“Yeah? That’s what you think, mama?”
“That’s what I know.”
Her confidence turned me on, and she wasn’t lying. She took my dick like the big girl she was, and that only made me like her more. I shook my head. Tonight wasn’t supposed to be about sex. We connected well in that department. This was supposed to be about getting to know her better.
I picked up my paintbrush and went back to my painting as I asked, “Tell me about you. What don’t I know?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m a homebody. I work a lot. You know that already. I have an older brother and a younger sister, Mariah, who you met. Sloane is my best friend and really my only friend. I have some work friends, but my circle is really small. My parents live right off the coast in the home I grew up in. They’re probably why I’m a hopeless romantic. I see that true love is real through them. My favorite color is blue.”
She added that last thought as an afterthought. Funny enough, I already assumed her favorite color was blue because she had that color all through her apartment.
“My parents are still alive and married too. Funny I ain’t ever really thought of marriage though.”Until now.Something told me to keep that thought to myself, though. I knew I was already bullying my way into her life. I also knew her ass liked to run when things got too real, so I made the decision to play it as cool as I could, which truthfully wasn’t even all that cool.
“Really?” she asked as her brush went across her canvas. “Why not?”
“Guess I just ain’t found the right one to inspire me.”Until now.Again, I kept that to myself. I think she caught on to my thoughts, though, because she caught my eye after I said those words, and I could tell her cute ass had to be blushing under that pretty chocolate skin.
“Do you have any siblings?” she asked, and it wasn’t lost on me that she wanted to change the subject.
“Yeah, an older sister. We’re super close. My whole family is. Outside of my nigga Snax, the dude who was wit’ me yesterday in the office, they’re really the only people I have.”
“You sound like me,” she commented.
“Yeah, twin. We just alike.”
She giggled. “I just know ya mama had a time with you when you were young.”
I chuckled. “She still do. Fuck you mean?”
Arielle grinned. “I’ll pray for the poor lady.”
“Pray for yourself, Mermaid. I’m yo’ problem now.”
“Is that right?” I nodded. She hummed as she tapped the end of her paintbrush on her chin. “I’ve had worse problems.”
I grinned at her cute ass before I got back to my painting. Soft tunes filled the space as we worked, and I really liked the vibe, despite other people looking at me crazy for simply being me.
When I finished, I flagged down the instructor. “Aye, lady. Come tell this woman I know what the hell I’m doin’ wit’ the paintbrush.”
I knew I was setting the instructor up for failure. This painting was atrocious, but I wanted Arielle to think I had skills, even just for a second.
The instructor made her way over to our table. When her eyes landed on my painting, she choked. On what? I had no idea. Her spit, maybe? The damn air? Shit was wild.
“Well . . . it’s certainly . . . unique?”
“I ain’t ask you to ask me no fuckin’ question, did I? Talkin’ ’bout it’s unique with a damn question mark. I told you to tell my lady over here that I know what the hell I’m doin’ wit’ a paintbrush.”
I didn’t really like repeating myself, so this lady needed to get with the program.
“You know what you’re doing,” she mumbled as she fidgeted, switching her weight from foot to foot.
“You gotta take a shit or somethin’?” I asked, confused. She was making me nervous with all that fidgeting.
“What? I . . . no.”
“Oh. Aight, well, tell me what you like about my painting,” I demanded. I sat back and watched her struggle. There wasliterally no reason why I was like this. Sometimes I got bored, and this was my form of entertainment.
“Well . . . It’s, uh . . .”
