Page 8 of Perfect Rhythm
4
SHADE
I stared out of the window of my private jet, my eyes locked in on the morning sky. The clouds had my full attention, which was a much needed distraction from the whirlwind of thoughts that had occupied my mind for hours.
“Hey, you good?” Trace asked, raising an eyebrow as he settled into the seat across from me.
“Yeah, I’m cool. Last night was crazy as hell, huh?”
“Yeah, it was.” He replied, his tone steady. “Baby girl went to town on your ass.”
“Hell yeah. What do you think it was about, though?”
“What do you mean?”
I tilted my head. Whenever I was in the same room with Nyx, it was always clear that she didn’t see me as anything other than her boss. Which was crazy since I was so used to women doing the most to get my attention. It didn’t matter if they had a man or not. If I got close enough to breathe the same air, they would let me know that I could hit. But Nyx wasn’t like that. From the start, her body said it all…look, but don’t touch. That was always the vibe she gave off. But last night? Last night was different. Itfelt like she wanted a whole lot more than just my eyes on her, and I replayed that shit in my head all fucking night.
“I don’t know. It felt like she had some shit on her mind, but she used her body to express it instead.”
“What?” He laughed. “You think she’s been sitting around waiting for her chance to get at you, and last night was finally the night?”
I cut my eyes at him. “Nigga, fuck you. All I’m saying is last night hit different. Nyx has been in this game for a minute, and I ain’t never seen nor heard about her dropping that professional front for nobody.”
“Yeah, you're right.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. Blame it on the liquor, I guess.”
“You really think that’s all it was?”
“Shit, that’s the only thing I can think of. I mean, it was her birthday. Maybe she just had too many drinks and got caught up in having a good time.”
I nodded and returned my gaze to the window, considering that Trace’s explanation might be the answer.
“Yeah, that was probably it,” he muttered. “She’s dating that soap opera nigga, right? Um...damn...what’s his name?”
“Eli,” I groaned, trying not to say too much. I didn’t know a lot about their relationship. But from the little bit I’d seen in the blogs, it looked like he didn’t give a damn about whatever they had going on.
“Yeah, I thought that was his name.” He nodded. “Anyway, Nyx seems like she’s a pretty solid chick, so I doubt she would’ve done anything like that if she were in her right mind.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m just saying, I don’t think she would’ve put her relationship in jeopardy to get mixed up in some shit with you.”
“Well, damn,” I shot back. “You make it sound like getting down with me would be the biggest mistake of her life.” He laughed, and it pissed me off. “What’s so fucking funny?”
“You,” he replied. “Did you forget who you were talking to? You ain’t never been serious about a woman a day in your life. You may keep a few around because you know what you can get out of them, but the rest...that shit is all about a good time.” He leaned forward. “And I don’t know if you noticed or not, but Nyx ain’t one of them. She’s not going to hang around to stroke your ego.”
“Okay, but what if I’m thinking about switching it up? What if I’m ready to?—”
Laughing, Trace stood up. “Bro, let it go. It was one drunk ass dance. Leave it at that.”
“But what if it wasn’t, and what if I can’t forget about it?”
“Then go get your dick sucked until you do.” He frowned, shaking his head. “Damn, she must have sprinkled some pussy dust on your ass while she was dancing. You’re tripping hard right now.”
He walked away, and I dropped my head against the seat.
Trace had been my boy since we were kids, so I couldn’t argue with anything he said. He’d seen it all. Me running through women, never keeping them around long enough to call it something real. I always said I wasn’t built for commitment, like it wasn’t even an option. But lately, I’d been feeling different. I felt like I wanted more. Someone to laugh with and talk to about real shit. Not just sex and all the different things I could do with my dick. Don’t get me wrong, I loved talking about fucking, but there was more to me than that. A side I hadn’t tapped into yet, and I was curious. I wanted to know if I was capable of having something real.
My ringing phone pulled me from my thoughts.
