Chapter 9 #2
Rubbing his hand over his mouth, Noble asked, “What kind of dessert you want?
“I’ll take some caramel cake.”
Noble got up and ordered their desserts. Like a creep, Irish studied him the entire time, noting every detail about him. He used his phone with his left hand and always looked people in the eye when he spoke. Even the girl behind the counter seemed to be smitten by his authoritative presence.
Noble brought the two dishes back to the table and reclaimed his seat. Irish quickly took a bite of the cake, savoring how moist it was.
“What you do today?”
“Shipped orders and talked to my designer about a new collection. What did you do today?”
“My aunt had a barbecue at the park. I stopped by there and spent some time with my son.”
She blushed. “Noble the dad. What kind of father are you?”
He reclined in his seat, chewing on his cheesecake. “I’m a cool one. I don't do too much.”
“You seem like the type to do the most,” she teased.
“No, I’ll leave that to you.”
She feigned a gasp. “I don't do too much.”
“Shit,” he drawled. “You did way too much the other night. Fucking me like that then leaving right away. I didn’t appreciate that shit, Pumpkin.”
She snickered. “I’m sorry for leaving. My sister always have great timing if you catch my sarcasm.”
“Yeah, she cock blocked the shit outta me.”
Irish loved this. Having quality time with a man that held her full interest. She prayed the feeling would never end.
“You know, I’ve been thinking about this thing between us.”
Without warning, it sounded like the record to a perfect song had been scratched. Irish sat frozen, taking note of his low tone. Was this the end? Had her happiness been short-lived and now she’d have to go back to the lonely place in her mind?
Gently, Irish pushed her plate away, suddenly losing her appetite. That made Noble’s eyebrows furrow.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She avoided his eye contact.
“Aye, look at me when I’m talking to you.”
Her gaze met his while she swallowed back the nausea coating her tongue.
“What’s up? Why you got a long face?”
“Because you're about to say that we should end things, right?”
Wearing pinched brows, Noble responded, “Why you think that?”
“The way you started your statement alarmed me. Your tone wasn’t soft like it had been since I got here. There was gloom in your words, and I figured you would say that we should end whatever this is that we started.”
The rational side of Irish would’ve understood Noble if he put a pin in their balloon.
They were wading in waters that could produce strong tides.
It could blow up in their face, and both of their positions would be compromised.
Noble as the general of TLM and Irish as Jovanis’s wife and best friend.
Even though those circumstances loomed over them, Irish was way past the guilty feeling she once possessed.
Noble’s talk about prioritizing herself had put a battery in her back.
Her desire to explore what she and Noble were cooking was a tad more powerful than her loyalty to Jovanis.
“Actually, you wrong.” He intertwined his fingers with hers. “I was going to say this is taking off faster than I thought. It ain't surface level for me, and I was wondering how you felt about it.”
Irish discreetly exhaled, relieved that Noble didn’t want to scratch their newfound affair.
“It’s not surface for me,” she confessed. “Well, it’s been more than that. I’ve been on the hunt for something more in life. Something that actually holds value and is all mine. I’m not sure if this situation is that for me but I’m willing to explore the possibility.”
Irish played it cool, but she would’ve wished to convey that she liked Noble and saw a future with him if things continued down the road they were driving on. It was too early on to confess feelings like that, so she held back.
“My integrity on the line,” he reminded her.
“I don't have room for error in my position. Plus, I don't fuck with women who are married but your situation is different. There’s nothing morally correct about your marriage. My mind keeps telling me to walk away before shit get too deep but I’m here with you, Pumpkin, counting down the time until you give me some more pumpkin spice.”
Irish burst out laughing, hating how the new nickname had grown on her. “You are not about to be calling my pussy pumpkin spice.”
“You wanna know why I call it that?”
She cocked her head, blushing. “Why?”
“Because you try to act all innocent, but when that pussy get wet, it get spicy. Plus, you're a ginger and pumpkin is the perfect way to describe your hair color. So, that pussy is pumpkin spice, Irish. Deal with it.”
Playfully, she rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Noble.”
“You done?
Bobbing her head, she answered, “Yes, I am.”
“Let’s go take a walk on the beach.”
“I would love to.”
Her hand fit perfectly into his. How could something so wrong feel like the greatest decision on earth?
Noble was still conflicted, pushing his integrity to the side like a finished plate at the dinner table.
Shit like this didn’t transpire with him.
Noble didn’t move carelessly off of his emotions.
He hadn’t been perfect. There had been some choices in the past that were deemed irresponsible, but he learned from them.
Yet, this choice to be on the beach, under the glowing stars with his latest desire had contradicted all the work he’d done to be what his name meant—Noble.
“How come it seems like you just popped up out of nowhere?”
He glanced at her, wondering what prompted her to ask that question.
“What do you mean?”
“When Tuck was running TLM, I never saw you around. Then you came out of nowhere. Jovanis had never even spoken about you or nothing. You just appeared.”
He scratched his low shaven beard. “I was around in the beginning. Me and Tuck started TLM together.”
Irish’s eyes bucked. “Really? When?”
“Years ago. We were young and reckless back then. We walked around with a chip on our shoulders. You know, like we had something to prove.” He thought back to those times.
“We were getting money back then and we needed a team. So, we started recruiting and that’s how TLM started.
After a while, I had this nagging feeling to stack my money and invest in a legitimate business.
I really can’t explain why I started thinking that way, but I did. ”
“Your intuition,” she added. “You probably saw the train wreck before it happened.”
“I did.” He exhaled. “Shit started getting too wild. These niggas started moving like they were invisible. Causing all kinds of bullshit. Then Tuck didn’t make that shit no better. He started encouraging them, knowing what kind of influence he had on them.”
“Yeah, they were wild,” she noted, glancing at the ocean waves. “It got to a point where I never went anywhere where they were. I literally just started coming around once everyone left or got locked up.” She chuckled.
Noble looked down at the sand, remembering the exact moment when he made his departure.
“When I found out I was going to be a father, I knew I had to get outta the way. My transition was discreet too. I didn’t tell anyone, not even Tuck. As soon as I established my logistics company, I told Tuck I was done.”
“And how did he take that?”
Noble peered at her, smirking. “He was pissed. Said I was weak because we were supposed to do this shit together. It didn’t matter that niggas was getting knocked and turning witness or the old heads had made their exit to Noir Mob.
To him, I was leaving him behind and he cursed me for doing that shit. ”
Noble remembered how Tuck told him he was selfish for making an exit knowing they had made a pact to ride with TLM. Back then, Noble didn’t care about leaving Tuck to handle the mafia alone. He needed peace of mind and to know that he would be there to raise his child.
“So, what made you come back?”
“Honestly, when Tuck was arrested, he called me. We hadn’t spoken in years before that. He was salty with me, and I was too stubborn to get him to see things my way.”
Irish nudged his shoulder. “You’re a stubborn man, huh?”
“Yeah, I’ll admit that. I move when I want to, and nobody can make me do shit.”
Irish simpered but didn’t respond. She just hung onto every word that left his lips.
“So, when he called and asked me to get shit in order, I thought about it. He promised it wouldn’t be permanent. That I needed to get the snakes out of TLM. I thought about it since he was in such a compromising position. I felt like I owed him for leaving the nigga out to hang so I came back.”
Noble had eliminated all of the rats out of the organization. He got rid of the weak links and put in some sort of chain of command to keep everyone protected in case someone went snitching. TLM was now a serious conglomerate because of the changes he had made.
“Well, whatever you did, it worked. Of course, there are still some wild ones but for the most part, I don’t hear about TLM being wild.”
“‘Cause I don’t fuck around. Niggas ain’t about to be wildin’ out while I’m running this shit. I don’t have no problem getting rid of a mothafucka, especially when it comes to my freedom.”
Irish wrapped her arm around his. Noble was a closed book.
It took people years to get past the first chapter.
However, talking to Irish was a breeze. He wasn’t hesitant.
He wasn’t resistant. Their conversation flowed like rainfall.
He didn’t have to watch his words for fear that she would plot on him.
Irish was cool. A little too cool for his liking.
Only because getting so comfortable with a woman that wasn’t his felt unfamiliar.
They walked to a nearby bench and took a seat. Noble didn’t have many easy days. The only time his mind was able to relax was when he was with Kenji. Now he had to add Irish to that list.