Page 23 of Certified to Handle You
“You could be,” she replied, still dry, but still low. “But you always too busy not answerin’ your phone when I call.”
I let out a light breath through my nose, smilin’ a lil’ even though I knew she wasn’t tryna be funny. “You act like I do that shit on purpose. I don’t. I be movin’ around, baby.”
“You don’t?” she asked, and now I could hear her wakin’ up a lil’ more.
“Nah,” I said, real simple. “I don’t.”
There was another pause, and I sat here listenin’ to her breathe for a second before I spoke again.
“I been thinkin’, though,” I said, shiftin’ so I was sittin’ more upright. “You need to start stayin’ with me sometimes. Like, for real.”
She ain’t respond, so I kept goin’.
“That way you can see how I be movin’ and see that I don’t be glued to my phone like that. You can be here instead of tryna guess what I’m doin’ all day.”
“…Renza…”
“I’m serious,” I cut in, not lettin’ her brush it off. “I want you around more. I want you in my space. I ain’t tryna keep you on the outside of my world like you be sayin’ I do.”
She went quiet again, and this time it felt heavier.
“I love you,” I added, meanin’ that shit.
I sat here for a second, my jaw tightenin’ just a lil’ while I waited on her to say somethin’ back, but all I got was that same quiet. I could feel that coldness through the phone, and it rubbed me the wrong way, even though I knew where it was comin’ from.
In my head, I was doin’ what I was supposed to do. I made sure Reni was good. She ain’t have to worry about nothin’. She lived how she wanted to live without stressin’ about bills or noneof that shit, and I still made time for her when I could. I wasn’t perfect, but I wasn’t no nigga out here playin’ games with her either.
“I ain’t been ignorin’ you on purpose,” I said again, calmer this time. “I wouldn’t do that to you, baby.”
“…Okay,” she finally said, but it ain’t have no weight to it.
I exhaled slow, about to say somethin’ else when somethin’ in the doorway caught my eye.
At first, I thought I was trippin’…
I squinted a lil’, sittin’ up straighter while I tried to make it out in the dark, and then my whole body went still.
“Baby, give me a second,” I said into the phone, my voice lower now.
“Yeah,” she murmured.
I ended the call right after that, not even givin’ it another second, ’cause my full attention was locked on what I was lookin’ at.
Sha’Nelle was standin’ in my doorway…
And she ain’t have shit on.
For a second, I just sat here, tryna make sense of it, like my mind needed a second to catch up to what my eyes was already seein’. The light from the hallway hit her just enough to outline her, and that alone had my chest feelin’ tight in a way I ain’t like.
I swallowed, my hand droppin’ from the back of my head to the bed beside me while I watched her.
She ain’t say nothin’. She just stood there, lookin’ at me like she already knew what she was doin’ to me. Then she stepped inside, and that’s when it really hit.
The way her body moved when she walked wasn’t somethin’ a nigga could ignore even if he tried. Her hips rolled with every step, the motion startin’ low and carryin’ through her whole body. Her waist dipped first, then them wide ass hips followed behind it, full and thick, shiftin’ side to side in a sexy ass rhythm.That sway had some serious heat to it. It was soft but heavy, pullin’ my eyes down and holdin’ ’em there. I caught myself watchin’ how they moved, locked in on that slow roll, knowin’ this wasn’t no act… this was just her.
Her thighs kept kissin’ with every step she took. They was thick as hell and movin’ with her in a way that had me watchin’ without even meanin’ to. And that lil’ soft stomach… yeah, that shit sat just right.
My jaw clenched while I watched her get closer.
