Chapter 6 #2
“Yikes,” Ellie stated, gritting her teeth. “Why is she still around?”
“I think she’s hoping we can fix it,” Loyal admitted.
“Can you?” Ellie asked.
“I been with her since college,” Loyal stated. “She’s the mother of my son, so I’ma always make sure she’s good, but I can’t see myself moving backwards.”
“Hmm,” Ellie said as she stared curiously at him. “Men like you scare me.” She sipped her drink and grimaced as it burned on the way down.
He smirked and went to retrieve the bucket of ice and a bottle of cranberry juice. He mixed her a more enjoyable drink, and she graciously accepted.
“The last thing I want to do is scare you, Miss Elliot,” he answered. “I don’t quite know what I want to do with you yet, honestly. I didn’t see you coming.”
He moved a tendril of her hair out of her face, and she giggled.
“I have butterflies in my stomach like I’m a schoolgirl,” she admitted.
“I don’t want to make you feel that. That’s anxiety. That’s uncertainty mixed with a little adrenaline,” he explained.
“What do you want me to feel when I’m with you?” she asked.
“Safe.”
His answer shocked her, and her eyes widened in surprise. “Okay, yup, we gon’ call it a night,” she said, standing.
He frowned in confusion. “Did I say something wrong?”
Ellie shook her head and swept her short bob behind both ears.
“No, but that answer isn’t typical. That’s not casual.
A man who answers like that is a man that will eventually get what he wants from me.
I’m going to get in over my head with you.
The way you moved about me earlier wasn’t casual.
You stepped like you knew me, like you had love for me, and you don’t even know my middle name.
What’s going to happen when we get attached?
It’s already so intense. I’m here for a week.
Literally, six more days. My life is a mess.
Your situation is all over the place. We live in two different states.
This doesn’t even make sense. Let’s just not do this.
We can make a choice right now to walk away.
We just met. We don’t have to even go down this road. ”
“I’m already a quarter mile down that road, E,” Loyal said.
She sighed and rested her back against the wall as he stood. He walked over to her and placed his hands against the wall, creating a fortress around her and forcing eye contact.
“I’m married, Loyal,” Ellie stressed.
“Do you want to stay married?” Loyal asked.
“He will contest a divorce,” Ellie argued.
“That’s not what I asked,” Loyal said. He was so close to her that she could smell the alcohol on his breath.
His cologne infiltrated her senses, making her dizzy, or maybe it was the liquor, but if she were a betting woman, she’d put it all on his aura.
She had known this man less than six hours, and already, she was spellbound.
Ellie wasn’t even a fall in love, be swept off her feet type.
She was practical and smart, but Loyal had her wishing that she had met him at a different time in a different way.
She wasn’t healed enough to handle a man of his magnitude.
“Do you want to remain married to that nigga, Elliot?”
“No,” she whispered.
“And is that the sole reason why you’re in your head about fucking with me?
If you weren’t married, would my tongue be here by now?
” he asked, running a hand up her thigh and resting it on the face of her pussy.
Ellie was sure she had lost her mind because she was letting this man drive 100 mph with her in the passenger seat.
They didn’t have a GPS, weren’t any seat belts, no nothing, just risky fucking business.
She had to slow it down. Her brain wasn’t processing this shit right because the wrong answer was on the tip of her tongue.
If she wasn’t married, would she be getting her pussy ate in the box suite at the Pistons game right now?
“Yes,” she panted.
“So, let’s make you a widow.”
Loyal said the shit like he was discussing the score of the game, and it was then that she knew he was more than an entrepreneur. He may have been into construction and real estate, but she’d bet her bottom dollar his riches were built on top of bodies and bricks.
He stepped back and walked over to the railing as he overlooked the ball game. Ellie was shaking; her adrenaline was running so high.
He was a man who saw something in the store, and he was being told he couldn’t buy it. He was willing to rob the whole joint to get it.
Ellie joined him and eased her way in front of him. His hands naturally wrapped around her waist, and he pulled her into his body.
“Loyal, feelings are visitors. You can be infatuated with me today and disinterested tomorrow. Let them visit, let them leave, because I go home in six days,” she whispered.
“Let’s just have fun while we have this moment.
You know very little about me. I might not be worth all this trouble you’re signing up for. ”
He stared down the bridge of his nose at her. “I’m attracted to you, E. I ain’t trying to do no visiting. I’m trying to settle in.”
“Do you always move this fast?” she asked, chuckling.
“What’s your middle name?” he asked.
“What?” she asked, confused.
“You said I didn’t know it. I’d like to know it,” he said, licking his lips.
“Marie,” she whispered.
“No, I don’t normally move this fast, Elliot Marie Brier.” His answer blew her mind.
“Brier?” she asked.
“It’s gon’ be your last name one day, might as well try it on,” he stated. “See if it fits.” She waited for the laugh. It never happened.
“Loyal!” she said, frowning as she gripped the bottom of his chin. He moved his head out of her grasp.
“I got money on this game, E,” he said as he tried to see around her.
“Are you completely insane?” she asked.
“A little bit,” he answered truthfully. “Over you, I’ma lose my mu’fucking mind.
I can already see it.” She didn’t even know what to say.
It had been a long time since her husband had made her feel like he was attracted to her, and he had never given her the impression that she was irreplaceable.
This feeling of obsession, of power over this man’s focus, was magnifying.
She felt like she was that bitch, and she was in awe of how firm he was in his position regarding her.
“Don’t look surprised. You know you got it,” he complimented, smirking as he licked his lips while still observing the game.
She blushed, and he pulled her closer, allowing her to rest the side of her face on his chest. Elliot was too damn old to find this attractive, but damn it; his toxicity was exactly her type.
Rich nigga. Hood nigga. Or whatever the song said.
She was so intrigued. She was flattered, and most of all, she was turned the fuck on. Their natural chemistry was insane.
“I know nothing about you, and you know very little about me,” she reasoned.
“So, let’s learn,” he proposed. He finally gave her his attention and stared down the bridge of his nose at her. “Can I kiss you, E?”
She loved that he called her E. Only her brother called her that, and now him.
“Out of all the liberties You’ve taken over my life in the past six hours, a kiss is what you ask permission for?” she asked, snickering. It seemed like the smallest request.
“It’s your body. I’ll always ask permission before assuming it’s okay to touch a woman,” he whispered.
She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“You have your phone?” she asked.
He squinted in confusion and pulled it out of his back pocket. “It’s right here. Why, what up?”
“What’s the date?” she asked.
“December 19th,” he answered. His furrowed brow expressed his confusion.
“I want you to remember the date of our first kiss,” she swooned.
“Oh, you one of those women,” he snickered.
“I’m absolutely one of those women,” she assured. “If we fall in love, you need to remember the important dates.”
“No ifs, E, only when,” he replied. Her attraction to this man was unreal.
It was his confidence and his assertiveness that won her over most, but she saw so many qualities in this man that were lacking in her last relationship.
She initiated the kiss, caressing the sides of his face as she started with slow pecks to his lips.
When his tongue parted her lips, she shuddered because he filled her mouth so deliciously.
His lips were soft, and his tongue sweet.
One hand gripped her ass, pulling her into his body while the other gently pinched her chin. He moaned as he explored her mouth.
“Knock! Knock! Someone wanted to come see the suite!”
Ellie was grateful for the announcement.
It gave her time to unravel herself from this man’s arms before her daughters busted them.
She went to greet them, and he held onto her hand until the natural distance of her steps separated them.
She looked back at him, and he winked at her, causing her to smile as she walked back inside the suite.
“Oh, it’s lit up here too, Ma,” Brooklyn stated.
“I know, right!” Ellie exclaimed. She glanced back at Loyal as he intently watched the game, and she wondered if she could handle this.
He made her feel like a twenty-year-old girl again, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.
After their kiss, she was certain that she wanted more.
If he kissed her lips like that, she could only imagine the expertise with which he would handle the rest of her body.
They watched the rest of the game as a family, and by the time it was over, Tessa was spent.
Loyal had to carry her all the way to the car.
“It was so nice meeting you guys,” Ellie said.
“You too, honey. I’m sure we’ll be seeing you soon,” Tracy said. Ellie smiled and hugged the woman and then hugged his father as well.