I pulled up in front of the house and looked around for a second, takin’ in the area before I grabbed my phone and texted Sha’Nelle that I was outside.
Then I reached over, picked up the flowers, and got out the car, lettin’ the door close behind me while I stood here waitin’ on her.
Soon as the door opened and she stepped out, I felt that shit hit me before I could even try to play it off.
She had on some jeans that was holdin’ on to every inch of her, sittin’ right on them wide hips that swayed when she walked, makin’ it hard for a nigga to look anywhere else.
The maroon crop hoodie hugged her up top, showin’ just enough to have me glancin’ more than once without even tryin’ to.
Her skin was glowin’, smooth and even, and if I ain’t know what she had just been through, I would’ve never guessed she took a bullet not too long ago.
She looked good as hell.
She was walkin’ up to me, tryna keep that smile tucked in, and shid… I was doin’ the same thing like I ain’t know what she was doin’ to me.
She was carryin’ a suitcase, walkin’ toward me with that look on her face like she was tryna keep it together, but that smile kept creepin’ through anyway, and I ain’t even realize I was smilin’ back until she got closer.
I just stood there watchin’ her come up, takin’ her in for real, from the way them jeans hugged her to how her hair was laid. It hit me right then that I was really about to be around her like this without some type of chaos attached to it.
I stepped forward when she got close, took the suitcase from her without sayin’ too much, and popped the trunk so I could set it inside. Once I closed it, I turned back to her and held the flowers out.
She looked down at ’em, and that smile finally broke through.
“Renza…” she said, reachin’ for ’em.
I ain’t say nothin’ right away. I just watched her take ’em, and the way she held ’em told me I did that right.
She finally stepped in and wrapped her arms around me after that, and when I felt her hand slide up and brush over my waves, I smirked, knowin’ exactly what that meant without her sayin’ it out loud.
“I see you,” she murmured.
“Oh yeah?” I asked low.
She nodded against me, and I ain’t rush to pull away either. I just stayed here with her for a second, feelin’ how she fit against me and how natural it was, like this wasn’t even new and we had been here before… but just never let it go this far.
My hand rested on her back while hers stayed up in my hair, still messin’ with my waves.
I knew where this moment could’ve went, and she knew it too.
It was right here, sittin’ between us, easy as hell to cross that line, but neither one of us moved yet. It wasn’t ’cause we was unsure or second guessin’ it. It was more like we both understood what it would mean if we did, and neither one of us was tryna rush into it just to say we did.
I guess you can say a nigga was really just tryna take his time.
I let out a breath and pulled back just enough to look at her, takin’ her in up close for a second before I reached for the passenger door and opened it.
She smiled again and slid in, settin’ the flowers in her lap while I walked around to the driver’s side and got in behind the wheel.
Soon as I pulled off, I glanced over at her, and that feelin’ hit me again in a way I couldn’t even explain if I tried.
I done been around women before. I done dealt with ’em, had ’em, and moved how I moved with ’em, ’cause that’s just what came with how I lived. But this shit with ‘Nelle ain’t fall in that same lane.
It hit in a way I couldn’t even put into words, ’cause it wasn’t just about how she looked or how she carried herself. It was the way I felt when I was around her, and how easy everything between us came without me havin’ to force nothin’ or play no role.
This shit that had me sittin’ here feelin’ like a young nigga again, like I was with my first crush and I ain’t even know what to say without messin’ it up.
Then, she sat there, tryna play it cool while she looked out the window, then back at me, then down at the flowers like she ain’t know what to do with all that she was feelin’ either…
I shook my head a lil’, smilin’ to myself while I kept drivin’, ’cause out of everything I done been through and everything I done done, I ain’t never thought I’d be sittin’ here feelin’ like this over nobody.
