Chapter 11
1121 Words
Chapter 11
RAVEN
The compound was quiet when I pulled in.
I turned off the engine and swung my legs off the bike, slightly bending to lock it out of habit before parking.
I slowly removed my helmet and ran my fingers through my hair to shake it into place as I moved inside after a hectic day.
And that was when I saw him.
Jake.
He was leaning against his door like he’d been carved there.
I stopped walking, my legs just couldn’t move anymore. I couldn’t help but admire this beauty ahead of me.
Oh my God!!…….
He wasn’t doing anything dramatic. He was just standing there, in a plain black T-shirt that suited him really well, like it was made just for him alone, it embodied his chest and abs like they belonged there. The sleeves hugged his arms so tightly that I was jealous of it, that should have been me. His hair was slightly messy, like he’d run his fingers through it too many times.
His hands tucked loosely in his pockets, he tilted his head just below the porch light at his entrance enough to make him look relaxed.
He looked like an angel, so comfortable….
Handsome.
Annoyingly handsome….. Damn.. He is so…..
Wait!
What!
What the f**k am I doing?
Admiring him?
Hell no!
I don’t find him attractive!
Not one bit!
But why is he standing there like that?
Our doors have always been side by side. We’d walk past each other a hundred times in a day without even realizing it.
But why’s he just standing there, glued like he was waiting for something?
“I care less.” I thought to myself.
“I’m just going to walk inside like I hadn’t seen him, I’m not going to look at him, listen to him even if he tries to talk to me,” I said to myself loudly while I walked towards my apartment and reached the door.
“You’re back.” He said calmly.
His voice was so calm, so soothing……….
Rave!
Stop it!
I kept my back to him as I unlocked the door. I’m not going to share him any stares, I’ve been losing myself around him lately and I think he’s taking advantage of that and that has to stop.
“Obviously.”
“Hi to you too birdy.” He straightened.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I’ve been waiting.”
My hand paused on the knob.
For me?
Why?
“What do you want?” I asked neutrally as I looked at him from the corners of my eyes.
“I wanted to see if you got home safe.”
Ohhhh myyy God……... he’s not just handsome but caring as well…..ughhhhh.
I can’t remember the last time I man cared for me in that manner. Gosh, he’s so cute………
Rave!
“I always do,” I said sharply.
“I know.” He answered almost immediately.
“And?” I asked.
He pushed off his door and took one step closer.
“And…” He rubbed the back of his neck like a child caught stealing. “I er…… I wanted to ask……..I was wondering if you could come over?”
I narrowed my eyes. “For what?”
“For dinner.” He said calmly.
I nearly choked on my breath. That caught me off guard.
“Dinner?”
That would be my first. In all my experiences with men, not a single one of them has offered to either cook for me or take me out for dinner. All they care about is s*x and what benefits them.
Horny fools!
“I cooked.” He said.
“I didn’t ask,” I replied.
He added. “I thought to ask if you wouldn’t mind some.”
I folded my arms. “You thought wrong.”
“I’m not hungry.”
Maybe I was.
He studied me for a moment like he could see straight through me.
“It’s just food, Raven.”
I hate the way he calls my name.
“Did you spike it?” I frowned at him.
One corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “You live next to me, I can’t harm you.”
“Does that change anything?”
“I’m not asking you to eat it forcefully .” He stepped closer again, “I’m only asking you as a neighbor to eat.”
I want to say yes!
Fuck!
I hate that I want to say yes so bad.
“I’ll think about it,” I muttered.
His eyes softened slightly.
“I’ll be next door,” he said quietly. “In case you stop acting tough.”
Waoh
There it was again.
That same line.
Why does his voice have this effect on me?
I hate this.
I glared at him. “Don’t start.”
He smiled this time. “I’ll set a plate anyway.”
I never said I’ll come!
And just like that, he turned and walked into his apartment leaving his door slightly open like he was confident.
The audacity.
I stood there for a few seconds staring at the thin line of warm light spilling from the doorway.
I quickly slipped into my apartment and shut the door behind me harder than necessary.
I tossed my helmet on the table and leaned against the door, I exhaled slowly as I had just dodged a bullet.
This is how it starts, Rave.
Small gestures, soft voices, before you know it you’re letting your guards down. I kept repeating those words to myself.
“But it’s just food,” I said loudly to myself, almost screaming.
“It’s just dinner, he’s not asking me out on a date,” I said to myself
But it feels like one!
Ughhhhh!
I walked into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water, and gulped down like that would somehow clear my head.
The aroma of his food oozing out of his apartment wasn’t helping matters as well. It smelled so delicious!
I walked towards my door like I was being controlled.
Rave.
It’s just food.
“You’re just going to walk in there, keep your stance, you won’t try anything stupid like kissing him again, you’re not going to allow him to come too close,” I muttered to myself like an affirmation.
I placed my hands on the doorknob, my heart was beating so fast that I could hear the sound in my ears.
I slowly opened the door like I was tiptoeing out of my own house but not to make the door creak and then his voice came out of nowhere like he hadn’t left earlier.
“Rave.”
- Writer
