CHAPTER 16 #2
Xander boasted a lopsided grin and gestured toward the stove. “I fried some chicken, sauteed some zucchini and squash, and smothered a couple of potatoes.”
Niyah stepped back and twisted her lips in disbelief. “You frying and smothering stuff up in here?” she questioned skeptically.
Xander widened his eyes as if offended. “Umm, yeah!” he countered. “What are you trying to say?”
Niyah raised a hand to her hip and pursed her lips. “Ion know about eating white people’s fried chicken.”
Xander laughed out loud and moved his face close to hers. “Lady, let me tell you something. I have fried the fuck out of that chicken. I put a shitload of garlic powder, onion, powder, and Slap yo Mamma on that chicken, young lady.”
Niyah folded her arms and looked up at him with a raised brow. “Did you put salt on it?”
Xander snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her body to his. He lowered his head to hers and whispered in her ear. “I put my foot in that chicken.”
Niyah threw her head back and laughed out loud. “Okay, Alexander! And you smothering shit, too?”
“Yep,” Xander confirmed with a confident nod. He walked over to the stove and held up a plate of fried chicken layered with paper towels to soak up the oil. Niyah covered her mouth and laughed. “Clearly, some black woman done taught you how to fry chicken,” she joked.
“No, ma’am,” Xander argued with a frown. “My mother taught me how to fry chicken. She said that I may someday need to know how.”
Niyah giggled.
“No. For real,” Xander countered with laughter. “My and I were slobs, like total pigs. I don’t think she believed that we’d ever mature enough to get married or have families.” He chuckled. “I think she was teaching us survival skills for men who couldn’t get a woman.”
Niyah fell against the island in shameless and complete hysteria. Tabitha Creed had thought that her sons weren't gonna be shit.
Niyah was laughing so hard that she didn't see Xander move behind her. He snaked and arm around her and placed his palm to her quivering belly. “Take your wine and go in there and sit down,” he whispered near her ear.
His solid chest was pressed against her back.
She could feel the rise and fall of his breath, entering and exiting his strong torso.
But strangely, Niyah felt safe. For her, retreating was not an option.
Being swallowed in Xander’s manliness might have been the only way to change the bloody image in her head.
At the same time, the thought of getting caught in a web of hot-guy seduction was just as terrifying.
Niyah grabbed her wine and whispered, “excuse me,” before sliding between Xander and the counter. She could feel his eyes on her as she left the kitchen. She went into the living room, bypassing the blanket to sit on the couch.
She was only a few minutes into watching the Bears lose when Xander entered with two plates. He placed them on the blanket and returned to the kitchen, only to return with utensils. “Come on, Doc,” he urged, taking his seat on the blanket.
Niyah joined him on the blanket and was immediately allured by the delicious aroma of well-seasoned fried chicken. “Mmm... That smells good Xander.”
She picked up her plate and sat it on her crossed legs.
A fork to the veggies confirmed that they were crispy.
But first, Niyah wanted to sample the star of the plate.
She grabbed a golden-brown leg and bit into it.
An immediate burst of flavor was a treat to her senses.
After swallowing, she looked at him with wide-eyed astonishment. “Alexander, this is delicious.”
“I know,” he said with a sexy grin. “Girl, I told you I can cook.”
Niyah started with another comment. But she couldn’t speak because her mouth was full. She was destroying Xander’s chicken. The day had been crazy from start to finish and she hadn’t had time to eat a proper meal.
Before long, Niyah had nearly cleaned her plate.
She sucked her fingers with no pretense of dainty femininity.
Xander’s lustful gaze on her mouth as she licked the remains of the chicken from her fingers hadn’t escaped her attention.
He shifted his position and looked away when he realized she was watching.
Niyah suppressed a smile. She lifted her goblet to her lips and took a generous gulp of wine.
Xander cleared his throat. “So, tell me, Doc. What made you chose pathology?”
Niyah chuckled. “I guess it grew from a desire or maybe even a need to solve the mystery of the unexplained death.”
“And… you don’t have to deal with the living,” he remarked with a smirk.
Niyah giggled. “Ding. Ding. Ding. Give that man a prize.”
Xander raised a brow. “You do seem rather shy.”
“I’m not shy at all, Xander. I just don’t feel the need to talk to everyone.”
“Understandable,” Xander acknowledged with a nod.
He pointed to a photo on the cocktail table. “Your family?”
“Yep, my mom and sister.”
Xander turned back to her with confusion in his expression. “Forgive me for saying, but I kinda thought you refused to let me take you out because I’m white.”
Niyah looked away mainly because it was true. Although Xander and the rest of the Creeds seem like really nice people, she just didn’t trust white people.
“How can you dislike white people when your mother is white?” he asked, apparently reading her mind.
Niyah smiled to hide her discomfort with the conversation. “I don’t dislike white people.”
“But you won’t date a white guy?” he asked while glaring at her through narrowed lids.
After a nervous chuckle, Niyah pointed to the photograph. “Xander, if you think the fact that my mother is white is some kind of proof that racism doesn’t exist in interracial courtships, you are very much mistaken. My mother is as racist as they come.”
Xander’s face twisted in disbelief. “Whaaat?”
Niyah sighed. “I don’t wanna talk about my mother. And as far as dating goes, I’m not dating anyone, black or white.”
“Why?”
Xander certainly wasn’t shy. Niyah chuckled nervously. He was downright intrusive. She shook her head and grabbed her plate from the blanket. Xander placed his hand on her shoulder before she could stand. “Relax. I got this.”
He took her plate and gathered the rest of the dishes. Niyah watched him all the way to the kitchen. Her eyes never left his tight, muscular ass. The man was definitely easy on the eyes. Niyah smiled when he reappeared with two bowls. “Don’t tell me you made desert too.”
Xander chuckled. “Yep. Two scoops of peanut butter pecan ice cream.”
Niyah laughed as he sat and accepted the bowl. “My favorite,” she cooed.
“That’s probably why it was in your freezer.”
Trying to stay true to her no-dating-Xander rule nearly flew right out the window at the sight of his tongue licking all traces of ice cream from the cool metal pressed between his lips.
Niyah actually heard the hungry breath that escaped her lungs.
After clearing her throat, she looked away with the hope that staring at the wall would quell the jitters between her thighs.
“What about your dad?” Xander asked. “Are you guys close?”
Niyah smiled at the mention of her father. “We are. We don’t see each other as much as I would like, but he’s my hero.”
“That’s great because I get the feeling that you and your mom don’t have the best relationship.”
Niyah sighed. “Don’t get me wrong. I love my mom. It’s just… well, I don’t think she loves me.” Niyah dropped her head and focused on the paisley printed blanket. “I mean, how could she? Sadly, having two black children did nothing to cure her racism.”
“How can that be?”
The naivete in his voice was strangely enduring. Niyah lifted her head and got locked into his oceanic gaze. “It’s just the way things are.”
Xander frowned and covered her hand with his. “Well, that’s her problem, not yours.”
Niyah smiled. “You’re right.”
Xander’s eyes grew wide as he looked past her shoulder. “Oh, shit!
“What?” Niyah gasped, turning to see what he was looking at.
“The Bears scored!” he shouted with laughter.
Niyah chuckled. “They do that?”
“Apparently,” Xander joked. “They’re only down by a field goal. They might win this.”
A pursed lip and raised brow displayed Niyah’s skepticism. She scooped a spoonful of ice cream and stuffed it in her mouth. “Well, let’s watch and see.” ?