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"Ugh, I can't believe you got me out here lookin' stupid! I should've known you wouldn't be able to get us in."
My blacks heels clicked against the concrete as I walked a few steps ahead of my two friends. One of them, unfortunately, was the reason for my sour attitude. The two of them had begged me to come out tonight, on the promise that Kayla could get us into this exclusive new club that opened recently. Needless to say, that was a damn lie.
"Oh, come on! I'm sorry! My man told me he'd be able to hook us up, I didn't think he-"
"That's exactly your problem Kayla, you don't think!" I stopped walking just to turn around and face her. "You fuck a man, and expect him to keep those bullshit promises he told you so he could get in your pants!"
Kayla shut her mouth, not even attempting to follow behind me as I kept making my way to the nearest train station entrance. I don't know why they even opened a club in this area. A few blocks down from the club was a pretty sketchy neighborhood. The diners and neon lights faded into cracked streetways, dark alleys covered in graffiti, and liquor stores with men huddled in groups on the corners. Shooting dice or calling out to the women passing by, with the smell of booze creeping past their lips. The worst place to be with what I had on. A form fitting sleeveless black dress with glittery red roses scattered along the material. It came down to my knees, but there was a slit along the side that reached mid-thigh on my left leg. Great for the club, bad for the streets.
The sounds of my two friends walking became faint, and I figured I probably pissed them off enough for them to leave me. Figures… Their fake asses always stick together whenever something like this happens.
"Aye! Pretty momma!"
A deep voice called out from the left of me, over by the brick wall of an apartment building. The man who called was standing with 5 other guys, and they were definitely drinking. Shit. Keep walking, just keep walking. I didn't make eye contact and just kept it moving. That's when I heard heavy steps following in my direction.
"You hear me talkin' to you tramp? Don't ignore me!"
I began to pick up the pace, and for a moment I contemplated just kicking off my heels and making a run for it. I didn't dare to look back, but it sounded like the whole group was walking with him. Jeering and egging him on. 'Get that bitch!' 'Oooh he got a live one' 'Why walk out like that if you don't want it?'
Just as I was about to start running, a tall figure stepped out from around the upcoming street corner. A slender man, with long curly hair. He stood directly underneath the corner streetlight, staring directly at me.
"Hold her for me, brotha!" The man behind me yelled out, causing my eyes to go wide with fear. Fuck, I'm cornered! Okay, if I need to I can do damage with these heels. Best believe I'm not going down without a fi-
The man with the curly hair reached his hand out towards me, gripping onto my wrist. "Hey!" I began to protest and pull against him, but he swiftly pulled me forward towards him and guided me to stand behind him.
The group of rowdy drunk men finally caught up, with the ringleader standing a few steps closer to us. "You got the wrong one, man. I saw her first. You're gonna have to get in line." Just like a bunch of cheerleaders, the rest of them whooped and whistled in response.
Curly Hair scoffed, and I could see his broad shoulders roll back as he cracked his neck. "You sure you wanna do this?" I didn't expect his voice to sound so... attractive . His tone was icy and threatening, but he didn't have to yell to intimidate. The words seemed to roll off the tongue, rich and smooth with a slight rasp to it. Like sea salt and caramel.
One the 'cheerleaders' nudged the ringleader of the group and whispered something to him. Whatever it was he said made the blood drain from his face. He looked at the curly haired man with an expression I'd never expect from these street-corner thugs. Fear.
"Forget about it. You can have that bitch. Come on y'all, let's go."
And with that, the group turned and walked back to the building they came from, mumbling amongst themselves. I was only able to make out a piece of what one of them said. 'Do you know who that is?! That's Michael! Ty knows better than to fuck with him.'
Michael? Is this guy worse than them? Then again, I can't judge. He did just save me.
The man apparently named Michael finally turned to look at me. The streetlight above us flickered slightly, but I could still make out his full appearance in the soft glow. He didn't dress like the rest of them. He wore a blue button-up shirt, unbuttoned so it showed the white t-shirt underneath. His black pants looked fitted to his long, slender legs. A much better look than the baggy, saggy pants the other guys wore.
I didn't notice I was lost admiring his appearance until my eyes scanned back up to his face, only to meet his eyes directly on. They were so big and expressive, with a deep chocolate color. To anyone that would shy away from eye contact, his stare might seem intense. Penetrating past the few loose curls that hung down the front of his face. I liked to look people in the eyes, because it helped me get a better read on them. His eyes spoke for him. He was checking me out too.
"Are you alright?" He took the ice out of his tone, leaving a concerned softness. "What are you doing out here alone at this hour? Especially wearing…" His eyes fell back onto my body, and he bit down on the corner of his bottom lip. “... that. ”
"Me and my friends were going to that new club up the street, but they didn't let us in. My friends ditched me a few blocks back. I think I pissed them off…"
"They didn't let you in?" His brows furrowed for a second, but he grinned at me. "It must've been your friends. You look gorgeous. I bet if you were alone, you wouldn't have had a problem."
It was easy enough to hold back my smile, but the warmth creeping up to my cheeks was beyond my control. Just because he's sexy, doesn't mean you let your guard down! I cleared my throat, trying to direct the conversation in another direction. “Well what about you? Do you always hang around the streets at this time of night?”
“I like to go for walks at night. Luckily, I heard all the noise those guys were making, and came to see what was going on. Ty’s never that aggressive when he’s alone. He lets his boys get him into shit he can’t get out of.”
“Friends of yours?”
“There are no friends in this neighborhood.” Michael’s voice turned serious. That one probably struck a nerve. If those guys are scared of him, does that mean I should be scared too? As if he could read my mind, he continued his answer. “I grew up with these guys, but I couldn’t live that life anymore. So we went our separate ways. If they don’t mess with me, then there’s no problem. Sometimes they just need a reminder.”
Oh. Well now I feel like an asshole. “I get that. Honestly, I need to do the same with those girls I came out with. We’ve been friends since kindergarten… but as we got older they started going with all these guys and using them for money or whatever they could get. I was the only one that could see that the guys were really the ones using them , not the other way around. But they don’t listen. Instead, they left me to walk these streets alone.”
He stepped up closer to me, standing a few inches taller than I expected. His head tilted down slightly to keep my gaze, and I took in how the moonlight seemed to add a certain twinkle to his eyes. “So where do you go from here?”
"I go home." I turned to face the opposite direction and started walking slowly. Michael took the hint and followed, walking beside me. We walked in comfortable silence for a couple minutes before he spoke up again.
"Maybe I should make sure you get home safe. Already had to save you from one situation." Michael flashed me a sexy, slightly crooked smile. "Looks like I'm your good luck charm tonight."
I wrapped my arms around myself, finally feeling the chill from the night air now that the adrenaline was wearing off. Michael put his arm out in front of me to halt my steps. He shrugged off his button-up shirt, holding it out to me. "It's not exactly a jacket, but it'll give you more coverage than you have now." He eyed my exposed cleavage one final time before I put the shirt on and buttoned it, leaving just the top three buttons undone. Not was it warm from his body heat, but it held the smell of him. It took everything I had not to take a deep inhale.
"Thank you."
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After a short train ride and a five block walk, we finally reached my house. A modest sized three family house, and I lived on the 2nd floor. We stood at the bottom of the painted white wooden steps that lead to my front door.
"Thanks again, Michael."
He didn't reply right away. The silence hung awkwardly in the air, while he looked like he was struggling to say something. "Can I- Uhm…"
"Do you… Wanna come inside?"
So we ended up inside my place. Sitting together on my couch, swapping stories about the areas we grew up in. I used to live in a similar neighborhood, before I moved away from my hometown. Most of the men I knew then would never be the type I'd bring home, but Michael was a different breed. I felt oddly comfortable with his presence. I felt safe.
"Heh, Ty and the boys would be pretty triggered if they knew you were here with me."
Michael shrugged his shoulders, propping his elbow up on one of the fluffy throw pillows. "It's nobody's business." He said. "Neither is anything else we might do together."
"Oh yeah? Anything like what?"
Michael's eyes were locked onto my lips, moving in closer towards me so I had the chance to stop him if I wanted to. I knew where this was going, and I had no plans of stopping it. I wanted this just as badly as he appeared to. So without hesitation, our lips met. He was so soft and tender at first. Creeping his hand up to caress my cheek as our lips moved in sync. God, his lips are so soft.
When our lips finally parted, he pressed his forehead up against mine. I could feel my heartbeat pounding in my ears. "We can go as slow as you want, y'know." Michael said softly. His stray curls tickled my nose.
As long as we were moving, any pace was fine with me. I was sure I'd catch hell from the girls in the morning, but if meeting Michael was the result of tonight's events then I don't regret it. There was something that excited me about him. Something I looked forward to exploring and getting deeper into. The way he made me feel….was electric .