“At the beach. In the ocean!” She laughed.
“Yeah, there too.”
“Xavier,” she whined, finally coming closer and straddling my legs. “The beach. Now,” she implored, cupping my face.
“Fine. Whatever, but you’re wearing one of those wrap thingies.”
“You’re telling me how to dress now?”
“No. I’m telling you what’d be best for you to wear if you expect me to keep my hands and my dick to myself long enough for you to have breakfast and get your ass in the ocean.”
My whole body ignited when she threw her head back laughing like I was joking. I was serious as hell, though. How was I supposed to be expectednotto touch and feel her up in this bathing suit long enough to even make it to the beach? I was only a man.
“I’m going to go grab my cover-up, and then we can go. I’m hungry.”
I watched her ass as she walked away. I grabbed my things, and less than ten minutes later we were out of the hotel and on our way to a little breakfast spot that was within walking distance from the beach.
Although this was a working trip for me, I’d arranged my schedule to chill with Chanel as much as possible while we were there. That night, one of my clubs down here was hosting a party for the city’s basketball team right before their season was supposed to kick off. Most of the time, I liked laying low, but since I was one of the owners and in town, I was expected to make an appearance. Of course, I’d be bringing my number one lady with me.
Other than that, I had a few meetings the next day, but nothing too pressing, so we’d likely hang out at the hotel and just relax before heading back to Houston early Monday morning. Until then, I was content to sit across from Chanel and watch as she enjoyed the veggie omelet she’d ordered for breakfast. I still couldn’t believe how wound up I was in this woman, saying simple shit like I was happy to watch her enjoy her food… Yet there I was, grinning like a sucka at the way her eyes fluttered whenever she took a bite. Never had I been this gone over a woman. Ever. Never could I have imagined it, but here I was. And it felt good.
“Move in with me.” The words spilled from my lips. I hadn’t even known I was going to say it. I hadn’t meant to spring it on her. I’d been thinking about it for the last two weeks I’d been gone. But, I didn’t regret the question and felt no need to take it back. Hell, to be honest, I hadn’t even formed it as a question because I wasn’t asking. I stated what I wanted.
By the look on Chanel’s face, she was thrown off. Her fork paused midair, halfway to her mouth. She was expecting me to take it back or make some amendment, but there was none to make. I wanted her in my bed at night and in the mornings when I awoke. Plain and simple.
“S-say that again?”
“I said, move in with me. As in, us live together.”
She nodded. “Yes, I think I have an idea of what moving in with someone means.”
“Okay,” I hedged.
“Into your house?”
“Where else?”
She shook her head, wiping her mouth with the cloth napkin. “Nowhere, I guess. I just, um...”
“Is there something wrong with my house? You don’t like it?”
“No, of course, I do. Iloveyour home.”
My home. Not ours.
“Well?”
“You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack. I don’t say anything I don’t mean. You know that.”
She nodded. “I do. And you want an answernow?”
I sat back. I guessed she was right. I had just sprung this on her. We’d never even had a conversation about moving in together. But it felt like the natural next step for us.
“How about we talk about it when we get home, okay?”
I didn’t see what there was to talk about, but I could do my best to be patient.
