“I just came to help with the machines,” he says.
There’s so much I can and want to say to him but this isn’t the time or place. The lobby is filled with customers and I’m dealing with this damn tooth shit. I just grab a few of the boxes and walk toward the machines. He grabs the rest, and in silence, we restock both machines. He keeps a Snicker and a bag of trail mix for himself, and when we are done, he actually follows me to my office. He closes my door when he walks in.
“I know I’m not supposed to drive but I had to this morning,” he says apologetically and I simply shake my head. I’m real shit tired of wasting my breath. “Xai, man, come on,” he adds when I don’t say shit. Then he sits in the chair in front of my desk. “Dutch got locked up and I had to go get my bike from his girl’s house,” he volunteers and I can’t hold my words anymore.
“And youhadto go get it? The one with no license? You call me for everything else, why didn’t you call me for that?” I grit.
“Man, ’cause of this,” he sighs. “I knew you were gon’ have shit to say.”
“I ain’t said nothing on the real. I just asked a question.”
“I already had to call you when she put me out last night; I didn’t want to bother you with this.”
“So you decided to take penitentiary chances and just drive. You got to be smarter than that, Kadean, or you going to be right inside with Dutch.”
“I’m putting it in the garage when I get off and I won’t drive it again.”
“It’s going on my truck and I’m taking it to the house when you get off,” I tell him sternly.
“Damn, alright,” he sighs then stands. “And I’m not going to be at your house long either,” he utters when he reaches my door.
“You can stay as long as you need to. I’m not tripping on that,” I tell him and he doesn’t respond. He just opens my door and walks out.
At the end of the day, Kadean knows I’m here for him when he needs me. Part of it is because I owe him but the biggest part is because he’s my brother and I love him. I just want him to want better for himself.
“Please havea seat and someone will be out for you in a moment,” the girl behind the desk says after I hand her the iPad.
I couldn’t take it anymore. For five days straight, my damn tooth had been killing me. The gel and the pain pills didn’t do shit. Yeah, it worked for a few hours but that’s it. I gave in and went to my dentist. Turns out, Trista was right; it’s my wisdom teeth. They grew in impacted and the extraction is too complex for my dentist. He referred me to this oral surgeon, Dr. Denim Morris, and I’m at my appointment, waiting to get this shit over with.
In preparation for today, I didn’t eat or drink anything last night. Hell, I couldn’t have even if I wanted to anyway. This shit hurts so bad. They called in the prescription for my after-surgery pain pills and I picked them up on my way here. They told me to have someone drive me here but I’m straight. I brought myself; I didn’t want to bother anyone with my shit.
“Mr. Watts,” a sultry voice I know all too well calls out.
It’s her, from the voicemails.
Stunned by the voice and beautiful face it’s coming from, I can’t fucking move.That’s her voice. Shit! This really has to be her.
“Xai Watts,” she calls out again, using my full name.
I’ve listened to her voicemails for weeks and although I feel like I know her through them, in reality, I don’t. Crescent Falls isn’t the biggest city but it’s large enough to keep our paths from ever crossing.
Move,I will myself and manage to stand. When I do, she smiles and motions me to the door.
“Right this way,” she says and I gladly follow. I’m a man and have working eyes. Her back view is as beautiful as her front. Her light pink scrubs hug her body and her curves make me dizzy. “In here,” she says, nodding toward the room. This time she motions for me to enter first. When I sit on the large chair, she closes the door then pulls a stool from under the sink area. She gets it close to me and sits. “Can you confirm your date of birth?”
“September twenty-ninth.”
“Perfect. I’m Adora.”
Adora! That’s her name and this is definitely her voice. This is her.
“I’ll be assisting Dr. Denim today with your extraction. Just to confirm, you haven’t had anything to drink or eat since eleven last night, right?” she asks and I nod.
The fact that this is her, this close, is still wild as fuck to me and my brain can’t process my emotions. They are all over the place. Part of me wants to apologize for my brother and for just leaving her mother at the hospital. Another part of me wants to give her my deepest condolences and pull her into my arms and comfort her. Yet another part wants to confess and apologize for listening to her heartfelt voice messages. My mind churns but my eyes also focus on everything about her.
She’s truly stunning with her deep chocolate skin, dark eyes and lashes, full lips with a slight hint of something shiny, and cute nose. Her hair is pulled back, letting her full beautiful face shine through. I’m staring and can’t break my eyes from her.
“Mr. Watts, is that clear?” she asks as if she’s repeating herself. Hell, she probably is but I’m not sure. I was so caught up in her and her voice that I only heard sounds, no clear words.
