Chapter 8 #2
Nodding her head, she went back to eating her food.
I wasn’t sure how she took what I said, but I was never one to sugarcoat a damn thing.
So, the only thing that I could do was be honest, and that was my truth.
Logan liked to call herself my woman, and after correcting her ass way too many times to remember, I just decided to let her live in the state of delusion that she wanted to be in.
It wasn’t hurting me, so I figured I shouldn’t keep repeating myself to someone who wasn’t going to listen anyway.
“So, if Logan isn’t your girlfriend, what kind of woman are you looking for? I mean, you’re not getting any younger, you know,” she said, shrugging.
“I’m not really sure if there’s someone in particular I’m looking for. I just know that I’ll know when I know. And yeah, I’m definitely not getting any younger. I won’t rush into anything, but when I do find the right woman, I definitely plan on snatching her up and having some kids.”
“How many kids do you want?”
“At least two.”
“Okay, that’s cool. I can’t wait to be a mom. Even though my mom has her ways about her, as most mothers do, I was raised by an amazing woman, and I know I’ll be an amazing mom if I ever get the chance to do so.”
“I think you’ll be a great mom, too. You just have to put yourself out there and not let what your ex did stop you from moving on and giving some other nigga a try. Not everybody is built like that nigga, trust me.”
“I hear you. Right now, I’m focused on work and getting my life back together. Once I’m back on track, I’ll get back out there.”
“Well, at least you know what kind of nigga you don’t want. Now, you just need to find a nigga who does have the things that you want.”
“I know. My friend keeps telling me I’ll find the right man when the time is right.
But unless I meet him at the gym, which is pretty much the only place I go outside of work, then it’s probably not going to happen any time soon.
Well, Ross down at the door flirts with me every morning, maybe he’s the guy for me,” she said, laughing, but I didn’t find shit funny.
I didn’t like listening to her talk about another nigga flirting with her, and I didn’t fucking know why.
I shouldn’t have given a fuck about another nigga flirting with her, but the feeling in my chest said otherwise.
With the way I felt, I wanted to head downstairs and check Ross’s ass, but I knew he, along with everyone else, would think I was crazy as hell.
So, I knew I couldn’t say shit because it truly wasn’t my place to do so.
“I agree with your friend, it’ll happen when you least expect it. They say you just have to be open to it happening for you, and it’ll happen. That’s about all the advice that I have for you,” I said, laughing.
She laughed too and then went back to finishing her food.
We spent the rest of the meal talking about our childhoods, how we got on the paths that we were on, and just about everything in between.
It was crazy to me how we had grown up so differently yet still had so many things in common.
We liked a lot of the same things and had a lot of shared experiences, too.
One thing I appreciated about her was that she didn’t judge me for my past. I didn’t tell her a lot of the shit that I’d been into when I was younger was still very much part of my life because she didn’t need to know all my business.
But, even with what I told her, the only thing she said was that she was proud of the man that I’d become.
With the little bit of shit that I shared with Logan’s ass, which wasn’t much, all she did was judge me, my parents, and everyone in between.
It never bothered me, though. Her opinion wasn’t one I valued enough for it to do that.
“Hey, wake up, we’re at your house,” I said, lightly tapping her shoulder. Her cries were replaced with light snores somewhere on our ride, and I hated having to wake her up because she was sleeping so peacefully.
Waking up, she looked around as she rubbed her eyes.
Once she turned to face me, her eyes grew wider as though she was shocked to see me sitting in the driver’s seat.
I wasn’t sure if she was just a lightweight when it came to alcohol or if she was truly that drunk.
As I waited for her to say something, I admired how beautiful she was, even with her hair all over the place and lipstick slightly smeared.
I felt like she was her most beautiful self when she was in her most natural state.
That was when bitches really couldn’t fuck with her on any day of the week.
“Oh God, you’re going to fire me, aren’t you? I can’t remember everything in that contract right now, but I know one of the clauses was to not have any public altercations, and I know I’ll be viral come the morning,” she said, smacking her forehead.
“Nah, you’re not fired. You can’t control that nigga approaching you and not respecting your boundaries. So, this time doesn’t fall within the scope of our contract.”
“Really? Okay, thank you! Let me get in the house and out of your way for the night. Thank you for the ride,” she said, attempting to open the door and damn near falling out of the car in the process.
“Wait, let me help you,” I said, rushing out of the car and over to her side to help her get out. As she tried to stand, she damn near fell backward.
Seeing that she still wasn’t going to be able to walk on her own, I scooped her up and carried her to the door.
As she rested her head on my chest, something about holding her felt right, and I knew that it shouldn’t.
In more than one way, I was the wrong nigga for her, and knowing that, I couldn’t understand why everything about this shit felt as good as it did.
Instead of paying attention to what was going on inside of me, I focused on getting her up to the door and inside so that I could leave and shake whatever the fuck I was feeling at the moment.
I hadn’t had but one drink while I was out, but I knew it had to be the liquor.
“Do you have your keys?” I asked, looking down at her. Her eyes were still closed, but somehow, she managed to fumble through her purse and hand me the keys.
As we stepped inside, a man, who I was assuming was her father, walked over to us.
From the look on his face, he wanted me to explain what the fuck I was doing in his house and with his daughter in my arms, who was clearly out of it.
Instead of placing her down, I adjusted her in my arms and gripped her tighter as I held my hand out for him to shake.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Sincere. I’m Kenedi’s boss,” I said, waiting for him to shake my hand.
“It’s nice to meet you. You want to explain why you’re carrying my daughter at this late hour of the night. I thought she was out with Zaveah, yet here she is in your arms.”
“Well, I actually ran into them while I was out, and she was clearly too drunk to drive home, so I offered to bring her here.”
Rubbing his chin, he replied, “Good man. Well, seeing as though you’re a lot younger than me, go ahead and take her up to her room. It’s the third door on the left,” he said, pointing up the steps.
“You got it,” I said, following his directions and carrying her into the room.
Once inside, I looked around the room that seemed as though I had stepped into an early 2000’s time capsule.
There were posters, lava lamps, fuzzy rugs, and everything else you’d expect in a teenage girl’s room.
Stepping over the clothes on the floor, I made my way over to her bed and gently laid her down.
As soon as her head hit the pillow, her eyes popped open, and she smiled up at me.
“Thank you for getting me home safely,” she said, leaning up on her elbows and staring at me.
“Don’t mention it. Are you going to be good for work tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I just need some sleep.”
“Alright, well, have a good night,” I said, pulling the covers up for her.
Once I reached the upper half of her body, our lips somehow connected with each other.
I wasn’t sure if she was kissing me or if I was kissing her, but it was definitely happening.
And, as much as I wanted to pull away from her, I couldn’t.
I was a strong man, but my willpower wasn’t that damn strong.
So, instead of doing the right thing, I entangled my hands in her hair and pulled her closer to me.
As her hands wrapped around my neck, I sat down on the bed and pulled her into my lap.
While I gripped her waist and squeezed her ass cheeks, she deepened our kiss, and I could feel my dick starting to grow underneath her.
That was my cue that it was time for me to go.
We’d already crossed a line that we shouldn’t have, and I for damn sure wasn’t going to take things any further than sharing our first and last kiss with each other.
Pulling back from her, I watched as the confusion replaced the lust in her eyes as she craned her head to the side.
She looked as though she wanted more, but I wasn’t taking it there with her, especially not with her being drunk.
She seemed to be in her right mind for the most part, but I still would never fuck a woman who wasn’t mine when they’d had as much alcohol as I believed she’d had.
“Did I do something wrong?” She asked, attempting to kiss me again, but this time I moved my head.
“Nah, you didn’t. But this shit isn’t right, and I think we both know that. Come on, you need to get some rest,” I said, sliding her out of my lap and back onto the bed.
Reluctantly, she pulled the covers up and turned to face the wall.
I felt as though I should’ve said something, but I had no idea what I could’ve said to make her feel better in the moment.
So instead, I walked out of the room and shut the door.
Making my way back downstairs, I saw the front door was open, and her father was now sitting on the porch.
“Did you get her tucked in?” He asked once I was outside.
“Yeah, she’s good. She said she’ll be ready for work tomorrow, but if she’s not, let her know it’s okay if she comes in a little late. You have a nice rest of your night,” I said, starting my descent down the stairs.
“You like my daughter, son?” He asked before I could get too far.
“Huh?” I asked, turning back to look at him, confused. What the fuck would make him ask me some shit like that? When did bringing someone home because they couldn’t drive equate to liking them?
“I asked, do you like my daughter?”
“I mean, she’s cool. I don’t like her like that,” I said, shrugging.
“If you say so. I see differently when you look at her, but hey, I could be wrong.”
Was the shit that obvious? If he could see the shit, I wondered if everyone else in the office could see it, too?
I wasn’t sure what it was about her that had me stuck, but it was something.
Had I met Kenedi under different circumstances, she would have been the kind of woman I could’ve seen myself building a life with.
But she was my employee, at the end of the day, and that was where we’d have to leave things with us.
“Nah, she’s cool, very cool, actually. But being that we work together, I would never take things to the next level with her.”
“Okay, I hear you. Well, you get home safely, and thank you again for making sure she got home safely. Any man who takes care of my daughter is a good man in my book.”
“No problem. Have a nice night,” I said, shaking his hand and heading back to my car.
The entire ride home, I thought about the kiss I shared with Kenedi.
I’d never felt the things that I felt with her, and I wasn’t sure another woman would be able to make me feel the way that I did with her.
But I meant what I said about not blurring those lines, and for more than one reason, and I was going to have to man up and stick to that when it came to her.