side by side.
The couple was immediately seated, and ordered coffee, while they perused the menus. Once they’d placed their orders, they sipped their coffee and sat in silence, taking in the scenery. It had only been a few hours since the last woman’s presence he’d been in had added insult to injury. Quite naturally, Taz setting him up made him apprehensive with Amerie, no matter how much she smiled and seemed safe. After what seemed like an everlasting, awkward silence, Amerie cleared her throat and locked eyes with Boon when he turned to face her.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Honestly, nah,” replied Boon, who was twiddling his thumbs and staring into those truth-serum-causing orbs that Amerie called eyes. “I just can’t seem to find the right chick. I think it’s because of me rushing things. I stay single for months, only to get into another deadend situation. It could be because I go for a certain type of girl. I look for opposites, but no formula I try seems to work for me.” Boon turned away from the eye contact, feeling awkward. Why am I explaining this to her?
Almost as if she heard his thoughts, Amerie said, “I’m glad you are honest with me. You’re not afraid of your feelings, and not many men share that characteristic.” Amerie reached across the table and grabbed Boon’s hand. “Women often talk about men not hittin’ on shit or how they ain’t good for anything. Well, I say for every type of man that exists, there is a woman who’s just like him. I think we might be a good look for each other. You just need some time off the dating scene for a little while.” She was about to continue, but the waitress approached the table with their food.
“May I refill your coffee?” she asked, after she’d sat the plates down on the table.
“Yes, please,” they answered, simultaneously. They both remained quiet until the waitress left.
“Amerie, I would love to begin dating and getting to know you better, but I’ve got so much baggage and bullshit that I don’t want nobody dealing with, including myself,” Boon blurted, as he poured strawberry syrup on his pancakes.
“I can understand that, but if you never come out to play again, you’ll be an old, dull-ass guy and hate yourself for it. I’d hate for you to miss out on what a girl like me can do for you.” Amerie winked her eye at him.
Boon nodded his head, contemplating, as he took in what she’d said. He shoveled a few pieces of his pancake in his mouth and let out an appreciative, “Mmmm.”
“As a matter-of-fact, breakfast is on me, and I say we take it in for the day. That way, we can get better acquainted and you can begin recuperating,” Amerie murmured, as she ate a forkful of food herself.
Boon didn’t want to be taken as a nigga who was green, but damn, how bad could it be? Amerie had her own money, car, and a great job. She was beautiful and she didn’t like how the other women had treated him. He pondered her offer; and after swallowing his food, he asked, “What’s your idea of getting better acquainted?”, while he fixed his coffee to his liking.
Amerie mused thoughtfully for a second, and then spoke. “Make no mistake about it, babe, you are an attractive man—a very attractive man, I admit; but I’m not tryna lay you down just yet. Not that I’m assuming those were your thoughts. I’m just putting that out there,” she assured him while she waited for a response.
“Understood. So, what did you have in mind?”
“Well, what about Netflix?”
Boon wasn’t quite expecting that; he liked Netflix, but he hadn’t watched it in a few months. “Sounds good.”
“Well, then, it’s settled. We can go back to my place, kick-back, chill, and start preparing a list of things you need to replace at your house. Whaddya say?” Amerie suggested, sliding her plate away from her; she was stuffed.
Boon had been so wrapped up in his breakfast with Amerie that he’d forgotten his house was in shambles from the robbery. “Sounds good. You ready now?”
“Yeah, let’s get the check and go. I even have a big case coming up that you may be able to help me with. That is, of course, if you don’t mind?” she hinted.
“On one condition,” Boon requested. Amerie raised her eyebrow, wanting to know his terms. “Lemme pay for this breakfast,” Boon stated, as he motioned for the waitress to bring their check.
Amerie smiled and exhaled softly. “Fine, but I get to pick the first movie when we make it to the house.” Boon nodded his head in agreement.
Boon followed Amerie to a luxury townhouse in North Chicago and pulled in the driveway behind her. It was a nice-looking, red, brick building that gave off a very welcomed feel. Her grass was neatly manicured and she had a two-seater, swinging chair on her front porch.
“Damn, you got old folk amenities on your porch and shit,” Boon quipped and chuckled.
“You so silly, boy. I sit there and watch my nephews play in the yard when they come over here,” she responded, chuckling herself. Amerie took her keys and shuffled through them to locate the one to the front door. Once she found it, she unlocked the door, put the code in on the security pad, and let Boon in. She turned on the lights and Boon was in awe. Not only was Amerie’s pad laid out, she had every game system that ever came out. The color scheme of her living room was lavender and grey, and she had two, enormous sectionals that seemed to seat at least 12 people each. There was a staircase immediately to the left of the entrance and a long hall in front of it. Boon could tell it led to the dining room and the kitchen.
“Ummm… make yourself at home. I’m gonna go shower and change. I’ll be right back down,” she said.
“I kinda wanna shower too. Do you have a washer and dryer here?” Boon asked.
“Sure. I’ll get you situated. Just walk towards the kitchen; there’s a bathroom just before you reach it. Towels and washcloths are in there. I’ll bring you some soap and throw your clothes in the wash for you,” Amerie said.
The duo met back up in the living room, on the couch, to watch TV after getting cleaned up. Boon was in a towel and a throwback Karl Malone basketball jersey that Amerie swore didn’t belong to an ex-boyfriend or one-night stand. She explained that she’d gotten it from a raffle she won at her sister’s school a few weeks back.
“Mmm… you lookin’ good in that jersey and towel,” Amerie murmured, flirting with Boon.
“Girl, you shot-out. I’m a li’l cold though, for real,” he retorted, rubbing the goosebumps on his arms.
“Hang on a sec, then. I’ll be right back.” She got up and walked upstairs. Boon thought that perhaps she’d gone to cut on the heat, or grab him a sweatshirt, at least. She returned with a king-sized, Chicago Bears blanket. Instead of giving the blanket to Boon, she sat beside him and threw the cover over both of them. The erection that followed was inevitable. Amerie smelled like Juicy Couture and was scantily clad in a Winnie the Pooh nightgown and some booty shorts. She snuggled close to Boon, as she used the PlayStation 3 controller to browse the available titles on Netflix. Amerie leaned across Boon’s lap to get comfortable in a lying position, and jerked upright, as quickly as she’d lain down.
She looked at the bulge in the towel wrapped around his waist and then into his eyes. “What’s good with that?”
Boon flushed with embarrassment. He didn’t know if she was asking because she wanted it, or if she was asking why it was standing up like that. He looked at his lap and then back at Amerie. “I am extremely attracted to you, but I promise you, I…um… I didn’t tell him to turn up on you like that,” he stammered.
“You ain’t on trial, Boon,” Amerie laughed, turning her attention back towards the TV. “Nice to know you workin’ with some real wood, though.” She clicked the controller to start the movie Ong Bak, which happened to be one of Boon’s favorite movies.
After the movie was over, they watched Ong Bak 2, and three other movies. By this time, Boon’s