“Yes, but I did miss you. I thought you were coming to get me last night.” Her brows pulled together in a cute frown.He assumed the purple heart pajamas she wore were borrowed from Jasmine.
He ran a hand over her braided hair. “You were asleep when I got back so Ms. Layla and I agreed that you could spend the night.”
She nodded as if that were the only satisfactory answer before asking. “Can you make cheese grits and eggs for breakfast?”
“Coming right up. You go wash up and I’ll get it started.”
She beamed then turned to Layla. “Bye, Ms. Layla. Thanks for letting me stay over.”
Layla winked at Sabrina. “Anytime, Sabrina. Jasmine and I love having you over.”
Sabrina waved before running into the house to get ready for breakfast. As soon as she was down the hall Elijah turned back to Layla and pulled her into his arms. Her eyes widened and she gasped as her soft curves pressed against his chest.
“What are you doing,” she whispered. She bent to the side to try and look around his shoulders. “What if Sabrina sees?”
He’d had the same thought. They’d just agreed not to spring their relationship on the girls, but the memory of Layla’s body on top of his was too fresh to not hold her for just a second. “I won’t hold you too long. I just couldn’t resist when you come over here in these tight ass leggings.”
She rolled her eyes but chuckled. “These leggings are older than Jasmine.”
“What does that have to do with anything? You still look good in them.”
She shrugged. “I know. That’s why I kept them, they make my ass look great.”
He reached down and squeezed said ass. The memory of gripping her curves while she was on top of him had his blood heating and his dick rising.
Her eyes widened as his erection grew against her stomach. She pushed on his chest. “We should talk before we get distracted.”
He was already distracted, which was why he needed to let her go. He usually had more control over his emotions and reactions than this. Yet, one night with Layla and he felt like he was nineteen, full of energy and ready to go for hours.
Reluctantly, he reminded himself that he was not nineteen, and that no matter how much he wanted her, he wouldn’t slide his hand in the waistband of her leggings and between her lush folds on his front porch. He’d save that for later.
He let her go and rubbed his hands on his sweatpants. The material was soft, but was a poor comparison to the sweetness of Layla’s skin. “You want to talk about what happened last night?”
She nodded. “That and what it means.”
He frowned, not liking that statement. “I know what it means. We’re together.”
She blinked and took a step back. “That’s a bold statement.”
He took a step forward. “Everything we did to each other last night was a bold statement.”
“It was. I just thought…” She shrugged and twisted the hem of her shirt.
“Thought what?”
Layla stopped twisting her shirt, straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted last night to be the start of something serious or if it was just letting off steam.”
He grabbed a handful of her t-shirt and pulled until she was once again directly in front of him. His gaze never left hers because he wanted her to hear and understand exactly what he was about to stay. “If I wanted to just let off steam I would have gone home with the woman I had the date with. That’s all she wanted from me. That is not all that I want from you.”
Her eyes lit up and the corner of her mouth tilted up in a small smile. “So we’re doing this? We’re going to give being in a relationship a try.”
The relief that washed through him at the light in her eyes nearly made his knees buckle. She’d scared him for a second. “That’s what I want. What do you want?”
“I’d like that.” She placed her hands on his chest. “I know that just because the sex is great it doesn’t mean everything else will be great too. We’re going to have to figure this out.”
“We will. I heard you when we first talked. I messed things up in my first marriage because I put too much pressure for us to be some ideal couple. When she left, I put too much pressure on myself to provide for Sabrina at the cost of truly living my life. I don’t want to put pressure on either of us now. Will we both screw up sometimes? Probably, but I won’t ignore and pretend as if everything will always be okay. I’m willing to talk about it with you and figure out how we move forward. Because I don’t want to give up on us without trying. Are you willing to do the same with me?”
He could see the hesitancy in her eyes. A hesitancy that if he were honest, he had himself. What if he reverted to old ways? What if he couldn’t be the kind of man she wanted him to be? What if this all went south and he found himself reading another note saying she couldn’t be with him anymore? The thoughts made his heart ramp up. He pushed the negative thoughts aside before they had him overthinking. He wasn’t going to let fear of being left stop him from exploring a relationship with Layla. He’d denied himself happiness for too long. He would do whatever he could to erase the hesitancy on both their parts.
