Page 50 of Truce Of The Matter

“Are you already dressed?” I ask as I rub oil on my arms but he doesn’t answer. “Rex?” I question then lean into my screen to see if he’s still there or distracted. He is and smiling while apparently leaning back on a sofa. “Did you hear me?”

“Yeah but barely. Shit, I was caught up. You’re beautiful,” he says without taking his eyes off the screen.

My damn cheeks burn. I’m blushing for sure. It’s not that I don’t get compliments, because I do often, but not like this. It’s so much more than mere words from him. The pure adoration in his eyes and tone can be felt through the screen.

“Thank you,” I utter before stepping back and resuming my moisturizing routine.

After applying the body oil, I wash my hands then start on my face. Monae’s Preparation H hack really worked. I applied it under my eyes and the bags vanished in thirty minutes. I didn’t even have to leave it on long at all.

While his eyes stay glued on me, I apply my pure shea butter to my face, followed by two small squirts of BB cream, then brown lip liner and gloss. Thanks to Daija’s friend Morgan at Pretty Peeps, my eyebrows are perfectly arched and my lashes are still full, surviving all my crying. I unpin my hair and use my wide-toothed comb to style it. He loves it all because when I lean in to grab my iPad, he licks his lips sexily.

“Damn,” he groans. “I don’t want to end this but I gotta leave now. I have a stop before I scoop you. Fuck,” he utters before raising off the sofa and I smile.

“Go and I’ll be ready when you get here,” I tell him. While shaking his head, he ends the call. I glance in the mirror one more time. “Yes,” I say out loud, pleased that I look a thousand times better than I have these last two days. His adoration and Daija’s hug and her later text when she made it back to Atlanta all have me feeling back to myself.

Two minutes after seven, he’s tapping on my door. I’m dressed. My selfie has been sent to Monae and she approves so I’m ready. I place my glass of white wine into the fridge, rub my finger under my lip, then walk into the living room. After I grab my tote from the sofa, I open the door. His arms are around me and his lips on mine as soon as he sees me, and like always, he pulls my soul out of my body. There should be a master kissing class at CFU and Rex would be the curriculum designer and the damn professor. Every other kiss before this man was clearly child’s play.

“Damn, I missed you,” he mumbles in the crook of my neck after inhaling me.

I inhale his intoxicating scent too and damn near moan as I admit honestly, “I missed you too.”

Chapter 16

Truce finally stops asking where we are going when I pull into the valet line at The Metropolitan Hotel. The moment I shift my ride into park, she stares out her window then turns to me. I can tell by the way her eyebrows are raised and her head is tilted to the side that she wants to ask but she refrains. Instead, she just unbuckles her seatbelt and waits for me.

“So, you’re not going to ask?” I taunt.

“Nope,” she says with a smirk. “I don’t need to; we are here. There’s a nice ass bar and restaurant inside. I can figure it out. We are obviously having dinner here.”

“Oh really? It’s obvious?” I ask and her eyes dart back and forth like she’s questioning her own assessment now.

“Yes,” she says, less sure though.

“You’ll see.”

The valet approaches my window and hands me my ticket. I exit, grab my duffle from the back seat, then walk over to her. She’s already out, waiting for me. When I walk over to her, she latches her arm onto mine.

“A bag? Are we staying here? You didn’t tell me. I would have p—” she begins but my lips on hers stops her words.

“You’re five minutes from knowing what’s up and I think you are going to like it.”

I lead her inside of the hotel then to the elevators. When I press the R button for the rooftop, she turns and lifts her head. The smile I love spreads across her pretty ass face.

“Don’t tell me,” she gushes. She’s obviously figured out what we are doing tonight.

“I’m not,” I say and she inches up and pecks my lips.

Her gorgeous smile stays on her face until the elevator doors open. When we step off and she sees the two large screens, it gets big as hell. In her excitement, her grip on my arm tightens. Truce is latched to me as I check in with the hostess and she doesn’t let go until we are in our cabana for the night.

“I’ve always wanted to come to this but it’s always sold out, months in advance. How did you get tickets?” she says as soon as we are on the couch.

“They’re showing all threeEqualizersand since you watch the damn show all the time, I knew I had to make it happen.”

Once a month, The Metropolitan hosts Films Under the Stars. The rooftop is converted to a luxury movie theatre. They show both new releases and classics and there’s a large staff serving traditional movie snacks, meals from the restaurant downstairs, and drinks from one of the two bars. There’s regular seating, oversized bean bags, and private seating in one of five cabanas. Each cabana has a couch, cooler, and two large, side by side, plush lounge chairs. The cooler has complimentary waters and wine. During the summer months, misting fans are included and during colder months, small heaters. We have two small heaters. The best part is the heavy curtains that surround the cabana; they give us extra privacy.

“Aww. This is perfect,” she gushes. Her hand reaches over to the small black cooler. Before opening it, she asks, “What’s in here?” She doesn’t await my answer. As she removes a bottle ofwine and two chilled glasses from the cooler, I open my bag and take out my extra items for tonight. She starts laughing when I place a jar of peanut butter and a box of graham crackers on the small table in front of the couch. “My favorite snack, my favorite movies, and my favorite guy on this rooftop. This is perfect already.” She places the wine on the table then straddles me. When her sexy body is on mine, I wrap my arms around her waist and my hands land on her ass. Her arms rest on my shoulders then she softly kisses my lips. “So perfect. Thank you.”

“Aht aht,” comes from a soft, timid voice. I look over Truce’s shoulder and when she sees our server, she tries to climb off but I hold her in place. “The movie starts in fifteen minutes and I wanted to get your order.”

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