Chapter 11
My hips twirled in circles as I danced around my kitchen. I was craving a grilled Caesar salad for lunch. Mercy was out doing only God knows what, so for the first time in a while, I had some alone time. Cooking to the perfect playlist always elevated the experience. I loved my brother dearly, but him and his gang-banging friends could be suffocating, and they were always eating up all the damn food.
I went into the refrigerator to gather all the ingredients I needed when I realized we were out of everything. I groaned before slamming the door shut. My stomach groaned as if I didn’t know that I was starving. It was my maintenance day. I could not leave the house in the middle of the process. I’d scare babies, and that was not on my bingo card for the year.
My phone chimed from where I left it on the counter. I picked it up after seeing a text from Romani.
Best D Ever :
Thinking of you. Hope you’re having a great day.
I smiled seeing his feelings on display. Things had been good between us. I fell for him a little more every day.
Me:
It sucks so far. I’m starving and they ate up all the food
Best D Ever :
What do you want?
Me:
I was craving a Caesar salad real bad!
The little bubbles appeared to indicate he was typing a message, but then they just stopped. I waited for a few minutes before I realized he wasn’t going to reply. The best thing to do for now was finish taking care of my needs.
Reaching for the remote, I turned on the TV and went to the BET Plus app. I turned on All The Queen’s Men then got back to work. I was in the process of dying my eyebrows back burgundy to match my hair when knocks on the front door caught my attention.
I shuffled to the door while calling out to see who it was, but no one responded. I snatched the door open with an attitude, figuring it was one of my brother’s homeboys because they tended to do that. But to my surprise and horror, Romani stood there looking as handsome as ever in a white turtleneck, fitted jeans, and low-cut boots.
“Oh, my God. Where is Trouble, and what have you done with her?” he teased.
I rolled my eyes before flipping him off. “Boy, shut up. It’s my maintenance day.”
“Next time, don’t open the door until the maintenance is done. You almost gave me a heart attack, Loch Ness Monster.”
I groaned slightly annoyed by his jokes.
“Anyways, what are you doing here?” He held up a bag that I immediately could smell. “You came all this way to bring me something to eat?”
His thoughtfulness made my heart melt into my bloodstream.
He nodded. “You said you were starving, and I wanted to see you.”
I took a step back to allow him access inside. My stomach hadn’t allowed me to forget that I was hungry, and I was ready to dig into whatever he brought me. I couldn’t stop the blush that crept on my cheeks.
“I wanted to see you too, so thank you for caring about my wellbeing.”
He leaned down and placed the softest kiss on my lips. I looked into his eyes and lost all my breath. He looked at me so tenderly it made me want to run and hide. There was no way someone could desire me in this way.
“Anything for you,” he affirmed with a kiss to my forehead that sedated me. He slapped me on the ass making my cheeks jiggle. “Now, go eat so I can eat you immediately after.”
My stomach flipped at the possibility of being ate up. Of all the men I’d been with, Romani was by far my favorite. He had the best dick size and was an eater. I was never passing up the opportunity to get close to him.
I followed him to the kitchen where he laid out an array of food, including a Caesar salad. I wasn’t expecting a full-course meal but wasn’t mad at what I saw. The salmon, loaded baked potato, and steamed broccoli smelled so amazing I immediately dug into it with a fork. The glaze on top of the fish exploded on my tongue, and I moaned without remorse.
“This is so good. Where’d you get this?” I questioned without wasting a second to dig in for another bite.
Romani chuckled from where he leaned against the counter watching me.
“I made it.”
I paused my chewing. “You made this?”
He straightened his posture, poking his broad chest out with confidence. A goofy smile appeared on his face when he nodded.
“Damn… I need to move in with you. I’m sadly a takeout warrior.”
He went to sit at the dining room table then waved me over. I picked up my plate of food then strutted over. I thought he just wanted me to sit beside him, but no, he wanted me to sit on his lap. His left hand went to my lower back where he began rubbing small circles that were addicting.
“How you got a grandmother that cooks like yours and don’t know your way around the kitchen?”
I shrugged, licking potatoes off my fork.
“I always felt like learning how to cook was too much like slavery.”
His eyebrow lifted and his head jerked back in confusion. “Say what now?”
I giggled. “I watched my mama slave in the kitchen to make a home-cooked meal for my father to have every night after work. She never looked happy while she was doing it. It was just routine. I never wanted my routine to be centered around others. I want to be served.”
“Humph. Sounds like your mother is a dedicated woman to me. You don’t admire that?”
I shook my head slowly. My chewing came to a halt. It felt like my food became thicker in my mouth as I forced myself to swallow.
“Maybe if she found joy in doing it. It wasn’t genuine, and it was obvious on the days she really didn’t want to.”
The entire time I was talking, his hand never left my body. His presence became my anchor as countless nights living in my parents’ home came flooding back in. I didn’t know how I would’ve made it through those nights without Mercy. He brought warmth into that otherwise cold home.
I inhaled slowly, returning to the present when Romani’s arms wrapped around my waist. He kissed up my arm so gently I could imagine he was kissing the surface of my heart.
“I love the way I can let my guard down with you.” I didn’t mean to share that, but my supercharged emotions were in control and not my mind.
Romani picked up my right hand then interlaced our fingers. Everywhere his skin collided with mine was tingling with glee. I wanted more of him. Turning so I was straddling his lap, I wrapped my arms around his body in need of a human shield in the moment. It always took a lot for me to share even a little bit of my scars. I was always afraid someone would see them and run away as fast as they could.
Romani hugged me back with the same need. I couldn’t help the few tears that slipped from my eyes. Something about being here with him had me wide open. I attempted to do what I did best and shut down, but he wouldn’t let me. He tightened his hold, forcing me to stay in place.
“Don’t run from me.” He began kissing my ear making my heart race for a whole new reason. “You are perfect the way you are, Trouble. All I want is to be around your radiating energy. You shake up my life in a good way. You challenge me to make sure my actions align with what I say. If you can’t let your guard down with me, then I’m not doing my job right.”
One of his hands slid from my waist to my hair. He began massaging my scalp while rubbing my back. The combination was potent like magic that flowed through my veins repairing everything cracked and broken. When I found the courage to lift my head and look into his eyes, all I could see was sincerity, care, and concern that would last a lifetime.
Suddenly, the deep waters to love were too turbulent. Jumping within the depths became the scariest thing I’d ever considered, and I found myself slowly tipping away from the edge… to my comfort zone. Jumping without knowing what could come next was too far out of my control. I couldn’t function like that. So, despite all the work I put in to let them down one by one, I sat right there in the arms of the man I was sure I loved and put my armor back up to protect me from falling any deeper.