“You were a child.”
“I know, but in my mind, I should’ve been able to see right through him. My first few boyfriends were walking red flags, but I didn’t see it. After those failed relationships, I deemed myself a horrible judge of character. Victor had to work overtime to get me to even look his way. He laid it on thick, he was persistent, and he said all the right things, until I finally gave in.”
“That’s a lot, and it helps me understand why you’re closed off. It means everything that you’ve been so open with me, and it gives me hope for us. There has to be a way for me to show you I’m a different breed, baby.”
“I feel safe with you, . . . safer than I have with any man since before my father walked out on us, but my heart and mind areplaying tug of war. One says to give you a chance, while the other keeps reminding me of past mistakes.”
“What does your gut say?”
She didn’t respond, and I wasn’t sure how long we sat there in silence, but when the rhythm of her breathing changed, I knew she’d fallen asleep.
“Baby, wake up.”
“Huh?”
“Wake up. Let’s get you to bed.”
She sat up, stretched, and yawned. “I can’t believe I fell asleep in the arms of a stranger. It must be the wine.”
“It could be, or maybe you feel comfortable with me because our spirits are aligned.”
I stood and offered her my hand. She took it, allowing me to pull her to her feet.
“Que, go pee, boy.”
He ran to the corner of the yard, did his thing, and came back in under thirty seconds. I was amazed at how well she had him trained. I followed them inside, securing the lock on the patio door behind me.
On my way to the front door, the most shocking thing happened. Naryah grabbed my arm and said the absolute last thing I expected to hear.
“Stay with me.”
“Stay with you where?”
Instead of responding verbally, she took my hand and guided me to her bedroom.
“Night, Que.”
He barked as her bedroom door closed.
“Naryah—”
“I have some extra toothbrushes if you haven’t brushed your teeth yet.”
I followed her to the bathroom, and she gave me a fresh toothbrush and a face towel. After brushing our teeth, we returned to her bedroom, and for the second time in the past five minutes, she shocked me when she lifted the T-shirt over her head.
She was naked underneath, and my dick reacted like a dick would to a beautiful naked chocolate goddess. I bit my bottom lip as I admired her, the woman God told me would be my wife.
I stood frozen as she pulled the comforter back and crawled into bed. Her behavior was so unexpected, I couldn’t help but question what had changed. As much as I wanted to take advantage of what she was seemingly offering, I had to make sure we were on the same page.
“Naryah, what are you doing?”
“Following my gut. Come put me back to sleep.”
She held up the other side of the comforter and patted the bed. I hesitated because her eagerness gave me pause, but she took my lack of action a different way.
“I’ve been tested, and I’m clean, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
I chuckled. “We should’ve had this conversation before now, but I’ve been tested, too, and I’m all good.”
