A few minutes later, the bubbles appear.
Mnandi Luna: Yea. Just finalizing details and eating cake. It’s delicious btw.
Me: I hope that wasn’t dinner.
Mnandi Luna: Why not cake for dinner?
Me: That’s fine when you’re coasting. Not when you’re running hard. Just want to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.
I know the cost when you don’t.
Mnandi Luna: I am, but thanks for caring. How was poker? Did you win?
Me: It’s all math and bluffing. I whooped them good and came home $200 richer.
Mnandi Luna: Woo-hoo. I love a man who dominates… in and out of the bedroom.
Heat jolts right down my spine.
Me: You trying to start something?
Mnandi Luna: Nope. I don’t do phone sex. Just letting you know.
There’s something about the way she drops it—her tone is definitive, a hard line—that niggles my brain.
Me: No problem. Can I call you real quick? I just want to hear your voice.
Rayne: Give me five minutes.
I brush my teeth and strip out of my gray sweat pants and tank, wondering what Luna’s wearing. Satin, I imagine as I slide beneath the sheets. Something smooth, clinging to her curves. I slip in my earbuds and tap Mnandi Luna.
“Hi,” she answers on the first ring.
“You all tucked in?”
“Mhm. Only thing missing is you.”
That lands deep. I’m going to fall in love with this woman. I’m already halfway there.
“Next weekend,” I say. “Everything’s set.”
“Already?”
“I wasn’t going to waste time when I can’t wait to be with you.”
Silence. Shit. “Luna? Was that too much?”
“No,” she says softly. “Not at all. I just… I haven’t had this before.”
“What?”
“A man who really wants me.”
How is that fucking possible? “It’s no wonder you dumped your ex.”
“Yep. I finally stopped shopping at Home Depot.”
“Home Depot?”
