Page 14 of His Secure Embrace
James:
Dawn, LeShaun, Ines, and Alicia.
ME:
I’m finna block you.
James:
Marina, Selena, Katrina, Sabrina, about three Kims.
ME:
BLOCKED.
James:
I’m joking. In all honesty, it’s just my mama, sister, and niece. I take care of them because my pops and grandfather made sure I was raised to do it. You’re getting added to the list because I want you to be mine. I want you to be another woman in my life I don’t play about.
His message left me speechless. I read it, reread it, and read it again. Things moved fast, but one night of phone sex couldn’t have been all it took to get added to the list of important women. Either he was playing games, thought I was stupid, or—or he actually wants to build a connection with me.
James:
I hope I didn’t scare you away.
ME:
No. I’m still here… just processing your message. I’m a bit taken aback by the fact you want to add me to such an important list of women… so soon.
James:
From the moment I saw you at the block party, I felt drawn to you. Not to be on no simp shit, but us connecting again after all those months had to be a sign from God not to let you slip away a second time. Ya know?
ME:
You know all the right things to say.
James:
Shit, I’m just speaking my truths. I don’t want to let another moment go to waste without seeing what could come from us testing the waters.
I hearted his message. The conversation had taken an unexpected, yet thrilling, turn. I had never been so enamored by a man in this way. I’ve had boyfriends, flings, and friends with benefits, but none of them compared to James.
ME:
You’re taking me really fast, but I’ll enjoy the ride.
DING.DING.
The chime of my notifications stirred me awake. My sleep schedule was all types of fucked up. Because I worked the evening and night shifts, I often slept in until one or two o’clock in the afternoon. Today was no different. I’d fallen asleep on the game.
Gaming was the best escape from the long nights I worked. I could hop on the game and decompress after socializing and being around people for hours on end. The isolation and freedom to play whatever game I wanted for however long I wanted was a ten out of ten experience. I could game all night and still get six to eight hours of sleep before the next shift at the club.
I sat up in the chair and picked up my phone. I looked at a couple of the notifications. The group chat with my mother and sister made me roll my eyes.
MAMA:
Good morning and God bless. I pray my kids are doing well because only by the grace of God I can feel their spirits still roaming the living. I haven’t seen my precious gifts from God in months.
