Page 12 of Pulse of True Soulmates
There was silence for a moment.“Why do you sound like that, Aeon? What’s wrong?
Why does his ass have to be so damn observant? “There’s nothing wrong with me. What’s up?”
He didn’t immediately answer.“I was calling to let you know that I want to take you out Saturday. There’s a concert in town that I want to take you to.”
My ears perked. I loved concerts but rarely went.“Oh, okay. What concert? There’s only one concert in town this weekend and that’s Mrs. Carter.”
“Well, I guess that’s where we’re going, Aeon. I’m going to pick you up around three o’clock. I want to have an early dinner, then chill a little before the concert. Cool?”
“Yeah, that’s cool. I can’t wait.”The way I felt didn’t allow me to be overly excited like I would have been on any regular day. I loved Mrs. Carter, and he knew that. The fact that I didn’t jump up and down was a big red flag.
“Cool. You sure you’re alright?”Concern seeped through his tone.
As if he could see me, I told him that I was fine. We spoke for a few more minutes before I found a reason to rush him off the phone. The longer we were on the phone, the harder it was to wear the mask.
The movie that I was watching ended. I rubbed Midnite’s back to wake him. “It’s time for your show, baby.”I turned his favorite movie on, and his ass pepped right up.
While he watched his movie, I decided to take a little nap. I glanced around my living room at the laundry that covered the other side of my large couch that I was supposed to fold. There was carpet powder all over the floor that I started to vacuum up but couldn’t finish. I was loading the dishwasher when Midnite alerted me that I needed to chill out. A tear fell from my eye that I smacked away. These were the things that frustrated me about my condition. I just wanted to clean my fucking house.
I wasn’t sure how long I was asleep when Midnite’s bark woke me from my sleep. There was someone at my door knocking loudly. I stretched before I grabbed my phone to look at my camera app.What the hell is he doing here?I pressed the talk button. “Deck, what are you doing here?”
I watched his face scrunch. “Aeon, don’t play with me. Open this door.”
The frown on his face told me to heed his unspoken warning. I climbed off the couch, told Midnite who was at the door that it was alright, then I opened the door. “What are you doing here?”
He walked past me into my house before he answered. He looked around then faced me. “Your ass didn’t sound right, so I came to put eyes on you. What you got going on?”
I stood there stuck in a daze with the door still open. My daze ended when he asked me if I planned to close the door. “Oh, yeah, sorry. I’m just surprised to see you here at my house. Um, I don’t have much going on.”
He pulled his arm up and looked at his wristwatch. “You not working today? It’s one in the afternoon.”
Curse me for telling him my work schedule.When I told him, it was during a casual conversation. This man paid attention to everything. “No, I took the day off to cle-clean my house.”
My nerves were revved up under his stare.Why is he looking at me like that?I walked past him into the kitchen tofinish the dishes. I felt his eyes on me, but I ignored him. As I moved around the kitchen, I inconspicuously peeked at Deck who hadn’t moved from where he stood. After a few minutes, Midnite jumped up to indicate that my heart rate was too high.Not right now, please.
I tried to ignore him, but he kept jumping. “Aeon, you better sit your ass down somewhere. I know you see and feel Midnite on your ass.” Deck’s tone was hard.
I took a deep breath before I walked over to the couch. Midnite went into what she was supposed to do. Within minutes, I had medicine and a bottle of water. “What, Deck?” He just stood there like a damn statue.
All he did was shake his head then walked to my kitchen.What is he doing?I watched this man finish the dishes that I started. He’d ask me where to put things and where certain cleaning supplies were. He pulled out my mop and mopped my hardwood kitchen and dining room floors. Next, he finished vacuuming my floor. It wasn’t until he sat on the couch and started to fold my laundry that the tears fell.
When he glanced at me, he did a double take. He set the shirt that he was folding down, then slid next to me. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“No one’s ever done anything like this for me outside of my dad and Fatima. I was with my ex for years, and he never helped me with anything like this. If I didn’t feel good, he’d just be likeI hope you feel better soon.He wouldn’t even come over to see about me.” It was crazy that the simple act of Deck helping me around the house made me feel stupid for how long I was with Troy’s stupid ass.
Deck didn’t say anything at first. He placed his hand on my bare thigh and squeezed it, which caused me to look at him. “It’s because you ain’t never experience a real nigga.” My eyes bulged when his lips pressed against mine. It was quick but impactful.He pulled away, smiled, then said, “You fuckin with a real one now.”
He slid back over and restarted folding my laundry. The only sound that could be heard was the television that was still on a show that Midnite watched.Declan kissed me.When he finished folding the laundry, I showed him where everything went.
“Alright, how you feeling?” he asked me once he had put away my clean laundry in my bedroom. After I told him that I felt better, he pulled his phone out of his back pocket. He tapped the screen for a second before his attention came back to me. “I have a tat appointment in an hour.”
“Oh, okay. I didn’t mean to hold you up. I’m sorry.” I quickly apologized.
His lip turned up. “Be quiet, Aeon. Get dressed and get Midnite ready. Y’all coming to chill with me in the shop.” I tried to tell him no, but his words over his shoulder shut me up. “Get the fuck ready while I chill wit’ my boy out here.”
What ‘I’m going to fuck him’ sorcery is this!I got ready in record time. It took about thirty minutes to get to his shop from my house. When we walked in, he gave me my third shock of the day by holding my hand as we walked through the lounge. I saw the stares from the waitresses and some of the patrons. I paused when I saw the massive staircase.
“Calm down. We have an elevator,” Deck assured me. He walked over to the bar first to tell one of the waitresses that stood there to come upstairs to get my order. After he grabbed a menu with his free hand, we walked to the elevator and got on when the doors opened. I felt like a schoolgirl as I tried to glance at him secretively. He grabbed my chin, turned my face to him, and gave me another kiss. This one was more sensual.
