Page 5 of Mine

“Thank you for coming.”

I nodded, not bothering to verbally respond.

We made our way inside the restaurant and Houston chose a four person table that was in the back and away from other patrons. I expected him to sit across from me, but he sat next to me instead.

“You look good. Smell good too,” he complimented, nose brushing against my neck. I shivered. This was why I didn’t want to be alone with him. I’d never deny how good Houston’s dick was. He fucked like a man who needed a place to stay and only had good dick to offer in exchange. As he kissed my neck, ayoung lady came and introduced herself as our waitress before taking our drink order.

I didn’t plan on staying for food, and I hoped Houston wouldn’t give me a hard time because of it.

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked once we were alone again.

“Us.”

He took my left hand into his and kissed it.

“There is no us anymore, Houston.”

“Yeah, but I want there to be.” When I tried to pull my hand out of his, he held it tighter. “Look, I was wrong. I tried to use me being single as an excuse to do whatever I wanted to do and expected you to just go along with it.”

“You were wrong but right. You are single, so you can do what you want.”

“Yeah, but if what I want makes me lose you, it ain’t worth it.”

I didn’t respond right away because I was honestly surprised by what he’d said. Houston was the kind of man who didn’t back down. The only time he did was if he believed that was the easier way to get what he wanted.

“What do you mean? I need to hear you say it plainly, Houston.”

“I’m saying I don’t want to do anything to make you feel uncomfortable or disrespected. I like you and I want to be with you, so I’m not going to use us not being in a committed relationship as an excuse to do shit that could make me lose you.”

“You like me?” I almost whispered.

Houston released a quiet chuckle. He licked his lips as he nodded. “You know I like you. Did me flirting with her really make you question that?”

With a shrug, I accepted my drink from the waitress and gave her a quick thanks. “It wasn’t just the flirting. It was the fact thatI noticed it after you made it clear you didn’t like how I dressed. Then you said you’d take me out more if—”

“Bae…” Houston’s shoulders slouched as his hand wrapped around my waist. “I didn’t mean that shit. Not like that. You are absolutely beautiful, Presly. I wasn’t saying I wanted you to look like her. I was just saying if you dressed like that more, we could go out more. Memphis is boring unless you really stepping out. There’s nothing for us to do here as it is, so unless we go do something chill, the options are limited.”

“Did you stop to consider the fact that if you made more plans for us and took the initiative, I would dress up more? I’m always planning our dates and you almost always complain, so I just stopped. I’m not going to just randomly put on a full face of makeup and a dress just to sit around and see if you’re going to make plans. That makes absolutely no sense at all, Houston. I feel like you expect me to act like and dress like an influencer but that’s not how I am. That’s notwhoI am.”

“You’re right,” he agreed softly. “I’ll do better, aight? I never want you to feel like I don’t like you or that I’m not attracted to you because I am. If I have to be more intentional, I’ll do that. I hear you loud and clear.”

I heard him but I wouldn’t believe it until I actually saw it. With a nod, I lifted my glass and took a sip of my drink.

“Can we start Sunday?” he added. “I’ll pick you up at six thirty for an evening you won’t forget.”

“Fine, but we’re not in a relationship, Houston. There’s really no reason for us to deal with things we don’t want to. So if Sunday doesn’t work out…”

“It will,” he assured me quickly, lifting his shot of Hennessy to take a sip.

I’d give it a try, but I really wasn’t sure if what we had was worth it anymore. I did miss him and really didn’t want to start the process of meeting someone new all over again. So hopefullythings would go well Sunday and I wouldn’t regret giving us a second chance.

Sunday

I didn’t want to make us reconnecting too easy, but Houston’s effort tonight won me over. It started with him dropping off the prettiest champagne colored dress with gold heels and a matching clutch. He also paid for me to have my hair, nails, and makeup done.

He came back to my home with a rented Rolls Royce SUV for the evening and roses. Our first stop was to an awards show that I didn’t even know was happening, then we went to Flight for dinner. Afterward, we went to a lounge for drinks and dancing. Being in his arms felt different tonight. It felt… romantic and intentional. It felt… right.

His hand swept my hair off my shoulder, then he kissed my neck. “You look beautiful tonight, bae. You always look good, but you look really, really good tonight.”

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