How Is This Love? (BWWM)

10.

"Honestly, I thought maybe I'd never see you again." Archibald admits, wrapping his arms around my waist, our bodies melting into each other's as we swayed slowly side to side. The music guiding our bodies sweetly to keep the rhythm.

"And honestly, I'm glad to see you." I blurted out, sort of embarrassed. I quickly looked down trying to suppress the feelings that were slowly starting to come up like vomit.

"Don't do that," Archibald says, his thumb and index finger lightly touching my chin as he lifted my face back up.

"Don't do what?" I wonder, confused.

"Hide your face." He spoke lightly.

"Oh," was all I could say. This old ass man had me slipping through his fingers.

We kept swaying to the music. Archibald took my hand and spun me around slowly so I was now facing away from him. Our hands were locked together and his chin rested in the crook of my shoulder.

"I like you."

Huh?

I stopped dancing and turned around to face him. "You what?" I questioned him.

"I said I like you." Archibald repeated, sort of in an annoyed tone. Like "bitch you know what I just said." But I really couldn't believe his sudden words.

"Arch-" I started to say but he cut me off.

"No, hear me out." He says, holding up his hands to keep me from speaking. "I like you. A lot. I want us to start seeing each other." Archibald states, like that was just fine and fucking dandy.

"This will never work." I reply, shaking my head in disbelief at his statements.

"Why won't it? Because of what? Laura?" Archibald questions me, suddenly annoyed.

"Yes. But-" he cut me off.

"Who gives a shit?" Archibald let's out.

"It's more than that!" I exclaim. "You have a family. A granddaughter. Who I am best friends with. Does that seem normal to you?" I tell him. "And, I'm too complicated for you."

Archibald takes a seat on the lounge chair, pulling me down with him so that I was seated in his lap.

"Too complicated? Nothing about either one of our lives is normal. What's the worst that could happen, huh?" Archibald spoke in a low voice against the nape of my neck, sending pleasant chills down my spine.

I found myself with goosebumps on my arm. "I'm a stripper. You don't want to be with a stripper." I remind him.

"You won't be for long. Especially, if you stick with me." Archibald states, running his hand slowly up and down my thighs.

Most of his words went in one ear and out the other as he touched and teased my young body.

"Okay. We can give it a try." I tell him. After saying the words, Archibald placed a deep, passionate kiss against my lips.

We didn't stay at the party for much longer. After an hour or so, Lauren and I both headed out with our men.

Archibald drove us back to his place in his car, which was unsurprisingly nice. He whipped a 2018 Audi A5 Sportback.

"Do you know how to drive?" He asked, his left hand on the steering wheel while his other hand held mine tightly.

"I have a license but I haven't driven a car in over two years." I reply, shrugging. "Oh, okay." Archibald winked at me, bringing my hand to his face and kissing it sweetly.

We ended up at his condo about ten minutes away from the party. Initially I thought Archibald wanted to have sex, but he didn't.

Instead, he ran us a hot bubble bath in his jacuzzi styled bathtub. How fucking romantic is this shit... "is this where you stayed with Marianne?" I couldn't help but ask as I slipped out of my clothes while Archibald fixed the bath.

"No," he laughed.

"Why'd you two get a divorce?" I questioned him.

"We fell out of love long before we formally divorce. She retired early and started doing her own thing." He responded.

"Doing her own thing?" I wondered.

"She started spending more time out and day drinking with her friends from the country club. Marianne would come home drunk and try to pick fights. I never understood why." He admitted, shrugging.

"I made sure to never spend to much time in the office. I'd constantly tend to her. Her behavior never changed." Archibald continued. "She sort of became... Monsterous." Emphasizing the last word.

I giggled at his description of Marianne. She was indeed a monster. "I remember how she acted when I was younger. She used to call me Laura's Nappy-Headed Black Friend."

Archibald looked at me with wide eyes, thrown off by my sudden statement.

We put an end to the talk about his failed marriage and dipped into the tub. We took our time bathing each other and giving the sweetest, slowest kisses.

This is heaven.

There was an old man nearly three times my age, giving me a feeling that my teenage body had never felt before.

Was this real?

Was this really going to work out?

How would I ever tell Laura?

Well, technically Laura had ended our friendship. She didn't fight for us like a twelve year old friendship was supposed to. Laura was letting it run down the drain.

And I was really starting not to care about anything anymore. Rayquans absence no longer took a toll on me. Tootsies was helping me take in a ton of money.

My life seemed to be changing for the better.

Or so I thought.