Hinged, Grown and Sexy

24. Memory Replay

ELI

Being avoided by Divine again reminded me of college. After all, she was using the same tactic, and here I was watching my world slip through my fingers.

I was at the same crossroads as before: fight or accept what is. It was hard to tell at this point which would be the right choice.

Who knew if anything I was doing was right? What if everything I thought she felt was just wishful thinking? And I definitely didn't see any fairy godmother's giving out wishes on the corner.

Well... at least not the kind I wanted to meet.

A mixture of a laugh and sigh left my lips as I unlocked the door to my condo. Just as expected, overhead lights turned on at my entrance and familiar blues and wood tones greeted me.

While my interior decorator made sure I got my money's worth, there were still nights it was marred by my own thoughts. Somehow the air felt heavier and shadows stretched farther.

I must be in the mood to reminisce because familiar feelings that drove me to leave grew louder in my subconscious.

The therapist had warned me that there would be setbacks, but I was confident it was all behind me. I was going to change everything when I came back, but now I'm starting to realize I've done nothing but repeat it all.

Chase after the girl I can't seem to stop thinking about, give up when she starts to pull away, and then become complacent in standing in the same exact place. 

Nothing would change unless I did. Except it felt like I was moving through concrete that was rapidly hardening everything around me.

Trying and failing to shake off my declining mood, I tried to push everything out of my mind while I got ready for bed. Sleep seemed to be the best way to forget or delay how my emotions were souring.

 When my eyes finally grew heavy with sleep, I prayed that sleep would be sweet enough to bring me dreams instead of nightmares.

🐞

"So, I finally get to meet the girl that's been stealing my best friend every weekend." I mused and bumped shoulders good-naturedly with Justice.

My voice was slightly raised so he could hear me over the sounds and cheers of the basketball game. It was one of the first college home games since break, and it seemed like everybody and their mama was out here.

It was almost impossible to look around without catching the eye of the many gorgeous women that graced our campus. One in particular had just sent me a wink when I finally realized Justice was talking to me.

"—amazing, but I think you'll really fuck with her friend." He was saying, completely ignoring any of the girls looking at him in favor of searching for the infamous flower.

"What?" I asked and turned toward him to hear him better.

"Hyacinthe's best friend that I told you about. She stay working, and I figured you might be able to get her to have fun." My childhood friend shrugged, but I knew he actually cared how this meeting went.

This fucker was trying to win brownie points by hooking me up with her friend.

"Do I need to tell Auntie Catherine that you're trying to pimp me out?" I gasped sarcastically.

"Snitch." He tutted with a laugh, but he finally found what he was looking for before he could continue his reply.

Noticing his change in focus, I followed his stare to find two girls standing at the top of the stands. It was that moment that I understood why Justice had been acting so weird.

Just at the sight of her, my breath caught in my chest and blood rushed to my ears. Everyone always tells you feelings like this were like getting hit by a bus, but it wasn't. Instead, it felt like that surge of happy adrenaline after you get off a roller coaster or swerve just in time to avoid a car accident.

My vision had tunneled to the point that I could only register the beautiful woman walking toward me. She had skin like molten chocolate, almost too delectable and hot to touch. Her hair was longer then, and it was silky straight to frame her face.

She waved her hand in front of her friend's face with a smile, and it was probably the prettiest one I'd ever seen. She wasn't the first girl that ever made me thank God, but she ended up being the last.

I was so enraptured that it barely registered that they were getting closer until Justice started the introductions.

"Hey, Lil' Cin." My best friend greeted lowly, adopting a tone I had never heard him use. "Hey, D." He nodded to the darker girl beside the famous Hyacinthe.

"Hey, Justice." They replied.

Still, her eyes hadn't caught mine yet, but I wondered how it was possible to feel so many things for someone I hadn't properly met. Somehow a faceless name turned into the object of my fantasies in a split second.

"I know y'all got girl's night goin' on, but I wanted to introduce my bro, Eli." Justice motioned for me to step forward, and there it was.

Dark eyes widened slightly as she looked me over for the first time, and those pretty lips opened just enough to let in a soft intake of breath. The connection I thought was just a figment of my imagination snapped into existence with a tension so heavy everything else seemed to blur.

Who knew a beautiful woman would be my torture?

Finally getting my mind to catch up with my stumbling heart, I introduced myself.

"Eli, and you must be Divine." Slipping into an easy confidence, I took her hand in mine and brought it to my lips to kiss.

I caught a waft of her scent with the movement and almost groaned. Though just as quick as it happened, it was gone due to its owner's hasty retreat.

Justice and I watched them clammer to their seats on the stands, and I whistled loudly.

"You could've warned me." I said, my eyes straining to focus on the court rather than the girl on the sidelines.

"Nah, the look on your face was too good to pass up."

"Man, shut up." I chuckled and shoved him lightly. 

Our conversation trailed off as we actually started paying attention to the game, but my focus shifted back toward Divine again. She had a different look in her eyes as she spoke to Hyacinthe, and I was surprised to see her turn her gaze toward me.

She practically marched back up the stairs, and I didn't miss the bounce of her plump ass on each and every step. Like an untamed force she was in front of me and that's when I knew I would never refuse her.

"Are you blind?" Divine asked, and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"No?" I said, but it came out more of a question than I wanted it to.

"Then you see all this?" She gestured toward herself animately.

"I more than see it, beautiful." I said, biting my lip softly as I eyed her form once again. When my eyes locked on hers again, my dick hardened at the shy surprise on her face.

This was someone that wasn't used to being speechless, and I wanted to make sure she forgot every word she ever learned except my name.

"Uh—um, I mean, didn't anybody teach you that it's only polite to ask a girl this fine for her number." Divine said, clearly trying to gain the upper hand in the conversation again.

Nodding, I moved around Justice to step into her space. After all, how would she be able to hear me unless I spoke right into her ear? Or maybe I just had a sick obsession with watching her shiver from the brush of my lips against her skin.

"Polite? I don't think you want polite, pretty, but I'll let you have this one. Now, please, bless me with your number."

"Well, excuse the hell out of me." Divine said as she stared at me in wonder once I pulled away.

That mouth of hers was going to get the both of us in trouble.