He had a lot of nerve, but I couldn’t lie; his confidence and boldness had just about won me over.
“Only if you can stand here with my luggage for a couple of minutes while I use the restroom.” It was only right that I shot back with a bold response as well.
“Say what?” His brows furrowed with confusion.
“Just stand there and look good and watch my luggage, please. And don’t run off with my stuff either,” I said, hurrying off into the entryway of the restroom. I glanced at him rubbing his beard while shaking his head with a smirk on his face.
I quickly used the bathroom and washed my hands. I refreshed my lipstick as if it wasn’t early morning, still to make sure I looked on point. I inhaled, then exhaled, and walked out.
“Thank you so much.” I made a dramaticmuahsound with puckered lips and winked at him.
“Don’t do that shit again. You don’t know me from a can of paint.” He licked his lips. They looked so damn soft.
“I know I don’t, but based on my observations during the flight, you seemed like a good candidate to watch my shit real quick while I handled my business.”
He shook his head at me and chuckled. “I’mma need that number, ma’am, and your name.”
“Hand me your phone then.” I reached my hand out to receive his phone.
He unlocked it and handed it to me quickly. I knew he probably needed to be elsewhere, so I added myself as a contact, then handed it back to him.
“What’s your name by the way?” I asked. I could at least get his name.
“A damn shame you left your shit with me and didn’t even know my name. You gotta do better. I’m Drevon, but you’ll call me Dre.”
“You’ll? Are you my daddy or what?” I shot back, rolling my eyes.
“Nah, but I can be, beautiful,” he said, putting emphasis onbeautiful. His touch sent a shiver down my spine. “I gotta go. Make yourself available tonight.”
“So demanding.” My nostrils flared.
“Yeah. Get used to it.” He winked at me, put his phone back into his suit jacket pocket, and walked off, disappearing into the busyness of the airport.
My body and mind rippled with excitement. He didn’t give me a chance to say anything smart back like I wanted to, but it was fine. I would get him back later if I saw him again. At that moment, I needed to relax and get out of that uniform.
I scheduled a Lyft for the morning as soon as I received the call last night to go in and fly. My phone buzzed, and it was a notification letting me know they were waiting in the pickup lane in the terminal. I walked even faster with my things, making it to the car.
Luckily for me, the driver was polite as could be but didn’t engage in any small talk, which was my favorite kind of driver. I shared my ride with Chanel through the mobile app just in case, and she did the same because we both knew we were living in crazy times. I enjoyed the ride to the hotel, taking in the scenery while anticipating my massage later. I scrolled through my email to thefavoritesfolder that housed my confirmation appointments for later and other important shit. By that time, the driver pulled up to the hotel.
The hotel I stayed in every time I flew into South Beach greeted me with open arms. The room service was great, and they treated their guests like royalty. I caught the elevator up to the sixth floor after stopping by the concierge quickly to check into my room for the next twenty-four hours.
The first thing I did once I entered the room was check around to make sure everything was clean and up to par, and as usual, it was. I finally stepped out of my red bottoms, placingthem next to the couch that was in front of the bed. I walked over to the large windows and opened them to see the beautiful framed view of the beach. I had been there so much that I didn’t necessarily even have to go out on the beach. The view from my room was enough for me. I truly enjoyed just being near it and having access to it if I wanted.
I put my purse down and unzipped my luggage, grabbing the first thing I saw, which was my favorite sleep shirt. It went everywhere with me, and I’d had it since I was twenty years old. My favorite auntie gifted it to me when she came back from a seven-day cruise to Cozumel, Mexico.
I laid the shirt and a fresh pair of briefs on the bed. I walked into the bathroom and stripped out of my clothes. My mind drifted to Drevon as I put my ponytail in a bun and tied my silk scarf. He was the epitome of sexy. Intrigued by his confidence and the way he called himself handling me, I couldn’t help but think about his background and what his life was like. I took one of the eucalyptus and mint shower bombs that were on the counter in the courtesy welcome box in the bathroom, turned the shower on, and tossed it in.
I stepped in and washed the flight right off. Something about a hot shower just did it for me. The eucalyptus and mint tickled my nostrils in the best way. The next few moments, I dedicated to decompressing as I lathered up my body with my favorite body wash for a second time and rinsed myself clean. I let the water rinse over my body until it went from super hot to warm. That was my cue to wrap it up. I stopped the shower, stepped out into my slippers, and walked naked to the bed. My skin benefited best when I air-dried.
I perched myself on the foot of the bed and moisturized with my favorite body butter and oil gel combination. I patted the excess on the small face towel I tossed from the bathroom just before I showered. I threw on my sleep shirt and spread outacross the bed with my phone in hand. A text message from a number that wasn’t saved in my contacts appeared on my lock screen.Dre.I sat up as straight as an arrow.
Call me when you get this.
That was all it said, no introduction or anything. As much as I despised talking on the phone, something stirred in me, making me obey quickly. I double-tapped the number, and my phone dialed. Once it rang the first time, I put it on speaker and lay back down, staring up at the ceiling.
“Lyra?” He answered the phone in the same commanding tone he’d spoken with earlier.
“Hey, Drevon.”
