Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Washed up…again, and clean, I was lying on the couch watching the movie Shad, and I was supposed to have started watching before that last round.
He was lying on me, head buried in my breasts with one eye open.
Now and then, I’d hear him snoring softly, and then he’d wake up.
Shad was trying to finish the movie with me at my request, but it was getting hard for him.
The weed and the nuts he busted were catching up to him.
A small smile played on my lips as I looked down at him.
He looked so…peaceful, so boyish as he held onto me.
His arms were wrapped around me, tightly, like I’ll run out if he gets into a deep sleep.
The hard, angry lines around his eyes were smoothed out.
This was the Shad I was starting to get a glimpse of.
The one hiding beneath the gruff, asshole exterior. The one I was unexpectedly falling for.
I ran my fingers through his locs, the springy soft coils a comforting weight in my hand.
Shad stirred, nuzzling deeper in my chest. My heart did a little flip-flop.
Was this more than just sex? Was it more than just a snowed in fling?
I didn’t know, but it was something. Something I for sure didn’t want to walk away from.
I loved his rough exterior. I loved how he had somewhat of a soft side to him, too. I couldn’t help but feel as if Shad may be the one. Like, maybe this wasn’t just a coincidence. Maybe we crossed for a purpose. Maybe I was brought into his life to heal him.
…or maybe I was just thinking too deeply.
I had a damn track record of picking niggas who were emotionally unstable and unavailable.
Shad was a deeply damaged, complicated nigga.
Why did I think I could heal him? Pussy can’t fix it all.
I mean, maybe temporarily, but not permanently.
Shad needed more. He needed to be loved correctly so he could love correctly.
Or….
Maybe we were just two lonely ass people who found each other in the middle of a storm…
and that’s all it was? Yeeaaah, I was just thinking too much and needed some sleep.
I sighed, snuggling deeper into the couch, pulling the blanket up around us.
The fire was still going strong. Shad had thrown more wood inside before we settled onto the couch for the night.
All I had was this moment. This quiet, intimate moment in the dark with the snow falling outside…
…and the man I was falling for sleeping in my arms.
For now, that was enough.
Until my heart wanted more.
“That pussy got melatonin in it,” Shad joked first thing in the morning. I hadn’t even wiped the sleep out of my eyes.
The scent of marijuana woke me up. I cracked one eye open to see Shad sitting on the edge of the couch, shirtless. The morning light filtered through the window.
I groaned, pulling the blanket over my head. “It’s too early for your bullshit,” I mumbled, my voice muffled by the fabric.
“You gon’ have to eat a Pop-Tart or som’n,” he said through a cough. Shad smiled widely.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Merry Christmas, Daee.”
My stomach fluttered. It was Christmas morning. I had completely forgotten. Here I was, snowed in a man who didn’t give a damn about it, but was thoughtful enough to wish me a merry Christmas.
Soft ass Grinch.
“Merry Christmas to you, too, Shad,” I whispered back. “Did your family call?”
He snickered. “Yeah, bright and early. My mama and sister.”
I smiled. “That’s nice.”
“I have ‘bout thirty percent if you need to call yo’ people,” Shad offered.
My face lit up. “Let me go wash my face and brush my teeth first.”
I pushed the blanket off me and rushed down the hallway. When it was daylight, it was easier to make my way around his place without knocking into shit. I quickly handled my business and hygiene.
Mama knew Christmas was my favorite holiday, and I would be at their house before noon. We opened gifts, ate, and played games with the family. Thanksgiving, I was always with friends, but Christmas was always for family.
Shad reached out his phone to me when I approached him. I took it, and before I walked away with it, I leaned down and kissed the tip of his nose. Shad scrunched up his nose.
“Girl, what the fuck? I ain’t no lil’ kid. You better kiss these lips or this dick. “Don’t go looking through my photos! Might see some shit that might piss you off ‘cause I can tell you’re fallin’ in love, girl.”
I rolled my eyes. “I like you better when you just don’t talk,” I smacked, bouncing off to talk to my family.
“Hello?” Mama’s voice came out with hesitation.
“Hey, Ma. It’s me.”
“Holidaee! Oh Lord. Are you okay? We’ve been trying to reach you, girl!” she squeaked out.
“I know. I know. My phone is dead. This is Shad’s phone,” I told her, biting on a nail.
“Mmmmm Shad, huh? You said his name like you’re really familiar with him, Holidaee.”
I smirked, and she couldn’t see it. Looking around to make sure Shad wasn’t around, I whispered, “I think I like him, Ma.”
“Excuse me? What’s his name so your dad can look him up, Holidaee?”
I snickered and was horrified at the same time. My dad was a police officer in Heartville. All my past boyfriends, he did a background check on them. Some had clean backgrounds and still turned out to be a fuck nigga.
“Holidaee, are you… Are you having sex with him? Is he making you call me, Holidaee? Is this a…answer my FaceTime, Holidaee!”
I groaned when the video call came through. I answered it.
“No, Ma. I’m not messing with him,” I lied through my teeth.
My mom’s face filled the small screen, her eyes wide with a mix of relief and suspicion. Her hair was wrapped in a silk scarf, and she was sitting in her recliner with her coffee mug.
“Don’t lie to me, Holidaee. I can see it in your eyes and all over your damn neck!” I gasped, forgetting my neck was covered with Shad’s markings. I let out a sigh. I was caught and didn’t know what else to say. “Daee, be careful. You didn’t know this man, but you’re just giving it out.”
My eyes ballooned. “You’re making me sound like a ho,” I huffed out.
Her eyes softened. “I would never think of you like that, but I know how I was at your age. A fine man did something to me back in the day.”
I scrunched up my face, not wanting to hear anymore. “I’m being careful,” I assured her. “I just wanted to call and tell y’all Merry Christmas. This is a Christmas for the books for sure.”
“Merry Christmas, but don’t try to change the subject, little girl. Run me his whole name, and if you tell me you don’t know it, I’m going to shake my head. Can’t be giving up the goodies and not know his first and last name.”
“Shad Davis,”
My breath caught in my throat when Shad walked up.
“Is…Is that him?” Mama inhaled.
All I could do was nod.
“You might find a few charges under my belt, but that shit is in the past,” Shad continued.
“What kind of charges?” Mama asked.
Shad took the phone from me, and I could have gone outside and buried myself under the snow and frozen to death. This was so embarrassing.
“Drug charges. I used to slang it,” he told my Mama. My hand covered my mouth.
“Um…okay, at least you’re honest. You do know my husband…Holidaee’s father…is a police officer, right?”
“I know now, but what that mean? I ain’t scared of them.”
Oh my gaaaaawd, I screamed on the inside.
“It means that he’s going to do a thorough background check on you.”
“Is that needed?” Shad asked her, licking his lips. “Me and Holidaee aren’t a couple. Once the snow melts, she’ll be on her merry way.”
I don’t know why, but my heart sank to my ass when Shad said that. It was reality, though.
“But if we did…you know…become a couple, that’s on my background.
Just know your daughter is safe with me.
I’ve been taking really good care of her,” Shad said, wiggling his brows.
I had to reach out and slap his arm and yank his phone from him.
I was mortified, but my heart did a few flips at what he’d said. If we did…
“Nice meeting you Holidaee’s Mama!” Shad called out before winking and walking away. I watched him. Just for a little bit because he walked with his legs apart, and I knew exactly why.
My eyes slowly dragged back to my mama on the phone screen.
“Well…” she started, “he is very handsome. I see why you are falling for him.”
I hope Shad wasn’t listening.
“But?” I asked because I knew a but was coming.
“He admits to having been selling drugs,” she whispered. “When your father does a background check on him—"
“It’s my life, though,” I said, cutting her off.
My mom’s eyes widened. “It…is,” she said with a single bob to her head, “but you know we just want the best for you, Daee. What does he do now?”
“He drives for UPS, but Mama, we’re not dating. So this is really just irrelevant. As Shad stated, when the snow melts, I’ll be out of his hair and on my way.”
Her eyes squinted. “Something is telling me that’s not what you want.”
“To go home?” I quizzed with my brows dipping. “I miss my bed. I miss my Christmas décor. He has none.” I snickered.
“That’s men for you,” Mama laughed. “I know you don’t want to leave that man, Daee. He is single, right? You haven’t seen any signs of a woman in his home?”
I shook my head and licked my lips. “He’s single, but of course, you know what single guys do. Well, single people in general. But again, Shad and I… this was just a snowed-fling, Mama.”
We talked for a little while longer until I noticed his battery was at five percent. Dad got on the phone for a second, and I just knew Mama was about to have him run the background check as soon as we got off the phone. My thirteen-year-old sister, Denver, was still asleep.
I groaned, knowing I had to go back into the living room to face this goofy ass nigga. I dragged my feet. Shad was sitting on the couch smoking. There wasn’t anything else for him to do.