Chapter 7
Seven
REESE
Malaki’s hand slips into mine, and he pulls me further onto the dance floor.
One thing is for certain: Malaki does not give up.
I hate to admit it, but I sort of admire his tenacity. His persistence isn’t unusual. Most men refuse to give up, but he pairs it with patience, and that’s seemingly unconventional.
Still, I refuse to dance with him.
“Malaki.” I dig my heels into my shoes and try to stop him from taking the center of the dance floor with me in tow. “I’m not much of a dancer.”
His eyebrows fold together. “I just watched you dance with Daisy, so nice try.”
My lips flatten. “That’s different.”
Malaki comes in close, our chests almost touching. “How so?”
“Because,” I stress, “she’s my friend.”
His huff, hinted with the scent of beer, hits me in the face. He places his free hand against his heart. “I thought we were friends.”
I hate that he makes me want to laugh. I suck in my cheeks and look past his shoulder. “We hardly know each other,” I remind him.
Malaki’s hands land on my hips, and I pause. There’s chaos around us, couples touching intimately and girls dancing with their friends as their drinks slosh around, but with Malaki touching me, it fades.
“That’s not true,” he argues. “We know plenty about each other.” He guides my hips back and forth, and I let him because I’m too interested to see what he’ll say next.
“Like what?” I ask.
His lips turn up on the side, and God, he could be a model for some high-end clothing line. Handsome with perfect, kissable lips and a double-edged sword for a jawline.
“Well, let’s see…” Malaki spins me around and puts my back against his chest. The pads of his fingers dip underneath my shirt, and goosebumps fly to my skin.
Shit.
“We know where the other works,” he notes.
“Kind of hard not to know when you’re on various posters in the city.” I angle my head, tipping my chin to look up at him to see his reaction.
He smirks. “I can’t help that the city is obsessed with me.”
I roll my eyes and go back to looking at the dance floor.
“What else…I know who your best friend is.”
Okay, so he knows two things about me. That’s nothing compared to everything else going on in my life. It doesn’t even come close to the surface.
“Is that all?” I ask.
Malaki spins me again. This time, he takes my hands in his and places them around his neck. I clasp my fingers together because apparently my body didn’t hear the warning inside my head.
“I know your favorite candy.” Our eyes catch. “Skittles.”
I narrow my gaze. “But you don’t know my favorite flavor.”
There. Take that, Mr. Know It All.
Malaki flashes me a half-smile. “Strawberry.”
My mouth parts, a slight gasp slipping in between us.
How does he–
“Want to know mine?” he asks.
Our dancing has become less stiff and a lot more relaxed. My hips sway to the beat, and for the first time in at least two years, I find myself getting lost in the moment instead of looking over my shoulder or worrying about what tomorrow brings.
“Let me guess.” I bite my lip and pretend to think. “Yellow?”
“Wrong.”
The music shifts, the song still upbeat but much more intimate. At some point, Malaki and I end up pressed against each other. My body is suddenly aware of every little thing, like how hard his chest is against my breasts.
I guess again. “Orange?”
Malaki shakes his head. “Wrong.”
I pout and spin around, putting my back to him. “Purple?”
Malaki’s mouth hovers over my ear, and goosebumps crawl against my neck. “Nope.”
I go over the colors of the rainbow in my head. “Green!” I exclaim.
His chuckle rumbles along my back. I turn my head to give him a dirty look, but before I can look away, he takes his hand, snakes it up my body, and grabs a hold of my chin.
“You’re forgetting the most important one.” Malaki stares at my mouth, and my heart stutters in my chest.
Oh god, this is bad.
When he leans in close, I tell myself to move away, but I can’t. I’m too captivated by how close his mouth is to mine and how nice it feels to have his hands on me.
“Strawberry,” he whispers.
“But that’s my favorite,” I say, as if he isn’t allowed to like something that I like.
“Then it looks like we have another thing in common, Dimples.”
My tongue slips out to lick my bottom lip. Malaki snaps his eyes back to mine, something highly enticing swimming in the blue color, before dropping back to my mouth.
I want him to kiss me badly, and I think he can tell.
“Hold that thought,” he says quietly.
“Huh?” I breathe out.
Someone comes into my peripheral, breaking my trance. I step away quickly, and reality comes crashing back in.
What in the hell am I doing?
I have a baby at home and an ex who is trying to scare me back into his bed. I can’t be out at the club on a random Thursday with a guy like Malaki.
“I can’t find Daisy or Kane anywhere. Do you know where they went?” A guy, who I’m assuming is Daisy’s brother, River, steps in between us.
“Uh…” Malaki glances around the dance floor, looking just as out of it as I feel. “Let’s go outside and look.”
I lead the way, eager to get out of the club.
Malaki’s low voice sweeps into my ear. “You’re distracting.”
I glance at him. “Me?”
He thinks I’m distracting? What about him?
“I came here to keep an eye on Kane because he and your best friend are playing a very dangerous cat-and-mouse game, but when I’m with you, I can’t focus on anything else.”
At this point, I think we’re the ones playing the dangerous cat-and-mouse game.
I’m officially forfeiting.
“Maybe Daisy doesn’t want to play the game,” I say. “Not every girl wants to be chased.”
Malaki pauses before tugging me through the door. “And what about you? Do you want to be chased?”
I pause.
Say no, Reese.
I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t want to be chased by a guy like Malaki.
I’m desperate to know what it’s like to be kissed with passion instead of bowing down to someone who yields too much power.
I want to let go and indulge in something, instead of giving away parts of myself to people who don’t deserve them.
But I can’t.
Maybe in the future, when things aren’t so messy, but right now, I just can’t.
I open my mouth to answer Malaki, who’s waiting patiently, like he knows I’m teetering with the idea of allowing him to chase me, but our attention moves to Daisy’s brother.
“Found them,” he says.
Malaki tugs me through the door after him, our fingers still intertwined. Once we make it outside and the cool Chicago air brushes against my flushed cheeks, reality sets in, and I pull away.
He notices, but he doesn’t say anything.
“Where did you go?” River asks Daisy.
Daisy and Kane are obviously guilty, but she’s quick to feed her brother a lie. “I got overheated. Kane came with me to cool down out here.”
River sighs. “It was probably the drink. I knew you shouldn’t have had one. Your cheeks are red.”
I walk toward Daisy as she argues with her brother. Unable to stop myself, I find myself looking at Malaki. He catches me staring, and my cheeks warm. If this were before Benedict, I’d probably end up going home with him. But it isn’t, and I’m a lot more conscientious than I was before.
Malaki steps forward. “We leave for the road tomorrow afternoon, so we should probably go.”
The rest of the group nods, and I leap to take the bait. I pull my keys out from my back pocket and wiggle them. “Let’s go. Your chauffeur awaits.”
I sort of want to decline him a ride so I can put some much-needed space between us, but he did pay me after all. The least I could do is drop him off at home, right?
I should be able to keep myself in check for a twenty-minute ride back to his apartment complex before turning in for the night.
I’m not a wild sorority girl any longer. I can do this.
Malaki saunters up beside me, his arm landing on my shoulder. He pulls me to his side and whispers into my ear, “Ready when you are.”
My stomach dips.
I’m not sure I’m ever going to be ready when it comes to him.