“When can I see you again, Jameela?” I sighed audibly, trying to think of a quick excuse. He spoke up before I could respond. “I have my daughter for a few days. You can bring Bella with you for a movie night.”
“I don’t know about that. I don’t want to start bringing men in and out of my daughter’s life.”
“Who said anything about coming in and out of her life?”
“No one had to say it. I’m talking about reality, Nicholas.”
“And I’m only talking about watching Harry Potter movies. I’m trying to be furthest from reality as possible for a few hours.”
“You like that crap too? My friends were just getting on me about never seeing it.”
“What do you mean you’ve never seen it?” Nicholas asked, sounding just as appalled as my girls.
“When would I have seen a kid’s movie?”
“You have a daughter? Speaking of that, did you take her donor off child support?”
“I’m not even getting into that right now. I just wanted to call and thank you for the food.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you tonight, Jameela,” he said before ending the call.
“What the hell?”I laughed to myself.
Even when he was being ridiculous, Nicholas made me smile. Who would have thought that just a week after meeting the man for the first time that I would smile at the very thought of hearing him tell me good morning or ask about my day. From the very start, Nicholas insisted that he meant nothing but good and had shown and proved.
Bella and I had just got cozy on the couch when my phone buzzed in my lap. I picked it up and opened the text message thread from the unfamiliar number. I frowned at the message, not understanding what I was looking at. While I tried to process the strange message, my phone rang. It was Nicholas, so I swiped the screen and put the phone to my ear.
“Hey, you.”
“Hey, baby. I just wanted to give you a heads-up. We have a date in about an hour. I need you and Bella to be comfortable and ready for movie night.”
“Nicholas, I told you I’m not going anywhere tonight.”
“You love to argue when there’s no use. Have my little lady in her comfortable pajamas, and make sure she has plenty of snacks.”
“I just hope you’re prepared to go to the movies by yourself.”
He only chuckled in response to my statement. “Go ahead and enter that log-in information I sent you and get my girl situated. I’ll call you back in thirty minutes.”
Since Bella and I were already in our pajamas, I didn’t pay Nicholas’s demands much mind. I could tell he liked to give orders. As a police officer, I had no issue with taking them. As a single woman who only planned on having a one-night stand with the man who thought he could call and make demands at the drop of a hat, not so much.
If Nicholas thought buying me a car meant that he could just tell me what to do, he had another thing coming. I liked him, and the sex was phenomenal, but I wasn’t about to let him run my life. I had already told him I couldn’t be bought. I couldn’t make myself any clearer. I would return the car, if I had to. A knock at the door almost made my heart jump out of my chest.
Even though it was only six in the evening, I didn’t take kindly to uninvited guests. My mom was the only one who got a pass, and even she called when she was on the way. Another knock had me on my feet. I was fuming as I stormed toward the door. I had already told Nicholas that I wasn’t ready for him to meet Bella.
There was a difference between being persistent and being overbearing. I could already see that my best bet was to give him back the keys to the car and figure out my problems on my own.I opened the door and shook my head when I came face-to-face with another delivery person.
“Are you Miss Jameela Rice?” he asked.
“Yes, I am.” I nodded to confirm.
“I have a delivery for you. First, I have to give you this,” he said, passing me a thick envelope.
“What’s this?” I asked, not waiting for him to reply before opening it. It was packed with money. “Who is this from?”
I asked the question, but the answer was obvious. My phone was already in my hand, so I went ahead and called Nicholas. I had already told him to stop trying to buy me. Apparently, he didn’t get the picture.
“Hey, my love. Are you ready for movie night? I’m going to video call you.”
