16. Noree Marcell
Somehow, we ended up in my room. We walked in laughing and talking about nothing in particular, but I was glad we got that conversation out the way.
I unlocked the door with my heels in my hand, and he walked in behind me, looking around.
“Damn,” he said. “You keep it real clean in here.”
“Yeah, because I’m not one of them people who just be throwing stuff everywhere just because I’m in a hotel.” I dropped my heels by the closet. “I keep my room clean at my house too. I cannot deal with clutter.”
“I like that.” He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled his hat off, running his hand over his waves. “’Cause I’m typically the messy one.”
I smirked at him. “I bet. I can tell.”
Ozy chuckled. “Whatever, love. That’s what my maids get paid for. They better clean up behind a nigga.”
I snickered. “Yeah, okay.”
I went over to the dresser and pulled the second drawer open.
I was the type to unpack my bag the first night, fold everything, put it in drawers, and hang up what needed hanging.
My sister thought I was insane for it, but I hated having to dig in my bag for anything.
It just made more sense to fully unpack.
I pulled out my black silk muumuu, the pretty one with the little lace trim at the top that I brought just in case I wanted to feel cute in my own room and laid it across the chair.
Then I turned my back to him.
“Can you unzip me?”
He got up off that bed and slowly walked over to me, eyes low. I felt him behind me, felt his fingers find the top of my zipper, and he took his time bringing it down.
“Untie this too?” he asked, reaching for the part of my dress tied around my neck.
“Yes, please.”
He loosened the knot, and I quickly held the front of my dress against my chest. Then I looked over my shoulder at him.
“Are you gonna turn around?”
“Nah.” He was already backing up to sit down again. “I’m not about to turn around, love. I wanna see all them curves.”
“Excuse me? Who told you that you could see my body? I never said that” I teased.
“If you ain’t want me to see it,” he said, “you would’ve took your lil’ night dress in the bathroom with you and shit.”
I stood there for a second with my mouth open because he had me, and he knew he had me.
“Touché,” I said.
I let that dress drop and stepped out of it, standing there in nothing but my black lace bra and thong. I turned my back to him while I reached for the muumuu.
“Goddamn.” I heard the bed shift behind me. “That’s a whole lot of ass. Mama, you blessed for real.”
I busted out laughing so hard I almost couldn’t get that dress over my head. “Ozy, shut up.”
“I’m just saying! I’m being respectful about it, or shit, at least I’m trying to.”
I pulled the muumuu down and went into the bathroom, still laughing, and by the time I got my makeup wipes out, he was leaning in the doorway with his shoulder against the frame, watching me.
I could see him in the mirror while I wiped my face down, holding on to the counter with my free hand because that liquor was definitely kicking in.
“You gone let me have you tonight?” he asked.
I stopped mid-wipe and met his eyes in the mirror.
“I thought you said yesterday you wasn’t on that with me.”
“I’m not.” He held my eyes. “But I wanna be.”
“Well.” I dropped the wipe in the trash. “I’m not typically the person who sleeps with somebody on day two of knowing them.”
He walked into the bathroom, and I turned around to face him. Before I could get another word out, he put his hands on my waist and lifted me straight up onto that counter.
I yelped, surprised by him doing that. I didn’t know he had it in him. I mean, he wasn’t a string bean and had a lil’ bit of muscles or whatever, but sheesh, he was strong.
“Oh!” I said, stunned.
“Yeah.” He was grinning down at me. “I’m stronger than what you thought, huh?”
“Hell yeah, you are.” I playfully fanned myself.
He stepped in between my legs and put a hand on the counter on each side of my thighs, and now we were face-to-face with nowhere for me to go.
“I told you yesterday I’m not gone push you into nothing,” he said. “I meant that. But I know you want this as bad as I do.”
“See, now you wrong about that.”
“How so?”
“Because I want it about ten times more than you do.” I looked him right in his face when I said it. “I’m not intimate with anybody right now. I haven’t had dick in a lonnng time. I’m tipsy, I’m horny as hell, and you’ve been looking good all night. But… I don’t know.”
The way that man looked at me after that should be illegal.
He leaned in to kiss me, and I turned my head at the last second, playfully, just to be difficult.
“Aight.” He backed all the way up with his hands raised. “I’ma chill, love.”
And then this man started moonwalking backward out of my bathroom.
He made it about four feet before his elbow caught the doorframe, and he stumbled sideways into the wall.
I have never in my life laughed the way I laughed at that. I was holding my stomach. I was wheezing. I had to hold on to the counter to keep from falling off of it.
“Damn,” he said, rubbing his elbow. “You made me hurt my elbow, Noree. The fuck is you on?” He gave me a look, a smile tugging at his sexy lips.
“Boy, you made yourself hurt your elbow! Nobody told you to be trying to moonwalk in a hotel bathroom!”
“Must be some shit on the floor.”
I shook my head and hopped down. “Uh, no! The floor is not slippery!”
“Aye, shut up.” He let out a hearty laugh, then went on back into the room. I was still laughing to myself while I brushed my teeth.
“You need anything?” I called out. “Water or something?”
“How you checking on me? I’m supposed to be the one checking on you.”
“Yeah, well, I like to check on my man. What’s wrong with that?
” I paused with the toothbrush in my mouth and realized what I said.
“I mean, I’m not saying you’re my man. I’m just saying ain’t nothing wrong with me doing it.
You the world-famous Ozy Love. I can’t have you passing out in here and then trying to tell people I took advantage of you. ”
I came to the doorway of the bathroom and looked at him. He grinned. “Girl, you could take advantage of me any time you want. Stop playing. You know what you doing.”
“I’m not doing anything.” I was doing a little flirting, so what? Sue me.
“Nah, I’m good for right now, though. Thanks for asking… with yo’ pretty ass.”
I was blushing for sure, but I walked back into the bathroom, finished up, and when I came out, he was stretched out on top of my covers, leaned back on his elbows with his shoes off, looking entirely too comfortable.
I climbed up on the other side of the bed and sat with my back against the headboard.
“Come here,” he said.
“No, Ozy. I told you I’m not sleeping with you.”
“Girl, just come here.”
I crawled across that bed to him, and when I got close enough, he kissed me. Just once. Soft. Then he reached up, pushed my hair back behind my ear, took my hand, and kissed the back of it.
I sat up and looked at him. “Who knew you were so affectionate?”
“Physical touch is my thing, love. That and words of affirmation.”
My eyes got big. “Really?”
“Yeah, really.” He got serious about it too. “You better tell me I look good every day of the week. You better tell me I’m that nigga. Especially when I’m in it.”
“Oh my God.” I pushed his head. “Boy, please.”
“Nah, but for real though.” He sat up some.
“I do like words of affirmation. And the thing about it is, in this industry, you’d think I hear it all day.
I don’t. I hear numbers. I hear what’s underperforming.
I hear what the label wants next. I don’t hear a lot of actual praise about nothing I do.
Don’t nobody give me my flowers, for real. ”
“That’s actually sad.”
“It ain’t sad. It’s just how it goes. But that’s why I like it from my woman. Compliment me every now and then. Tell me you like my haircut, even if the barber messed my shit up and got me looking like I’m saluting, got my line pushed so far back I look surprised.”
I was already laughing.
“Or if I get a new outfit. Or new cologne. Basic shit. And the physical touch, I like to be all up under my woman. When you move, I move. Just like that.”
“Okay, Ludacris!”
He fell out. “You just messed my whole moment up, shawty. Chill.”
“My bad.” I wiped my eyes. “No, I hear you, though. That’s real.”
“What about you? What’s your love language?”
“Words of affirmation too,” I said. “I’m not the biggest on physical touch, but I’m not opposed to it either. But what I really want from a man is quality time. That’s number one on my list.”
“Why that one?”
“Because time is all we got, and you can’t get none of it back.
” I pulled my legs up under me. “And I don’t even mean big stuff.
I mean sitting with me while reading books and neither one of us saying a word for two hours.
Cooking together. Cleaning together. Trying a new restaurant that turns out to be terrible and laughing about it in the car.
Just being in the same space as me on purpose. I love that. I love, love, love that.”
“Aight, that’s fair.”
“And I love gifts too. Let’s not act brand new.”
That’s when his eyes went to my ears.
“Oh.” He smiled slowly. “So, you did like the gift.”
“I told you I liked it when you gave them to me.” I turned my head to the left and the right so he could see them catch the light. “And they went really good with my outfit tonight.”
“Yeah, you looked…good as fuck.”
I smiled. “Don’t be tryna compliment me out my panties Ozy.”