Hinged, Grown and Sexy

7. Rhythmic Romance

I haven't been on a date in what feels like years.

Even in my arrangement with Dezmon, I'd always felt like each date was more of a business get-together. It had this automatic formality that wasn't the best setting for budding romance.

So, a date with Eli feels like a date with an alien.

I was completely out of my element, and I hated it. Usually, I knew how things would go in my comfortable little bubble.

I knew that if I turned out successful I'd have to give back to my family. I knew that business law would be a secure future and improve my lifestyle.

These weren't particularly hard choices, but I was struggling thinking about a date with a man I've technically known for years. What have I become?

"Barriers before good. Barriers before good." I chanted while I waited for Eli to pull up outside my apartment building.

I'd opted for a long, thinly strapped dress that emphasized my pear-shaped figure. It was starting to get chilly outside, so I'd added a cardigan to the outfit before it was complete.

Everyone was being surprisingly tight lipped about where Eli was taking me, which was a feat since Hyacinthe's excitement usually made keeping secrets mission impossible. Still, I'd tried everything to get her to spill, and she wouldn't budge.

God, that girl was high on happy endings, so I guess the idea of a start to mine was all the motivation she needed to play along. That and it's likely Eli bribed her into silence.

Unfortunately, that made him even finer.

Nobody has ever protected a surprise for me. I mean my parents didn't even let the magic of Santa Clause live long in our house, so I wasn't used to someone making an effort to keep something special.

As if my thoughts summoned him, a smooth dark blue Benz pulled up and parked right in front of me. The man of the hour emerged smoothly with a firm hand pressed against the midsection of his cream sweater.

"Hi, pretty." Eli greeted, a slow smile as he walked into my personal space and leaned down just a touch to tempt me into closing the distance.

"Hi, Eli." I replied, my voice strangely soft despite my heartbeat raging in my throat.

"You ready?" He questioned, only stepping back to open the car door for me.

"Okay, Mr. Chivalrous! This date is getting better already." I exclaimed jokingly as I sat down.

"What can I say, my mama raised a gentleman." He replied, but he leaned in right before he shut the door. "But, she didn't have to teach me how to be a sinner."

Somebody better pinch me before I'm caught in a fantasy of an ebony Adonis and toe-curling orgasms. Well, actually it might be a little too late for that.

🐞

The car ride had passed quickly, mostly because of the easy banter Eli and I seemed to have.

Even without meaning to, I was comparing our interactions to the ones I had with Dezmon.

It was ridiculously refreshing having a man that could laugh at my jokes and throw one right back at me. I'd never admit it, but there were times Dezmon made me feel almost childish for still having a sense of humor.

The man was a straight line while Eli seemed pleasantly curved... which I was hoping extended to a certain appendage.

When we finally parked in a dark corner lot in the city, I was even more curious about what the night would hold. I'd seen a few restaurants on the street that were still open, but Eli didn't bat an eyelash at any of them.