An Unconventional Love: A Novella (7 page)

Logic went out of the window as I decided to waste no more time, giving him two blinks.

rich.

She was glowing.

I wasn’t sure if it was because of the baby growing in her belly or the sex we had, but I knew either way it had something to do with me.

And not even on some cocky shit.

It just made me feel good to know I could affect her. I could make her happy; bring out the best in her. I could…

“Why in the hell are you looking at me like that?”

Back to reality.

I had quickly learned to never take her attitude personally. It was mostly just a part of her strategy to keep people she was actually afraid of at bay. She made herself seem tough though I knew from glimpses of her vulnerability that there was still a softness to her.

So instead of getting an attitude right back with her ass, I simply replied, “You’re actually pretty cute when you’re sleeping. It’s a much better look than that scowl you seem to prefer.”

“
Scowl?
I don’t scowl. That’s my natural face. My friend Ariel calls it my resting bitch face.”

I recognized the name and decided to ask, “Ariel? That’s Jamison’s chick right?”

She turned to me, keeping herself covered as if I hadn’t saw every inch of her and questioned, “Wait…how do you know Jamison?”

“We workout together. But am I right?”

She shrugged nonchalantly as if she didn’t wanna give me my credit. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“See I do know something about you after all. She’s your best friend. Runs her own little company and shit. Maybe we should double date or something.” It made total sense to me though I could immediately tell Jasmine wasn’t feelin’ it at all.

“
Double date
? Rich, you cannot be serious.”

Apparently, I wasn’t making my intentions clear enough so I broke it down to her. “Jasmine, you do realize I’m not going anywhere right? You might as well get more comfortable with me. I mean, you sure don’t mind getting comfortable with my…”

Catching on to my words, she quickly interjected, “I’m...not gonna dispute that but good sex isn’t enough to convince me that I should just up and move-in with you, double date with you, nor marry you.”

“Well, how about this; let me take you out on a real date tonight. Like a first date. You get dressed up; I get dressed up, the whole nine. Then you can decide if you like me or not. Not that your decision is gonna get rid of me but I think if you gave yourself the opportunity to see me for who I really am then you wouldn’t be acting so uptight about everything.” I watched her every move, trying to get a read on her body language instead of waiting for her words. Her body told a lot more of her story than her verbal response would and right now, I could tell by the way she was gliding her tongue across her teeth that she was thinking of an excuse.

“Rich, I…”

“Quit thinking so much and just say yes.”

“But what about your girlfriend?”

Not again.

“I already told you, I don’t do that boyfriend-girlfriend shit. I haven’t even talked to the girl you saw me with since that night.” Jasmine’s eyes scanned my upper body, most likely applying her lawyer skills to look for signs of dishonesty.

When she didn’t find anything, she finally replied, “Umm...you know what...
okay
.”

“Okay?”

“Yes, I’ll go out with you, Rich.”

“Yes, Daddy?”

“Fuck you.”

“Been there, done that Miss. Jasmine. Gotta come up with something new.”

I could tell from the change in her expression that she had gone into deep thought about something; a something she was nervous to bring up by the way she was distinctively avoiding eye contact.

Damn, maybe
I
should’ve gone to law school.

I watched intently as she took a deep breath, then finally peeked up, meeting my eyes. “I’m sure you have a slew of women chasing after you so why do you...
you know
...want me like that?” It was a fair question though I wasn’t expecting Jasmine to willingly make herself a little vulnerable by asking it.

Maybe we were making a little progress after all.

Instead of going into some emotional BS, I gave her a little of the real, “I don’t know. I guess there’s just something exhilarating about dickin’ down my baby mama.”

“Don’t you dare call me that!”

“
What?
That’s what you are.
My baby mama
. I mean, since you turned down my proposal…”

“Well yeah considering I hardly know you. I can accept not being made an honest woman for the sake of not marrying a stranger. I mean, you should see the stories that slide across my desk from people who did just that and…”

“Save the law talk, baby mama. I’m ready for my morning dose.” I had quickly become addicted to everything Jasmine was in her sexual state. Even with child, she was easily the most sexually in-tune woman I had ever been with.

I hovered over her but she immediately put her hands to my chest, stopping me from leaning in for a kiss.

“Sorry Rich, but your
baby mama
needs a nap.”

“You just woke up.”

“Well when you start carrying a baby every day, you can tell me when it’s appropriate to sleep. But until then, I’m going back to bed.”

jasmine.

“I can’t go.”

I had Ariel on speakerphone as I paced back and forth in my walk-in closet. Picking out an outfit had never been an issue for me but all of a sudden, nothing looked right, nothing felt right, and since two wrongs don’t make a right, I took it as a sign that I should stay home instead of going out on a date with Rich.

“Jaz, your level of ridiculousness is on like...eleven right now. Are you really trying to tell me you can’t go...on a date...with your baby daddy?” Though I could think about the word ‘baby daddy’ in reference to Rich, it sounded like trash when somebody else actually used it out loud.

“
Ugh
, you know how much I hate that damn title. But yes, that’s exactly what I’m telling you. I just feel like we’re doing way too much, way too fast.”

“Umm...reality check, Jaz. Ya’ll did the absolute most to start off with so everything beyond that is practically small scale, especially a date. I mean, the whole reason this baby exists is because you kinda wanted to date him so why are you being all weird about it now?” Ariel was the queen of good ass questions. There was literally no reason for me to be so uncomfortable besides the fact that I was carrying his baby and didn’t even know basic information like his middle name. And the fact that he was actually one of the finest dudes I had ever gone out with and I already knew he could slang the pipe. Oh, and the fact that I knew I wouldn’t be able to calm the little nerves I always got about stuff like dating with a drink thanks to baby girl turning me into a sober saint. 

So maybe my awkwardness was justified after all.

“Everything about this situation is just so…”

“Out of the norm? I get it, but you gotta go with the flow girl. I mean, from everything you’ve told me it sounds like Rich is actually trying; maybe a little extreme but he’s giving a valid effort. Now it’s your turn to try. And I know that’s a big stretch for you but things can only get better if you give a little.”

“I already
gave
him the ride of his life and you see where that got me.”

“Jasmine…”

“Okay, okay, I hear you Ariel. I swear I have the worst of luck though. You have a one night stand and it turns into the love of your life. I have a one night stand and it turns into a fuckin’ baby.” I still couldn’t believe I had been irresponsible enough to have sex without protection and it just so happened to have been the same month that I had fallen off-track with my birth control pills.

I guess an overly busy schedule will do that to you.

“Jaz, a baby will kind of be like the love of your life too.”

I took a glance at the mirror, turning to the side to remind myself just how much
loving
the baby was already doing. “You mean this already overgrown mothafucka that’s ruining every chance of me having a normal body in the future? That doesn’t sound very
loving
to me.” Though baby wasn’t
that
big yet, she was surely big enough to wreak havoc.

“You say that now but once he or she is here, you’ll feel totally different. It’ll be love at first sight.”

“First of all, let’s clarify that it better be a
she
. Secondly, I don’t believe in love at first sight. Or second sight. Not even third sight so I’m not gonna start pretending to now.”

“Whatever you say, girl. All I know is, you’re going on this date, even if I have to come over there and drag your ass.”

“Welp....I’ll be waiting on the floor.”

)~o~(

His lustful gaze was all I needed to solidify that I had indeed made the right outfit choice though Rich’s ogling really shouldn’t have meant so much to me. It was expected, what he was supposed to do, the exact reaction I would want from any man I had went to great lengths to get dressed for.

But coming from Rich, it felt different.

Somehow, I was transformed from a sex kitten to a sexy goddess.

The
only
sexy goddess on the planet according to his eyes.

Lawd, I’m in trouble.

He insisted on picking me up from my apartment but I told him I would meet him at the restaurant instead. The last thing I needed was him invading even more of my space; the space that was already fading away thanks to the little one.

“Sup MILF?”

“Excuse me? Is that how you would talk to someone on a first date?”

“Trust me, I’ve said much worse. But since you seem offended, let me start over. Good evening, Miss. Jasmine.”

“Sup DILF?”

He gave a little laugh as he rose from his seat to help me with my chair. I couldn’t help taking a glance at his midsection as the dressier pants he was wearing squeezed against his… “Do you always look at dicks like that on first dates?”

“Honest answer; yes,” I replied, as I sat down in the chair he had pulled out for me before he leaned over the back of it to give me a little peck on the cheek. When he pulled away, I still felt encased in his aura as his scent lingered around me.

He sat down in his chair, falling against the back as he gave me his usual smirk before he questioned, “Oh, so you like a little PDA, huh?”

“What are you talking about?”

“That kiss on the cheek. You’re still smiling and you don’t even realize it.”

Damn.

I definitely wasn’t gonna admit to that shit so I changed it up by asking, “Are you always so observant?”

“Always. It comes in handy. Oh wait, you know that already don’t you? I mean my observations are hella clutch when it comes to making you...”

“
Reminder
: first date.”

“You have no idea how much I’m filtering this shit for you; first date be damned.” The fact that he spoke of being so filtered made me wonder what the real, uninhibited Rich was like.

The bachelor Rich.

The ladies’ man Rich.

The Rich he would most likely be turning in to become Daddy.

Though I was giving up a lot of my...
ways
as well, I naturally empathized. I didn’t want Rich to feel like he was losing himself in all of this but I also knew there was literally no bigger buzz kill than an unexpected baby from a girl you hardly knew.

Hell, the unexpected baby certainly blew my high.

I quickly recognized that this was the kind of effort Ariel was talking about. Not that I had to do anything super special, but just enough for him to know that I was present, and willing, and open to the things that could potentially make this situation run a little smoother. I could give an inch if Rich was out here running marathons for me.

Instead of letting him fall into the daddy trap, I told him, “Give me an unfiltered line.”

“Do you really want that? I mean...I can’t guarantee you’ll even get dinner if I drop one of those on you. My lines are known to go straight to the libido. And straight to the libido means straight to the nearest private area.” His arrogance was grossly intriguing; part of what had got me in trouble in the first place.

“I’m sure I’ve heard worse. Lay it on me.” He gave me a nod, warning me that I was asking for trouble but that didn’t stop anything.

“Jasmine...
baby
...this may be our first date but I’ve got another first I can offer you. A better one. If you’re down.” I gave him the nod to keep going, forgetting that this was a test drive and not the real thing. “I got this new trick I can do with my tongue and I want yours to be the first pussy I try it on. It goes something like…” I watched as he manipulated his tongue like he was eating a messy fruit, trying to clean up all the juices, trying to…

My goodness.

“See, look at you. If I said let’s go you would’ve been outta your chair like the damn fire alarm went off.”

Faster than that.

“No I wouldn’t have.”

“Remember, I’m observant. Your eyes were glossed over as you went into a daydream about the shit. Your thighs, though under the table, are still clenched. I can tell by how straight you’re sitting up. And do we even need to talk about how flushed your skin is?”

Damn, he was better than I thought.

“So you got me. I’ll take that L.”

“Good choice. But back to first date, unless you wanna…” He let it trail off so I quickly answered him without giving myself a chance to think it over. Lord knows if I let down below speak for me, we would’ve been gone.

“First date.”

“Fine. First date. Umm...what do you like to do for fun?” I thought about giving him a boring answer like study or watch TV but decided to give him a little dose of my unfiltered side instead.

“I like to fuck.” I watched his eyebrow raise, surprised and intrigued all at once, before I continued on, “I’m kidding. I like to go out and party. Well I
use
to like to go out and party; not so much at the moment.” It was no secret that I typically hung out wherever the ballers were, whether they were locals or visiting. Associates were constantly calling and texting me to see what the hot spots were, but ever since the baby came into play, those calls had came to a complete halt.

Bitches.

“Don’t wanna be the pregnant girl in the club, huh?” Though I still wasn’t showing
that
obviously, there was no way in hell I was gonna be caught in the club with child.

“Exactly. What about you though? What does Richie Rich like to do for fun?” I watched as he took a short sip of his wine, making me a little jealous of both him and the glass he had put his mouth too. If I couldn’t have the wine, the least I could do was get that kind of lip action.

“I like to paint.” I remembered that little fun fact from the first night I met him though I had never gotten a chance to ask him more about it. Well actually, I never planned on having that conversation considering I really wasn’t suppose to see him again. But now that the opportunity presented itself, I could dig in a little more.

“What kind of stuff do you paint?”

“A little bit of everything. I especially like doing portraits, live or from a photograph.”

“That explains your naturally observant eye. You’re use to looking at people for their small details. You know how to read people so you can channel that into your art. That’s...
dope
.” I could’ve gone on and on but I didn’t wanna sound like I was boarding the Rich train already. Though I was already convinced that he was indeed fascinating, I didn’t want him getting too comfortable.

“Thank you. And for the record, there’s nothing wrong with being the party girl. Especially when you can pair that with sophisticated shit like being in law school. I’m sure your parents can’t wait to have a lawyer in the family.”

“Umm...actually they could really care less.” My response came out a lot faster than I intended. Talking about family on a personal level wasn’t exactly first date material so I quickly recovered with, “I mean they care but...on second thought, can we not talk about them right now? We can save that conversation for another time.”

“As long as that’s your way of confirming there will be another time; whatever you want, Miss. Jasmine.”