CHAPTER 25
On the way back to her apartment, she falls asleep, much to my satisfaction. When she said she was having trouble sleeping, I believed her. She slept hard in my arms last night. She has a lot of sleep to catch up on. That’s why when I pull up at her complex, I don’t want to wake her. I sit here a minute and look at her. It felt so natural walking next to her today as if we’ve been doing it for an eternity – walking beside each other and enjoying each other’s company. I learned some things about her today that left me baffled. She’s completely pristine, amazing and funny. She’s a joy to be around. Why would a woman of her moral fortitude want a man like me? After all the woman I’ve run through, all the partying I’ve done, all the life I’ve lived, the truth is she could do a lot better than me.
But I’m not going to let that happen. I have to convince her that I’m the man who is the opposite of everything she thinks is wrong about men. About me. It’s not an easy task, but it’s definitely a worthwhile one.
“Zimyra,” I say evenly, touching her arm so I don’t alarm her.
She moves and yawns, stretching her body. “Yes?”
“Are you okay?”
“Mmm,” she moans softly and stretches again. “Where are we?”
“We’re back at your place.”
She yawns and stretches her body, her breasts poking out while her back arches.
“You’re tired, sweetheart. Why don’t you let me take you to dinner?”
“No. I’d rather be home.”
“Then, I’ll pick up something for us.”
“Axel—I’m in a cooking mood today…think I’ll just do that, but thank you for the offer.”
Great…
I’m trying to spend as much time as I can with her and she’s sending me packing.
She takes her purse, reaches for the door handle and asks, “Are you headed home, or—?”
“Should I be?”
She flashes a semblance of a smile and says, “You tell me, Axel. I can cook enough food for both of us.”
“So, you’re asking me to stay?”
“Something like that.”
“Then ask me.”
She smiles and says, “Axel, will you stay and have dinner with me?”
“Dang! What took you so long? Got a brother over here fighting for my life trying to figure out a way to spend more time with you.”
She giggles.
I get out of the car and follow her to the stairs. She removes her shoes after she steps inside her place, so I do the same. While she gets settled, I step into the living room area and turn on the TV.
She’s in the back, in her bedroom with the door closed, but I can hear her talking to someone on the phone. She returns to the living room looking flustered.
“Is everything alright?” I inquire.
“Yeah. My brother is just getting on my nerves.”
“Must be Zander.”
“Yep. Zavier told him he ran into us at the park and he’s freaking out.”
“Why? He doesn’t think you’re capable of making your own decisions?”
“Of course not. To him, I’m his little sister—not a grown woman. But, I’m not concerned about that. Have you ever had butter chicken?”
“I’ve had buttermilk fried chicken.”
“Okay. What I’m cooking is not that.”
“I don’t care what you cook, Sunflower. I’m eating it.”
I flip through channels while she moves about in the kitchen. I get a text from Peter:
I’m out with your mom…thought I’d shoot you a quick text. I had all of your requests taken care of. Can you confirm that on your end?
I reply:
Will do. Thanks.
I’ve been so distracted with taking care of Zimyra that I haven’t had much time to focus on what I came down here for in the first place. Casually, I lean back on the sofa and close my eyes while holding the remote. It’s cozy up in here. The aroma of the spices from the kitchen tells me Zimyra knows what she’s doing. The smell alone is making me hungry.
“Ax, would you like something to drink?”
My eyes spring open. I look in the direction of the kitchen to find her eyes on me. “Did you just call me Ax ?”
“I did.”
A smile grows on my face.
She playfully rolls her eyes.
“Yes. I’ll take something. Surprise me.”
I stretch my legs out and yawn. This comfortable couch and the smell of this food are enough to put me right out. I didn’t get much sleep last night, which is fine, as long as she slept comfortably and peacefully in my arms. That was my main concern. That’s all that matters.
“Here you go.”
I take the glass of what I think is lemonade and say, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
I take a sip and instantly feel energized. The flavor is A-1. “Ay, did you make this, or is it store-bought?” I ask.
“I made it—fresh-squeezed. You like it?”
“I don’t even drink lemonade, but this is delicious.”
I get up from the sofa and walk to the kitchen to see what else she’s doing. If she can make a drink taste this good, then this food is about to be life changing.
She’s stirring some chunks of chicken in a frying pan when I walk up behind her. She’s so focused, she doesn’t realize I’m here. She bumps into me when she turns around and giggles. “What are you doing in here? You want more lemonade?”
“No. I just wanted to see what smelled so good.”
“Nope. My mom says men are not supposed to be in the kitchen when a woman is doing her thang.”
She takes me by the hand and attempts to pull me out of the kitchen.
I don’t budge. She’s no match for my stature, weight or strength. Yet, she’s comfortable with me in her presence.
“Come on, sir.”
“Okay. Fine,” I say, yielding to her request, paying special attention to how good it feels to have her hand in mine. Feels like it belongs there. It does belong there.
When she leads me to the sofa, I sit down and, while still holding her hand, I yank her onto my lap. She ends up straddling me. Staring into my eyes, she leans so close to me that her lips are a breath away from mine and says, “Nice try, but I have to check on the food.”
She moves off of me, stands, and returns to the kitchen. I take a deep breath and settle myself. I’m not used to this. When I want a woman, I don’t stop until I get her. I shouldn’t have to wait for gratification of any kind. But then again, no other woman is like her. She’s one I will happily wait for.
Once the food is ready, she brings me a plate to the living room, then returns to get hers. She comes back, sits on the sofa beside me and says, “Taste it.”
I look at her and ask, “The food?”
Her cheeks redden. “Yes, the food! What did you think I was talking about?”
I grin. “Nevermind.”
I gather some chicken and rice onto the spoon and taste her cooking. As soon as the sauce, the chicken, and the rice converge on my tongue, I’m in heaven. I had to stop my eyes from rolling to the back of my head. I say, “This is some of the best chicken I’ve ever had.”
“Stop lying.”
“I’m serious. This is delicious.” I stuff my face with two more heaping spoonfuls.”
She says, “You can take your time. It’s not going anywhere.”
“Please tell me there’s more.”
She grins. “Yes, there’s more.”
“Good.”
I concentrate on eating this first serving and then, as I’m about to get up to get a second, she takes my plate and says, “I’ll get it for you.”
I dive in right away when she returns with another plate.
“Do you eat like this all the time?” she inquires.
“I do. I have a very high metabolism. It’s the muscles. I’m sure you’ve seen them.”
“Seen them and felt them. You have a nice physique. You live in the gym, I take it.”
“Not necessarily. I like to work out at home. I have dumbbells and things.”
“You work out every day?”
“I do.”
“I used to work out frequently, but when I started working more hours, I focused more on eating healthy since I don’t have the time to work out like I want to.”
“Mmm…” I say as I eat another spoonful of this chicken. “Your mama taught you how to cook like this?”
“She did. More specifically, she taught me how to read a recipe. That’s how she makes those delicious pies. You’ll have to try a slice one day.”
“Already had a slice.”
“When?”
I shrug. “Thursday, I think—whatever day that was when I came to your brother’s house to see you.”
“How was it?”
“It was delicious. I’ll be back up there for sure.”
A smile settles in the corner of her mouth. I figure now is as good of a time as any to inquire about work. Peter told me he fulfilled my requests. I want to make sure they went through.
I ask, “Have you heard anything from the job since the incident?”
“Uh…yeah, I have. For some reason, they decided to give me a bonus. And then they did something that really shocked me.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you remember that system update I told you about?”
“The one to make the maintenance request process run a bit smoother?”
“Yes, that’s it. All of a sudden, they want to implement it. Zander says they’re probably scared I’m going to sue over the incident, but how could they possibly be the blame for that? And, the email came through before the incident happened.”
She continues, “Then I got another email with them telling me they were going to hire another worker to be in the office with me, and that I can take off however much time I want to deal with the situation. It all just seems a little too convenient. I’ve never been treated right by these people and now I get catered to. It just shows how conniving these companies are. I promise you if it wasn’t for my tenants, I would’ve quit already.”
I take a sip of lemonade and process this, then say, “I understand your frustration, but you should probably consider taking some time off.”
“I probably should, but I’m not. I was already off three days last week. Time off only makes me lose my mind. Plus, I’m not going to be there on Tuesday, anyway. I have my test.”
“Oh. Does that mean I’m off as well?”
“Nope. I will give you and Mauricio a report on Monday that will cover Tuesday as well.”
“Alright. How are you feeling about the test?”
She shrugs. “Not sure. It’s been difficult for me to concentrate.”
“You can’t postpone it?”
“No. I’m already scheduled, but it’s cool. I’m going to do the best I can. That’s all I can do.”
I set my plate on the table and finish the lemonade. “Ah. I’m good and full now. I need to burn some of this off.”
I stand up and push the coffee table out of the way. Then I use the space to start doing pushups.
“Seriously, Axel? No days off, huh?”
“None.”
“You could wait until you get home for all that.”
“I’m not going home tonight. I’m staying with you.”
“Says who?”
“Me,” I answer while steadily doing these pushups, moving my body up and down with little effort. My muscles are trained and ready for whatever. “I have some extra clothes in the car.”
“Oh, so this was your plan all along, huh?”
“No.”
“Then why do you have clothes in the car?”
I stop doing pushups, look at her, and respond, “In case you needed me again tonight. I wanted to be ready and available for you.”
“I never said I needed you to stay with me tonight.”
“You don’t have to. Your eyes say a lot. They like talking to me.”
She forces a smile back, her eyes lingering and holding my gaze before she stands and collects our plates. After placing them in the sink and washing them immediately, she rinses them off and puts them on the drying rack. Then she returns to the living room and lies on the sofa. I get off the floor and sit on the opposite end near her feet. While she channel surfs, I lift her legs and then scoot over, lowering them onto my lap. Then I grip and squeeze her feet, prompting her to move and raise her hips off the sofa.
“Hey, what are you doing?” she squirms. “Stop that.”
“No. These virgin feet are mine.”
“See, I knew I shouldn’t have told you all my personal business.”
“No, you should have. It helps me understand you better.”
I continue rubbing her feet, tracing the stars on her ankle and watching her fidget. She can’t focus on the TV any longer. She’s still trying to do everything to contain the fact that I’m touching her. It still baffles me that she hasn’t had a man rub these pretty feet. Suck her toes. Nibble on her neck. Or bend her over a table.
Caught up in my daydreams, I didn’t realize she had stopped moving. I look at her face and she’s out.
I squeeze her ankle and say, “Myra.”
She doesn’t budge.
“Myra?” I say, sliding my hand up her leg to her calves. I squeeze again.
She stirs, then her eyes open. She says. “Oh my goodness. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. You need your rest. I just want you over here.”
I stretch my arms open wide, luring her into my embrace. She hesitates at first, and I’m not sure why. She knows it’s where she wants to be. Where she feels safe.
“My arms are getting heavy, sweetheart. Make your move.”
She stands and walks closer to me. I swing my legs up on the sofa, lying face up and she lies face down on top of me. She rests her head on my chest. I close my arms around her.
Dang, this feels good. This makes two nights in a row that I got to have her in my arms. I could get used to this.