Page 9 of More to Love

“You’re pushy, Mr. Mercer. What is it that you want with a woman like me?”

Everything if you give it to me. I quickly dismissed that thought because despite how breathtaking Sorimah was, I was a faithful man. “Honestly, all I wanted was your name and a minute of your time.”

“Like I said, some other time.”

“Share a drink with me before I give you back to your girls. Just one and I’m done.” I may have came off in a begging tone but she was worth it no doubt.

She glanced back in the direction of her girls before giving me an answer. “One drink and then I have to get back.”

We proceeded to take a seat right at the bar and spark a general conversation. The entire time I was in her face, my eyes were locked in on her beauty, even her voice had me hypnotized. It was so soft and delicate. She barely cursed and I appreciated that.

“What brought you out here tonight, Ri?”

“Well, my sister and I share a company called Mother Bear Care which is a nanny business. Today we bought our second location to make us more accessible. It’s been a long time coming and we can’t operate out of one building anymore.”

“That’s dope. I love a beautiful woman with her own. It shows independence and nowadays a lot of women lack that.”

“Who you telling? I have a lot of clients who need the help but then I have a few that would rather pay me to love their child instead of doing it themselves.”

That comment hit home. Avi was the kind of mother that would pay any and everybody if she could to deal with Akeera. I wouldn’t put it past her if she’d thought of something like this before.

“I see you’re a caring person because no one takes on someone’s kids without intentions of making sure they’re providing genuineness. I applaud you on that and congratulations on your expansion.”

I held up my glass for a toast and she followed suit. I guess you could say aside from her physical features, her light was shining bright and dimming the one that was set on Aviana. Sorimah had a caring spirit that was felt when she spoke. The last time I saw such a selfless and loving act was in my grandmother.

“Thank you, Hendrix. You’re the first one to congratulate me and probably will be the only one.” I could tell from her facial expressions that more lay underneath.

“No friends or family to see what you’ve accomplished?” I pried.

“Outside of my sister and best friend…” She took a brief moment to look in their direction once more and smiled gently before she gave me her attention again. “I have a hard time trusting people, even the ones that contributed to my very existence. My cup is empty which means this conversation is over. I’ll see you around Hendrix and thank you again.”

“I can refill your cup, Ri.” I wasn’t ready for the interaction to be over.

“I’m sure you can. Have a good night, Hendrix.” A soft kiss was placed on my cheek and like that I was stuck.

“Another minute?” I shouted over the music.

She threw a wink my way and made her way back to her section. She maintained eye contact with me as I followed her same path to return back to my assigned area as well. We only broke contact when I was out of her line of vision.

I was cool with waiting. She was worth the wait. I was seated once more and had the view from behind. I watched as she threw back shot after shot and allowed the dancers to heighten their vibe. She and her crew paid rent tonight and I was satisfied with just watching her in her element.

“What’s her name goofy ass?” Dex finally asked after seeing I wasn’t going to move on from her.

“Sorimah.”

“What’s your plan, H?”

“I just wanted to know her name, Dex. I’m satisfied.”

Chapter Three

SORIMAH

His baritone was on a loop. The way he approached me followed by the way he addressed me had me smitten and blushing nonstop. There were several good-looking women in the club tonight, but he sought after me and I couldn’t help but feel special.

“Girl, what the hell did you and Hendrix talk about?”

“You are so nosy Daria,” I said and poured up another shot.