Page 58 of Body Language
His mouth opened like he had more to say, but I was done giving him the stage. I leaned back in my seat, grabbed Ty’s arm and smiled sweet enough to sting.
“Byeeeee, Kendrix,” I said. “Oh, I might call you tomorrow… depending on how my night goes.”
Ty burst out laughing as she pulled off, tires rolling over his pride nice and slow.
The restaurant smelled like spice and money. Not that fake “let me impress you with a flashy chain” money, but old, quiet, generational money. The kind you could hear in the way people carried themselves when they walked past your table.
Sitting across from me was Sincere. Sincere with the accent that melted panties faster than candle wax. Sincere with the smile that could convince a nun to sin.
“Likkle gyal,” he said, leaning back in his chair, his voice smooth as aged rum. “You look more beautiful every time I see you. What’s the secret?”
I smirked over the rim of my wine glass. “Dancing, bills, and mimosas. Keeps the skin tight.”
He laughed so loud the older couple two tables over glanced our way. That deep Jamaican laugh that rolled through his chest and always made me feel like home, even when I knew better.
Sincere wasn’t new. Sincere was thefoundation. He’d been teaching me the game since I was eighteen, when I didn’t know finesse from faith. He taught me how to make men feel seen without giving them shit but a smile. How to take control of a room without ever raising my voice. How to get what I wanted without ever laying on my back—unless I wanted to.
“Tell me, Niv,” he said, as he poured more wine into my glass. “Yuh still breaking hearts wid just a look?”
“Of course,” I said, licking my lips slow. “Some habits just don’t die.”
Truth was, Sincere was the habit I never really wanted to quit. We had a love that wasn’t built on possession or fairy tales. He didn’t lie to me. Never pretended I was the only one. Hell, half the time we talked about the other women he entertained, and I respected him more for the honesty.
Sincere gave me something better than false promises. Options.
He’d always say,“I’ll never chain you, baby girl. Stay if yuh want. Leave if yuh must. Just know when yuh here, yuh treated like a queen.”
And he meant that shit. Every time.
I leaned closer, dropping my voice so only he could hear. “You know I missed you, right?”
His smirk curved wicked. “Yuh miss mi, or yuh miss what mi carry?”
“Both,” I said, shameless.
He laughed again, shaking his head. “My Niv. Brutal with the mouth, soft with the eyes.”
And the truth? I did love him. Not in the fairy tale,build a home and grow old togetherway. That wasn’t Sincere. Sincere loved women too much to belong to one. And I respected that.
But the friendship? The loyalty? The fact that whenever I needed him, he was one phone call and flight away? That was priceless.
And the dick? Well, that was just the bonus plan.
Sincere leaned back in his chair. His eyes stayed locked on me, that slow Jamaican smirk spreading wider as I told him about Kendrix.
“So let mi get dis straight,” he said, tapping his glass like he was trying not to laugh. “Di man tink he own yuh, but him nuh even lock yuh down? Yuh serious?”
I rolled my eyes, stabbing a piece of jerk shrimp with my fork. “Deadass. Acting like he branded me or something. I had to let him know.”
Sincere slapped the table so hard the waiter jumped. He laughed that deep, belly-shaking laugh that always got me. “Lawd Jesus. Yuh dangerous, Niv. Man probably sweating bullets right now.”
“He was,” I said, popping the shrimp in my mouth slow, making him watch my lips. “And he gone keep sweating, because I don’t do that ‘waiting for a man to figure it out’ shit.”
Sincere whistled low, shaking his head. “Cha. Poor man tink him in control, and di whole time yuh di one driving di car. Yuh nuh easy.”
I smirked, leaning closer. “And you love that about me.”
He grinned, leaning in too. “I do and I live fi dat. Mi proud of yuh, baby girl. Yuh never let no man tek yuh shine. Kendrix lucky yuh even give him di time of day.”
