Chapter 9
Chapter
Nine
Eli
Mid-March
Though I usually got up when the sun did, I was sleeping quite peacefully when I heard light taps against my bedroom door.
A month had passed since I caught Justin and Natasha in bed together, and I was still living with Isaac.
There was no rush for me to find my own place, because his schedule was so busy.
By July, he’d be traveling and never home.
And since I did one show a quarter, I’d be traveling soon as well.
I wanted to cancel my next two shows after what happened, but Andrew said that would make me look like I was guilty or ashamed of my actions.
And even though I did feel bad about beating my ex best friend’s ass, he made it clear to me it would work more in my favor if I didn’t hide from it, instead putting the situation into my music and performances.
For a few seconds, I thought I was hearing things. With it being the off season, I refused to believe Isaac was up this early. I rolled over and grabbed my phone to check the time, but it clearly was before six because the sun hadn’t come up yet. Knocking sounded off again, and I groaned.
“Come in,” I directed, lifting my sheet and duvet up since I slept naked.
At the sight of Falcon, I wanted to hide under the bed. I had no idea what my face or hair looked like. Did I have eye boogers or crust around my mouth? Jesus.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked, though I’d meant to think that.
Falcon laughed as he stepped further into the room but still stayed about five feet away from the bed.
“Get dressed. Our first date is this morning.” His head tilted as he eyed my face slowly. “Good morning, by the way.”
“Good morning,” I grumbled, wiping my eyes. “What time is the date?”
“You’re not a morning person, are you?” Falcon asked with a teasing smile.
He was standing there looking too good and too chipper this early in the damn morning.
“At five a.m.? Absolutely not.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he informed me through his chuckle. “Need coffee or tea? Will that make it better?”
My shoulders relaxed and so did my pout as I considered his offer. “A latte. Uh, I have a very specific order from Brewed. You might want to write this down.”
“Aight, bet. I’ma put it in my notes app and make sure I have it every time I pop up on you in the morning.”
“Wait. You plan on making this a recurring thing?”
His expression turned serious as he looked from his phone to me.
“Of course. With my schedule, we’ll have to get quality time in whenever we can.
That will include mornings, Smiley.” While I tried to convince myself he meant to say fake dates instead of quality time, Falcon asked me, “Now what’s the very specific latte order? ”
“Brown sugar oatmilk latte with a splash of vanilla sweet cream. Add two pumps of cinnamon syrup. I like it with brown sugar whipped cream, not regular. And make sure you tell them to put cinnamon on the top and the bottom.”
“Got it. Now get up and get dressed. We have to be at the spot by six. No exceptions.”
Before I could ask for details, Falcon was already walking out of my room. Excitement filled me as I hopped out of bed. Regardless of this being a fake date, I was excited to spend some alone time with him.
I handled my hygiene and dressed as quickly as I could.
Even with me not knowing what we were doing or where we were going, I dressed comfortably in a loose-fitting, long-sleeved, two-piece matching set.
It was too early for this to be anything remotely romantic.
I tossed my hair around since it was holding my curls nicely and put on a quick dusting of blush and matching lipstick before heading out.
Not to my surprise, Isaac was shuffling around the kitchen shirtless with a frown like a grumpy old man. Neither of us were morning people, but I was happy and looking forward to whatever Falcon had planned for us.
“I’m tryna figure out why you taking my sister out on a date now when y’all first event ain’t until Wednesday,” Isaac said, carelessly tossing a pack of turkey bacon onto the island. During off seasons, he prepared his own breakfast and lunch, and his private chef only came to make dinner.
“I’ma answer because you my partna, but you know how I feel about anyone questioning me.”
My eyes rolled as I walked over to the island. They were so alike, which was why they got along so well. Neither of them liked to be questioned or controlled. I felt like Isaac was more stubborn than Falcon, but I wasn’t sure since I didn’t know him as well.
Falcon seemed to logically yield more or, at least, choose his battles wisely.
He tended to opt for peace and agreement more, while my brother gave it up to whoever, whenever, and didn’t care.
I realized just how crazy Isaac was when he got to fighting at church.
He told Marco it was on sight, and he meant that .
. . literally. That was the day I for sure thought the Lord was going to strike him down.
“For this to work, we need to look comfortable with each other. It has to look real. We’ve been talking, but I want us to get used to spending time around each other so it won’t look awkward.”
“Smart,” Isaac said. “Just make sure you remember this shit is fake.”
“Thank you for the latte,” I said, wanting to change the subject as I wrapped my hand around the cup.
“You’re welcome. When I ordered, the lady asked me was it for you.”
That made me laugh. “Yeah. Apparently, not everyone asks for cinnamon at the top and bottom. I love it.”
“Yeah, that, and the brown sugar and cinnamon combination. She said all of your modifications are uniquely you and that they are considering adding a brown sugar cinnamon latte to the menu because of you.”
“Ooh, that would be dope.” After taking a sip and moaning in pleasure, I told Isaac, “I’ll see you later, big brother.”
“See you later, baby love.” His finger pointed toward Falcon as he said, “Take care of my sister, nigga. I’m trusting you with the person that means the most in this world to me.”
“I know she’s a priceless treasure, and she will be treated as such,” Falcon assured him as he stood, and for some reason, his declaration made me smile.
We made our way outside in silence. He was in his Maserati Ghibli today, and of his five cars, this was my favorite. I noticed two SUVs parked as well.
“Since this is my first time going to this place and I have you with me, I’m bringing security. I don’t have them with me all the time while I’m not playing, but I likely will when I’m with you. When us dating breaks on social media, paparazzi will be out.”
“Sounds good to me. I wondered if you had issues with fans while you were home. I know Isaac takes security with him when he’s going out to parties or doing appearances, but that’s it.”
“Yeah, I’m kind of the same,” he shared, opening the door for me. “Now when we’re playing, I have security at all times.”
He closed the door and made his way around the car.
One of the SUVs pulled out, and Falcon followed, then the other got behind us.
The ride to wherever we were going was silent, and I would have been okay with that, but I could tell by the way he would grip and squeeze the wheel and nibble his bottom lip that something was bothering him.
“You okay?” I asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
Falcon looked over at me and gave me a quick smile. “Kind of lied to your brother and I hate that. I was honest but not as transparent as I usually am. I did tell the truth about us needing to get comfortable with each other, but I also wanted our first date to be real and private—just for us.”
“Aww, that’s actually really sweet. I get why that would have you conflicted, and I respect you wanting to be transparent and not just honest. In this case, though, withholding that last part was for the best. If he has any idea that we have feelings for each other, regardless of if we know it won’t lead to anything real, he’s going to want us to call this off. ”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “It’s cool though. I’ma shake it off, especially since I have a limited amount of time to spend with you today. The last thing I’m tryna do is think about your ugly ass brother while I’m with you.”
“Hey!” I yelled through my laughter. “People say we look just alike.”
“Hell naw.” His face twisted in disgust, which only made me laugh harder. “Y’all might be the same shade, but that’s as far as the similarities go. Maybe y’all got the same head shape too. You look like your mama, and he looks like Senior.”
When his body shook in disgust as he grimaced, I laughed so hard tears fell. I could honestly say my brother was attractive, but he did look more like our father than me. Our conversation flowed from there, not stopping until we arrived at the desert and I realized what we were doing.
Gasping, I sat up in my seat, dancing a little at the sight of the hot air balloon.
“You really made our first date a hot air balloon ride?”
“That’s what you said you wanted, right?”
My eyes watered as I nodded. Falcon wasn’t the first man I’d told that to, but he was the first man to plan it for me.
“Mhm.” I agreed, afraid if I spoke my voice would crack because of all the emotion surging through me.
He got out and made his way over to my side of the car, and we walked toward the booth and attendant hand in hand.
I zoned out while he signed us in for our reservation, but I paid close attention when it was time for us to listen to the process and rules.
The second we made it up into the air, I shed a few tears, then took a few pictures solo and with Falcon.
After that, I put my phone up so I could truly enjoy the moment.
It took me a while to realize what was happening and who I was enjoying it with.
I enjoyed every moment of our sunrise breakfast with mimosas. We made small talk but mostly enjoyed each other’s company. When we finished eating, we stood and took in the view.
“Thank you for this, Fally. This is the best first date ever, and I’m going to remember it forever,” I told him as I gave him a hug.
“You’re welcome, Smiley. Making you happy makes me happy, and I love seeing that smile on your face.”
That only made me smile harder before I buried my face in his chest. Eventually, I turned my head slightly to take in the view with my arms wrapped around him . . . with his arms wrapped around me. It wasn’t until we were told we were about to start our descent that Falcon broke the silence.
“Can I . . . kiss you?” I looked up at him. “You said you wanted our first kiss to be pri—”
“Yes,” I granted, not wanting him to think he had to explain why he’d asked. I wanted to kiss him. Hell, I’d been wanting to kiss him since I met him.
That was made clear when I smiled as he gripped my cheeks. When he gripped my neck, that smile turned into me tugging my bottom lip between my teeth as I swallowed down a moan.
“I can’t kiss you with you smiling so hard, L.”
“I can’t help it. I’m excited.”
“You’re excited to kiss me?”
“Yeah. You’re not excited to kiss me?”
“I am. I just didn’t think you’d feel the same.”
“Let me show you that I do.”
Falcon smiled and licked his lips before lowering himself to me.
The kiss started sweetly and innocent enough.
The longer we kissed, the more tender and passionate it became.
The more our hands roamed each other’s bodies, the wetter my pussy got.
And when he pulled my hair to tilt my head and deepen the kiss, two things happened.
One, I moaned. And two, I realized this fake relationship was going to get me in some real trouble.