Page 18 of Ex- Factor
I leaned in just enough to whisper into her ear and heard her breathing change.
“That’s why you keep letting me in. You can feel it. We are gonna be something real once you stop fighting it. One of those stories people don’t believe when they hear it. Because I’m gonna be the man you never thought you’d find,” I whispered. “The one who loves you out loud, even when you try to make it hard.”
Still no words. Just the deep breath she took.
I brushed her hair off her shoulder, let the backs of my fingers graze her skin.
Then I stepped back, just a little.
“I’ll wait for you to get to where I’m at,” I murmured. “But I’m not backing off.”
She turned to face me. Her pupils were blown wide as she searched my face. I let her read me, to see how serious I was, until she dropped her eyes and cleared her throat.
“Dinner will be ready in twenty,” she said. “Sit your ass down.”
I smirked, walked around, sat my ass down, and watched her cook for me.
I took a different approach from my usual. I didn’t say another word. I let my words marinate in her head and heart.
Chapter Ten- Eshe
I said Friday night that I was going to put Silas out Saturday morning, but it was Saturday afternoon. He was still there. He came out of my bathroom dressed to kill, wearing that little smirk he wore.
“Where you going looking like you looking?” was what I asked, even though the voice in the back of my head was screaming, What bitch you dressed up for?
He had on a dark navy button-up, the sleeves pushed to his forearms just enough to show the hint of a watch that probably cost somebody’s mortgage. The shirt was tucked into tailored charcoal slacks that looked custom-fit on him. Clean white leather sneakers. His hair was brushed back—I could see the little lineup he’d gotten. He was giving rich-boy casual, and he smelled like good credit and custom cologne.
He was fine, and I hadn’t thought white boys could be fine before him. And it almost made me want to forget I ever said we could only be friends. I had to take a deep breath and remind myself to stick to the boundaries I’d set for myself.
But he was testing me.
“You mean, where are we going. I got a surprise for you,” he said, holding a long white box out to me.
I raised an eyebrow. “What is this?”
“Take it,” he said, handing it over. “Open it.”
I lifted the lid and peeled back the tissue paper. It was a dress—black, silky, with a high slit and thin straps. My fingers brushed the fabric. It looked expensive.
“What’s this for?”
He shrugged like it was nothing. “I’m taking you to a Jill Scott concert tonight. Cassius and Angel are meeting us there.”
I looked up at him. “You serious?” I asked, feeling myself getting giddy. He knew I loved me some Jill Scott, but her tickets at some private VIP spot were twelve hundred dollars. I ain’t got twelve hundred dollars to see nobody sing.
“Dead serious.” He stepped closer. “Put them big curls in your hair that I like. And get dressed. I’ll wait.”
I shook my head but couldn’t stop the smile from curling my lips. “Is this a date?” I tried to frown, but I could still feel my smile.
“Yes,” he said.
“But I said—” I started to remind him that we were just friends.
He stopped me. Reaching out, he gripped my chin, running his thumb across my lips with this serious look on his face. “Don’t argue with me or say something I won’t like. You owe me this.”
I cocked my head. “How I owe you?”
“For Jace. You feel guilty about that date because you know what we have and still went. That’s why.”
