Page 15 of Reserved for Him
Franklin
I didn’t thinkJunicia was prepared to hear the truth about the feelings that slowly developed for her, so when she asked me why I did what I did, I chose to keep it to myself. I was a little anxious about how the next twenty-four hours were going to turn out. It was clear that we were attracted to each other, but I had already determined I wouldn’t make the first move. I wouldn’t miss my opportunity either if I was given one.
“Let me show you to the guest bedroom, so you can put your stuff down,” I told Junicia when we got into my house.
“Okay.”
Most of the houses on our street were set up the same way, so it wouldn’t have been hard for her to find the room, but I wanted to be a courteous host. It was the least I could do since I basically forced her to stay the night. I knew it would bother me if she left, especially because I wasn’t sure if they kept her ex in jail or not. I wouldn’t feel comfortable until we knew what was going on with that. It was the weekend, so I didn’t have to work the next day. Iwanted her to call the police station to find out any information about whether they would keep him or not.
“Our houses are practically the same, so I’m sure you’ll have no problem finding things. There’s towels and stuff in the bathroom. If you need another blanket, there’s some in the hall closet, but you should be good,” I told her when we entered the bedroom.
I stood in the doorway as she walked over to the bed and placed her bag on top of it. “Thanks. I’ll be fine. I’m going to call my cousin really quick, so she doesn’t worry about me.”
“Cool. I’ll be downstairs if you need me for anything.”
Her cheeks rose when she smiled. “Thanks.”
I nodded, then left the room. I closed the door to give her some privacy, even though I wanted to hear what she told her cousin. I wondered if she would tell her anything about me besides being her neighbor. I was sure her cousin would be worried about her, but she was as safe as she could be with me.
While she handled her business, I went downstairs to occupy myself. I sat on the couch to find something to watch when my phone chimed.
Sharelle: Hey, it’s Sharelle. I haven’t heard from you, and I was just wondering if you were okay.
I read the message, trying to decide how I wanted to respond to her. I wasn’t that interested, but I wasn’t quite ready to tell her, just in case, so I kept it simple.
Me: What’s good? I’ve just been caught up with work and shit. I’ll hit you up soon.
Sharelle: Oh okay. Talk to you soon.
I put my phone on Do Not Disturb, then stuck it in my pocket. Nobody important would call me before the day was over, and I didn’t want to be bothered. It’s not like that many people called me anyway. It wasn’t time for my weekly call withmy parents, so they wouldn’t call unless it was an emergency, and if they had one, they could get through.
Junicia’s laughter filled the silence in the house while she talked on the phone with her cousin. That was the most noise in my house since I moved in, besides when I had the volume high on the television.
I couldn’t hear what they talked about, so I turned on the television to find something to watch to occupy myself. I settled on a baseball game and got comfortable.
It tookover an hour before Junicia came back downstairs, but she was more pleasing to the eye than before. She changed into a onesie that had butterflies covering it and it hugged every single curve her body held. I didn’t know if she was trying to entice me or what, but the shit was working.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she walked toward the couch.
“Sorry if I was too loud when I was on the phone. I had to ensure my cousin that you weren’t trying to kill me.”
I shifted in my seat and cleared my throat when she sat next to me. The scent of warm apple pie made my mouth water.
“It’s cool. I hope you told her you were safe.” I tried to play it cool, but sitting so close to her had my heart beating faster.
She played with the zipper on her pajamas. “Yes, I did. We share locations, so if something did happen to me, she would know it was you.” She smirked.
I had no plans of doing anything to her but keep her safe.
“Would you like some wine or something?”
“No. I’m okay. What were you watching?” She tucked one leg under her bottom.
“I don’t even know the name of the movie, but it went off. You can turn to something else if you would like.” I passed her the remote and got comfortable again, at least as much as I could.
I didn’t know how I would survive the rest of the night with her smelling so damn delectable.
It took her a few minutes to find something to watch, and I was surprised when she put on a baseball game.
