AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Aight, bet.”
* * *
When Saint textedHarmony to let her know he was three minutes away, she made her way outside to wait for him. Sitting on the top stair on her front porch, Harmony twiddled her thumbs before crossing her arms over her chest. Even with her Memphis Grizzlies hoodie and sweats on, she was still chilly. She had the bright idea to talk to Saint outside in hopes that would keep her body from heating in response to him.
At the sight of an unknown car turning into her driveway, Harmony’s frame stiffened and heart raced.
Saint made his way onto the porch and sat next to her. He smelled good. Even with the aroma of marijuana wafting into her nose, his cologne was just as poignant. The trifecta of whisky, woody, and floral blended perfectly with his natural scent. He looked good too. So good she had to look straight ahead to avoid staring. Harmony was familiar with the Memphis native and his music, but his image on pictures and TV didn’t do him justice. Saint was captivatingly handsome.
His light brown skin was covered with tattoos, and he had a sexy mustache goatee combo that drew attention to his plump, juicy, blunt brown lips. Saint had a slight limp, but it wasn’t overly noticeable. More than anything, it looked like a natural dip in his saunter that he’d perfected over the years. From what she’d heard about him, the limp came from a shooting in the past that resulted in him having a long rod in his leg.
“You’re not cold sitting out here?” he asked, taking his black hoodie off and handing it to her.
“You know you’re never getting this back, right?”
Saint chuckled as she pulled the hoodie over hers with a smile. “It’s cool. I got a few like it.”
“Good.”
He looked at the side of her face until she had the courage to meet his eyes. “I’m glad you called.”
“Me too. If my sister wasn’t here tonight, I probably wouldn’t have agreed.”
“Remind me to thank her before I leave, but what has you so unsure?”
“Timing,” Harmony admitted sadly.
Truthfully, Harmony knew timing didn’t matter. She’d spent two and a half years with Keith just to be single again. It didn’t matter how long you got to know a person, if they wanted to hide something, they would. Harmony had been in enough relationships to know people maintained the best version of themselves in the beginning, even if it was a façade, but she’d been trained by society to believe giving a man access to her body so soon would make him respect and value her less.
Harmony had a bad habit of living to please and satisfy others. If pleasure with Saint was the reward of releasing that habit, maybe it was worth it.
“What’s an appropriate timeframe for getting what you want?”
“Well, when you say it like that, it sounds silly to wait,” she admitted, smiling softly, voice light.
Saint took her hand into his as the left side of his mouth lifted into a grin. “I’m not trying to pressure you, just trying to understand. My perspective may be different from yours because our lifestyles are different, but I have the privilege of getting myself anything I want. Sometimes I forget it’s not that easy for others.”
“Must be nice,” Harmony grumbled, making him chuckle. “But I get it. If I had the resources you do to get whatever I want, I’m sure I would have that same mentality in every area of my life. There’s a fearless confidence in that, and I admire and respect it.”
“How about this,” Saint started, tossing his arm over her shoulders and pulling her closer. “How about we just let things flow? If things naturally progress and we take it there, cool. If not, we won’t plan or force it?”
“Okay, I can agree to that.”
As they continued to sit outside, they discussed birth control and their sexual history, including their last partners and testing. Once they were done with that, Harmony invited him inside. At that point, her sister was done in the kitchen, so the Rotel, meatballs, and wings were ready. After speaking to Angel and thanking her for the assist, Saint made his way to the dining room where her brothers were. It didn’t surprise her that was where he settled. Her brothers were cool as hell and could get along with anyone who was real and had pure intentions.
“Y’all smoke?” Saint asked, pulling a blunt from behind his ear.
“Hell yeah,” Marcus replied, sliding his own personal stash toward the middle of the table.
“Roll up,” TJ directed, cutting the music they were listening to down when Harmony entered the room.
“Do you want a beer or something harder?” she asked Saint, making her way next to him.
“Yeah, what kind do you have?” After she rattled off three different brands, he said, “I’ll take a Corona.”
“You guys want anything?” she asked her brothers, and they both put in their request for new beers.”
Harmony grabbed them, and when Angel asked, “How they gon’ steal your man as soon as he get here?” She cackled.
