Page 46 of Crash: Love in Scrubs
“LT, you look so damn good in this dress,” he murmured, his voice dropping to a tone that made my knees wobble and shake. “You wear that for me?”
My eyes fluttered up to his, and I nodded, suddenly feeling sexy under his intense gaze.
He kissed me softly, slowly, savoring the moment. When he pulled back, he whispered against my lips, “Thank you. I been waiting to do that since I walked in. I ain’t want John-Dale to pull the shotgun out.”
“He likes you. He’s not much of a talker but he talked to you all night. You’re his son now.”
Word?” he asked leaning back slightly, his hands still on my waist.
“Word,” I giggled.
His expression grew serious again. “This is yours now,” he said simply, gesturing to the car behind me.
“What?” I blinked; sure, I’d heard him wrong.
“The car, baby. It’s yours.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys, pressing them into my palm. “2025 Lexus GX 460. Top safety ratings, all the features you could want. No more borrowing your daddy’s shit or worrying about getting around.”
I stared at him, then at the keys in my hand, then back at him. “Malik, I can’t…this is too much.”
“Shh, let me catch you, let me have your back.”
“I can’t accept this car, Malik. A Lexus? It’s too much.”
“You said that already. And no, it’s not.” His hands cupped my face gently. “You need reliable transportation, especially with school starting. I need to know you’re safe on the road. This solves both problems.”
“But this is expensive, I can’t afford the payments.”
“I’m not doing anything halfway, when it comes to you. Please settle into being spoiled and taken care of. It’s paid for. Completely yours, no payments.” He pulled my closer and I wrapped my arms around his waist as he whispered in my ear, “Don’t fight me on this, Sametra. Let me do this for you.”
Tears pricked at my eyes because no one had ever done something like this for me. Ever. “Why?”
“Because I can. Because I want to. Because you deserve it,” he said, wiping away a tear that had escaped. “No more questions, LT. Just accept the fact that I care about you.”
“Take me to your house,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “Samaj is staying with my dad tonight; they’re going to a game in the morning.”
The words came out quieter than I intended. I wasn’t used to putting my own wants first, wasn’t sure I was allowed to. For so long, I’d centered everything around my son. His schedule. Hisemotions. His safety. And now, here I was, on a Thursday night, heart racing, standing in front of a man who made me feel like he’d wrestle a hundred gorillas for me. Like he’d lasso the damn moon if I asked.
“I want to be with you. I’m ready to see a man about a horse.”
The second I said it, he moved. No longer holding back. He stepped in close, heat rolling off his body and on to mine. He wrapped his arms around my waist, hands resting low on my ass.
“Finally,” he mouthed before kissing me, sending a flood through my body. My panties didn’t have enough fabric to catch my juices. I clenched my thighs together, low-key afraid of this foreign flooding.
He pinned me gently against the car, reminding me exactly what I was saying yes to. My back met the door, but I barely registered it. All I felt was him, his lips, his breath, the slow curl of his fingers against my lower back.
“How do we stay in this moment forever?” I asked, breathlessly feeling every bit of vulnerable with him doing and saying everything but those three words.
He didn’t flinch. Didn’t stutter. Just looked me dead in the eyes like he saw everything I was trying not to say.
“I don’t want just moments with you, MiMi. I want every damn beginning. Over and over. I want to memorize the way your body moves under mine, the exact second your eyes close when you feel safe. I want the falling, the trusting, the choosing, the waiting, and the fire that comes when we start again. That’s what I’m on. I don’t want temporary. I wantyou…real, vulnerable, and all the way mine.”
“I want that too,” I whispered. Before I even had time to second-guess it I kissed him again, greedy for the way his mouth claimed mine. He knew exactly what I needed and wasn’t asking for permission to give it. And I didn’t overthink it. I didn’t brace for the letdown or flinch from the feeling.
I let it wash over me.
I let myself feel wanted.
I let myself feel taken care of.
