Chapter 26 SHYAH SUAREZ
SHYAH SUAREZ
“Shyah… This is Lewis Winston. I won’t drop my source for how I got this number until you call me.”
“Aight, I see you not gon’ answer my calls. That’s cool just let every nigga know that I’m ya man, and I don’t play about what’s mine.”
“Happy Monday, baby. I was just callin’ to say good morning, and I pray you enjoy the week ahead.”
“You for real ain’t gon’ answer the phone, baby? I could be… Nah, I am the man of ya dreams.”
“It’s late as hell. I’m in bed. All I wanna do is hear ya voice.”
“You can send me to voicemail every time, baby. You ain’t blocked me, so that means you wanna hear my voice.”
Whatever possessed me to hold on to voicemails from a complete stranger should’ve concerned me.
Being intrigued should’ve scared me. I’d witnessed some weird shit in my life, which should’ve had my guard so high that nothing as simple as a sexy, deep voice and sweet message would make me smile like a fool.
He’s more than just a sexy voice, I thought. That was surely the truth.
After the first voicemail I received from Lewis, I couldn’t resist looking him up on social media, just to make sure he was legit.
I found him on IG, standing on a college’s football campus wearing a tuxedo fitted in the university’s colors, a couple of stoles around his neck, and grinning with his grill showing for the world to see.
He was natural in front of the camera, and he knew he was fine as hell.
To be sure that the man was Lewis, I played reel after reel until I found one of him talking.
I melted listening to him talk about law and why he chose to pursue a degree in it.
That was weeks ago, and I was still caught up replaying Lewis’s voicemails.
Despite being nearly sold into trafficking by my own parents, I still had a zest for love that I couldn’t quite understand.
Then again, after Antonias, Adir, and the crew rescued me, I’d been surrounded by nothing but love.
Even while trapped in an attic, scared for my life, I recalled how I used to think that I was just a princess waiting to be rescued by her true love.
I dreamed of it nearly every night. I prayed and hoped for rescuing daily.
When my rescuers finally came, they happened to be a few men who could easily be my superheroes.
So, in essence, I had sort of a fairytale story. I was the damsel rescued by knights in all black and shiesties, carrying big ass guns.
I wasn’t a damsel in destress anymore. It was years later; I didn’t miss the people who nearly ruined me, and I was thriving as a student, working towards an engineering degree. . My life was perfect.
“Shyah!”
Startled, I glanced at my office door to find Maja standing there, eyeing me curiously.
“I’ve been standing here for a couple of minutes,” she stated. “Everything okay?”
Nodding, I started shifting my books and papers around on my desk to quelch the fact that Maja caught me daydreaming about a man who wasn’t my man. Lewis was a stranger.
Although I didn’t work at Dr. Bell & Associates, I used one of the offices as my own office.
Here, I could bring all my books, folders, study guides, presentation posters and props, and situate them around the office.
Being here gave me some time away from the farm, closer access to campus, and I was close to Maja and Heir.
“Boo, it’s your birthday. School can wait. Close those books and come on. We have a few stops to make before tonight.”
“Alright, I’ll be right there,” I told her. Maja softly closed my door, and I took that time to take a deep breath and blow it out. Laughing at myself, I tidied up my desk and prepared to leave the office.
Minutes later, Antonias strolled into my office.
“What’s on ya mind?” he questioned.
Confused, I answered, “Nothing.”
“My baby just left out of here and said you were in a daze. You sure you good?”
In the years since I’d been with Antonias, my brother’s hair had grown longer.
He even had a few silver pieces tucked between his thick, curly locs.
The older he got, the more he looked like the man who fathered us.
Antonias was nothing like that man, though.
Being at the farm, being raised by him and Bianca, I was exposed to a world that I could only dream of.
I shouldered my bookbag and purse, then chuckled at the look on Antonias’ face.
“You and Bianca are so cute. Trust me, if there was something wrong, you’d be the first to know.” I walked into his arms and hugged him. “I’m twenty-seven today. Don’t you think it’s time to release the reigns?”
He snorted. “Hell naw!”
I cackled and smacked his chest. “Come on, bro. What’s going to happen when a man comes along and sweeps me off my feet?”
He winced. “I’ma break his fuckin’ broom in half and burn all the straw off that muhfucka.”
Throwing back my head, I laughed. “That’s a little extreme, don’t you think?”
“Nope. That nigga better know how to fight fuckin’ wit’ me.”
I smacked my teeth and hugged my brother tighter. Meeting him was the happiest moment in my life. Every day he proved to me that he loved me. Every day I thanked God that he saved me.
***
“Today, I had the craziest thought. I thought about changing my profile picture to one of me and you. Of course, I gotta swoop that shit up to look natural. I don’t need anybody thinkin’ that shit is fake. Then again, I thought better of it. Actin’ a fool is gon’ scare you away.”
“You know what kind of day I had, baby? Had to put a nigga on his back for talkin’ slick. Almost put a bullet in another nigga and forgot to renew my license plate sticker. It was a fucked-up day, baby. All I need is to talk to you. I know you can get me right.”
“Hey, baby. I ate pancakes and bacon for breakfast, tacos for lunch, and I’m about to have a salad for dinner. Wish you were here to have dinner with me.”
My phone rang, startling me. I was sitting here getting my toes done while thinking about another round of Lewis’s crazy ass voicemails, and here he was, calling me again.
My stomach went into overdrive. My eyes darted to Maja and Heir, who were across the nail salon getting their nails done.
They were in their own world. I thought to ignore Lewis again, but something tricked me into pressing TALK.
“You ever think how weird it is to continue to call someone who never answers your calls?”
Lewis’s gentle rumble of laughter soothed the butterflies fighting inside my stomach. He settled them. The once chaotic fluttering was now a light buzz that made it to my nervous system and subdued her, too.
“You might need to come pick me up off the floor, baby. Ya voice just uppercut me.”
I couldn’t contain a laugh that bubbled out of me. “I’m about to hang up on you.”
“Nah, don’t do that,” he cajoled. “You answered at the right time, baby. I just pulled into the city to come celebrate ya birthday with you.”
“What?” I exclaimed, then mumbled, “Sorry,” to the lady working on my feet.
“I wanted to surprise you. The hours ain’t movin’ fast enough for me,” he said.
Meanwhile, my heart galloped in my chest. He was here!
“Lewis…”
“Yes, wifey. You lookin’ forward to seeing me?”
“I-I. Uh…” I’d never stammered so much.
He chuckled lowly. “It’s okay, love. I’ma be a nervous wreck when I lay eyes on you. Be prepared to catch me if I fall, aight?”
I giggled, then caught myself. “You think you’re funny, huh? What makes you think I want to meet you?”
“Hm. I’ll see you tonight, baby. I’ll do my best to be on my best behavior. Later.”
I stared at the phone for several minutes after Lewis hung up.
Hours later, I strutted inside Black Dream. Anxiety was all over me. A part of me was excited to be a year older, but that wasn’t what caused my heart to race as I neared the section where my family waited for me. Thankfully, all the faces were familiar as I approached.
“Happy birthday!” everyone sang as I entered the section.
I hugged everyone and released some of the anxiousness bottled up inside.
Lewis wasn’t here. Maybe he played me, I thought.
Thinking that was the case, I almost got irritated.
It was too simple for Lewis to have lied.
I was stupid enough to believe that he’d traveled all the way from Atlanta to come see me for my birthday.
Wishful thinking, girl. Life is not a fairytale wrapped in sweet nothings.
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted, jarring me out of my thoughts.. There was that buzzing in the pit of my stomach and the awakening of my nervous system. The feeling was so strong, I had to scan my surroundings and find the source. That was when my eyes collided with his.
I wasn’t one to deny the beauty of a man.
I didn’t deny his rich, dark skin, strong nose, or impeccable lips.
His facial hair was nicely groomed, and so was the Caeser cut he wore.
He was dressed in designer jeans, a black T-shirt, and sneakers.
I knew diamonds well, and the diamonds on him sparkled brightly.
In his hands were a plethora of gift bags.
His eyes connected with mine, and when he smiled, the entire club lit up. He was talking to Von and from the pictures I’d seen online, I knew he was Lewis. He was a hair taller than Von and possessed powerful gray eyes that looked too dangerous to continue to stare into.
Breaking my gaze away, I took a deep breath to keep from passing out and turned my back in hopes that Lewis wouldn’t see how smitten I was by him. I chuckled at myself. I thought I’d prepared myself to lay eyes on him.
“He actually came,” Maja mumbled.
I glared at her. “This was your idea?”
She shook her head. “It was his idea. Von and I just made sure he had the location.” Maja’s sentence trailed off. For a second, I wondered what snagged her attention.
Then, I smelled him. He was closer now. So close that, like a magnet, the hair on my skin gravitated toward him. Before I could glance over my shoulder, I felt his lips on the nape of my neck. It shocked, enthralled, and stimulated me into a daze.
With an easy smile, he turned me around and requested, “Gimme a hug.” Of course, he didn’t wait for me to oblige. He took me into his arms. “You ready to catch me?” he whispered in my ear.
Face pressed against Lewis’s chest, it was crazy to think that his chest felt like my pillow. His arms felt like home, and his heart sounded like the only music I wanted to listen to for the rest of my life.
Crazily, it felt like I was being embraced by my husband.
“Come talk to me,” he requested, took my hand, and led me to a spot inside section that gave us a little privacy. He didn’t order a drink and instead opted for water. I had a drink, though. It was supposed to help calm me, but the more Lewis stared at me, the more frazzled my nerves behaved.
“Now that we’re face to face, I’m nervous as hell,” he admitted with a nervous laugh.
That did the trick. I laughed and instantly relaxed, knowing he felt the same way.
“You, nervous? That’s wild to me. You seem so sure of yourself.”
He relaxed and positioned his arm over the back of the couch.
His fingers tickled my arm and caused goosebumps to form on my skin.
It didn’t help that his thick legs brushed up against mine.
Instantly, I knew that touch was his thing.
Without the slightest misgivings, his fingers and body kept touching me.
“I am sure of myself. It’s just you… You make me nervous as shit. My heart is fluttering.”
Tickled, I smacked my teeth, then snickered.
Lewis was surely the type to laugh a woman right out of her panties.
He came all this way to celebrate my birthday with me, and I couldn’t help but think that he would likely be looking for something more before the night ended.
For that reason alone, I had to be honest with him.
Even if it dampened the mood, I’d rather let him down now than for the night to continue with his hopes up.
“What are your intentions for coming all the way here to see me?”
He tweaked my chin. “Besides the fact that I couldn’t wait to lay eyes on you. Or besides the fact that I’ve been dreaming about you since the first voice message I left you. Or…could it be the fact that I fuck with Shyah the master’s in engineering major?”
The more he talked the more I giggled. Charm was his middle name. He would’ve kept going if I had not stopped him.
I placed my fingers on his lips, which was a big mistake. His eyes softened and darkened at the same time. He kissed my fingers, then tucked his bottom lip between his glossy white teeth.
Mortified, I gasped and snatched my hand away. “Sorry.”
“For what? You can touch me any time you want.”
This was why I had to be honest with Lewis. He oozed sex appeal, and I hadn’t been in his presence twenty minutes.
“I’m about to disappoint you,” I cautioned. “And I’ll maybe even run you off. But… I’ve never given my body to someone, and I’m not giving my body to anyone except my husband.”
Out of all the ways I expected him to respond, it wasn’t to lean closer to me and lock eyes in a way that stirred my soul. Our noses were only millimeters apart, but he stared into my eyes, and the moment intensified.
He leaned even closer, cupped the side of my face, and placed his scruffy cheek to mine.
“I’m honored that you waited for me.” When he leaned back to stare into my eyes again, my heart tripped inside my chest. “You can’t run me off, baby.
Now, tell me something about you that I couldn’t find on social media. ”
Slowly, a smile stretched across my face. Maybe this man was my husband. I wondered if things could truly be that simple.
Antonias appeared in front of us, bursting my bubble.
After our conversation earlier, I almost feared for Lewis’s life.
Antonias introduced himself, and Lewis stood to shake his hand.
With a slight snarl on his face, Antonias sized Lewis up.
Suddenly, I wanted to get up and leave. The more time ticked off, I increasingly grew concerned.
They talked for a solid five minutes, and although I was right here, I couldn’t hear a damn thing they were talking about.
As long as Antonias wasn’t swinging on Lewis, I guessed all was well.
When Lewis sat back down, he positioned himself the same way he had before he got up.
“You okay?” I asked him.
He chuckled. “Of course. Brothers, ya know. We all get stupid when a man enters the picture.”
Knowing Antonias, he probably said the most ignorant shit he could think of. I smiled, though. Lewis was…different. And I liked it.