Page 30 of Jaeda

I chuckled. “My sentiments exactly.”

Tonight was such a great night.

No matter how simple the date was, I truly enjoyed myself. Dinner was great. Conversation was plentiful. The spark was there. Then there was the kiss. That kiss, . . . my God. The sinful thoughts that ran through my mind! Kissing him was so much better than kissing Shar.

Our walk in the park turned into a carriage ride through the city. It was like a scene from one of the many romance books and movies I devoured. I’d lived in this city my entire life, and it had never looked as beautiful as it did when I was with him tonight.

Was it too soon to say that I was smitten? Maybe it was the newness of it all. Maybe it was the fact that Quaid and I had so much in common. He literally felt like my twin flame. It was fucking crazy.

We pulled up in front of my house, and he turned off the car. We unbuckled our seat belts, but neither of us made a move to get out. Our eyes locked, and smiles passed between us.

“Thank you for a beautiful night,” I said softly.

“I hope this means we get date number three.”

I giggled. “Absolutely.”

“What about dinner Friday night? You could come over. I’ll cook, and we can watch a movie or something.”

“I’d like that.”

Silence fell between us. Once again, our gazes locked, and there was nothing but smiles.

“I should probably get you inside,” he finally said. “It’s getting late.”

He got out and came around to open my door. Hand in hand, we walked up my front steps. Pulling out my keys, I turned to face him.

“Again, thank you for a wonderful night,” I said, rocking back and forth on my toes.

“Thank you for letting me take you out.”

He stepped closer to me and cupped my face. Leaning in, he pressed his lips to mine. My lips parted, welcoming his tongue. I had to admit that I was nervous about kissing this man at first. I mean, my experience was limited to a peck on the lips with my brother’s wife.

Granted, Shar had offered to give me lessons on multiple occasions, but I declined. Knowing how she and my brother got down, I couldn’t take any chances. Quaid didn’t make it awkward, though. He took charge, and I followed his lead.

Just as I was getting into it good, my front door opened, and there stood Deuce in a beater, joggers, tube socks, and slides with his gun in his hand.

“Stanley!” I yelled, shoving him. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“Obviously stopping a good time,” he said, glaring at Quaid.

I looked around him to see the rest of my brothers sitting in my living room, watching us at the door.

“Are y’all serious right now?” I asked, crossing my arms. “You’ve got to be smoking crack. Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“What do you thinkyou’redoing? Out here with your tongue down this nigga’s throat. Who you been kissing to know how to kiss like that?”

Quaid laughed and shook his head. “You can’t make this shit up,” he muttered. His laughter stopped, and he stood straight as he looked my brother square in the eye. “Look, bruh. I don’t know what it’s gonna take for y’all to see I’m not scared of you. Let it go.”

“How about I let a bullet go in your smart-ass mouth?” Deuce shot back.

“I got bullets too.” Quaid stooped and pulled up his pants leg, revealing a gun holstered to his ankle. “What’s up?”

The way he wasn’t afraid to hold his ground, even against my brother, did something to me. Now wasn’t the time to be horny, however.

“The nigga has heart,” Maceo said with a chuckle. “Leave the man alone, Deuce. But for real though, Quaid. I don’t like you kissing on my sister like she’s a piece of meat.”

Again, Quaid chuckled. “Two things. One, I have nothing but respect for your sister, and two, I don’t owe any of y’all shit. Let’s make sure that’s abundantly clear. If I want to kiss her, guess what? I’m gonna kiss her, and there ain’t shit you can do about it.”

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