Page 23 of When Love Becomes A Need
“Come on, the room he tattoos in is in the back.” I nodded and followed behind her, taking in the building.
The lobby was a decent size and clean. The light gray walls were filled with pictures of various tattoos. I noticed four rooms, not including the room that Autumn’s brother occupied. Those must be the other tattoo artists’ rooms.
Autumn pushed open the door in the back of the lobby. Her brother stood with his back to us, talking on the phone. I had to admit, from behind her brother was nice to look at, and I hadn’t seen his face yet.
He was wearing a black muscle tee showing off his broad shoulders. You could tell he worked out by how cut his back was.
Autumn’s brother laughed, and for some reason, it caused me to clench my stomach. Something about his laugh was familiar.
“Alright, man, I’ll hit you up later.” My breath got caught.That voice.
Autumn’s brother hung the phone up then turned around. He looked at Autumn and then at me, mirroring my shocked expression.
Goosebumps filled my arms as Ahmad stared at me. I was not expecting to see him right now and it was obvious the feeling was mutual.
“About time you got off the phone!” She fussed.
Ahmad ignored her and kept his eyes on me. Slowly blinking, I attempted to speak.
“This is your brother?” I asked Autumn, tearing my eyes away from Ahmad. “Not your boyfriend?” I said more so to myself.
“Boyfriend? Girl, this is my older brother.” She balled her face up. “Fatima, this is my brother, Ahmad. Ahmad, this is my friend, Fatima. She’s my neighbor.”
“We’ve met already,” Ahmad finally spoke.
Autumn gazed from me to her brother. “How?”
“He comes into my job every morning.”
“You haven’t been there the last two days either.” My eyes fell back on Ahmad. I had to tell myself to remain still. He was looking really good. The muscle tank he had on gripped his chest just like the first day he entered the coffee shop. His dreadslooked like he had just had them re-twisted and were braided back.
When he licked his lips, my body shivered. The memories of my dream popped up in my head, causing me to look down. He was wearing some basketball shorts. Bringing my bottom lip between my teeth, I damn near drooled at the print on display.
Shit.
Why the hell was he so damn sexy?
“Yeah, I had to cover some closing shifts,” I said, snatching my eyes from his dick print back to his face. He had a smirk on his face. He crossed his arms over his chest, making his muscles flex.
“I can’t believe this is your brother.” I rubbed my arm and giggled. Here I was irritated and upset thinking that Ahmad and Autumn were seeing each other, and they were related. Now it made sense why she looked so familiar when she first knocked on my door. They looked just alike.
“Wait, you thought he was my boyfriend for real? When did you see us?”
“Uh, the other day. You both pulled into your driveway. When he wrapped his arm around your shoulders, I thought….” I stopped talking and shook my head, giggling again. “Wow, I read that wrong.”
“No worries! I’m shocked you two already know each other. Ahmad, remember the neighbor I was telling you about? The one I wanted to hook you up with. It’s Fatima!”
My mouth dropped. I could feel heat rushing to my cheeks. Autumn putting me on the spot like that caused me to grow nervous. My heart started racing in my chest. My hands grew clammy. Suddenly, the room grew hot.
“Autumn, we already talked about this. You know I’m not interested in dating.” Even though I had the same feelings, hearing Ahmad say that stung. It wasn’t a direct jab at me, but I still took it personally.MaybeI had imagined him flirting with me after all.
“Autumn, I told you I came here to support you through your tattoo, not for you to hook me up with your brother.” I narrowed my eyes at her.
“You both have sworn off relationships. Himbecause of a stupid hoe and you for whatever reason. Two damaged people could repair each other. I think you two would look good together.”
I glanced at Ahmad and he was staring directly at me. He looked at me like he was staring into my soul or something. His eyes were cut into slits, but not in a menacing way. It was like he was trying to figure me out. My body started feeling tingly all over. I wanted to break my eyes from him, but I couldn’t.
His mouth suddenly turned up and he smiled, displaying his panty wetting smile. “Fatima is a very attractive girl, Autumn. She seems really talented, too.” His eyes roamed my body.
