“Are you sure?”
Arsel worked a lot, and he hadn’t had time for himself either since we had Mikayla. I gave him a massage not that long ago, but maybe I needed to give him a day out as well.
“I’m positive, baby.” He flipped us over, so I was on my back. “Now, let me put you to sleep.”
I gasped when he slid inside me. We were tired, but not tired enough to not have at least one round of sex. It was the best sleep medicine.
I leaned against my car as I waited for Janiyah to get out of hers. The cool air helped me relax from the stressful day I had at work. It gave me time to think about what was next for me. My career had been demanding, and now seeing the toll it took on my marriage had me second-guessing it. I would always be a doctor in some capacity, but I wasn’t too sure if trauma was still the way to go.
“Hey, what are we doing here?” Janiyah asked as she walked up to me.
I reached out to her and pulled her into my arms. For a minute, I basked in her scent and the feel of her body against mine. I kissed the top of her head, then released her. With her hand in mine, I led her to the door of the building.
“We are here because I thought we could have a night out.”
She looked up at me, and her smile brightened the darkness in the sky.
“Well, aren’t you full of surprises?” she said as I held the door open for her.
I had the idea of taking her on a date earlier in the day, but instead of picking her up, I told her to meet me there. It was like when we first started dating, and we would meet at different locations. I just thought it was something different than what we had been doing all these years.
“I do a little something.” I stepped in behind her.
Janiyah looked around for a second until we were greeted by a girl who looked like she was still a teenager.
“Hello, and welcome. The class should get started in a few minutes. There’s a coatrack to the left, and the supplies and everything you may need to the right. You can pick any open spot. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and have fun.”
“Thank you,” I said, then led Janiyah over to the coatrack. I helped her out of her jacket, then put mine on top of hers on the rack.
I stepped back a little to admire her outfit for the night. When I texted her, I told her to dress comfortably, so she wore jeans that hugged her curves and a hoodie that readBest SellingAuthoron the front. I noticed a couple of the women looked at her with familiarity, but nobody approached her. Janiyah wasn’t famous, but she had a good following on social media to be recognizable in certain places.
After our coats were put away, we walked over to the other side to get the supplies we needed, then found an open table.
“What made you pick this?” Janiyah asked as she sat down.
“We hadn’t done it before, and I heard it’s relaxing.”
Janiyah looked at me with her eyes squinted. “Heard from who?”
I chuckled and kissed the side of her face. “Calm down. Talese told us that she and her husband came here before, and she thought it was something we should try.”
Talese was one of the nurses who worked in the emergency room with me. She and her husband liked to try different places around town, and she would suggest places for Janiyah and me to try.
“It had better been her.”
I smirked at the hint of a smile that played on Janiyah’s face.
“Are you jealous?”
Janiyah sucked her teeth. “I have no reason to be jealous of anyone.”
“You sure don’t.”
A few seconds later, a lady who looked like the girl at the front came out, and she introduced herself as Lex, and she informed us that the girl at the front was her daughter.
Lex’s pottery studio was in the downtown area of Sunrise Valley. It was fairly new to the area, which is why I hadn’t heard about it until Talese mentioned it. Lex told us a little bit about herself and what made her get into pottery. I thought it was interesting that she was able to make a career out of it. She informed us that her husband hosted a men-only night once a week. The purpose was to provide a safe and relaxing environment for men. I made a mental note to check it out. At times, I wanted to hang with other guys, but I didn’t want to do that in a bar. It would be nice to have a safe place to chill and not have to worry about women pushing up on you. I’d come across women who didn’t care that I was a happily married man.
“Today we are going to keep it simple with soap dishes,” Lex mentioned as she walked around the room. “I’m going to show you all how to do it, then once you are ready, feel free to start.” She walked back to the front of the room and sat on a stool facing us.
