Page 83 of Falling Into Gravity

His hand palmed her ass, gripping it. “Damn, I can’t get a lil taste?”

“No, Malik.” Aku blushed while making her ass jiggle.

“You wearing the fuck outta that lil razzle shirt.”

“Oh, my, gosh, Malik!” She pushed her face into his side. “You can’t keep complimenting me like this.”

“Why? I’m speaking facts…” his fingers glided across her nipples that poked through. “No bra,” he pulled his lip into his mouth. “Panties?”

She shrugged. “I can’t remember.”

The elevator opened, cooling them off just a little, since there was another person on it who smiled at young love. Still, Malik couldn’t keep his hands off her.

“I ain’t ate since breakfast, so we gon’ do dinner then the aquarium. Cool?”

“I’m following your lead.”

Malik sat back in the booth, one arm stretched across the backrest like he owned the place, the other cradling a glass of dark liquor. He looked like the kind of man the restaurant wasn’t built for. Like he should’ve been posted up on a block or behind tinted windows, not reclining in this plush-ass seat with tattoos curling down his arms and a bottom grill flashing every time he cracked a smile.

And that smile?

That shit had power.

Aku couldn’t take her eyes off him. She felt good just being seen with him. They were the type of couple that made people doa double take, not just because they were attractive, but because their energy demanded it.

But it wasn’t all smooth.

Their waitress—young, blond, and clearly uncomfortable—kept glancing at Malik like she couldn’t decide if he was dangerous or distracting. Every time she came to their table, her smile tightened, and her tone shifted like she was trying to be polite without breathing too deep.

Aku peeped it.

At first, she let it slide. But by the fourth time—when the girl practically dropped Malik’s plate in front of him without a singleenjoy your meal—Aku was already tilting her head, mouth slightly twisted.

“Is it us?” she asked, voice like a blade.

The waitress blinked. “I—sorry?”

“Cause it’s definitely not the food. That came out fine. So I’m tryna figure out why you keep lookin’ at my man like he stole somethin’ off your porch.”

Malik tried to muffle a laugh. “Dorothy…”

“Nah, I’m good,” she waved him off, eyes still locked on the girl. “You can send somebody else if it’s too much to handle. We’ll still tip. Generously…or maybe not.”

The waitress flushed, muttered something that might’ve been an apology, and walked off fast.

Malik looked at Aku, grinning hard now. “You didn’t have to do all that.”

She shrugged. “You didn’t have to show up lookin’ like trouble. But since you did, I’m gon’ handle whoever can’t.”

He shook his head, trying not to smile wider. “You wild.”

“And you like it.”

They both laughed. The tension broken. The food untouched.

Malik leaned in a little closer tapping his fingers against his glass. He went quiet for a little. His brows furrowed slightly, theplayful spark fading into something thoughtful. A pause filled the air between them, that said he was holding something in his chest he wasn’t used to saying out loud.

“What?” she asked. “What’s that face?”

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