Something New
“You scare me, and I ain’t scared of a lot of shit.”
“Why?”
He scoffed. “Because I tell you things I can't even tell myself.”
“Maybe I’m just that good at my job,” I insisted with a confident smirk.
“Maybe you are, or….”
“Or what?” I quizzed.
“Nothing.”
“No, tell me. I wanna know,” I said before quickly placing his door on child lock. “I’m not gonna let you get out until you tell me.”
“You holding me hostage?”
“If that’s what it takes!”
“You don’t quit, do you?”
“Call it my journalistic instinct,” I declared with a wink.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. You met me at a very strange time in my life! There was a time when I didn’t speak. I didn’t say shit. I didn’t want anybody to know shit about me. Who I was. Where I’d been. Where I was going. Nothing. Now, I’m dropping my walls left and right for you like an open book and shit.”
“Well, I appreciate the openness. People deserve to know how great you are.”
“So, my soul ain’t too dark for you?”
I shook my head. “Not at all.” The car fell silent again, and I glanced at him to see that he was already staring at me. "Why are you looking at me like that?” I quizzed.
“I wasn’t looking at you. I was looking at your lips,” he answered without hesitation.
“Are you implying that you want to kiss me?”
“Maybe I am.”
“I’m engaged,” I reminded him.
“I know.”
My heart skipped a beat. “I should go.”
“You should.”
“Okay then.”
“Okay…”
We sat there staring at each other with our bodies inches apart. The longer I stayed, the harder I had to fight the urge to inch my lips closer to his. He spoke up again, jarring me out of my irrational thoughts. “You gon’ let me get out, or you still wanna hold me hostage?”
My cheeks pinkened. “Oh!” I uttered before quickly removing the child lock. “Off you go.”
He grinned. “Thank you again for coming out with me today.”
I shot him a sole nod before watching him exit my car. “Yeah, no problem.”
He made his way inside, and I pulled off with my heart racing as if I’d just finished a triathlon. I hadn’t expected to spend two days in a row with him, but I’d become captivated by everything about him, from his story to his cynical personality and handsome looks. I’d always preferred my men on the straight and narrow. No dark pasts. No rap sheet. Yet, Elijah wore his demons on his chest like a scarlet letter. The red flags were apparent, and I’d never felt safer in his presence. I left there realizing I knew more about Elijah than I did my fiancé. The more time we spent together, the more I could feel the foundation of my relationship chipping away.