“But if I say they’re delicious and you add them to the menu, and they don’t sell well, you’re not going to hold it against me will you?” I teased.
“There’s not much I could hold against you.”
I hated the way this man turned me all types of bashful from simple words. I did my best not to let his words go to my head. I was sure whatever this thing was between us, he’d eventually lose interest and it would fizzle out. Men like Xavier had plenty of options. They wined and dined, gave incredible sex, but not much beyond that. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself as not to be too taken in by his words and affections.
“You okay? You’ve been a little quiet since dinner.” The concern in his voice made me feel slightly guilty, as we drove back to his place.
“Yeah, I’m fine just a little stuffed from dinner.”
“Mm-hmm.”
I had no idea if that meant he believed me or not. I decided not to try to convince him. Any lawyer worth their weight knew the best way to lose their case was by talking too much. Closed mouths may not get fed, but loose lips sink ships.
“You’re so much like him,” I heard from the driver’s seat.
I frowned in confusion. “Like who?”
“No one,” he answered as we pulled through the gate in front of his home. “Listen, Chanel,” he began, shutting off the car and turning to me. “I don’t know what you think because, well, you don’t like to open up easily. But I’ll be upfront with you, this thing we’re building, I like it. I likeyou,and I would like to see where this goes.”
When he didn’t say anything after a minute, I realized he was waiting for my response.
“Do you want me on your ‘lineup’?” I asked, using air quotes. “Or do you want me exclusively?” Men like Xavier Grant always had a lineup, a group of women they could choose from to take out on any night of the week or have on their arm at special events. I learned that by watching my father, and he had a whole wife at home.
“Is that what you want? Exclusivity?”
“Answering a question with a question?”
“Avoiding my original question?”
Touché, Mr. Grant.“I don’t know what I want,” I answered honestly. I wasn’t prepared to tell the whole truth, though. That I’d wanted Xavier Grant since I was a teenager, but never thought he’d look at me twice. Oh, and that his attention scared the shit out of me and made every insecurity I had surface. I could deal with this thing when I thought it was just physical—hell, barely even then, considering I’d snuck out of his bed before he was even awake that first time.
“A’ight, how about this? How about you agree to keep dating me, exclusively, and we’ll see where this goes, one date at a time? No pressure. We’re just two people getting to know one another.” He made it sound so simple, so uncomplicated.
I knew it wouldn’t be as simple as he made it seem, but as I looked into his eyes, which seemed to be looking right through me, I believed him. Maybe we could just date, no pressure; and when it was over, it was over, no hard feelings.
“Okay,” I nodded. As soon as that short word was out of my mouth, his lips covered mine. His mouth moved over mine with a new intensity. His tongue searched and worked to devour my mouth, while his hand moved up my thigh and under my dress. Just when I tried to grab the back of his head, he pulled back.
“We’re not fucking in my driveway. Let’s take this inside.”
“Right, wouldn’t want your mom to come out and see us,” I teased.
His face dropped. “She moved out, and you’re going pay for that one.”
Shit. The promise in his voice had my panties moist.
****
Xavier
“Yo, X! What it do?” Jamal greeted me as I strolled into the office gym. Jason sat on the bench next to him, lacing up his shoes.
“What up, Mal?” I dapped him up, then Jay.
We bullshitted for a little bit before starting our workout.
“So, you and Chanel showed up together at the family dinner, huh?” Jamal asked about halfway through, and just as I was doing bench presses while Jay spotted me.
“Yeah,” I answered around a grunt as I forced the weight up. My concentration was on the weights above my head, but I could sense Jason’s complete focus on me.
