Page 13 of Reserved for Him
He returned to the table with glasses of wine and water for the both of us, then sat across from me.
We ate in silence for a few minutes. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I smelled the food, but I was pleasantly surprised when I bit into the steak, and it was juicy and tender. The mashed potatoes and broccoli were good as well.
Franklin and I stole glances at each other, but neither of us said anything. I noticed he didn’t seem like much of a talker, and I didn’t know what to say to him. There was a question on the tip of my tongue, but every time I went to speak, something held me back. The silence was killing me, though, because I was usedto Leo talking all the damn time. Plus, I wanted to learn more about the mystery that was Franklin.
“The food is good,” I told him to break the silence.
“Thanks.” He went back to eating the rest of the food on his plate.
I ate a little more of my food, trying to figure out if I should even engage him in conversation or not.
“I can tell something is on your mind, Junicia. What’s up?”
I had never heard my name sound so… sexy coming from someone’s mouth. For years, I didn’t like my name, even though there was meaning behind it. My father’s name is Junior, and my mother’s name is Patricia, so my mother had the idea to combine their names, and that’s where mine came from. My name coming from Franklin’s lips made my insides shiver.
I bit the corner of my lip before I looked up at him. “What made you pull your gun out on my ex the other day? And what made you fight him earlier?”
He put his fork down, then wiped his mouth. For a few seconds, he just stared at me, and I shifted in my seat. I wasn’t sure why he looked at me the way he did.
“I just thought it was the right thing to do.” He shrugged like it was nothing, then went back to eating.
I could tell there was more to it, but for some reason, he didn’t want to tell me. I wasn’t going to push him. He probably wouldn’t have responded anyway.
“I really appreciate you for doing it. There has to be some way that I can repay you.”
“The only thing you can do is stay away from him. If you decide to take him back, I can’t do anything to help you.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. When I say I’m done with someone, I am.”
Franklin didn’t have to worry about me going back to Leo because I didn’t want anything to do with him ever again in life.Leo had his chance, and he wouldn’t be granted another one. I wasn’t a fan of giving second chances, because most of the time the person took advantage of it and messed up the second time around.
“Good to know,” he said, then picked up his glass of wine.
I guess he was done talking, so I picked up my glass and drank it in one big swig.
“The least I can do is clean up since you cooked.”
“I won’t fight you there.” He smirked.
That was the closest thing to a smile I had seen from him since the first day I saw him.
“I can stay at my cousin’s house. She’s out of town, but I have a key to her place.”
“That doesn’t work for me.”
I was confused about him insisting on me staying with him. It wasn’t like we were friends. I wouldn’t even call us associates, so why didn’t he want me to leave?
Was there something he wasn’t telling me? Or did he like me but didn’t want to say anything? So many thoughts went through my head.
“Don’t think too much about it, Junicia. There’s a storm coming, so if you want to get some stuff we should head over there soon.” He pushed his chair away from the table and stood with his plate and cups, then walked over to the sink and dropped them in.
I couldn’t respond to him because he left the kitchen, leaving me with numerous thoughts in my head and wet panties. It was something about a man who knew how to be demanding without sounding rude. There was a big difference, and a lot of men didn’t know how to differentiate the two.
I got up from the table, then went over to the sink to wash the dishes. Franklin must have washed the dishes as he cookedbecause there weren’t many left behind. It didn’t take me long to clean up the kitchen and wipe down the table.
When I was done, I went into the living room to find Franklin sitting on the couch watching some movie.
“I’m ready when you are.”
