Page 2 of Rhodes to Love

“Rhodes, I leave for Nashville tomorrow.”

He slowly allowed my hand to slide from his as his eyebrows lifted slightly. “For real? I never thought you would leave Nome. I mean… I know you can barrel race from anywhere, but with as close as you are to your family, that shit gut checked me. So, I reconnected to you only for you to leave me again.”

He lowered his head and stared at me. I could feel a stirring below, coaxing me to let him taste what he’d been wanting before I go. I closed my eyes briefly, trying to subdue my thoughts and subtle desires, then reopened them and stood. He followed my lead and stood as well. I molded my body into his, hugging him tightly. I’d missed his friendship, but in this moment, I realized I’d been running from him as well.

I was so attracted to Rhodes, but I hated that thug shit he was on in high school. He was a product of his environment and had succumbed to it for a moment. With his dad being a kingpin in Oakland, I knew the lifestyle was engrained in him. It was all he knew. However, it seemed being out here brought about a change in him. It was like he was showing me he could be everything I wanted, only for me to leave him behind once again.

He gently rubbed my back and kissed the top of my forehead near my hairline. Lifting my head from his chest, I stared up into his small, slanted eyes. When he lowered his face to mine, I couldn’t allow myself to pull away. He softly kissed my lips, and a low rumble vibrated his throat. He pulled away from me and said, “When you ready to travel the Rhodes to love, I’ll be here, KD.”

With that, he pulled away from me and walked away. I couldn’t move. There was something in his eyes that told me he was hurt. He wanted me just as badly as he did back in high school, and my desire for him seemed to grow stronger with this brief interaction. Rhodes had matured beyond even my hopes for him.

Dropping back to the bench, I stared at my food, noticing how its appeal had worn off. Gathering the leftovers, I balled it up in the paper wrapping it came in. My heart felt heavy, and I didn’t take that lightly. Rhodes didn’t share any contact information with me, so my only hope was that it hadn’t changed. My soul was craving him. I didn’t know how a long-distance relationship would work, but I was willing to figure it out if he was.

CHAPTER2

RHODES

Idropped my bag on the bed as I looked around my hotel room. My apartment would be ready tomorrow. The furniture store would be delivering my shit in the morning. I couldn’t wait until then to get here though. Even with all that I had going on, my mind was still on Karima… KD. That woman was my weakness and my strength, and she didn’t have a clue. If she knew how much I really cut for her… how much I loved her, she would give into me without an ounce of hesitancy.

I’d been loving her ass since high school, and she friend zoned me. I didn’t give a damn. I just wanted to be anywhere her country ass was. She was so different than what I was used to dealing with in Oakland. My life was full of sack chasers, gold diggers, hoes, and bitches. I wasn’t looking for anything permanent with women like that. I was eighteen years old when my parents sent me packing to Cheek, Texas, to live with my aunt.

Although I felt like I was a grown ass individual, my parents saw it differently. As long as I was still in high school, I was still a kid. Moving was the last thing I wanted to do. I was a senior in high school and had six or seven months until graduation. I wanted to walk that stage with all my friends, most of whom I’d known all my life. Then to add insult to injury, I ended up at a predominantly white school.

Back in Oakland, I had problems with a white gang during middle school. My dad had actually killed a couple of them muthafuckas to send a message. His son was off-limits, and they were risking their lives by fucking with me. Ever since then, the sight of white people made my skin crawl. Thankfully, that shit had gotten better over time, but back then, I was angry.

My parents shipped me off because of some serious death threats my dad was receiving. He’d gotten himself into some shit that he couldn’t get out of, and I was still unaware of exactly what that was. All I knew was those people didn’t give up on taking his ass out. It took them nearly ten years to exact their revenge on whatever the fuck he did, eight and half years to be exact, but here I was, three and a half years later, missing my parents.

They killed both of them, along with two of my uncles, and I had the daunting task of burying all of them. When I left for Texas, I wasn’t allowed to visit. I could only FaceTime them. The only remaining family I had was my aunt, her husband, and two cousins. The world seemed to stand still for a while. I didn’t know what to do. I’d just received my bachelor’s degree, and they couldn’t be there for fear of being followed and putting me in danger all over again.

I was grateful my aunt Kimiko and uncle Paul took me in as their son and offered encouragement, support, and love, helping me find my way in this fucked-up world. I was certain that my love for Karima had a lot to do with that as well. I wasn’t a quitter. I didn’t give a fuck about her boyfriend. She could have gotten married, and I still would have held hope in us one day being together.

This time, I didn’t give a fuck what it took. She would be mine. After my parents died, I received millions. I didn’t have to work another day if I didn’t want to. During those years after their deaths, I worked at a ranch and went back to school for my master’s degree in animal science. That country shit became interesting to me, and again, I knew it had a lot to do with that country princess from Nome, Texas.

After taking a deep breath, I decided that I would go and get lunch. Checking the Find My Friend app, I saw that my target was walking into Doll’s Family Café. That was only a couple of miles from me. I quickly requested a Lyft and headed out to make sure I would be able to make contact. Once I got to the lobby, I went outside to wait the three minutes for my ride.

I was sure to wear my glasses today and look slightly educated, since I was around all these professional individuals. I had an interview in the morning with the Bill Pickett Association. I needed to look like I belonged here until people were comfortable with me. My swag and mentality were far from country or friendly. Most times, I wore chains around my neck and let my dreads hang free. My demeanor was never perceived as approachable. People assumed I was a thug.

I didn’t give a fuck what they thought about me, usually, but I had to get this job. The person I was tracking was working there, so I had to seal the deal. My Lyft arrived, and I got in the back, barely speaking to the driver. My mind was on one thing and one thing only: doing what I set out to do by moving here.

When he dropped me off at Doll’s, I quickly made my way inside. As I looked around, I saw her sitting in a booth in a far corner, and she looked to be reading. I went to the counter and ordered my food. It was somewhat of a buffet style setup, so I got my fried fish, mac and cheese, potato salad, and green beans immediately. After paying, I made my way to her booth. Before I could reach her, she lifted her head and met my gaze.

When she saw me, she quickly slid out of the booth and covered her mouth. I put my tray of food down, and she hopped in my arms, hugging me tightly.

“Rosewood! What are you doing here?”

I closed my eyes as I hugged her, soaking up her aura. “KD, I couldn’t let you come all the way out here by yourself, baby. Ever since I reconnected with you, I’ve been having a deep desire to be with you. You don’t feel that shit?”

She pulled away from me and swallowed hard, then put her hand to my cheek and ran her nails through my beard. I leaned in, my sights set on her pink glossed lips. She closed her eyes, and I lightly kissed them. Damn, her lips were soft as hell. She pulled away and smiled, then bit her bottom lip. “I’ve always been attracted to you, Rhodes. I just?—”

I brought my fingers to her lips, stopping her from voicing her reasons for not being with me. “I don’t need to know why. All that matters is the present.”

I extended my hand to her seat, and she slid back into the booth, and I did the same across from her. I glanced at my food and licked my lips. This shit looked good, but not as delectable as the full-course meal sitting across from me. Closing my eyes, I blessed my food, then lifted my eyes to hers to see the tears falling from them.

“Karima, why you crying, baby?”

She knew I couldn’t stand to see her tears. I never could. Nothing had changed in the time I hadn’t seen her. “I just can’t believe you would even consider following me here. You always had my back, and I hate I threw our friendship by the wayside to appease a nigga that didn’t give a fuck about me.”

My eyebrows lifted. Karima rarely dropped the F-bomb. She had to be in her feelings big time to allow that to happen. Reaching across the table, I grabbed her hand. “I get it. I can’t hide my attraction to you. I can’t be around you for an extended amount of time without shooting my shot. I can see how that would have caused problems. Just know, I never stopped thinking about you and wishing you were mine. I swear, you don’t realize the power you hold.”

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