Page 25 of Grown Folks Confessions: Black Lush

ARES

Dinner had gone betterthan I expected, and I was really vibing with the other finalists, their spouses, and the mentors present at the winery.

“You’re surprised you’re enjoying yourself, aren’t you?” Layla asked as we sat near the vineyard and observed everyone having a good time on the outdoor patio.

“I guess you could say that.” I took a sip of the delicious red wine that I’d already forgotten the name of since I wasn’t really a wine person. “I never thought that my skills with ink and needles would be so interesting to a group of interior designers, but I really enjoyed tonight and I’m looking forward to what we learn tomorrow.”

“You’re forgetting an important part,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“You’re a beast with your designs, and at the core of any artist or designer is the ability to create beautiful things. You make people feel special and seen. You always have.”

When I looked at her, it was hard for me to focus on any of the people around us. It wasn’t just her words, but the way she said them. “You’ve always understood me better than anyone.”

“You let me see the real you,” she stated. “I guess in a way, that was always us, right? The ability to understand each other better than others.”

“Except, you never gave dating me a real chance,” I teased. “I mean, we had that night that will forever be etched into my memory, but I wanted a true shot at being with you.”

“I never knew how to take you serious,” she revealed. “You were the class clown, and I was—”

“A ball buster of dumbass teenage boys,” I finished, causing her to laugh. “Everybody knew you weren’t the kind of girl to be screwed over, but I was serious each and every time I asked you out. By the time I figured you returned my feelings, you were with Bryan.”

“And you got with Audrea.”

She took a slow slip of her wine, and my eyes were drawn to her brown lipstick. She’d worn the natural color for as long as I could remember, and although she was always changing her hairstyle, I loved the passion twists. It fit her round face and the delicate shape of her eyes.

“I had a crush on you before we even started freshman year,” she admitted. “I remember that summer in middle school, I’d saved up my allowance to buy me some ice cream and had walked all the way there, just to drop it on the sidewalk as soon as I stepped out of the shop.”

“I remember that day, too.” I smiled thinking back to it. “You were wearing that blue jean dress that you loved, and even though we knew each other around the neighborhood, it was something about that day that made me tell my brothers I was going to spend my ice cream money on you and walk you home.”

“I was so glad you did,” she told me. “I’d been having a rough day and my dad hadn’t come home that night.”

I frowned. “You never said as much, but I put two and two together when we went to church the next morning and you showed up with Ivy and her family.”

“That summer sucked.” She sighed, her eyes holding mine. “But you made it better. Made me feel like I was special.”

“You’ve always been special.” I ran my thumb over the part of her arm closest to my hand. “But I can’t believe you never told me you had a crush on me.”

“I didn’t think I had to.”

I squinted, briefly twirling the wine around in my glass, debating on bringing up a topic we vowed never to discuss again, before deciding to just bite the bullet.

“When we ran into each other back when we both ended up in New York at the same time and you said we were never to talk about that time again, did you say that because you regretted it?”

She sighed, briefly closing her eyes before she met mine again. “You have to understand, I just wasn’t prepared to see you in New York, especially at a place like First Class Fantasy.”

“I’ll admit, it wasn’t my normal scene, but your girl Jade had mentioned it when she was in town once and I had to accept the invitation to check it out,” I explained. “The minute I saw you there, I knew I’d made the right decision. Hadn’t even had a chance to ask the woman who checked me in what Face Down Friday meant, but it didn’t matter when I laid eyes on you. Pretty sure we didn’t say anything other thanhelloto one another before we were going into one of those rooms and my tongue was deep inside of your pussy as you rode my face.”

Her lips parted, and the rise and fall of her chest quickened. “You proposed to me during sex that day.”

I nodded. “I did.”

She worried her bottom lip before admitting, “Sex that night had felt so intense, I could barely breathe.”

“It was on another level,” I agreed. “Which was why I assumed my marriage proposal caught you off guard.”

“I turned you down.”

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