Chapter 2 #2
“Where you been?” he finally asked into her hair. It was silky and curly, just how he remembered it. Right now, it was piled on the top of her head, giving him the perfect view of her face when she pulled back. They faced each other and stared for a beat before she responded.
“Around.” She shrugged.
He chuckled. “A nigga can’t get more details? You know I looked for you?”
“You did?” Her arched brows rose. He wanted to lean over and kiss the freckles scattered across her nose.
“Course I did. You ain’t look for me?” he asked as he reached out and pinched her chin playfully.
She grinned and swatted him away. “Honestly? No. My father pretty much had me under lock and key up until a year ago. He would mirror my phone and all kinds of shit. Believe it or not, he got more paranoid the older he got.”
She snorted, and her eyes found the ceiling before landing back on him again.
“Damn, it was like that?” Boogie shook his head.
He’d heard stories about Vernon Bishop, but it was always street shit.
The man was a tyrant, and by the sounds of it and from what he could remember from junior high, that overflowed into his family dynamic too.
That was unfortunate. It made his heart ache for Sweetie because he knew what it was like to have a good and supportive family.
It didn’t seem like she did, and she deserved that more than anyone he knew.
“You don’t know the half,” she mumbled.
“What happened?”
“What you mean?”
“You said he was like that up until a year ago. What happened?”
“I left.” She shrugged.
“You left? Just like that?”
Sweetie nodded. “With nothing but a suitcase. I was down pretty bad for a while. Honestly, I still am, but shit has gotten better. At least I actually have things to my name.”
She nodded toward the corner of the sitting area where a couple of suitcases sat. Boogie clenched his jaw.
“Yo, ya pops really cut you off because you left?” He couldn’t fathom that.
“Yeah. I stayed for so long because even though I was uncomfortable with all the control, I was taken care of. I lived in luxury, but it all became too much, and one day, I just decided to leave.”
He thought she was strong for that, for real. He couldn’t imagine being in that situation. His lips quirked up just a bit. “So you started doin’ what you love to make a little money?”
He wanted to change the subject slightly because thinking about Vernon at the moment had him wound tight. He wanted to let off some steam, but that meant blood would be spilled, which would require him to leave that room. The only thing he wanted more than spilling blood was to be up under Sweetie.
Her heart-shaped lips formed a smile. “I did. My dad tried to box me out of that, too, but I’m relentless. When he found out his daughter was stripping, he paid off all major strip clubs to keep me out of them. That’s why I work at The Honey Pot.”
“You too good for that place.”
“I know, but it’s all I got at the moment.”
Boogie nodded in understanding, though he wanted to say so much more. He wanted to tell her to quit stripping and that he would take care of her, but that would come in due time.
“I always wondered if you kept dancing.”
Her eyes lit up. “For a long time, it was the only way I felt close to you still.”
“Crazy. I wanted to give up dancing after you left school.”
“What? Why?”
He chuckled at her widened eyes. “Because I couldn’t share it with you no more.”
“Did you stop?”
“Nah. Mama wouldn’t let me. I think she noticed I was sinking into some kind of depression or some shit. She started forcing me to dance anytime I had a frown on my face, which, of course, always made me smile. Don’t worry. I still got it.”
“That’s a good mama,” Sweetie uttered as she looked down at her lap.
Boogie saw sadness in her expression, and he didn’t want that. He hopped up and held his hand out for her. “Dance with me.”
Her gaze landed on him again, and her eyes twinkled. “I thought I already gave you a dance tonight, sir.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her up and into his strong arms. “You did, but I think I’m worth another one.”
He swayed her side to side in a slow motion.
She let out a content sigh. “You are, Boog. You do.” They danced to the music playing in their heads for several minutes, feeling the heat from one another’s bodies and going down memory lane.
Finally, Sweetie broke the silence and asked, “Where have you been, Boog?”
“Around.” He shrugged and looked down at her with a grin.
She punched his shoulder playfully. “For real. What have you been up to?”
“I mean, not much really. ’Bout to take over the family business with my brother. Light work,” he joked.
Sweetie stiffened and pulled away slightly. Worry filled her gaze as she looked up at him. “Is this just a one-night thing?”
Boogie stopped moving. “Why you ask that?”
She avoided his gaze. “Because our families still hate each other last I checked.”
“But we grown now, baby. Their mess ain’t got shit to do with us. You have my word that I ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
“Why?” she asked, now looking at him square in the eyes.
“Why what, Sweetie? Why am I not goin’ nowhere?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
Boogie bent at the waist like he was an adult talking to a child. He didn’t want to be condescending, but he wanted her to hear him and understand him. When he was eye level with her, he pinched her chin and held it so she couldn’t look away.
“Because I love you. Always have.”
Her eyes widened. “It’s been—”
“Twenty years,” Boogie interrupted. “And I don’t give a fuck about that. Tell me you don’t feel the same, and I’ll leave ya fine ass alone.”
He cheesed down at her, showing all his pearly whites, because he knew she felt the same. He wasn’t worried.
Sweetie blushed. “I do, but I don’t understand why. We were so young. I’m not that same girl anymore.”
“You are. Ya core is the same.”
“You always been so confident.” She leaned into him.
“See, ain’t nothin’ changed over here.” He smirked.
She trailed her soft hand up his large bicep. “I disagree. A lot has changed.”
Her eyes met his, and he saw that same lust from the club dancing in her eyes.
Their magnetic pull wouldn’t be ignored anymore.
Boogie leaned down and captured her lips with his.
This kiss was different from their first one.
This one was grown and sensual. Boogie had never experienced anything like it.
As bad as he wanted more, he held back. Sweetie was more than just a piece of pussy to him.
She was everything, and his everything deserved to be treated like more than a duck off.
“Aye, you got a man?”
She tilted her head back and laughed. “I wouldn’t be kissing you if I did. I ain’t no cheater.” Her eyes turned to slits. “Wait, you don’t have a bitch, do you? Kids? Crazy baby mama?”
It was Boogie’s turn to laugh. “Nah. None of that. A few hos that might be crazy about me, yeah, but I ain’t payin’ them no mind.”
Sweetie hummed. “Yeah, okay.”
He brushed some of the loose strands from her face. “Let’s go lay down. I want to hold you.”
Her brows hiked. “That’s all?”
Boogie’s eyes traveled down the length of her short body in that silky ass robe. He bit his bottom lip but nodded slowly. “Yeah, baby. That’s all.”
She held her hand out for him, and he quickly took it. If Sweetie was leading him, Boogie would gladly follow her to the pits of hell if it meant they could stay together for good this time.