Page 22 of Off the Charts
During the drive, Vayce and I got more acquainted. I learned that he’d been in the mental health field for over ten years. We both went to Harvest Hills University and although we were a year apart, I’d never seen him on campus and further than that, around town. It was blowing my mind how him being Zion’s counselor was our introduction.
Vayce was quiet but so damn cool making conversation flow like we were old friends. The more we talked, the quicker I realized that it wasn’t a night out that I needed, I was longing for a sense of friendship. As the minutes on the GPS dashboard decreased, my answers shortened.
“What’s on your mind?” Vayce called out.
My eyes remained out of the window. “Nothing.”
“One of the first things I learned about you in my office was that you speak without saying shit. Your leg is bouncing, and your lips are deflecting.” I didn’t notice it was bouncing but stopped when he called it out. “Tell me what you thinking, Jersei.”
“You think you know me, nigga?” I halfway joked.
“I spend my days studying body language and silent shit people try to hide. You have a lot to say even when you don’t say it.” He pulled up at a red light and turned, giving me his full attention. “I’m listening.”
I sighed and spoke just above a whisper. “I—I’m enjoying our time and I’m not ready to end our night.”
His response was making a U-turn going toward the opposite side of town. Two minutes passed before he pulled into an abandoned parking lot that used to hold the town movie theater.He parked to the left of the lot directly in front of the lake, undid his seatbelt, then jumped out the truck.
“I’ll be right back.”
I tried to watch him, but his skin and clothes blended with the night sky. Since I wasn’t able to see, I locked the truck doors and kept watch of my surroundings until he knocked on the window. I popped the locks, and he jumped back in.
“Damn. You locked me out of my own shit?” He smiled.
“Listen, I watch too much TV. I d—” I gasped when he handed me two magnolias. “Vayce.”
“If we were in my city, I could’ve taken you to Sweet Treats, but y’all niggas ain’t got twenty-four-hour shit ‘round this bitch,” he chuckled. “This country ass town makes you dig deep and think. That tree only had two, so I picked both for you. I’an calling this a date, but I want you to cherish every second we spend together. Those magnolias are a good start.”
“They’re beautiful. Thank you so much,” I smiled looking from the flowers to him. “Magnolias represent inner strength. Did you know that?”
“Nah, but I do now,” he reclined his seat before folding an arm behind his head. I turned in my seat so I could face him but couldn’t get comfortable because of my heels. Vayce seemed to notice and grabbed my left ankle, placing it on his lap then unstrapped my heels, doing the same with the other foot. His gaze dropped between my thighs to my exposed lace panties and I didn’t rush to close my legs back once both feet were in his lap. I watched hunger dance in his eyes, sending another wave of heat to my pussy before our eyes met again.
“You tryna make black my favorite color, Jersei?”
I released a small breath as he started massaging the ball of my foot. “If that means I get this type of treatment, I am,” my voice came out sultrier than I intended to.
Vayce released a low groan as he rubbed each of my toes between his warm fingers. He was gentle, applying just enough pressure to ease the aches my shoes left behind. I could tell he wanted to say more, but he continued rubbing me down allowing the music to fill in the gaps between us. My chest warmed, not because of the feeling of his hands, but because I felt safe enough to open up to him. I had so many questions sitting on the tip of my tongue that were threatening to spill, but it all felt like it was too soon.
Vayce broke the silence. “This your playlist?”
“Mhmm. This here before your time.”
He sucked his teeth, moving up to knead my ankles. I bit down on my bottom lip to stop my moan. “Yeah, aight. You don’t know shit about The Spinners.”
My head fell back in disbelief. “Boy please! Ghetto Child? Mighty Love? You don’t know nothing about that.”
“I know Ghetto Child, not that other one.”
“Exactly! You know radio hits,” I chuckled. “Who is your favorite group of all time?”
“Earth, Wind, and Fire,” he answered. “They so layered from the singers to the band. Plus, they taught me the elements of the earth and music. Who is yours?”
Instead of telling him, I swiped through his music app until I landed on my favorite song. When the lyrics started, he gave me the hardest side eye. I couldn’t stop laughing.
“Sexy black. Come over hereeee and let me put a few love buzzes in your ear,” I sang putting my arm in the air. “Shorty will you be my? Say shorty will you be my. Ayee.”
Vayce was laughing his ass off. “Man, hell nah! Turn this shit off.”
“Don’t do Pretty Ricky!” I finished laughing and typed in another artist. “Now, this is my favorite artist of all time.” Thebeat dropped and both of us started rocking. Vayce reached out and turned the volume up. “What you know about this, Jersei?”
