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Once we're off and out of the way, I stop and turn around to him.

"So, what do you want to eat? Burgers and fries, steak and lobster, or Italian?" he asks.

"Whatever you want." I reply.

"Alright, let's go to Tocco." he suggests, his hand resting on the small of my back as he guides me toward the restaurant.

After a short walk, we arrive at the restaurant, take our seats, and order drinks. I opt for a glass of wine, and he does the same. As we peruse the menu, I catch him gazing at me.

"Why are you staring?"

"You're beautiful." he compliments me.

I instantly blush. "Okay, okay, stop."

"I'm sorry. I know I've been staring ever since we met. I can't help it. I think you're beautiful, sexy, and I can tell under those sweatpants and hoodie, there's a sexy ass body."

"I'm hot, are you hot?" I ask, acting as if I'm not fazed by his comments, as I fan myself. I decided to reveal my neon green tank top by taking off my hoodie. His eyes immediately land on my breasts.

"Point proven." he grins. "It is kinda hot in here." He proceeds to remove his own hoodie, revealing his fully tattooed arms.

Oh shit!! That just made him 1000 times sexier.

"Oh, you have tattoos?"

"Many. I have about 85% of my body tattooed."

"Damn." I say, my curiosity piqued. "I'll be sure to take a closer look at those."

"You like tattoos?"

"Yeah, I love them."

"Do you have any?"

"I have 9." I say

"Maybe we can show each other our tats another time."

"Yeah...yours will take all day..."

"And night..." he smirks

"You're too much." I smile back at him.

Suddenly, there's a shift in Jey's demeanor, and he puts the menu down.

"Hazel... I'm going to keep it real with you. I want to run my tongue over every inch of your body." he confesses, making me swallow hard.

"Oh..." I manage to utter.

"I can't lie when I tell you I'm so attracted to you."

"I'm attracted to you as well, Jey."

"I want to propose something... I know this may sound crazy, and we don't know each other, but... I think we should miss our flight today and catch it tomorrow."

"Miss our flight?" I repeat, a mix of shock and intrigue in my voice.

"Yeah. Spend a little more time together, more than just these four hours and the flight."

"And how do you think we should do that?" I ask

"We can get out of here. I know the area well; we can hang out. It's not even 15 minutes from here. There's a comedy club, bars, restaurants, indoor skydiving, bowling... we could just chill out. I'll get us hotel rooms and everything. I just don't want this to end yet."

"I don't know you." I say

"Yet. But I'm trying to get to know you." He says

I nod my head, and take a sip of my wine.

This is stupid. The fact that I'm actually sitting here considering this is crazy. This man could be a fine ass serial killer and I'm actually contemplating missing my flight so we can hang out. Technically no one knows where I am. I haven't told any of my family or friends that I'm flying in. This could be a complete disaster and I can just go missing but for some reason I feel like it's okay. I don't feel like he's a killer or crazy. But what person does? He seems very normal to me. But I'm sure they all are. And what he said to me on the plane has been nagging me ever since he said it. He said I needed some excitement in my life, and I find that to be true. I've been bored for a very long time now and maybe I should take this risk.

You know what, why not?

"Okay." I say to him.

"Okay?" he responds, a smile on his face, and I nod in agreement. "I promise I'm not crazy." He reaches into his pocket, takes out his wallet, and slides his driver's license over to me. "You can take a picture of it and send it to whoever you want so they know you're with me. I want you to be comfortable."

I chuckle. A killer probably wouldn't do this, right? Nevertheless, I accept the offer and took a picture of his driver's license, which reads Joshua S. Fatu.

As I'm taking the photo, his phone starts ringing.

"It's my brother; hold on." he says, answering the call at the table. "What up, uce?" he greets his brother.

"Nothing, what are you doing?" his brother replies.

"I was on my way there, but I'm at the airport in Chicago. Hey, you called at the perfect time. I want you to meet somebody. We just met on the flight here, and we've decided we're going to stay the night in Chicago. To prove I'm not crazy, I want you to talk to her."

"Alright, let me see her." his brother requests.

Jey turns the phone in my direction, and I give a friendly wave.

"He's crazy, run for the hills!" His brother jokes and I laugh. "I'm just playing with you. How are you doing? I'm Jon."

"Hazel, and I'm well. Josh didn't tell me he was a twin." I say, genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, unfortunately for you, I'm the better-looking twin. I bet you want me now, huh? I told him to stop introducing me to his friends."

I burst out laughing. "You guys are funny."

"I'm joking with you but look, take my number down and if anything happens call me."

"That's nice of you." I reply, taking out my phone to store his number. "But just so you know, you're safe. He's probably one of the safest people you can be with. You'll find that out soon enough."

I glance at Jey, who's still watching me.

"Thank you." I smile

"Alright, y'all don't go making babies..." Jon teases before wrapping up the conversation with his brother.

"There, you spoke to my brother, have my brother's phone number, and you have my driver's license. Do you feel better?" Jey asks.

"I do." I say. "So you have any kids?"

"I have two sons."

"Are you with their mother?"

"Nah, we're cool though. That ended a long time ago."

"Y'all still fucking?"

"Nah...."

"Why didn't you tell me you had a brother?"

"No reason. We just hadn't gotten to that part of the conversation yet. I don't have a problem telling you whatever you want to know. Ask away."

"Are you seeing anybody?"

"I told you on the plane I was single...."

"But are you really? You too fine to be single."

He laughs. "I am."

"Do you want to have sex with me?" I ask boldly.

He grins, letting out a chuckle. "Oh yeah, I do. I told you I wanna lick you all over your body."

"So that's your intention?" I question.

"It's not my sole intention, but I want to. I'm going to try, and I hope you'll let me. But I want to get to know you better. This isn't just a physical connection. Your looks caught my attention, but I genuinely like the person I'm talking to."

"Okay... I appreciate you honesty. We'll see."

"So if we agreed on taking a later flight let's just leave now and get something at a real restaurant."

"I'm down." I say.

"For real?" He asks

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go!"

He doesn't waste any time grabbing our luggage. We headed downstairs to get a rental and then we were on our way.

We decided we were gonna stop at this mall that was supposed to be upscale and had a lot of high-end stores there. I'm not really a mall shopper. I think malls are kind of disgusting but I wanted to find something to wear for the night and this was the only option I had because it was five minutes away.

Jey insisted on paying for the clothes I picked out. We went back-and-forth about it for a couple of minutes because I really didn't want him to purchase but he kept insisting and a couple people chimed in telling me to just let him do it so I did. Now I feel like I owe him something and I don't like that feeling. I get it was a nice gesture and I get he's just trying to be nice and maybe I shouldn't feel that way, but I do.

After we left the mall, we went to the hotel. Again, Jey wanted to pay for the hotel. He said because it was his idea that we stayed the night, and I kinda agreed with him so I was willing to let him pay for my room. But there is an issue, they were basically completely booked. This just happened to be a very busy weekend and they had a few festivals in conventions in town this weekend. Due to a couple of cancellations, they had two rooms left, one with the king and the other with two queens. Of course we decided to get the two queens. So Jey paid for the room and we headed up.

We get upstairs and enter the room. I hold the door for him and he goes in.

"Which bed do you want?" He asks

"I don't care." I say

"You can be closer to the door, just in case you wanna leave in the middle of the night." We both laugh as he puts my suitcase on my bed. I place my bags next to it.

"How long you need to get ready?"

"Where are we going?"

"The entertainment district is not even 10 minutes from here. Casual is the dress code, let's just figure it out once we are over there."

"What should I put on?"

"Casual...but wear whatever you please, baby. You gonna turn heads regardless."

I just laugh. I didn't need to do much, I just needed to freshen up a little, and do some quick hair and make up. I had sweatpants on and so pretty much anything I put on is gonna look good.

After about 45 minutes, I was ready. I walked out of the bathroom and he stood up from the bed and shook his head.

"I knew it." He says

"What?"

"You was hiding a body under those sweats...Damn!" He says looking me up and down. "No bra, huh?"

I laugh. "Is that a problem?"

He shakes his head from side to side.

"I'm ready for some excitement."

"You ready?" He says eying me down.

"Yes."

"Shit, me too!" He licks his lips. "Let's leave this room now before I just say fuck it and I keep you here."

I laugh.

"You bad!" He walks over, placing his hand on my waist.

"Thank you." I make eye contact with him. He holds my gaze as he steps past me slowly. Instead of taking another step, he pulls me in and kisses me on the cheek.

"Gonna be hard keeping my hands and lips off of you." I smile as his hand drops down to my lower back. I could see he was debating on something.

"I'm breaking the ice." He says as he centers himself and pulls me all the way into him, as our bodies connected that set off all kinds of alarms in my head but instead of moving away, I ignored them and leaned in and so did he. Our lips met and it was like electricity. I felt a wave of shock flow down my spine. He slipped his tongue into my mouth and I melted.

The kiss was so good. Actually a little too good.

I haven't been in another man's arms in five years. I was super faithful to my ex, and I'm not gonna say I didn't get that in return fully because at one point I believe he was faithful to me, but something happened around year three. I think the change was in both of us, and to be honest, the relationship probably should've ended, but I just kept holding onto the potential of our relationship. That was a mistake and I know it. So now, five years down the road, here I am in this hotel room with this stranger. A sexy stranger might I add. I know I shouldn't be here, but this is where my path and bad decisions I've taken me.

We pull apart and he stares at me for a few seconds. I couldn't take my eyes off of him either. This is bad.

"Let's get out of here." He says, in a low tone. He hovered over me. I'm not sure he wanted to move, I know I didn't. I could've kissed him again but I think that would've started something I don't know if I was ready to do, so I stepped back.

"Good move." He holds my gaze. Not moving an inch. I could tell he wanted to make a move.

"Come on."I grab his hand. "let's go."

His dick was hard and bulging out of his jeans. Seeing that made me a little hot and bothered. I bit down on my lip imagining what it looked like without the pants restricting it.

"Come on." I playfully insist, tugging his hand to urge him to follow me out.

He slowly start moving and we finally headed out.

As we left the hotel room, the atmosphere between us became a bit awkward, not uncomfortably so, but rather uncomfortably charged with sexual tension. It was evident that he was as affected by our kiss as I was, but I was determined to spend more time with him, convinced that I really liked him.

We initially were going out because we were going to go to this comedy club but I saw they had a King's there too, so I decided we were going to go bowling.

He went along with it, I don't think he cared much about what we did. He ordered us drinks and we bowled a game. I haven't been bowling in so long, it's like not even talked about anymore. He wanted to play a few arcade games and I just watched him. He was like a little kid. He seems so happy and like he didn't have a care in the world. I thought it was really sweet.

After bowling, we headed to the comedy club. It was my first time attending one, and to my surprise, it felt just like a regular lounge with a stage and a comedian delivering jokes. I found it rather enjoyable.

We took our seats at a table and ordered more drinks and food, engaging in conversation and relishing each other's company. At this point, there was a break between acts, and the music was playing. The waitress had just left, and I noticed that he had tipped her with a $100 bill and told her to keep the drinks coming.

"You've got a bit of money, don't you?" I teased with a chuckle. He wasn't flaunting it but rather handling it subtly, which I appreciated. He wasn't throwing his wealth around like some ostentatious individuals.

He smirks. "Lil bit." He laughs. "Why do you think that?"

"I saw what you just did," I pointed out, and he smiled. "You paid for my outfit, the hotel isn't cheap, you rented a premium luxury SUV, and you're offering to cover the extra cost of our flights tomorrow."

"So?"

I look at him like he's crazy. "You rented a G-Class. Who does that?"

He laughs. "Why would I adjust from what I'm used to if I'm comfortable with it?"

"Exactly my point. You're funding this whole thing, this extended layover."

"Well, it was my idea. Why should you pay for anything?"

"I mean, yeah, true, but I see how you live. You're either trying to impress me or this is what you used to. And you just told me this is what you're used to, sooo..."

"Look, I do well for myself and money isn't an issue. I wouldn't feel right asking you to stay in a random city and have you pay for anything. So, let's just go with the flow, okay? Whatever you want, I got you."

"That's very generous of you, but I can't help wondering why you're being so nice."

He laughs. "...You agreed to be here with me right?"

"Yeah..."

"So that obviously means you want to be here. You had every right to say no, but you said yes. So, do me a favor, and let's just enjoy this little time we have together."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'm not used to this."

"And that's fine. I don't do shit like this either, but we're here so let's just make the most of it. Let's have some fun!" He smiles, showing all his teeth.

I love his smile. His smile is infectious. I catch myself smiling, falling deeper under his spell.

"You want me, don't you?" he playfully teased.

All this flirting is dangerous.

I laughed. "I was actually thinking about how much I love your smile."

"Oh you love it?"

"I do... but I like the grill on you more."

"So I should put that on?"

I nodded in agreement.

"How does that make you feel?"

"Like you're a bad boy." I replied with a hint of flirtation.

"I am a bad boy..." he playfully asserted. "I'll put it on later on..." He smiled. "When we acting bad." He laughs. "...So tell me more about you. Why are you going back home?"

"I wanted to get away." I reply

"I understand. Atlanta can be a little suffocating sometimes, especially when you're from a bigger city. Throw a messed-up relationship on top of it, and you're bound to run at some point."

"I'm not really running; I just wanted to get away."

"So you're gonna go back?" He asks

"I will... I just don't know when yet."

"So you're running from a messed-up situation. There's nothing wrong with that, baby girl, especially if you're sitting here with me. Your decision to leave led you to me, and I'm happy I met you." he reassured.

"I'm happy I met you too." I admitted. Could it be possible to develop feelings for someone after just a couple of hours? Because I really felt like that was happening right now.

"What're you thinking?" He inquired, taking a sip of his neat vodka.

I shook my head. I didn't want to risk scaring him away with a "falling for you" conversation, so I opted to keep my feelings to myself.

"Tell me about you. I feel like I don't know a lot, and just like you, I want to know everything." I changed the subject.

He chuckled. "Me... Well, I've got a lot going on right now myself, and I'm actually meeting my brother because I'm thinking about moving back."

"Really?"

"Yeah... Not that I don't mind telling you, because you're very easy to talk to. I just don't want to talk about it right now." he said, and I understood. I reached across the table and placed my hand in his.

"I know we just met, but I'm comfortable around you. You're easy to talk to as well, and if there's anything you want to talk about, I won't judge you."

He looks at my hand. "I'm grateful for that. You don't seem like the type."

"Not at all."

His phone must have started ringing because he reached into his pocket and pulled it out. After a brief look at the screen, he shifted his attention back to me, maintaining eye contact for a couple of seconds before eventually glancing back at his phone.

"I've got to take this. I'll be right back." he informed me. I nodded, and he got up to take the call.

I just shake my head. I hope that's not a bitch.

I was sitting there, sipping my drink and surveying the surroundings, taking in the sights and observing the diverse crowd when this guy suddenly approached behind my chair. He scooted Jey's chair closer to mine and seated himself.

"How are you doing? My name is Rich. What's your name?" he introduced himself with an intrusive grin.

"Why?" I asked, regarding him with a disgusted expression.

"I've been standing over there watching you, and I saw your man get up to leave, so I thought I would just slide over while he was gone and talk to you. So what's up?" Rich explained.

I scrutinized him from top to bottom and responded firmly, "I'm not interested."

"Don't be like that. Let me get your number." he persisted.

"Dude, I said I'm not interested. Take your thirsty ass on. I'm way out of your league." I retorted.

"Damn, you don't have to be rude."

"Obviously, I do, because you're not taking 'I'm not interested' as an answer." I stated firmly.

He placed his hand on my shoulder, about to say something else, but we both noticed Jey walking up to our table. His gaze landed on me, and I could sense he could see my irritation all over my face.

"What's up?" Jey inquired, giving the guy a hard look. "Why are you bothering my girl?"

"I'm not bothering her. We are just walking." The guy says.

"He bothering you?" He asks me.

"Yes, he's fucking bothering me." I answer quickly.

Jey turned back to the intruder. "Get up."

Apparently, the guy lingered longer than he should have, because Jey reacted quickly. In an instant, Jey seized the man and flung him with such force that he nearly tumbled across the room. The guy slid towards the bar, clearly underestimating the level of Jey's protective instincts.

I was shocked by Jey's actions. The fact that he referred to me as "his girl" and swiftly defended me physically when that guy approached me sent a thrilling shiver down my spine. It was impossible to ignore the electric chemistry between us, and I couldn't help but feel an exciting rush of desire in that moment. Not gonna lie, my panties were kinda wet.

"You okay." He asks, placing his hand on my shoulder giving it a squeeze.

"I'm great." I smile at him.

He laughs. "You like that shit don't you?" A grin tugged at the corners of Jey's lips as he looked at me, his eyes filled with a mix of amusement and desire.

"Maybe..." I replied with a teasing shrug, feeling a newfound sense of attraction and connection between us.

He opened his mouth to speak but his focus shifted back to the guy. He walks over to him. I couldn't make out their words over the commotion, but it was evident that Jey was speaking assertively and with a certain intensity. Despite the provocation, Jey seemed more interested in de-escalating the situation than engaging in a physical altercation.

For the next two minutes, they exchanged heated words, and I could sense the tension in the air. The stranger seemed on the verge of throwing a punch, but Jey swiftly intervened. He deftly twisted the guy's arm, forcing him to his knees. Jey maintained the hold for about a minute, ensuring the situation didn't escalate any further. Then he released his grip, allowing the man to slump to the floor. Jey calmly stepped over him and returned to our table.

"My bad." He picks up his drink and chugs it.

"It's totally fine. He deserved it. I'm surprised you didn't hit him."

"Nah, I only fight when I need to. If I would've punched him, it would've been over for him."

"You think highly of your skills." I take a sip of my cocktail.

"I have to, I know what I'm capable of." He says sitting the glass down.

"What are you capable of?" I ask as he sits back down next to me. He puts his arm around the back of my chair.

"You like a man that can protect you."

"I find it attractive that someone would want to fight in my honor."

"You don't be starting fights do you?"

I laugh. "No but things like that happen a lot and I like someone who defends what's theirs."

"Your ex man didn't do that?"

I scuff. "No..."

"So you didn't feel valued."

His words took me by surprise, leaving me momentarily speechless.

"Or protected." I admitted.

"But I didn't fight. Does that make you not like me less?"

"Hell no. There's a difference between not fighting because you know you will injure someone and not fighting because I don't give a fuck about your girlfriend."

"True."

"You composing yourself because you know what you can do is even sexier." I smile.

"How sexy? Did it make you wet?"

I finish my drink and place the empty glass on the table. I look at him and smile. "Yes."

His face became serious and his eyes seemed to turn dark as he held my gaze. "Let me see..."

"No. In front of all these people?"

"You want another drink?" He ask seemingly disregarding my comment.

I let it go and nod my head.

He stands to his feet and takes my hand. He puts his arms around me from the back, resting them on my hips and we walk over to the bar.

He stands behind me putting both his hands on the bar, blocking me in between his arms. He pressed his body against mine and it felt good. Not sexually but good like this is where I'm supposed to be. Being this close to him felt good.

I think he knows exactly what he's doing.

He moved my hair to the side and spoke in my ear. "Unbutton your pants."

"What? No." I kinda laughed it off.

"Do it." He demands.

"There's people all around."

"No one is paying attention to us. Just do it. Trust me..."

I look around and lower my hands from the bar. It's true no one is watching but still, that's a lot to ask of me.

"Time is ticking." He says.

I hesitated for a couple of seconds. Unbutton my pants? What the hell is about to happen. I don't know if I'm ready for this.

One of the bartenders came over, which happened to be our waitress. She sees us and nods her head, knowing our orders already.

"Hazel...." he whispers in my ear. "Don't make me tell you again..." he gently bites my earlobe.

"Damn, Jey." My words came out like a moan.

He chuckles in my ear. "Better listen to me then..."

My hands quickly move up to my waist and I unbutton them and unzip the zipper and I place my hands back on the bar. Almost instantly his hand is down the front of my pants rubbing my clit.

I didn't know what to do with myself. I was nervous someone was going to see us so I started looking around but it was so uncomfortable. He was making me feel good and I didn't know how to react.

"You better enjoy this before I make you cum in the middle of this place." He says in my ear. His mouth was on my neck placing kisses on it.

The bartender comes back, placing our drinks on the bar in front of us.

"Take a sip." He says, taking his with the other hand and taking a few swigs.

"Stop talking in my ear." I say laughing. I grab my glass and take a big gulp. I need to start filling this, so I can be more relaxed.

"Is it me talking in your ear or my hand?"

"Both." I say

He doesn't say anything, he chuckles in my ear and just continues then a few seconds later he kisses my neck. I moaned and turned to look at him. We locked eyes then locked lips. We made out for a couple of minutes. I had to stop it because I could feel it wasn't gonna be too much longer before I was cumming on his hand. I'm sure that's what he wanted but I refused to let it happen.

"Okay okay okay." I turn around, facing him and I put my arms around his neck. By me turning around that forced his hand out so he grabbed my ass with both of his.

"What?" He asks

"I was close."

"So you stopped?"

"Yes..."

"That's okay. I'm into edging." He smiles, leaning in kissing my lips.

"What's that?"

"Edging?" He smiles. "You have so much to learn."

I dismissed his comment. I guess I can say I don't have that much sexual experience, but I can say I have enough. I didn't lose my virginity, so I was almost 21 years old and then even after I lost it, I wasn't out being wild and having sex with everyone. That a just wasn't my experience. And when I got with my ex, of course, we had sex, but it was just the usual to me, nothing crazy. So when he uses words, like edging, I don't know what the fuck that is.

"Never done anything like that before." I say

"It's exciting, ain't it." He says

"Are you gonna keep saying that?"

"The whole time we're together." he jokes and we both laugh. "You said you want some excitement and I'm giving that to you."

"But I feel like you do this on the regular."

"Putting my hands down women's pants? No." He says

I laugh "I don't mean that, I mean like carefree. You don't care what anybody else says."

"I don't." He says. "Button your pants up and turn back around."

I do as I'm told and he wraps his arms around me from behind. "I bet you're wet as hell." He says in my ear.

"What are you going to do about it?" I say and he laughs in my ear.

"Finish your drink so you can find out."

I smile to myself and take a few more sips of my drink. I'm gonna take my time.

I feel his phone vibrating in his pocket. I act as if I don't because I wanted to see what he was going to do. He took it out and looked at it. It was his brother Jon.

"What's up!" He answers. "Nah, I ain't tryna hear none of that shit." He says. "Tell her that shit is dead."

I wonder who he's talking about. Her?

I finish my drink and signal for her to bring me another one.

"I'm out with Hazel..." he says. "Yeah.... Yeah.... Man just relax. It aint even that serious. You know what's up. Aight..."

He ends the call.

"What was that about?" I turned to face him again.

"Man, my brother. He trippin." He seemed as if he was a little upset. I wonder what the conversation was about.

"About?" I ask

"Nothing." He finishes his drink. "Finish yours so we can go."

"I just ordered another."

He takes it out of my hand and drinks over half of it. "Finish that."

"Damn." I laugh. "What's going on? I need you a little more chill." I say

He looks at me and kisses me somewhat aggressively but it was a turn on. He grabbed my ass then spanked it.

I ran my hands up his chest around his neck and we made out. Now I don't care who's watching. He had me in the mood.

After a few minutes he pulls away smiling.

"I'm bouta have you coming out your shell like the yolk."

We both laugh.

"Stealing lines from Drake?"

"It's accurate right now. Let's go..."

I chug the rest of my glass and we leave.

I don't think I'm ready for this.

*

To be continued...

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