I tilted my head. “Honestly, the only thing I missed during that time was sex. That’s probably why God wanted us to wait for marriage. Because that was the part that had me crazy. If I was a virgin, I would be good because how do you miss something you never had?!”
We both burst out laughing.
I leaned into the rails, shaking my head. “I already know I’m gonna be that parent who makes my kid believe that having sex before marriage will kill them.”
Maison almost choked laughing. “Not the you will die scare tactic!”
“I’m serious!” I said, grinning. “I ain’t letting my child go through what I went through. I’m putting them up on game early. Scare ‘em straight, then soften the blow later.”
He was still laughing. “Lord, your kid gone be terrified.”
“And safe,” I said proudly.
He looked at me again with that same warm smile. “You’re really something special, Lyrix.”
8
Lyrix
The sun was beaming through the sheer curtains. I squinted, stretched, and rolled over.
Maison stood on the balcony, wearing the hotel robe, phone pressed to his ear, voice low and smooth. His chocolate skin glistened under the morning light. I didn’t even pretend not to stare. I just watched, my lips curling into a slow smile as I laughed at myself.
So this was the hype behind vacation baes.
I used to hear about women falling for men on quick getaways and thought,Couldn’t be me.But whew. I understood the thrill. The danger. The escape. You’re not trying to impress nobody. You’re just having fun. Being who you are or maybe who you’vealways wanted to be, without worrying about being “too much.” It was liberating as hell.
And the craziest part was that men like Maison ate that energy up. These men didn’t want polished perfection. They wanted soft chaos. They wanted somebody who might twerk in the airport line and say she was cold just to wear a trench coat with nothing underneath. Spontaneity was the new sexy.
He ended the call, turned toward me, and smiled.
“Good morning, girlfriend.”
I blinked.
Now… see…what? I was about to take back everything I was just thinking.
I laughed, nervous and caught off guard. “Wait a minute.Girlfriend?That’s what we’re doing now?”
He pointed behind me, and I turned to look. My vision board. He walked over and tapped a square I’d doodled in pink marker:“Pretend to be someone’s girlfriend for 24 hours.”
“Oh my God…” I laughed because I forgot that shit was on there. “You’re really gonna make sure I check every damn thing off this board, huh?”
He grinned. “I’m just making sure you live this Heaux Phase out loud, baby.”
“Well alright then,” I said, stretching with a smirk. “What’s the plan, boyfriend?”
He raised a brow and licked his lips slow. “Ain’t nothing more fun than partying with your girlfriend.”
I sat up and smirked, watching him lean against the balcony rail like some chocolate dream in a robe. “I ain’t never had a boyfriend from Louisiana," I said, stretching my arms over my head. “I’m tryna see what that be like.”
He turned around laughing, deep and smooth. “It’s a mixture of romance and ratchet turn up,” he said.
“Ohhh, period,” I grinned. “I love a good balance.”
“How long you need to get ready?”
I stretched again and gave him a look. “Mmm, maybe an hour. I might need to use my rose first to get my spirit right.”
