ll get lucky enough to see them up close.”
“Doubtful.” Her eyes bounced around.
She could pretend there was no attraction between us, but I could feel it just as much as I was sure she could.
“Today was crazy, right?”
“Insanely crazy. I’ve heard about the Indie Love craze but to see hundreds of readers showing up like that was just wow. All that love for independent Black authors is a beautiful thing.”
“It’s dope as fuck. How’d you guys do today?”
That beautiful smile of hers surfaced. “Really good. I’m still reeling from all the customers who were lined up at our truck. The traffic was nonstop. If I never see another green tote in my life I swear it will be too soon. I just hate I missed being able to go inside.”
“The event?” She nodded. “Why didn’t you?”
“The crowd was crazy and Ami was more excited. She’s a die-hard reader of a lot of the authors who signed at Indie Love.”
“You’re not?”
“I am but not as much as Ami. There was no way we could both sneak away so I decided if it could only be one of us, it should be her.”
“So you do have a heart, just not one you’re willing to share with me.”
She rolled her eyes. “You haven’t given me a reason to share my heart with you, Brayden.”
“Yet.” I lifted my beer and turned it up. “You have a favorite author that was there? Isn’t that a thing?”
She arched a brow. “You know about romance reader author relationships?”
“No more than what Mel talks about. She reads all that shit. It’s really just porn though based on some of the stuff I’ve seen in her books.”
“It’s not porn,” she defended but the smugness in her smile was a tell that she somewhat agreed.
“I’m cool with it but I assure you, the fantasy will never compare to reality when you get to experience the real thing.”
“I’ve had the real thing enough times to know that the fantasy wins,” she muttered
“Then you haven’t had the real thing, Caeli.”
“I’m not inexperienced.”
“I hope not but that’s not what I mean by real thing. I’m talking about a man who knows how to please a woman. If what you read in those books is better than your life experience then you’re missing out.”
Her eyes landed hard on mine and I could see the curiosity peeking but she changed the subject. “Mira Jade. You asked if I had a favorite author. That’s the only person I wanted to see and since she was one author, to my sister’s very long list, I agreed to hold things down so she could go inside.” She paused and pointed to the bar. “We should order.”
“Are you in that much of a hurry to get away from me?”
She grinned. “Does it hurt your feelings that I don’t want to spend time with you, Brayden?”
“If I said yes, would you care?”
“No, but only because I’m already convinced that all this…” She flicked a finger between us. “Is due to your ego not being able to handle a woman not wanting your attention.”
My smile eased slowly in place. “That’s your assessment of me?”
“Pretty much.”
“If that’s the case that means I’m not truly interested in you and I’m only pursuing you because you don’t want me to.”
She shrugged nonchalantly. “My self-esteem is solid. I’m not fazed by a man who doesn’t know my worth.”
“I can’t imagine you would be.” My eyes traveled down her body.
“I’m very confident with what I bring to the table.”
“Yeah?”
“Yep.” She allowed the p to pop and I enjoyed the formation of her lips when it did.
“What do you bring to the table, Caeli?”
She smiled arrogantly. “I’m a college graduate with a business degree who, with my sister, started a successful and thriving company from scratch, with no help from anyone. It’s all attributed to our brains and hard work. I can take care of myself. I’m beautiful, inside and out, and I’m well aware that any man who doesn’t see or acknowledge all those qualities isn’t worth my time. That’s what I bring.”
“Damn, I should have listed my admirable qualities first. It’s kind of hard to follow your speech with I sell burnt meat?”
She grinned and rolled her eyes. “You have more to offer than burnt meat.”
“Such as?”
“Bray, please don’t be that guy.”
Bray…
I like the use of my nickname on her tongue.
“What guy?’
“The type of man who needs a woman to stroke his ego.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “That’s not what this is. My ego is very much secure. Secure as hell actually, according to you. I’m just curious about what qualities you see in me, since from the day we met you’ve been giving me shit like I’m less than.”
She smiled in the most adorable way. “Sounds like your ego isn’t all that secure.”
“It is, I assure you. Now, please share.”
She exhaled a sigh as if appearing to be bored with the topic at hand. “Obviously you’re attractive. The dimple is sexy but makes me not trust you because it’s a fuck boy trait.”
“Wow, a birth defect is a fuck boy trait.”
“It’s an unofficial rule and dimples aren’t a birth defect. Don’t blame me, blame the millions of men preceding you who used their dimples to screw over innocent, unsuspecting women.”
I chuckled. “Okay, beyond my dimple, which obviously doesn’t land in the positive column, what else do you have?”
“Eh, depends on my mood. The dimple could be positive, but you’re good with business considering the way customers flock to your truck.”
“Or maybe Nox is just a great cook.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you trying to count yourself out?”
“No, please proceed.”
“Okay, let’s see, we have attractive, good with business…” She frowned a bit and then added, “You’re very charming…” She stared, angling her head to the side as if thinking.
“Is it that hard to find good qualities in me?”
She grinned. “No, it’s not. Just trying to cut down on the time and jump to the good stuff. I’m hungry.” After a brief pause she finished with, “You fixed our leak which means you have the basic skills to be a good husband.”
I smiled slowly and just stared until she eventually became annoyed and frowned. “What?”
“You said I’m good husband material.”
“In a general sense. Don’t read too much into it.”
“It’s hard not to when you used the adjective good before husband, not just husband.”
“Can I move on or would you like to stay here relishing in the moment?”
“Continue.”
“You’re easygoing and laid-back for the most part. Which honestly, the more I think about it, makes you a better fit for Ami and not me.”
I needed to correct that immediately before she offered to hook me up with her sister. “You and Ami both are beautiful women and your parents blessed you with killer bodies...”
The glare she issued had me thinking maybe she wouldn’t try to pair me with her sister.
“I’m a man. I notice things. But my point is, she and I seem to be a lot alike personality wise which in my opinion doesn’t work.”
“How does that not work?”
“Would you want to spend the rest of your life with someone who thinks, feels, and reacts just like you? The reality would be boring and annoying. I believe relationships require balance. Fire and ice.”
“Fire turns ice into water.”
“Which in turn creates a life source. We can’t survive without water.” I winked. “But my point is, as a wife you would challenge me, keep life interesting, and make me feel alive.”
“Wife?”
“You evaluated me as a husband, why can’t I reference you as a wife, in general terms, that is.”
She eyed me skeptically. “I suppose you have a fair point.”
“I do. Now, we can order and since you just stroked my ego, I’ll even cover the tab.”
‘Nope, a deal’s a deal, buddy. I’m paying.”
I motioned to the bartender, signaling we were ready to order then turned to Caeli. “I’m going to choose my battles with you because apparently there are going to be a lot of them.”
She shrugged but didn’t confirm or deny. Regardless, I was fully prepared for her resistance or submission.