The door slowly opened. Dasia followed the lines of this gorgeous man’s body from his feet to the empty ring finger on his left hand and then to the smile greeting her. The minute she saw his eyes, she remembered his name and what he’d done for her last night.
Sure, life was too cruel for her to continue on, but the kindness this man had offered showed her there was still good in the world. She’d been on the verge of ending it all, and he had the perfect opportunity to take advantage of her. Instead, he’d offered her an ear and shown her that kindness still existed, still could be a part of her life.
“Good morning.”
The richness of his voice warmed her heart. Looking at him this morning after what he’d given her last night, she wondered why he was in a hotel suite alone. She wondered how someone who seemed so caring, so understanding could be here just when she needed him to be. He’d only shown her kindness, and she wanted so much to repay him. She just didn’t know how.
All of her life she’d never known true kindness from a stranger. People had been nice to her because her father was well-off, and her mother was fairly respected in the community. They all played nice to her when her parents were around, but she knew what they really thought of her. She remembered their stares, heard their comments.
Last night, with this man, things had been different. Last night the man standing in the door had offered her the one thing she needed, a friend.
“Good morning,” she replied to his cheerful greeting.
“I wasn’t sure if you drank coffee, but there’s a pot brewing, and I have tea if you’d prefer.”
G, not sure if she was awake, had waited for an hour before knocking. He knew she needed rest, and he didn’t want to wake her. But he’d found himself standing in front of the bedroom door on a number of occasions, wanting to make sure she was all right.
“No. Coffee sounds great.”
“I was just about to order breakfast. Would you like me to order something for you?”
Dasia thought about how good dinner was last night. It had been so long since she’d had a decent meal. Her stomach began to growl at the thought of food. “I guess my stomach just answered your question.”
G smiled back at her. “Anything in particular?”
“A bowl of cereal would be good, but only if they have soy milk. I try to stay away from dairy as much as possible.”
“And if not?”
“Then a bagel or English muffin would be fine.”
“Will do. Would you like for me to send it next door or have it delivered here?”
Dasia wanted to spend a little more time with him. “Here.”
“Why don’t you go next door to get your things and then come back over? After we eat I can show you where the apartment is.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Dasia gathered the few belongings she’d unpacked from her suitcase. She’d only brought up the essential items—toiletries, her makeup case, and an overnight bag with an extra change of clothes. She thought about taking another shower but decided against it. If she liked the apartment, she’d christen it with a soak in the tub. She hoped it had a tub and not just one of those stand-up showers.
Dasia stared at the ugly white wedding dress and cringed. She needed to decide what she was going to do with it. It was borrowed from Jeremiah’s mother, so she fought the urge to cut it to itty-bitty shreds. She decided, instead, to take it next door, along with the remainder of her items. Maybe she could bounce some ideas off of G on the best way to go about returning the dress.
She quickly brushed her teeth, grabbed her bags, the dress, and the hotel key and hauled her belongings to G’s room. By the time she dragged the largest bag in the door, G stepped from the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.
Dasia stared at his perfectly fit body as the water from his hair dripped down his face and rolled along his pecks. She felt her mouth go dry as this gorgeous man stared back at her. She’d been so engrossed in her problems last night, she really didn’t notice the perfect tan of his skin or the shape of his legs, chest, and arms. His arms looked strong. She wanted him to wrap them around her body and pull her close.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d be back so soon. I’ll go put some clothes on.” G turned and headed back into the bedroom. “If the food comes, just let them in. I’ll be out in a minute.”
Dasia sat down and tried to compose herself. She’d almost started to drool over the man, but she caught herself in time. Just out of a really bad situation, she wasn’t about to jump into another relationship with anyone anytime soon. And yet she found her body drawn to this man. She knew it was only lust. But she’d never felt this way about Jeremiah, and for the first time in her life, she wondered why.
Before she had the opportunity to contemplate the thought any longer, a knock at the door startled her. She was just about to get up when G stepped from the bedroom.
“I’ll get it.”
Dasia watched his every move as he made his way over to the door. She found her eyes drawn to the firmness of his behind. She observed the pulsing of the muscles in the back of his legs as he took each step. She wondered what it would feel like to have her legs wrapped around his body as he made sweet love to her.
She shook the naughty thoughts from her head. Though she was a virgin, she’d imagined what her first time with that someone special would be like. She’d committed to saving herself for the one person she deemed worthy of her gift, but after what had just happened with Jeremiah, she questioned even more her decision to wait.
Watching G, she thought maybe he might be the one to break her in. Then common sense took over. What did she know about this man, besides his name and the fact his company owned an apartment building? Now that she thought about it, she didn’t know his full name or anything else about him. Well, since they were about to spend the next couple of hours together, she’d take the opportunity to learn as much about him as possible.
G placed a bowl of cereal in front of Dasia, a container of soy milk, a spoon, a glass of orange juice, and a banana. He sat across from her, his plate piled high with bacon, eggs, hash browns smothered with onions, and cheese and toast.
Dasia looked at her meal and then back over at his. “Are you really going to eat all of that?” she asked, her eyes taking in the sight of all of the things she’d denied herself.
“That all depends.” G smiled at her. “Cereal not satisfying enough?”
“I thought it would be, but your food looks and smells a lot better than mine.”
He asked with a devilish grin, “Would you like some?”
“Only if you’re willing to share.”
He slid a little closer to her, giving her access to his plate without having to reach across the table.
As she ate her cereal, she picked bacon and toast off his plate.
“So,” Dasia said as she bit into a piece of bacon, “you’ve heard all about my life. Care to share any details about yours?”
“What is it you wish to know?” G leaned back in his chair and took in the beauty of the angel sitting next to him.
“Any and everything.”
As they finished their meal, he discussed his heritage, telling her about his Chinese mother and Creole father. They talked about what life had been like for him as a child growing up in a military household, moving from one country to another every other year or so until his father retired. G described the many countries he’d lived in and visited over the years, and spoke at length of those he loved—Belize, Australia, and Fiji—and those he hated.
They spent another half an hour discussing what life meant to each of them. What things they looked forward to in the future as well as what they liked and disliked about themselves, and what they planned on doing to change them.
G learned a lot more about Dasia during their discussion. She told him that although she was okay with being a size fourteen, she wished she could get to a consistent size twelve.
He start
ed to plan how to help her without her even knowing. When he was younger, he’d had the same problem. Over the years he’d tricked himself into losing weight by taking up sports like golf and swimming. G wanted Dasia to know that there were ways to control the weight without having to stick to some boring, stringent, monotonous routine in the gym and denying herself the pleasure of good food.
“So what are your hobbies?” he asked, gathering the now empty dishes to place them on the tray.
“Mostly reading books, but when I was living in the Carolinas, I used to love to go running on the beaches at sunset.”
“Bet you miss that?” The beach at sunset. G imagined Dasia in a form-fitting running outfit, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, sweat glistening down her temples. He licked his lips.
“Yeah, I think that’s going to be a downside to living here.”
As G placed the last dish on the tray, he looked around the suite to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. He placed the tray outside of the door and rejoined Dasia at the table. He snatched his keys from the counter. “So are you about ready to go see the apartment?”
“Yeah.”
Dasia grabbed her purse and car keys and followed G out the door and down to the parking lot.
G carried her bag while she carried the dress. He made sure she got safely into her car and then he proceeded to his.
Within minutes he was signaling her to follow him.
Chapter 5
Dasia followed G around Interstate 285 to Riverdale Road. The drive from the interstate to the entrance of the complex took less than five minutes. She estimated that, even with traffic, it would only take ten, maybe fifteen minutes most, for her to get from the complex to the highway, definitely a plus for those notorious late mornings.
He pulled to the side and signaled her to pull up next to him. “Pull up to the gate and press star, one, one, two, five.”
Although he had a key card to open the security gates, the *1125 code was used by the delivery people and emergency vehicles.
“The gate should open. Pull to the side, and I’ll follow you in. The apartment is near the back.”
Dasia nodded and pulled up to the gate. She entered the code, and sure enough, the gates started to slide open, and the white-and-black arm swung up. She pulled through, watching as G pulled nearly onto her bumper to make it through before the arm dropped and the gates begin to close.
“It’s right around the corner. Just follow me, and watch out for the geese.”
Dasia expected the apartment to be the usual bachelor pad, biGscreen television, surround sound, no plants, but to her surprise, it was clean and felt really homey. The walls were cream with pastel blue undertones. Family portraits hung on the wall above the cream leather couch. The windows were even decorated with curtains, not just the plastic blinds that come standard in any apartment built after the ’80s.
“Nice place,” Dasia said to G as she continued to take in the place.
“Thanks. My sister Katina helped decorate. She’s staying in the apartment next door while my brother-in-law is overseas. Once you get settled in, I’ll introduce you.” G watched from the doorway, allowing Dasia the space to scope out the apartment.
Dasia walked from room to room. The apartment had two bedrooms and two full baths. The smaller bedroom, located just inside the apartment door, was decorated in royal blue and white, the bathroom in royal blue and tan. The other bedroom, the master, was decorated in burgundy and gold, and the bathroom in forest green and gold. She ran her fingers over the comforter and almost sat down on it. She caught a glimpse of G out of the corner of her eye. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude.” Dasia was embarrassed. She’d only meant to look in the room and never intended to invade his personal space.
“You’re not intruding. If this place is going to be your home for a while, you have every right to explore.” G really didn’t mind her going through his things. He didn’t keep much in the apartment anyway. He hadn’t stayed there in weeks. He was glad his sister had come over last night and cleaned the place up.
“If you think you want to stay, I can make arrangements to put the furniture in storage.”
“No, don’t do that. Your furniture is just fine. Besides, since my stuff is already in storage, no need to go to all of the trouble.” Dasia turned again to look at his room. “I think I’m going to like it here just fine. I insist on paying rent though.”
“That’s not necessary. This place is mine, and now it’s yours, no strings attached.”
“No. I need to do this. I’ve never taken anything from anyone without giving something in return, and I don’t plan on starting now.”
“Well, after you get settled in, we’ll discuss the rent arrangements. Come on, let me introduce you to Katina. She’ll be glad to have a neighbor. But let me warn you, if you let her, she’ll talk your ear off.”
Dasia was never any good at making friends. All she really wanted to do was wallow in her misery for a while. She didn’t feel much like socializing, but not wanting to be rude, she’d stay long enough, to be polite, and then she’d excuse herself.
G rang the doorbell to the apartment next door. He had a key, but since he was bringing over company, he decided to use the bell. It only took a minute for Katina to open the door.
Dasia took one look at Katina and knew this woman was definitely G’s sister. The resemblance was uncanny. She watched as G slid his arms around her in a loving hug. No words were spoken between the two. They just enjoyed being in each other’s arms.
“Katina, there’s someone I want you to meet. You have a new neighbor.” G stepped aside so she had a clear view of Dasia. “Dasia, this is Katina. Katina, Dasia.”
Dasia extended her hand to Katina.
Instead of shaking her hand, Katina wrapped her arms around her in a hug. Nothing but true Southern charm.
“Shaking hands is for businessmen. Hugs are for friends and family.” Katina released Dasia. “Now, why don’t you two come in. I just put Kaleb down, and Marques is playing video games. We’ll have plenty of peace and quiet to get acquainted.”
Katina ushered them into the apartment. She watched the look G gave Dasia. Curious, yet patient, she knew something was brewing in that mind of his. She’d wait until they were alone to confront him.
“Can I get anybody anything?”
G and Dasia took a seat on the couch.
They both answered no, so Katina sat in the chair opposite them both. “So we’re going to be neighbors?”
“For a little while at least.”
“Well, it’s pretty quiet around here. The people across the hall can get a little rowdy every once in a while. Otherwise, this place is as dead as a cemetery on All Hallows’ Eve. Once you get settled in, I’ll introduce you to our other neighbor, Ms. Johnson. She’s a nosy old bat, so she’ll probably invite herself over just to scope you out. She’s good though.”
“Thanks.” Dasia lowered her head.
“So how’d you manage to meet my brother?”
“Katina.” G gave his sister a disapproving glare. She was already starting, putting her nose where it didn’t belong. “Dasia’s had a rough night. I just wanted to bring her by to meet you. We still need to get her things, so we’re not going to stay. You two will have plenty of time to get acquainted.”
Katina detected the diversion. There was something else going on with Dasia, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. G was being protective, which wasn’t too unusual, but since he’d never mentioned Dasia before, Katina assumed they’d just met. If he was being protective of her already, something really traumatic must have happened to her.
G turned to Dasia. “Are you ready to go?”
“I guess so.” Dasia turned to Katina. “It was nice meeting you.” Dasia gave her an unconvincing smile. It felt forced, so she was sure Katina saw the effort. She meant no offense; she just wanted to be alone right now.
“It was nice meeting you too. If you ever need anythi
ng, a cup of sugar or milk, or just an ear to listen, feel free to come knock on my door. I’m always here.”
Dasia thanked Katina again and followed G out of the apartment.
G handed her the keys and the key card to the gate. “Do you want me to go with you to help you with your things?”
“No. I think I can handle it. Thank you again for letting me use this place. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”
“It’s no problem.” G handed her one of his business cards. “If you need anything, just give me a call or let Katina know.”
“I will.”
G walked Dasia to her car and watched her drive away, assuming she was headed to get the rest of her belongings. He wanted to help her through this. He hated to see her in so much pain, but he’d leave it up to her to take the first step.
G dragged his feet as he made his way back up the stairs to his sister’s apartment. He was glad she hadn’t pried. He knew he’d have to explain what was going on, and he didn’t mind that. He slowly entered her apartment to find Katina sitting on the couch, arms crossed over her chest, leg bouncing, waiting for him.
“What?”
Katina frowned at him.
G knew exactly what she wanted to know. “Okay, okay. So go ahead and ask your questions.” He plopped down in the chair across from his sister.
Katina made sure G understood how much she disapproved of what he was doing. “Moving another one in already? You know who hasn’t been gone but, what, three months?”
“First of all, you don’t know the circumstances, so don’t judge me or her. Second of all, I don’t need this from you too. I already got this lecture from Chaos.”
“Well, somebody needs to lecture you.” Katina leaned forward, resting her forearms on her knees. She stared him in the eyes as she spoke. “Didn’t you learn from the last one?”
“Yes, Katina. I learned a lot from the last one. That’s why I don’t intend to jump into anything. Besides, she just got out of a fucked-up situation. I can guarantee she isn’t ready to get involved with anyone.”
“I just want to make sure you know what you’re doing. I saw the way you were looking at her. I’ve seen that look before G, and it’s always led to trouble. I don’t want to see you hurt again.”
Loving Dasia Page 3