He finally released me, keeping my hand tucked in his as we finished the distance to my apartment, all the way to my door. While I fished through my purse for my keys, Roman leaned against the wall, staring at me until I finally glanced up. He was smiling at me again. Not a big, cheesy one, or anything like that, but it was filled with so much… something that I blushed, looking away as I finally located my keys.
“Hey, what’s that about?” he asked, laughing.
I shook my head, pulling my lip between my teeth. “Nothing.”
Roman pushed off from the wall and took the two necessary steps to reach me. “Stop lying.” He lifted a hand, brushing my bangs out of my face. “You don’t like me looking at you or something?”
“No. It’s not that at all. It’s just, you looked so… happy.”
“I can’t be happy?” he asked, trailing his fingers along the side of my neck.
“I didn’t say that,” I countered, gently batting his hand away. “Tell me why, though. What is it about me that makes you so happy. Why do you like me, Roman?”
He took a step back as he groaned, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Really, Simone, with this question?”
I sucked my teeth, turning to unlock the door. Of course he didn’t have an answer, he was stumbling along, just like the rest of—
“Okay,” he said, nodding. “I like your vibe.”
“My vibe? I have a vibe?” I asked, turning my key in the lock.
“Yeah, you have a vibe. Most of all, you’re just warm, and I think everybody is attracted to that. You put off peace and light… unless you’re mad. Then you put off… I don’t know man, hot grits and broken glass.”
“I do not.”
“Shit, yes you do,” Roman said, laughing. “Seriously, it ate me up knowing you were upset with me, but at the same time… I admire that you’re “no nonsense”. You weren’t letting me off easy, and as much as I hated it… I respect it. You’re… I don’t know. You’re reserved, but you’re warm. You like pretty things, but sometimes you’ve got a potty mouth. You’re soft, and feminine… but there’s some hard edges in there too. You’re laid back, but you’re sexy… you’re kinda hard to explain, Simone. And even harder to understand, but I’m trying to figure you out.”
I leaned against the door, looking up into his eyes. “And then what? After you figure me out?”
He scoffed, running a thumb along my chin. “I don’t think such a thing is possible, Beautiful.” Roman cupped my face in his hands, and I closed my eyes as he lowered his lips to meet mine. The feeling he evoked in me was the exact opposite of the twinge of discomfort I felt with Carter. When Roman’s tongue slipped into my mouth, massaging and teasing mine, it felt natural, and harmonious, like we were on the same wavelength, and… damn, I had it bad.
Roman had me pressed against the front door for all of my neighbors to see, kissing me with such fervor that by the time he pulled away from me, I was more than ready to invite him inside. But that was too soon, right?
“Goodnight Simone,” he said, as he took a step back, handing me the laptop bag he’d placed on the ground when we arrived. I choked out a quiet goodbye in return and then escaped into my apartment before I could change my mind.
Damn. If this doesn’t work out I’m gonna need rehab.
The smile Simone gave me when I put those music festival tickets in her hand gave me the same feeling I got from the first sip when I went too long without caffeine. Fucking high. I shook my head as I sat down on the edge of my desk, watching her read the concert flyer.
“Roman, this is amazing,” she said, still wearing a grin. “Dwele, Jazmine Sullivan, Avant, Jill Scott, Raheem Devaughn, Melanie Fiona, Ledisi, Chrisette Michele, Maxwell… it’s like they pulled this performer list right from my “most played” list.”
I shrugged as she came to stand in front of me. “I thought you might like it… is the date okay? I know this weekend is short notice…”
“Like it? Roman, I love this.” She draped her arms over my shoulders and leaned forward to brush her lips against mine. “And this weekend is fine, but… this venue is in another state. How is that gonna work?”
“Well…” I put my arms around her waist to pull her between my open legs. “It’s only a six hour drive, and I may or may not have taken the liberty of reserving a rental car and booking us a little beach house to stay for the weekend.”
“May or may not, huh? How do you know I’m okay with this kind of little getaway?”
I planted a kiss on her shoulder through her tee shirt. “I don’t. I’m crossing my fingers… hoping you’re gonna say “Yes, Rome. I’d love to go away with you this weekend.”
Simone lifted an eyebrow then cupped my face in her soft, graceful hands. “Yes, Roman. I’d love to go away with you this weekend… even though this is pretty high-intensity for a first official date.”
“Am I doing too much?”
“Mmhmm,” she said, pressing her lips to mine in another soft, teasing kiss. “But I like you, and I really wanna go to this concert, so I’ll allow it.” She stepped close enough that her breasts were pressed against my chest, and finally gave me a real kiss, letting her hand drift down to my thigh. Her tongue slipped into my mouth as she inched her hand closer to my lap.
“Simone…” Gently, I caught her wrist, looking her right in the eyes. “Sweetheart, it’s been over a month. Don’t start anything in this office you don’t plan to finish, please.”
She lifted an eyebrow before she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “And what if I plan to finish it?”
Shit.
I grabbed the belt loops of her jeans, pulling her close so I could kiss her again. “Stop. I’ve gotta get back to work.”
“Me too,” she said, pouting as she took a step back. “Especially since I’m giving up my weekend for somebody’s last minute plans. I have a ton to do.”
“Hold on a minute, now.” I caught her hand as she reached for the handle of my door. “I don’t want you stressing yourself out about this. I can check to see if there’s a better weekend, and we can just fly—”
“Roman, hush.” Simone lifted a hand to my lips to quiet my protests. “It’s fine. I wanna go this weekend, and I wanna drive, and I want to stay on the beach with you. Okay?”
“Okay,” I said, kissing her fingertips. “Friday morning, I’ll pick you up.”
She turned to me with a smile before she walked out. “It’s a date.”
— & —
Simone had hot pink polish on her toes.
An unusual observation, I know, but I’d been looking at them, propped up on the dash for the last four hours. After talking major shit about how she was a great road trip partner, Simone had fallen asleep barely an hour into the drive. Granted, it was five a.m. when we left, but still. We stopped once, to use the restroom and grab breakfast. As soon as we got back in the car, Simone was out like a light.
It was cool though. I was enjoying being in her presence, awake or not.
I didn’t quite know how to classify Simone and me. I mean… in my head, she was my girl, but it was a little too soon to make that declaration out loud. At the same time… to say we were “dating” didn’t quite seem serious enough. We’d gone about this whole thing all wrong. Sex, then a breakup, then… back together? Had we ever really been together in the first place? I wasn’t sure how to say it, and I wasn’t sure it mattered anyway. We were together now, so… whatever.
“Mmm… are we there yet?”
I grinned as Simone came to life, groaning as she stretched her limbs the best she could in the confines of the car. “No, but not too much longer. Do we need to stop?”
“Uh-uh. I can wait.” She turned to me, resting the side of her face against the headrest. “Sorry for falling asleep. It has been a long week.”
“You’re good, babe.” I patted her knee, then turned back to the road, but I could feel her eyes on me still.
“Tell me about your little girl. Tell me abo
ut Zahra.”
I lifted an eyebrow at her words, but a smile still spread over my face, for more than one reason. Simone started laughing, and I glanced over to her. “What’s so funny?”
“You are,” she said. “The look on your face when I asked about your daughter. Are you that surprised?”
“Honestly? Yeah, I am. I mean… we’ve been kinda avoiding the topic, since it’s… sensitive.”
From my peripheral, I could see Simone shaking her head. “Not entirely. You mention her pretty often on our evening walks. Stuff she did at school, things she says.”
“Yeah, but just in passing. You’ve never outright asked before, and I thought it was maybe because you were avoiding any reminders of the living situation.”
“No,” she replied. “I’m pretty much over that, I just… I don’t know. Our relationship status is kind of in limbo, and we’ve not known each other very long. I didn’t want to be creepy and ask you a whole bunch of questions about her. I’ve never dated a man with kids, so I don’t really know the protocol.”
I shook my head. “I’ll never think it’s creepy for you to ask about her. I’m actually happy you did. I’m… hoping whatever we’re doing is gonna be long term, so that means you’re gonna be part of her life as well. I want you to be interested in her. That little girl is my pride and joy.”
“I can tell. Your whole face lights up when you mention her, and it’s… I don’t know, it just gives me a really good feeling. The way you talk about her… that’s exactly how a great dad talks about his little girl. You don’t even have to explicitly say it, it’s all over you that you love her. And I know she feels that.”
I shrugged. “I hope she feels it, but I mean… she’s five. They aren’t that emotionally sophisticated at that age.”
“True, but… trust me. She’s old enough to know exactly how her daddy feels — or doesn’t feel— about her, and it matters to her. It matters a lot.”
The sudden strain in her voice made me glance in her direction, but she turned away, looking out the window. Her hand went up to wipe her eye, and I felt an uncomfortable pull in my chest at the sight.
“Hey… Simone? What’s—”
“This is our exit!” Simone turned to me, her eyes glossy and bright. “We’re here. What should we do first? Have lunch or pick up the keys to the rental house?”
Brow furrowed, I opened my mouth to go back to the previous subject, but she shook her head, and I couldn’t ignore the pleading in her eyes. Whatever was going on, she didn’t want to talk about it, and I wasn’t about to let it ruin the start of our weekend.
“Let’s pick up the keys first,” I said, with a subtle nod of acknowledgement.
Simone visibly relaxed as the navigation system directed us off the interstate, then led us to the leasing office that was handling our rental. Thirty minutes later, we were pulling up to the beachside cottage I’d rented for our stay. It was nothing to write home about from the outside, but as soon we stepped in, Simone gasped, and I knew I’d made a good choice.
The walls were painted in a pale turquoise blue, and the ceiling was made of exposed wooden beams. Big windows brought in lots of light and panoramic views of the bay, and the decor was clean and modern, but still somehow gave off a rustic appeal.
“Roman… this is perfect,” Simone said, grinning as she wrapped her arms around my waist. I lowered my head to meet her in a kiss.
“Glad you like it, Beautiful.”
The tears from before were gone, replaced by unfiltered happiness as she explored the cottage while I brought our bags inside. When I was done, I found her on a little balcony off the bedroom, staring out at the water. There was barely enough room for us both to be out there, but I stepped out anyway, resting my chin on the top of her head as I pulled her into my arms.
“I think we have just enough time to grab lunch and take a long nap before the first show tonight,” I said, placing a kiss against her hair.
She turned around, beaming. “Let’s do it.”
So we did. We found a little spot that had fresh seafood, so we ate until we were stuffed, grabbed a few groceries, then went back to the cottage, showered — separately— and crawled into the king-sized bed and slept. I woke up before she did and just watched her, amazed not only that she could actually sleep so much after sleeping for most of the ride up, but that she looked so gorgeous — hair all over her head, not a bit of makeup— while she did it. She didn’t stir at all until I left the bed to use the bathroom, and then she finally got up and started getting ready for the show.
While she stood in the bathroom, fussing about not having wrapped up her hair before she fell asleep, I stepped into the living room to call Zahra, who was with Leah’s parents for the weekend. As expected, she was too busy bossing them around to want to talk on the phone, but I made sure to tell her I loved her before she hung up. When I stepped back into the bedroom, Simone was putting on earrings.
“Gimme a few more minutes,” she said, kneeling to rummage through her bag for something.
I sat down on the edge of the bed to watch her as she finished. “I’m not in a hurry, take your time. You look great already though.”
She looked back, triumphantly holding up a pair of shoes to wear with the pretty blue wrap dress she’d pulled on. “Thank you. You’re not looking too bad yourself.” I laughed as she blew me a kiss, then went into the bathroom for her finishing touches.
Three hours later, I — along with probably every other man in the place who came with his lady— was plotting Avant’s death. The women in the crowd— Simone included— were way too into Makin’ Good Love.
“Stop scowling and come here,” she said, tugging me up from my seat and draping her arms over my shoulders. “You know… there’s a reason this is the last song of the night.”
I groaned, trying to push that thoughts right back out of my mind, but my groin thumped in response as Simone looked me right in the eyes and began singing along to the song. I applauded with everyone else when the night was over, and wasted no time getting Simone back to the car. I was tired, but we’d had a great time, her even more than me. She sang along to every song, danced, sat down to rest for a little while, then repeated the process again. Just seeing her have such a good time made it worth it to me.
When we made it back to the cottage, Simone turned to me, playing with the fabric ties holding her dress together. “So…,” she said, as she let the garment fall open to reveal the sexy black lingerie she wore underneath. “Don’t you wanna come and shower with me this time?”
Goddamn.
Simone was… damn she was sexy, but I ignored the tightening in my groin as I looked away. “Nah, Beautiful. You go ahead.”
“Oh…” Her voice was edged with disappointment. “Is something wrong? Did I—”
“No,” I said, rising from the edge of the bed to approach her. “Nothing is wrong, I’m just… It’s been a long day, and I’m tired from the drive. Nothing’s wrong.”
She nodded as I placed a kiss against her forehead, but she didn’t seem too convinced. Simone took her shower alone, and I took mine after. When I came back to the bedroom, she was passed out asleep, obviously worn out from the activities of the day. I climbed into the bed beside her and pulled her close anyway, not wanting her to wake up and find me on the other side of the bed, furthering the impression something was out of place.
I woke up late the next morning to the sound of water rolling off the roof, and the smell of bacon in the air. Simone was no longer beside me, so I lumbered out of bed and into the bathroom to brush my teeth. By the time I made it into the little kitchen, she was putting full plates on the table.
“Good morning,” I said, catching her around the waist and pulling her close. “When we got these groceries, it wasn’t with the intention of putting you to work. I thought we were gonna do this together?”
She shrugged, pushing up on her toes to plant a kiss against my lips. “Well, you were sleeping pretty hard
, so I figured I’d give you a break today. And good morning to you too. Did you see the weather?”
“Yeah, it looks ugly.” I walked over to the window and peered out at the dense fog obscuring the view of the water. “I hope it clears up soon.”
“Me too… ‘cause I’m not standing outside to hear anybody sing in that.”
I laughed as I joined Simone at the table. “Aw, come on. You gonna let a little water deter you?”
“Abso-freaking-lutely. I can stay here, crank up my iPod, and cuddle with you all day. It’s perfect weather for that.”
“Hey… I wouldn’t be opposed.”
Simone smiled at me from across the table and I smiled back, hoping our easy chemistry this morning meant she wasn’t upset about last night. The plan for the day had been to spend it at the beach, but that was disrupted by the ugly storm developing out of nowhere.
We finished breakfast with sheets of rain against the windows serving as background music, then cleaned everything up before we left the kitchen.
I went back to the window, scowling out at the storm. “I didn’t bring you out here to be stuck inside in the rain. I wanted to be show you a good time. Next time, I promise— perfect weather.”
Simone laughed, stepping beside me to look out of the window. “You can’t promise something like that, fool.”
“The hell I can’t,” I chuckled and grabbed her hand, pulling it up to my mouth to kiss her fingers. “Seriously… I’m sorry about this.”
“Roman, it’s not the end of the world being “stuck” inside with you, you know? Especially not if you brought your guitar…”
I pointed out the window, toward the rental car. “It’s out there.”
“Oooh! Well… as soon as the rain lets up a little…”
“I will go and get it.”
After that, we went back to the bedroom. We climbed into bed with the intent of talking while we lay there, but rain lulled us both to sleep. When we woke up, it was still raining, and it was nearly five o clock. I was hungry, and I was sure Simone would be too, so I sent her a text explaining where I was, then braved the weather to go and pick up dinner.
A Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Serendipitous Love Book 1) Page 9
