Page 27 of Allure

“My first thought when I heard that shit in my house was you,” he said.

I smiled and motioned for him to lean down to kiss me again.

“I appreciate that. I would have hated to see this somewhere and question you on something you didn’t do. I truly appreciate your respect for me. Now let’s eat so we can clear your mind. Oh, and tell me about the card game,” I told him.

I wanted to be his peace, not the person who fanned the smoke to create flames. He gave me a tight-lipped smile, walked over to the island, sat in front of his food, then patted the seat next to himself for me.

He lifted the box and started to take the plastic off.

“I figured we could play this while we eat. It’s just something to help us get to know each other better. I’m so intrigued with knowing every little thing about you, so when I picked up our food at Walmart and those were right there, I went in real quick and bought them since I had heard a few things about it. At first, I was going to get Uno but I don’t need you wanting to tussle after I put the smackdown on you,” he said.

I nudged his shoulder with a laugh. “You almost made me say aww until you added that last part. Sir, I don’t know what losing is when it comes to Uno, so I don’t want to hear that you’re sad when you lose. I have a set of cards on the ready. But we can play this for now. I’m intrigued,” I responded.

I opened the food in front of me and my stomach growled, making me want to eat more. I looked up at him and he had a smile on his face. I held my hand out for him so we could say grace and dig in. I was beyond ready to eat.

I continued to eat my teriyaki chicken and steak with fried rice, while he nibbled here and there. He was so focused on getting those cards out of the pack, which was cool with me. I took the time to grab us a bottle of water since we hadn’t been doing much of that. We had drank wine and other things the entire time so I needed to refresh myself.

The moment I got back to my seat, he looked over at me with a smile.

“Okay, ready? I think we both pick the icebreaker card first, then move on to the other things when we feel more comfortable with,” he instructed.

I nodded. “So, you pull first since I ate most of my food already. I can answer the question while you’re eating.”

He reached over picked up the lilac purple card and turned to face me before reading the card.

“Aight, it says, do you have couples in your life that you admire? What’s special about their relationship?” he asked.

I didn’t need to think hard about the answer to that. I smiled as I thought about my parents.

“Hands down, my parents. They’re so patient with each other. I am sure it didn’t start that way and they needed to work on it to get there, but where they are with each other is beyond beautiful and I aspire to get there with you.”

“I like that. I’m learning patience, for sure. Give me some grace when it comes to that, but I got you, baby.”

I smiled. “My turn. Oh, something light. What’s your favorite TV series of all time, and why?” I asked.

Niko smiled. “Martin, baby. Man, I love a good laugh and that show is just pure genius. I always wanted a dope ass relationship like he had with Gina. It was so playful yet serious and they grew together.”

“I love me some Martin so I have to agree with you there! Although I am for sure a Hillman alumnus. I love A Different World. It made me want to go to college, but then I thought of how much money I might waste by going. It’s crazy, I know, but it was the thought process, for sure.”

“Nah, it’s not crazy. College is beyond expensive. For me, it was a must for the Lockwood household. My parents weren’t going for anything less. Not to mention, that’s how I got noticed to go to the NFL. Although my father had already done his rounds in the NFL as a legend.”

I reached out and touched his hand to bring his eyes back to mine.

“That had to be a lot to live up to. Did he go to that same college as well?” I asked.

He chuckled, then took another bite before answering. “Nah, I wasn’t going for that. I wanted to blaze my own trail, but my dad pushed hard as hell for me to go to his school. The crazy thing is, I still made the same success and decisions in a sense. But, let’s pick one more, then move on to deep.”

I nodded as he picked up another icebreaker card.

“What makes you feel better when you’re sick? Or how do you like to be taken care of when you’re not feeling well?” he asked.

Now this one had me stomped because I hadn’t been taken care of while sick since I was a kid. This wasn’t something I had experience with. Not to mention, I wasn’t sick often.

“Uh, I don’t think I’ve experienced being helped as an adult while being sick. But I can say this, I’m not moody. I get my soup and green tea with honey, then I push through. I’m not very vocal about something like that.”

He nodded and then gripped his chest. “I’m not gon’ lie, baby. I like to be cuddled and treated like fine china.”

I burst into laughter because most men were big babies when it came down to not feeling well. I think it was because it wasn’t something they could control or change quickly. But I didn’t mind his need to be in my space. At least I would know.

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