Her laugh was short, bitter. “Then I’d say you’re confusing great sex with something deeper.”
“I know the difference,” he said, unfazed. “I’ve had good pussy, not better than that ocean between your legs, but I’ve had it. And I know this…” He gestured between them, eyes hard. “What we did was not just fucking.”
Her lip trembled before she caught it between her teeth. Silence stretched long enough to become unbearable.
“You’ll get over it,” she said, straightening her posture. “We go back to the real world, and this becomes a memory. One dope ass, memorable weekend.”
Rolani leaned forward and took her hand, pressing his thumb against her wrist to check her pulse. “Your eyes are saying something else, Ken.”
“What’s your sign?”
He groaned, leaning back, rolling his eyes in disbelief. But beneath the exasperation, he smiled.
“What does that matter?”
“Because I’m trying to figure out what game you’re playing.”
“No games.” Darkness flashed in his eyes. “You can keep fighting it, but we both know where this is headed. Question is, you gon’ keep running from it or you gon’ let me show you what I’m about? I feel like you’re forcing my hand, and I don’t like that.”
His voice got lower on that last part, and she felt heat pool in her stomach.
“Again, we don’t even know each other. I just thought you were on the phone with your daughter. We skipped some important steps. There’s a reason for that.”
“You know enough.”
“Like what?”
“You know I’ll protect you. You know I want you. And you know you feel the same way. The rest we can figure out when you let me treat you how a lady should be treated.”
She stared at him, mind racing, unable to deny it but refusing to confirm it either.
“Sign?” she pressed.
Rolani groaned again, shaking his head with a crooked grin that showed off his gold tooth. “Taurus.”
She tilted her head, studying him like the answer was a key she wasn’t sure she wanted to use. “Stubborn, hardheaded, territorial.”
“And loyal,” he added. “Solid. A man who, once he decides he wants you, you ain’t gotta guess about it. I come in peace.”
Kennedi’s eyes dropped to her plate. She dragged her fork through the fruit and said nothing.
“What about you?” he asked after a beat. “What’s your sign?”
“Virgo.”
“Figures,” he muttered, leaning back with his arms folded across his chest.
Her brow arched. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“That means you overthink everything. You pick it apart until it no longer feels good. And you bossy as hell. Sexy as hell too, but bossy.” His smirk curved slowly. He enjoyed proving he wasn’t some dumbass nigga with tattoos.
Kennedi’s lips twitched. “And you’re full of shit.”
“Maybe, but I’m right about you.” His gaze didn’t waver.
“You don’t know me like that.”
He put his hands up, deciding not to debate what he knew to be true.
