Chapter 8 #2
“You can smoke while working for UPS?” I questioned, tossing his phone beside him. “Your phone is going dead.”
“I got the job already. Shit, been on it for a few months now. I’m good at what I do, so they’d better let me smoke in peace,” he answered. “Your mama likes me, don’t she?”
“She said your hair looks nappy and you look a lil’ rough,” I lied, seeing the smile Shad wore turn menacing. His smile completely evaporated. Shad took a long, slow drag from his blunt while grilling me. If shad said anything out of the way about my mama, I’ll probably crash out.
“She say that?” he asked, voice dangerously calm.
I swallowed back my teasing smile and nodded.
“Aight.” His head bobbed. “Wash my shit and braid me back up. We have nothing but time, baby.”
I shifted from one foot to the other. My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten anything yet. I couldn’t believe I wasn’t eating a nice Christmas dinner.
“How do you even know I know how to braid?” I quizzed.
Shad gawked at me like I was stupid. “Go eat some and then get me right. Don’t need Mama talkin’ all crazy ‘bout a nigga.”
His hair didn’t even look all that bad. It was just a few short unruly hairs sticking up. The first night, he wore a durag to bed. Since we’d been hunching on one another, Shad had been forgetting to protect his hair at night.
I did know how to do hair, well, braid to the scalp. I also didn’t mind doing Shad’s hair if it meant being close to him. My body was already going through withdrawals, missing him inside.
I went to the kitchen and grabbed a strawberry frosted Pop-Tart and a room-temperature bottled water.
I hate that all of Shad’s food in the refrigerator was going to have to be thrown out.
This part was okay, but it was nothing like the honey-glazed ham, greens, candied yams, and baked mac ‘n cheese that I could have had today.
When I finished, I crumpled up the foil wrapper and tossed it in the trash. I gulped my water and then hollered, “Where’s the shampoo and conditioner? I need a wide-tooth comb too!”
In the middle of the kitchen, I turned up the water bottle and continued to gulp it down.
I could hear Shad moving around his home, hopefully gathering everything I needed.
As I was tossing the empty bottle into the trash, he sauntered in with everything I asked for, including a towel draped over one shoulder.
His eyes were red and low, but focused on me.
This man is so damn fine.
Removing my eyes from Shad, I turned and ambled to the sink to turn the water on.
“I’m going to start with warm water to clean your hair and…”
Shad came behind me and pressed his front to my back like the mannish nigga he was. He leaned down and kissed my neck, then placed everything on the counter. My face heated.
“You like kissing on me?” I asked him.
Shad chuckled. “I guess I do. I can’t help it.”
Using my elbow, I moved him back so I could turn to him. He groaned.
“What?” I quizzed, squinting at him.
“You bet not ask me what we doin’. I just like kissing on you, aight. Fuckin’ you, too.”
A blush crept up my neck, and my ears burned. I smacked Shad’s chest. Shad just grinned that lazy, confident grin that had grown on me.
“Put your head in the water,” I ordered, pointing to the sink. “I’ll try not to drown you.”
“Don’t play wit’ me, Holidaee.”
Shad tossed the towel onto the counter near the sink and ran his eyes down my frame.
He swiped his lips with his tongue before pivoting and dipping his head under the water.
The position stretched his tattoo-covered back, the muscles in his shoulders and arms flexed as he braced himself on the counter.
I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the fluttering in my chest and stomach…
and maybe in my heart, too, and got to work.
I wet Shad’s hair thoroughly, the water darkening the tight coils. His hair was beautiful. As I worked the shampoo into a lather, my fingers massaging his scalp, Shad let out a low, appreciative groan.
“Fuuuuck, this is almost as good as your pussy, girl.”
“Just be quiet,” I muttered with a huge smile on my face.
“You got hands like a masseuse, Daee,” he continued.
I rinsed the suds out, and the water ran milky down the drain.
Next, I squeezed a generous amount of conditioner into my palm and worked it through his hair.
My fingers detangled the few snarls that had formed.
Shad was quiet now, his body relaxed, completely surrendering under my touch.
I grabbed the comb and began to use it to detangle while his hair was drenched in conditioner.
Once I was done, I rinsed the conditioner out, turned the water off, and grabbed the towel to gently pat his hair dry.
“Okay,” I said, nibbling on my lip. “Go sit in the living room so I can braid you up. Do you have any other hair products?”
Shad motioned down the hall with his head as we left the kitchen. “In the bathroom. Get what you need. I’m finna roll up real quick.”
I took off toward his bathroom while he sauntered to the living room. I found what I needed and then headed back to where he was. Shad had dragged his beanbag against the couch, settled on the floor, and was gutting the cigar.
I sat behind Shad on the couch, my knees bracketing his shoulders. He turned and placed a kiss on my thigh.
“Shaaad,” I whined. “Stop doing shit like that.”
“Like what?” he questioned without turning to look at me.
“Like this shit is more,” I honestly expressed. “It’s only gonna make it hard for me to leave.”
There. I said it. I let my real feelings out.
I waited a moment for him to respond…but he didn’t.
Shad continued to roll his blunt. The new silence in the room was uncomfortable…
to me. I picked up the comb and the small bottle of leave-in conditioner.
I evenly massaged it into his hair and then began to section his hair for the first plait to his scalp.
Shad smoked while I worked my magic. His head was heavy in my lap, a solid warm weight. My fingers worked methodically, weaving the three strands of his hair over and under, over and under.
About halfway through, his hand came to rest on my calf, his thumb stroking it.
“You good at this. You damn near put me to sleep,” he murmured. “You make a nigga wanna keep you around.”
My heart stuttered. I wanted to stay. I wanted to keep braiding his hair, to feel his hands on me, to wake up to the scent of his weed in the morning.
I finished the last braid and tied them all together at the ends as he had before. I ran my hands over his head, admiring my work. The braids were neat and tight, a perfect grid against his scalp.
“All done,” I whispered.
Shad turned his head, his cheek brushing my thigh, the hair tickling me. He peered up at me, his eyes red and low, but I saw the softness in them. Shad reached up and cupped the back of my neck, pulling me down toward him.
“C’mere,” he commanded, his voice a low rumble.
I don’t know why my body turns into a puddle when he demands something, but it does.
I’m like putty in his hands. I leaned in, and Shad kissed me.
It wasn’t a hungry kiss like he always kissed me.
It was slow and deep. His lips moved against mine with a certainty that stole my breath.
When Shad finally pulled away, he rested his forehead against mine.
“I think the snow is finally melting,” he released.
My whole body went rigid. The warmth from the kiss, the softness in his eyes…it all vanished, replaced by a sudden, chilling cold. His words just hung in the air for a moment. It was like a damn deadline.
“Before my phone died, I saw it on the weather app,” he continued. “You can go home soon. Hopefully, you can still celebrate Christmas ‘fore the day over.”
Home. That word was like a bitter pill. I missed it, but as soon as I walk out that door, I think I’ll miss Shad too.
I offered a small, fake smile. “Yeah. I can’t wait.” I lifted a leg over his head, stood, grabbing the hair products I had used to put them back in his bathroom.
“Awwww, don’t seem so down, Daee!” Shad joked.
“I’m…I’m not. I’m excited to go home and…and be with family,” I stammered. It was the truth.
“I bet,” I heard him say. “Come lie down wit’ me fo a nap. A nigga sleepy.”
When we woke around four, we heard kids laughing outside. I’d hopped up and run to the window. The snow had stopped coming down and was melting. Kids were running around, throwing the snow at one another, and making snow angels. It was cute.
I could see my car, and my heart dipped.
There was a humming sound, and the electricity popped on.
“‘Bout time,” Shad mumbled, turning over onto his stomach. “I’m ready to get back in my bed. My back hurtin’ ‘n shit.”
Grabbing the remote, I powered the TV on to see if the roads were clear. I had to charge my phone before I do, just in case I had an emergency on the way home.
The snow is clearing, but the roads are icy. It is not safe to be on the roads just yet….
A wave of relief so potent it made my knees weak washed over me. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
“I guess you’re stuck wit’ me a lil’ longer.” Shad’s voice was muffled by the pillow. “Bro, I need some real food. We’ve been snacking for two damn days. Go ‘head and put your phone on the charger first. I can wait.”
“Awww,” I cooed. “You so nice.”
Shad groaned, stretching his body before he rose, rubbing his face with his hands. “Meet me in the bedroom. Let me go rinse my mouth out. Stuffing his hands in the front of his pants, he swaggered out of the room.
This man was determined to have me walking crooked when I left his home.