"Aye," he said. "I want to get to know Nyla. Get her number for me."
I looked at him and frowned up.
"Namier, don't play games with that girl," I said. "I don't need whatever you do with her to mess up my situation with Tattiana."
"It ain't nothing to worry about," he said. "I don't plan on being on no bullshit with her. I'm serious."
I nodded. "I'll text you her number later."
"Appreciate it," he said.
I went inside and went straight to my room.
The ring was in my pocket. The dinner was being prepared. By 8pm, she'd know. And then I’d know how to move with her.
—
I knocked on her door at 7:50pm.
She opened it already dressed. Brown dress that fit her curves like it was made just for her. Her hair was down and curled. She smelled like something floral but expensive as hell. She was smelling almost as good as she looked.
"You ready?" I asked.
"Ready for what?" she asked, but she was already taking my hand.
I didn't answer. Just led her down the hallway toward the dining area.
"Damn, you look good," I said as we walked. "Smell good too."
I knew that I needed to work on complimenting her out loud and not just in my head. Women liked that shit. They wanted reassurance sometime.
She smiled but didn't say anything.
When we got to the dining room, I was about to sit down, but then I stopped. I walked over and pulled her chair out for her.
She looked at me like I'd just done something crazy.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing," she said, sitting down. "That was just... nice."
This wasn't me. Pulling out chairs. Being thoughtful like that. But I was teaching myself to do it. Training myself. Because she deserved that shit. After getting to know her, I felt like she deserved nothing but good shit. She’s had some fucked up people in her life and ain’t even know it.
The chef brought out the first course. We started eating and I asked her about her day even though this shit felt weird.
She told me about the spa. The massages. The facials. Then she held up her hand to show me her nails.
Her nails were done perfect. Long and shaped right. A baby pink color with a white tip that looked good on her skin.
"Real nice," I said.
"You can see my feet later," she said casually.
My whole body went tight.
I immediately imagined her folded up like a pretzel, her feet in the air, those nails visible while I was deep inside her. The image hit me so hard I had to shake my head and look away.
"You good?" she asked.
