Page 30 of Autumn & Woods
“My homeboy owns this lil’ spot. Grown folks’ lounge vibe. Music, drinks. I got us a private booth. I mean, it’s our last night, right?”
I blinked, heart doing that stupid flutter. “I don’t have anything to wear. All my stuff’s at Taj’s.”
He stepped to me, all slow and smooth, and sat beside me. His cologne invaded my nostrils as he leaned over and kissed my lips. Breath minty fresh. “Ain't nothin’ to go get it,” he said.
I smirked, feeling that same heat from earlier creep back up my spine. But just as I opened my mouth to respond, his phone rang from the nightstand.
He let it ring twice before sighing and picking it up. “If I come back from this call and you ain’t dressed, we ain’t leavin’ this room.” Woods got up and stepped toward the balcony to answer his phone, but his eyes lingered on me the whole way out.
The moment the balcony door clicked shut behind him, I exhaled. It wasn’t even that serious, but somehow it felt like it was. It was just a night out. Just a lounge. Just him offering to take me somewhere. But why did it feel like something was shifting? Maybe because this was supposed to be temporary. A little heat during the holidays. Or curiosity. Or chaos. I still hadn’t decided which.
I rolled out of bed, grabbed my green dress, and slipped it on. Then, I pulled my hair up into a messy bun and went to brush my teeth with the spare toothbrush on the bathroom sink. Afterwards, I wiped the fog on the mirror away with my palm. I looked whipped as hell, but had a glow to me.
Woods’ voice drifted in from outside, and I heard him laugh into the phone. It hit me all over again that he was not the average dude. Yeah, he drank, smoked, talked a little slick, and walked like his nuts were heavy. I mean, they were… but he also listened when I spoke. He asked real questions. He had manners. He moved like he could be somebody’s everything. He wasn’t even trying to convince me of any of that. He was just being himself.
I stepped back into the bedroom as he ended his call. “Damn,” he muttered, shaking his head as he tossed a black fitted in his head. “That fuckin’ dress…”
I chuckled. “It’s time to retire this thing and put on something fly.”
“Mmm.” He licked his bottom lip and strolled over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “I fuck wit’ that. But we gotta leave now or else we ain’t leavin’ this room, gorgeous.”This being the second time he mentioned that, I knew he wasn’t bluffing. That look in his eyes saidtry me, but I was already moving.
“I’ll text Taj,” I said, walking around him to grab my phone. “Tell her I’m on my way to change and grab my stuff.”
“Cool. I know y’all probably had some girl shit to do and I’m not tryna fuck that up…”
“You’re not…”
“…but I just wanna spend a lil’ more time wit’ you. That’s all.”
“Same. So let’s go.”
Woods nodded and went to grab his phone, wallet, and key card. Meanwhile, I stood there, breath caught in my throat, trying to act unfazed. This man… whew. Pressure. Trouble. And I was about to follow him right into it.
He drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting on my thigh like it belonged there. Tavern City slid by outside the truck windows in flashes of streetlights, empty sidewalks, and the glow of a few late-night storefronts. Leon Thomas was humming through the speakers.
“I said, baby I'm a dog. I'm a mutt...”
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. Woods was leaning back in the seat, face lit by the red glow from the dashboard. He was quiet with his jaw tight and his eyes on the road, but I could tell his mind was somewhere else.
“You okay?” I asked.
He nodded slowly. “Just thinkin’.”
“About?”
He turned the volume down and glanced at me. “‘Bout how this started off on some real casual airport sex with a pretty ass stranger and turned into somethin’ else.”
I held his gaze. “I know. It’s so weird how… natural this all feels.”
“Facts. And I ain’t tryna press you. I don’t even be doin’ shit like this. We from different cities wit’ different shit goin’ on, but I ain’t ‘bout to sit here and act like I don’t wanna see you again after tonight.”
That made my stomach flutter. “I might like that. I mean, this was definitely supposed to just be a little holiday sex but… now I’m thinking this might’ve messed up my focus a little bit.”
He smirked, turning back to the road. “Good,” he said. “Maybe I want you a lil’ unfocused.”
Not too long after, we pulled up outside Taj’s house, and he threw the truck in park. The front door was unlocked, and the second we stepped into Taj’s house, it was chaos.
The TV was on full blast, playing a Disney movie that none of the kids were actually watching. One of her twins was sprinting through the living room wearing a bra on his head like a hat, and the other was standing on the couch singing loud as hell with a popsicle dripping down her wrist. Somebody’s tablet was blaring Cocomelon. Taj just busted into the living room wearing a skintight, leopard two-piece like she was already ready for the club.
