“She was cool, that’s all.” I shrugged as I completely downplayed how that woman made me feel.
Truthfully, I’d never experienced anything like it before. I felt like I could breathe her in every day for the rest of my life. She fit into my arms perfectly, like our bodies were designed for each other. Her smile took my breath away. For the few short hours we spent together, I didn’t feel the need to be a menace or carryaround a dark cloud above me. The weight of the world didn’t sit on my shoulders while she was with me. I craved her pretty ass and didn’t even know her damn name.
Snax peered at me curiously for a minute before his face split into a wide smile. “You done got some good ass pussy, and now you sad ’cause she don’t live in Desmore, huh?”
I grunted. “I don’t know where she lives. Don’t even know shorty’s name.”
Snax slapped his knee. “Boy, you done caught the love bug and fucked up ’bout it ’cause shorty is in the wind now.”
His howling laughter pissed me off. This was what I got for opening up to Snax. I shook my head and grabbed the keys off the counter before exiting the unit. Snax followed me, still laughing his ass off.
When we got into the elevator, he calmed down enough to say, “I never thought I’d see the day. Look, don’t worry. You lucky you got a friend in me, my nigga. I’ll figure out who she is.”
“And how you gonna do that?” I asked, my attitude on full blast by this point. I couldn’t wait to move this tenant in and drop Snax’s ass off.
“I’m gonna call the resort and figure it out. Money talks, my guy. I got this.” Snax was so confident as he swaggered off the elevator, pulling up his oversized shorts with one hand and waving at one of my young female tenants as she walked by.
My jaw clenched as I watched him mosey through life. I had to be honest with myself. I wasn’t even irritated with Snax. What irritated me was that how he acted was how I felt when I was with my mermaid for those few hours, and no matter what I tried over the past two weeks, I couldn’t get that shit back.
We walked into the manager’s office, and I took a seat behind the desk. While I logged onto the computer, Snax asked me questions about the mystery woman. I answered to the best of my ability. I knew he was only trying to help, but if he thoughtfor one second I hadn’t already called the resort and tried to get her information up out of them, then he was a fool. That plan had failed, and my misery prevailed.
I clicked into the move-in file for today and found my new tenant’s name.
Arielle Nichols.
Arielle.I scoffed. Wasn’t that the mermaid bitch’s name in that Disney movie?
Every fucking thing reminded me of her. The shit pissed me off. With my anger rising, I checked to make sure she had already signed the lease. When I confirmed she had, I looked at some of the emails between her and my old leasing manager, confirming that she should be here in just a few minutes.
Snax still blabbered on about my mystery girl, but I completely zoned out. I focused on the computer, but my mind stayed on my mermaid. It got so bad that I realized I could still smell her.
“Good morning,” a shy voice sang.
Damn. I could hear her ass too. She had to have some voodoo in her pussy. This shit was unreal.
I looked up to tell Snax that I needed to take my ass to the psych ward or some shit, but I froze.
The most beautiful sight stood before me with a smile. Gone was the dress and sandals. Today, she wore a baggy T-shirt and some sweats with a baseball cap taming her unruly curls. When her eyes landed on me, her smile faltered. Shock that had to match my own registered on her face.
“Kareem.” She breathed the word out like a whisper.
My dick immediately responded. I adjusted myself discreetly before I stood, towering over her and the two women that came into the office behind her.
“Mermaid,” I muttered. It was like a magnet drew me to her. I stopped short of pulling her into my arms and inhaling her.Instead, I played it cool and peered down at her intensely. “How are you here?”
“I-I’m moving in today. I’m here to pick up my keys.”
Automatically, I asked, “Arielle?”
She nodded, and if her beautiful skin wasn’t the prettiest shade of ebony, I knew I would see a bright red blush flush across her features.
For the first time in two weeks, I laughed. I laughed straight from my belly. Her fuckin’ name was Arielle, and I just so happened to call her Mermaid.
I couldn’t stop myself. I reached up and pushed a loose curl that framed her face behind her ear. With glee lacing my voice in an unfamiliar tone that surprised me, I said, “My little mermaid.”
The irony, indeed.
chapter 5
