Chapter 7 Asia
The more I spoke to him, the more captivated I was by his presence.
But now that Ma was texting me, I had to cut our conversation short. Pretty soon she would be blowing up my phone - Ma didn't play about her food and she could go from pleasant to hangry in an instant.
I stood, shouldering my laptop bag after securing the device inside.
Nyree stood with me. We lingered for a few moments, staring at each other.
I didn't want to leave him. It wasn't that we talked about anything particularly engrossing or fascinating, but there was something about his conversation and swagger that I enjoyed.
Nyree was cool without trying too hard. And he was something to look at too.
I strode toward the hotel's restaurant to grab the menu and to my surprise, he walked beside me.
"I might as well grab me something to eat too," he said, but something in his eyes, coupled with the fact that I caught him studying my body when he thought I wasn't looking let me know what was up.
He was feeling me just as much as I didn't want to admit I was feeling him. We approached the hostess.
"Hello, may I have a menu please?" I asked, but the woman wasn't even looking at me.
She was too busy studying Nyree. A pang of jealousy grew in my chest, until I glanced up at his profile and realized he wasn't paying her no mind.
He was looking at the menu that was displayed in a stand near the hotel's entrance.
It showed some of the daily specials. "Hey, how is y'all pan-seared salmon?
" he asked, tearing his eyes away from the menu display and catching that the woman was ogling him.
His eyes flitted toward me and I couldn't help the smirk that quirked across my lips before I fixed my face.
The woman cleared her throat. "The pan-seared salmon is one of our most popular dishes," she answered, then grabbed a menu for me. "Here you go, ma'am."
I took the menu from her outstretched hand. "Mind if I bring this to my room?" I asked. "I'm here with my mother and we wanted to order room service."
She flashed me a winning smile and her gaze fixated on Nyree before responding. "Of course. As a matter of fact, go ahead and take two!" Her voice had lifted a couple of octaves, like she was excited for me to get the hell on so she could sink her teeth into Nyree.
Nyree seemed oblivious to what was happening as he turned to me. "Damn, you’re leaving so soon?"
I fought not to blush. Why was this man having such an effect on me? Yeah, he was cute or whatever, but it wasn't like I had never met a sexy man before. I played it cool. "Yeah, unfortunately, I have to go. Momma is waiting."
"Damn, tell Momma to stop playing and come down and eat with us."
I giggled.
The thought wasn't half bad but I was not inviting my mother down. She would inundate Nyree with a thousand questions before we even ordered our appetizers. I was mortified at the thought. "Maybe next time," I said with a smile. Then I turned to go.
"Asia," he said in a soft tone.
Nyree's hand on my arm sent a wave of warmth through my body. The hostess's jealous glare only intensified as he held my attention.
"Asia," he said again, his voice low. "I gotta ask you something."
I swallowed, suddenly aware of how close we were standing. "What's that?"
His eyes locked with mine. "You got a man?"
The question caught me off guard. My cheeks warmed as I stammered, "I—no. I don't." The words came out more reluctant than I intended, like I was admitting to something I shouldn't.
A slow smile spread across his face. "Good. Because I'm trying to be your man."
My heart skipped several beats. The directness of his approach left me speechless for a moment. No games, no pretending, just straight up telling me what he wanted. I found it refreshing but at the same time, my guard was still up.
"I—I don't know about all that," I said, taking a small step back. My reaction surprised even me. Here was this gorgeous man, openly expressing interest, and I was pulling away. "We barely know each other."
Nyree's confidence didn't waver. "That's why I'm trying to get to know you better."
I fidgeted with the menus in my hand, suddenly unsure of myself. "Maybe we could, um, exchange numbers?" I offered, not understanding why I was being so hesitant. "Be friends first?"
Instead of looking disappointed, Nyree's eyes lit up with amusement. Without missing a beat, he broke into song, his voice surprisingly smooth as he playfully sang the opening line from that old 50 Cent track: "If I was your best friend..."
I couldn't help it—I burst out laughing, the tension in my body dissolving. "Stop it," I said, still giggling. "You're ridiculous."
His laughter joined mine, the sound deep and genuine. "Just saying, I'm open to whatever pace you want. Friends, something more—I just want to get to know you better."
The hostess cleared her throat loudly, clearly annoyed at being forgotten. Nyree and I shared another laugh, softer this time, like we were in on a secret together.
"Let me see your phone," I said, surprising myself with my boldness.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it over after unlocking it. I entered my number, naming the contact "Asia from Philly" with a little smile emoji.
"There," I said, handing it back. "Now you can text me, and I'll save your number."
As if on cue, my phone buzzed again with another text from Ma.
Asia! I'm about to order a pizza if you don't come back with food in the next 5 minutes! I'm HUNGRY!!
I showed Nyree the screen and he chuckled. "You better go before Momma puts you on punishment."
"Yeah, you don't know the half of it," I said, taking another step back. "I guess I'll see you around?"
He stared at me and licked his lips. “Bet.”
As I walked toward the elevator, I couldn't help looking back once. Nyree was still standing there, watching me go, that half-smile playing on his lips. The hostess was saying something to him, but his eyes were fixed on me.
Inside the elevator, I exhaled. My phone buzzed with a new text from an unknown number:
It's Nyree. Just making sure you didn't give me a fake number. Looking forward to being your "friend"
I smiled despite myself, saving his contact. As the elevator climbed, I tried to make sense of what had just happened. I came on this trip to help my mother feel better, not to meet someone. Yet here I was, grinning at my phone like a teenager.
"Get it together, Asia," I muttered to myself as the doors opened on my floor. But even as I walked back to our room, menus in hand, I couldn't stop thinking about seeing him again.