Chapter 18
I didn’t trust Ezekiel.
For as long as I’d known him, he’d always been a man of his word.
But if we were really going to the Belmont Fair, I couldn’t trust him to dress the part.
I loved his style, but this was a day to wind down and let loose.
So, after demanding to know where he lived, he texted me his address and I made my way over to help with his wardrobe.
Every which turn with Ezekiel was full of temptation, and there was only so long before one of us made that bold move to just give in.
Ezekiel opened the door after I’d knocked and let me enter his condo. It was big, clean, and immaculate for a bachelor pad.
Straight ahead I spotted a wall of nothing but windows, giving us a great view of the city.
“Nice,” I let out as we walked by his kitchen.
We had just reached his living room when the sound of a bell caused me to stop. To my left, in the corner between the couch and the love seat, was Sadé.
“Hi, girl,” I said in my friendliest voice.
She moaned, letting me know she wasn’t up for company.
“Sadé isn’t the nice type, at first at least,” Ezekiel warned.
“I bet you if I come back with treats you’ll be nice,” I said as I squatted down and eyed Sadé.
Ezekiel shook his head in a tsk-tsk motion. “You inviting yourself back already, huh?”
I shot him a mean look that made him laugh.
Briefly, I admired his gray and mostly white color scheme and the serious effort he must’ve taken to keep everything neat. There was nothing like a man who was actually clean.
Points for that.
“You know, I’m a little offended I couldn’t be trusted to dress myself,” Ezekiel teased as he led me to where his bedroom was. “I’m a grown man.”
I took a deep breath and followed him. He was in a long-sleeved cream-colored top and dark gray pants, proving my point.
For the late July evening, I was in a cami top along with some cutoffs. It was fun for the summer and not at all serious.
“Yeah, yeah, quit your whining,” I told him as we stepped into his bedroom.
Right away I noticed the stark contrast between his bedroom and his living room.
While the living room was bright with its white color scheme, the master bedroom was dark with its gray walls, dark hardwood floors, and black furniture.
His large king-sized bed called to me, luring me to crawl in between its inviting black sheets.
One thing about Ezekiel’s taste that I really liked, was that it was effortless and minimalist. There weren’t many personal effects littering the place that stuck out, but that just called attention to how neat and organized he was.
I suspected he had a cleaning lady, but even still, his living space got two thumbs-up from me.
“Excluding Monday, I’ve been good all week. I figured if I ate clean, I won’t feel bad for pigging out this weekend,” I said as I ran my finger along his silky comforter.
“Great minds think alike,” Ezekiel spoke up. “I’ve been hitting the gym in anticipation.”
I turned, opening my mouth to say something, but the words got caught in my throat where they died.
Holy shit.
Behind me, was a massive glass walk-in closet, and standing in the doorway was Ezekiel. He’d taken off his shirt and was standing there peering inside at his wardrobe ever so casual.
The muscles of his back stood out, the rippled waves of his abs could be seen from the side, and that tattoo on his arm looked every bit of decadent.
He turned and looked at me, as if what he was working with was normal. “How was work?”
I snapped out of it and tried to go for nonchalant as I sidled up beside him in his closet. In the center of a wall of drawers was a rack of dress shirts. Uh-uh. On the left wall were shelves where a few piles of T-shirts could be found on the first three. Bingo.
“Good. We got a new shipment of bathing suits in. I just got a wax and I’m off next week, so I’m ready to go swimming,” I said.
I hadn’t gone swimming all summer. Part of me wanted to wait until August when school was in so I could have a pool to myself, but I was ready to be active with all my time off.
“You’re off next week?” Ezekiel repeated.
“Yep.”
“That’s one of two things you said that stuck out to me.”
I narrowed my eyes. “And what’s the other?”
He grinned. “You know what.”
I bit my lip and busied myself by walking over to his shelves of T-shirts. “Anyway, Pay and I decided to treat ourselves to some time well earned.”
“Nice.”
“Do you have a cleaning lady or something? You’re way too neat to be believable.”
“I don’t feel comfortable living in a mess.” He was right beside me. Still topless. Still tempting. Still acting as though this wasn’t a big deal.
I supposed it wasn’t, but damn. I yanked up a heathered blue T-shirt and handed it over, needing him to be covered already.
Ezekiel accepted it with no complaints and pulled it on over his head.
He’s even better in a T-shirt.
He wore a size that wasn’t baggy, but fit him like a glove, loose, yet managed to hug his impressive pecs. And the worst part about it? He seemed oblivious as I stood about to drool all over myself staring at him.
His body was a problem. I was almost enticed to pull him by his waistband to his big-ass bed.
“Well?” Ezekiel asked as he tugged on his tee.
I gazed down at his pants. “You could lose those.” I gaped up at him, a dare in my eyes.
Ezekiel peered down at his pants and returned to me. He let out a sigh, his minty breath fanning over my face with his frustration visible.
In another second he was picking me up, and instinctively my legs wrapped around his waist. The ease with which he was holding me, carrying me over to his bed while maintaining eye contact turned me on so much it was painful.
He set me down and hovered over me, his face a breath away from mine.
“Don’t start something you can’t finish.” It was a warning. One sealed with a look in his eye that had me squirming.
“How do you know what I can and cannot finish?” I challenged.
Ezekiel trailed his gaze down my body. Slowly he ran that pink tongue of his over his bottom lip. He backed off, smirking just a little. “I’m going to find some ‘appropriate’ pants to put on.”
I didn’t have the grace not to pout.
Lying on my back, I huffed loudly at the ceiling. “This is torture.”
“You’re telling me.”
I rolled my head and watched as he peeled off his pants and got down to his black boxer briefs. Sheesh he had a toned body.
He pulled open a drawer and collected a pair of khaki jeans. He stepped into them and grabbed his discarded pants and neatly folded them and placed them on top of the middle shelf.
Ezekiel came out of his closet and held his arms out, emphasizing his look. “Well?”
There were no words to describe how good he looked, so I just nodded.
He put on some white shoes and we were ready to go.
It was Friday, and Ezekiel had to work, so this wouldn’t be an all-night excursion. Paisley did indeed have plans with Sloan. They were going to the Saturday night date for the fair, where I wasn’t interested in being a third wheel.
“Do you have cash?” I asked as we walked from the parking area along the path toward the fairgrounds.
It seemed like in days the workers and staff had created magic in turning Belmont’s downtown area into a wonderland of lights, rides, and balloons.
“I got about maybe a hundred on me in cash,” Ezekiel said as he patted his pocket.
I snorted as we made it on to the grounds. “Rookie mistake.”
While I appreciated my fellow working man, some of these vendors charged an arm and a leg for the simplest of things.
“Maybe we should’ve pre-gamed at the house,” I suggested as I caught a booth in the distance illustrating five-dollar beers.
“I’ll probably only have one beer,” Ezekiel said. “Can’t get trashed before my shift.”
“All work and no play,” I teased. “So, what first?”
It was still daylight, so the attractions and their lights weren’t the brightest, but the sight was all I really needed to get in the spirit.
The smell of fried food, barbecue, and the sweet hint of dessert nearby made me want to dive on into the food.
But perhaps it was best to work up an appetite.
“Come on, let’s play a game.” I tugged his hand with me as I moved with the flow of traffic.
For our first game of the day, we chose to throw three basketballs into a hoop to win a stuffed prize.
We stood side by side for our round. My first shot I made. Ezekiel wasn’t as graceful. He hit the rim his first attempt and shook his head as I laughed at him. He was so big and brawny, but sports clearly weren’t his thing.
I took my second shot and jumped for joy as it sank in. Ezekiel wasn’t so lucky. He hit the backboard and the ball fell to the side. I sank my third shot and did a little victory dance as I won a prize.
“Yass!” I cheered as I threw my arms in the air and rocked my shoulders.
Ezekiel waved me off. “Whatever.”
“Aw, what’s the matter, are we a wore woser?” I taunted in my best baby voice.
“I’ma get you. Just wait on it,” Ezekiel swore.
To further rub it in, I collected my prize and chose a white and pink unicorn and extended it to Ezekiel. “A prize for my guy.”
He snatched it from me, turning his head to hide his smile. “Come on, so I can kick that ass at something else.”
I followed his lead to a booth that challenged participants to knock over bottles of soda that were positioned into a pyramid.
Up ahead of us at the counter, a little boy was being held up by his father as he gave the game a go.
Watching the little boy throw with all his might and having his father cheer him on warmed me.
“Are you and your father close?” I turned and asked Ezekiel.
He was watching the father and son too. He smiled and came to me. “Yeah, sometimes I take it for granted how good I have it. Pops doesn’t hand me things, but he doesn’t make my life hard either.”
I really liked that he had a good relationship with his parents. My relationship with mine was rocky, but it was nice to see other people not have that type of stress.