20. Noree Marcell
We were in the middle of talking and laughing and had gotten down to the last little bit of that Chinese food, sitting in the couch area of his studio, just me and him.
He leaned over and grabbed a napkin.
“You got something on your mouth.”
“Oh my God, I do?”
I went to use my thumb to wipe it, and he said, “Nah, I got it.”
And he wiped my mouth for me.
Which was cute. It was. But I decided to say something.
“Why is it that you felt the need to wipe my mouth for me?”
“Shit. I was just trying to help you out.” He shrugged.
I laughed and playfully pushed his shoulder as I set my bowl and spoon down on the table. Then I pulled my feet up underneath me, so I was sitting on them.
“That’s a problem?” he asked, smirking a little before taking a bite of his house special fried rice.
“You know you shouldn’t be wiping off my mouth, Ozy. Your girl was just tripping.” I tilted my head. “Matter of fact, she trips every time she sees me.”
“Yeah. And that’s probably not gonna change.”
I looked at him, confused.
“So, you’re just okay with her popping off all the time? Always upset, jealous? Like, that don’t get tiring sometimes?”
“I mean, it does. But me and her both got our own shit going on. I don’t be paying her ass no mind.”
“Well, that’s probably the reason why she’s doing the things that she’s doing. Because you’re not paying her any mind.”
He laughed. “Yep. Probably.”
“I’m actually surprised that the two of y’all ended up in an actual real relationship.”
“Yeah. She was there for me when shit got bad.” He shrugged. “So, we ended up making shit official.”
“Oh, that’s cute.” I said it dry as hell.
He laughed, shaking his head, and then took his hat that was facing forward and twisted it backward. He licked his lips and took another bite of his food.
“That’s actually crazy.”
“What?”
“Never mind. Don’t even worry about it.” I tried to change the subject.
“Nah. If you gon’ say something, then say it.”
I paused. “Are you happy?”
He stopped chewing, sat there for a second longer than he needed to, then set his bowl down on the table.
He nodded. “Yeah. I guess so.”
“That isn’t really an answer.” I raised my eyebrow. “It’s either a yes or a no, sir. And plus, you hesitated a lot, so I’m not really convinced.”
He chuckled. “Why are you grilling me all of a sudden? I look like a fucking grilled cheese to you?”
“Actually, you do.”
We both busted out laughing so hard I had to hold my stomach.
When the laughter died down, he eyed me and said, “Aye... where you be running off to on your off days?”
My eyes grew wide for a moment, not expecting him to ask me that, but I definitely wasn’t about to tell him I was going to see my... I mean, our baby on the few off days I’d had so far.
“Uh, to mind my own business, nosy.”
“Oh, you got a nigga?”
I scoffed. “I definitely do not.”
“Yeah, aight.”
Then he stood up and headed over to the minibar.
“You want a drink?”
“You know what happened the last time we had a drink.” I shook my head. “So, actually, no. I don’t.”
“Well, ain’t nobody tryna fuck you, Noree.”
I giggled. “Good. Because I just came here to do my job, go home, and that’s it.”
“Well, you’re doing a good job at it.” He was pouring, not looking at me.
“I feel like your voice is probably one of the best that I’ve heard in a long time.
And it’s gotten even better from the last time I heard it.
It’s got so much more depth to it, if you know what I mean.
It feels more mature. You’re more comfortable too.
” He shook his head. “Shit. There’s a lot I could say about your voice. ”
“Aww.” I felt my whole face get warm.
“Well, if I’m being honest, I can honestly say some similar things about your voice as well.
Your voice is a little different. It’s a little huskier.
It’s a little bit more mature, for sure.
” I looked down at my hands. “I can hear the pain in it. I can hear the hunger in it. I can hear the love in it, for sure. So, I guess when I asked if you were happy, that was one of the reasons. Because I was really wanting to know if you were in love.”
He ain’t say nothing to that.
He just came walking back over with two shots and took a seat on the arm of the sofa.
I looked at that cup, then up at him.
“Boy, you know I don’t drink brown.”
“Oh, shit. I forgot.”
“You know what? It’s cool.” I accepted it anyway. “Cheers to us creating bomb music. We sound amazing together. Cheers to more songs, more life, more money, more opportunities. And more connections.”
“Oh, shit.” He grinned. “I like that one.”
We clinked our cups and took the shots.
The burn went down my chest like fire, and I shook my head hard.
“Yeah. Now I see why I don’t ever drink brown. It tastes like liquid death.”
“You just a big-ass baby. It’s not even that bad.”
“Whatever.”
I got up off the sofa and stretched, arms all the way over my head. My eyes were closed for a moment as I inhaled and exhaled.
“You tired?”
“A little bit. But I’ll be alright.” I let my arms drop.
He smiled a little.
“What are you smiling about?”
“I said it before but…I really love the way that you are with King.”
That got me. I smiled too.
“I can say the same. I know we still don’t really know as much about each other but seeing you stepping into the role as an uncle slash father figure for him is honestly amazing to see.
And I think that once he gets older, he will forever cherish the relationship that y’all have.
” I was talking with my hands now. “I love y’all cute little handshakes and just how you talk to him and speak life into him. Like, I love it.”
“Damn. I appreciate that.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m trying my hardest. This shit is new for me. I don’t know much about being in a father figure role, but—”
“No. You’re not trying. You’re actually doing it.” I put my hand up. “So high five.”
He looked at me crazy.
“My bad.” I dropped it. “I’ve been hanging around King too long.”
“Yeah, you have.” He stood up. “You want another shot?”
“You know what? Why not.”
He walked back over to fix the drinks and ended up just deciding to bring the whole bottle over to the table.
And then, before I knew it, we were taking shot after shot, just talking and laughing, writing lyrics down in his notepad, listening to more beats. It was an amazing vibe. Just kicking it with each other.
But then I ended up getting hot.
I stood up to take off my cardigan and thank God I brought it because it was definitely cold as hell in his studio when we got there, even though he acted like it wasn’t.
But now?
That Hennessy was kicking in. I could feel a little bit of sweat around my edges and a little bit above my lip, so I wiped my forehead and above my lip real discreetly.
He laughed. “Oh, that liquor getting to you, huh?”
“Boy, mind your business.”
I tossed my cardigan on the sofa behind me and stretched again.
“Why you keep getting up stretching? You trying to show me your body or something?”
“Boy, no. My back is hurting.” I put my hand on my lower back. “I know you see this wagon I’m dragging.”
“Oh, I absolutely do see it. That ass done got fatter since the last time I seen it.”
“Excuse you, boss.” I put my hand up. “Shouldn’t we get back to work?”
“You the one who said some shit about a wagon. I wasn’t even thinking about the wagon until you said something about the wagon.”
We both busted out laughing again.
Then my phone made that noise that signified it was dying, so I had to walk past him to plug it up.
“Excuse me.”
I reached across him and lost my footing.
Somehow, I ended up falling right into him and since he was sitting on the arm of the sofa, he fell down into the actual sofa, and I landed right on top of him.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall on you.”
“You sure you didn’t?”
And then we were looking into each other’s eyes. Our faces started gravitating toward each other, and the shit was crazy. Looking into his eyes again. Just falling for him all over.
Our lips ended up on each other, and we were tonguing each other down like it was the last time.
That kiss was amazing. Better than the last one I remembered. It was sweet. It was sensual. It was sexy. And it was turning me the fuck on, honestly, because I hadn’t had any dick since him.
He was the last person I’d been with, so trust me. My pussy juices were running. Everything was throbbing.
And as bad as I wanted him, I pulled away because I wasn’t about to take it there with him.
I stood up off him, feeling embarrassed.
“I’m sorry. That’s on me. I’m just gonna go.”
“Why are you leaving?”
“Because we just kissed, Ozy. Like, what do you mean?”
“Okay. And I want to do it again.”
“Well, I can’t. Because you are in a relationship…a relationship you said you’re happy in.”
“I lied.”
I froze. “About what?”
“About being happy.”
“Well, why would you lie?”
“Because lying meant that I ain’t have to admit that I still have feelings for you after all this time.”
I was shocked, but I didn’t know what to do. I just stood there and looked at this man.
“Listen. I don’t think this is gonna happen between us again.”
“Noree—”
“No.” I cut him off. “It’s okay, but… I do have something that I need to tell you.” My nerves kicked up the second the words left my mouth.
He paused for a moment, just looking at me. “What’s up?”
“So, uh… remember when we had––”
Girl, this isn’t the right time. Shut up.
“Tacos for dinner? Yeah… King loved those.”
He chuckled right as his phone started ringing.
“Hold on one second. Let me see who’s calling.”
He walked over and grabbed it, looked at the name, and answered. It was his brother saying he was putting the kids to bed but ain’t know if he was supposed to be dropping King back off.
Ozy looked over at me.
“Can you pick King up from my brother’s in the morning?”
I nodded.
“Yeah, he can stay the night,” he said into the phone. “I’ll just have Noree pick him up in the morning.”
Once he finally got off the phone, he turned back around as I grabbed my cardigan, charger, and purse.
“Sooo… I’m gonna go. But I did have an amazing session with you, and I can’t wait to hear the song mixed and mastered and all that good stuff. So, I will see you, I guess, tomorrow at some point around the house.”
And I ain’t even really give him a chance to answer. I rushed out of that studio, pulling my keys out of my purse so I could get to my car. And when I got in and shut that door, I just sat there.
I couldn’t believe I almost took it there with him again.
And I still ain’t get to tell him about Oaklynn.
I stayed in the car for a while, letting the liquor wear off and resting my eyes. Luckily, I had a bag of chips in my console, so I tore those up, eating every last one while I sat there trying to get myself together.