The way I felt sittin’ with him made me want more than that, and I found myself hopin’ he’d stay a lil’ longer… longer than just tonight.
Kelli had been in my city for four days, and when I say a time was had, I meant that shit in every way you could think of.
It wasn’t even just what we was doin’, but instead, how it felt bein’ around him.
Every time we linked, it felt easy, and he took all of it in like he liked it here.
We had hit different restaurants where the food came out lookin’ too pretty to eat but still tasted like somebody grandma was in the back cookin’ it.
We stepped into lounges where the lights sat low and the music wrapped around you. We hit up clubs where the floor was packed, and I found myself dancin’ more than I planned to just ’cause Kelli was right there watchin’ me like I was the only thing in the room worth lookin’ at.
And the whole time, he ain’t let me reach for nothin’. Not a drink, not a bill, not even my own damn bag half the time. He’d just move in, quiet like he always do, already handlin’ it before I could say anything, and I ain’t gon’ lie… I got used to that real quick. I let him take care of me, and it didn’t feel weird or forced. It felt natural, like that’s just how he moved when it came to me.
I had been so caught up in him that I ain’t even realize how much everything else had faded out. I wasn’t thinkin’ about Grandma Glo’s house and the random muthafuckas always in the kitchen. I wasn’t thinkin’ about this new job I was ’bout to start next week or none of that. When I was with Kelli, my mind felt light, like I could just exist in that moment and not worry about what was waitin’ for me outside of it.
Tonight just added to it.
We had been out dancin’. I mean, really dancin’ and not that cute lil’ sway back and forth shit, but actually movin’, laughin’, bumpin’ into each other, him pullin’ me in close when the song slowed down just enough for me to feel his chest against mine. Then we ate again, drank some more, and by the time we made it back to the car, I was sittin’ in the passenger seat with my heels kicked off and holdin’ the blunt while the window stayed down and the night air ran straight through my hair.
I took a slow pull and passed it to Kelli, watchin’ the way his fingers brushed mine when he took it, like it wasn’t nothin’, but it still sat on me a lil’ longer than it should’ve.
“You good?” he asked, glancin’ at me real quick before lookin’ back at the road.
“I’m more than good,” I said, smilin’ to myself while I leaned my head back. “You got me out here feelin’ like I ain’t got no responsibilities.”
He let out that low laugh he always did, like he wasn’t tryna do too much but still found me funny. “That’s ’cause you don’t right now.”
I turned my head and looked at him. I stared at his hands on the wheel, them tattoos runnin’ up his arms and his white hair sittin’ just right, ’cause it fit him so well. “You been spoilin’ me,” I said, my tone a lil’ softer now.
He ain’t answer right away but just glanced at me again with that same calm look in his eyes before sayin’, “I’m not doing anything you don’t deserve.” The way he said it made me look at him longer, tryna read past what he gave me without makin’ it obvious.
I pressed my lips together for a second, fightin’ the urge to joke it off the way I normally would, but nothin’ came out this time, so I just let it sit and looked away first.
By the time we pulled up to the hotel, I ain’t even wanna get out the car for real. My feet was done, and my body felt loose in that good way, so I grabbed my heels and stepped out, laughin’ when I almost lost my balance.
“See,” he muttered, comin’ around the car.
“Don’t start,” I said, already smilin’.
“I didn’t say nothin’,” he replied, but he still reached for my hand anyway.
We walked inside like that; close, laughin’, still high, and a lil’ drunk. By the time we got in the elevator, I had leaned into him without even thinkin’ about it. My arm slid around his while his rested around me, where it had been all night.
When we got to the room, I dropped my heels right by the door and made my way to the bed, fallin’ on it with a soft groan. “I’m not movin’ no more tonight.”
He smiled, takin’ his watch off and settin’ it down before lookin’ back at me. “You done?”
“I’m done done,” I said, turnin’ my head so I could look at him.
For a second, we just stayed lookin’ at each other, neither of us sayin’ nothin’, but it ain’t feel awkward or forced. It was one of them moments where the silence actually meant somethin’, like everything that had been buildin’ between us finally caught up and just sat in this space without either of us tryna rush past it.
He stepped closer, and I felt it before he even touched me. I felt that shift in the room, and that pull that had been buildin’ all week but neither of us had really stepped into yet.
So, I did…
I reached for him, pullin’ him down on top of me. When our lips met, it wasn’t no quick lil’ kiss. It was slow, deep, and it felt warm and heavy at the same time, like somethin’ we both had been holdin’ back finally slipped out.
His hands moved over my waist, slidin’ up my sides while mine pressed into his chest, feelin’ his body under my palms while I kissed him back just as deep. My legs shifted under him, my body makin’ room for him without me even thinkin’ about it. For a second, it felt like we was really about to go there.
