He lowered me to my feet and even helped me adjust my leg. I wanted to cry. This was the type of shit I expected to get fromFabian. When he stood up straight, I asked, “Can you hold my bag and cane for a second?”
“Sure.”
He grabbed them from me, and I fell into him, wrapping my arms around him. My body quaked, and I could no longer hold in my emotions. Chozen pulled away from me then leaned my cane against the wall and set my bag on the floor. When his eyes met mine, I could see his sadden somewhat. He grabbed my hand and walked closer to me again and hugged me tightly.
“I can’t even pretend to understand what you’re going through, Azari. But damn if I don’t want to make everything better. It’s something about you that my soul craves. I don’t even really know who you are. Please let me be here for you. I don’t want to be in a friendship by myself.”
After gathering my emotions, I pulled away and stared up at him, giving him a tight smile. “You won’t be in a friendship alone. I really appreciate what you did for me today. You’re right. You don’t have a clue of everything I’m up against, but your act of kindness was just what I needed to improve the outlook of my day. Thank you again.”
I squeezed his hand, and he leaned over and kissed my forehead. My eyes closed as I relished the feel of his soft lips. “Okay. Put your number in here,” he said, handing me his phone.
I smiled and grabbed the phone from him as he said, “If you knew how much I thought about you since Monday, you would think I was crazy. Not having a way to communicate with you was driving me insane.”
I smiled bigger and handed him his phone. He looked at it as if making sure I did as he requested, then smiled. I chuckled. “You thought I didn’t put it in there?”
“Naw. It’s not that. I’m just happy to see it in there.”
He grabbed my hand as he bit his bottom lip. I glanced at his chain, wondering how much that shit had to set him back, then looked up at him. “I guess I should go in there. I got here early because I knew I would need the extra time to walk here with the way I was feeling. Plus, you have to go work out.”
“I don’t have to work out. I do that shit ’cause I want to. I wanna get to know you, so anytime you give me, I’m gon’ soak that shit up.”
He pulled me to the bench against the wall and helped me sit. Once he sat next to me, he grabbed my hand again and caressed it between his. “So what happened to cause you to lose your leg?”
I swallowed hard, not really wanting to get into it, but I would give him the short version. “I got in a car wreck a few years ago and needed a knee replacement. I got it and a couple of years later, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer. Cancer attacks your red blood cells, so I have an overabundance of white blood cells. Infection set into the knee, and the antibiotics weren’t working because of cancer. My only option was to get it amputated to rid my body of the infection.”
He was staring at me wide-eyed. “Damn. You are so strong. Going through all of that and still being focused on bettering yourself is admirable. Did you have help? What about your son’s father?”
I slowly shook my head. “I don’t want to get into that right now.”
He placed his fingers under my chin and turned my head back to him. “It’s okay. I understand. Just know, I’m here. Whatever you need from me.”
He grabbed his phone and apparently called me since my phone was ringing. He smiled then ended the call. “Now you have my number too. I didn’t come out and ask last time, but how old are you?”
I frowned, causing him to laugh and lift his hands in surrender. I giggled like a schoolgirl. This was crazy that this man had me this soft. “I’m thirty-one. So I’m about two and a half years older than you if you’re turning twenty-nine this semester.”
“I knew we weren’t far apart in age. It seems we aren’t far apart intellectually either. That’s perfect for a friendship . . . or more.”
He licked his lips while staring at me, causing my face to heat up uncontrollably.What in the hell was I doing?I couldn’t allow myself to go there with this man. He was gorgeous, smart, caring, and funny. I closed my eyes and slowly shook my head.Why couldn’t I?I’d sworn off love and relationships. They all started out perfect, but they somehow morphed into something else, leaving me disgusted, angry, and heartbroken.
Instead of shutting him down, I nodded then stood from my seat. He immediately stood, too, placing his hand under my elbow to make sure I was steady. He walked around me and got my cane. When he handed it to me, he said, “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I’ve always been expressive. I’ve been heartbroken, but I felt like it was because I didn’t express my desires for our relationship. It changed me for the better.”
“It’s okay. I’m expressive in a relationship, but this is only our second conversation. I don’t easily trust people with intimate details about my life.”
He swiped my cheek with his thumb as he stared down at me. “I understand. Can I take you to lunch after our business class? We can eat right here on campus.”
I gave him a one-sided smile. “I’ll think about it.”
He smiled then picked up my bookbag. “That’s better than you saying no, so I’ll take it. See you later, beautiful.”
He lifted my hand and kissed it, then opened the door for me to go inside my class. I turned to him and said, “Have a good workout.”
He winked at me, and I turned and walked inside the classroom. I turned to see if he had left, but he was standing there still holding the door, watching me walk to my seat. Continuing to my seat, I bit my bottom lip, trying to restrain the tears. He cared enough to make sure I got to my seat. When I sat, I looked back toward the door. He smiled and winked again then left.God bless it.I knew I deserved everything he seemed to want to offer me, but I didn’t know if this was a game, and he would show his true colors later. The question was whether I wanted to take the risk or not.
Seeing Azari in so much pain was bothering the hell out of me. Instead of going to work out, I made a call to RJ. Their flight didn’t leave until late tonight. They had to change their flight due to some last-minute shit Noah had to do. I asked him if he could use his influence to get me a motorized scooter quickly. I had him rent it, because I didn’t know if she already had one that she was refusing to use. I just wanted to make things easier for her. Hell, I wanted to do the most for her for some reason.
When I asked him, he was tripping, saying that I was already whipped. I didn’t tell him anything to rebut that. I wouldn’t say that I was whipped, but damn it if she couldn’t have whatever she wanted. Because of his and Noah’s influence, though, I knew we could skip past all the ridiculous paperwork. I wanted to have it before her class ended. Sure enough, it was delivered within thirty minutes. As they were unloading it, I noticed a blacked-out SUV behind them. I had to roll my eyes. I knew it was those niggas being nosy.
I walked over to it as RJ lowered the window. “Yo, I need to see this woman that got’chu cutting all kinds of flips for her.”
