Page 27 of The Deed to a Gangsta's Heart

Remedy

Back at the Office

“Dr. Simpson.”

Callie’s cheeks lifted as she grinned. My best friend was absolutely beautiful. Her curls were coily and fell just past her shoulders. She was a red bone with sandy brown skin. Callie was short and curvy. I can’t recall the amount of times I had to physically stop myself from gripping her hips and holding her close. She had dark, shiny eyes and round lips that matched her oval face. I was honestly surprised it took me as long as it did to develop feelings for her. Once I started to notice her beauty, everything changed after that. That wasn’t to say I’d only fallen in love with her beauty, but I was a visual creature, and it was her beauty that opened my eyes to other things.

“That smile makes me melt,” I confessed as shecontinued toward me. “I love all of your curves, but that smile is my favorite.”

“Remedy,” she cooed, covering her cheeks. “Are you flirting with me?”

“Would it be a problem if I was?”

“Only if what you said isn’t true.”

“We don’t have a problem then. I’m happy to see you. What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to stop by before I went back home.”

“You want to sit down?” I asked, looking around my office.

“No, I won’t be here long. I just… I wanted to tell you… the conversation we’re supposed to have tonight…”

“You scared?”

“No, the opposite. I’m ready.”

I licked my lips and allowed my hands to go where they always wanted to be. Pulling her into me by her hips, I kissed her forehead.

“Where is this sudden burst of confidence coming from?”

“I talked to Luci, and she reminded me that you’re not just my best friend.” Her hands slid up my chest. “You’re my safe place. I’ve never had a problem talking to you about anything and I don’t want to start now. So… as awkward as it feels to even think about talking about sex and romance with you… I want to.”

“Look at you being a big girl. I’ll be gentle, I promise.”

“You mean with your words, right?”

I couldn’t stop the bark of laughter that escaped me. “Is that your way of saying you want sex to be rough?”

“Oh God. Not at all. See. This is what I wanted to avoid.”

Callie buried her face in my chest and wrapped her arms around me.

“Don’t overthink it, pookie. I’m still me, and we’ll still be us, aight?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“How about you take a ride with me? No pressure. No serious talk. Just two friends.”

“Yeah?” Callie looked up at me.

“Yeah. I need to check on these last two properties and make sure the damage done last night can wait for maintenance or see if I need to do it myself.”

“Okay, sounds fun. I can help if you need me to.”

“Nah. You wouldn’t work at all if it was up to me, and you for damn sure wouldn’t do no manual labor. I wanna keep these hands soft.”

As I kissed her hands, she smiled so hard her chin almost touched her chest as she hiked her shoulders. This version of her was cute, and I was looking forward to seeing and experiencing it for the rest of our days.

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