Page 54 of Grand Master

It was bad enough that I was out of control of my emotions.

Seeing him again, being in his presence and him willing to spend the weekend moved something inside of me.

Suddenly I felt mushy and super excited with anxiety swirling around inside of me.

Kenric turned in his seat then pressed his forehead against mine.

For a couple of seconds, our breaths mingled together before he spoke.

“If I ruin this, Mira…it’s because I never learned how to love something that I didn’t-”

“You won’t ruin it, trust in yourself.” I stopped him from getting in his head.

“Let’s eat, then go back to my house.” I shifted gears easily.

Kenric was vulnerable and didn’t realize it.

I didn’t want to highlight that nor make him get too far deep into his head.

I was scared my damn self, scared that he’d shut back down and stay away like he did all these past weeks.

It was crazy to me how I thought I needed space from him to clear my mind when in reverse it made me crave him even more.

Kenric hopped out of his truck and walked smoothly around to my side of the door and opened it for me.

When I stepped out, the first thing I did was stand on my tippy toes to wrap my arms around his neck.

I breathed his tantalizing scent in and held him closely as he slowly wrapped his long arms around my lower back and pulled me closer.

When I opened my eyes the valet guy gave us a strange nosey ass look.

I ignored it. No one would understand Kenric and I, and I didn’t give a damn.

We walked hand and hand like a normal couple inside.

The restaurant wasn’t just beautiful but a fantasy out of a damn dream.

There was low lighting shimmering from crystal chandeliers that hung like upside down crowns.

Kenric had called and reserved the entire rooftop while I hurried and got ready to come here.

When we made it to the top, I felt even more amazed than from the lower level of the restaurant.

The rooftop was nice and cozy, red velvet curtains lined the walls that were drawn open overlooking the city.

Candles floated in tall water vases on every empty table.

Kenric stood as I slid into the booth, his tailored suit looked perfect like he never unbuttoned it to show me his new tattoo. His eyes sharply scanned the room before he took a seat across from me.

“You like this place?” He asked in his rough raspy tone.

“Tone told me that he brought Staress here a long time ago.” He quickly added, looking around like he was out of place.

Our table was draped in black silk linen set with deep red roses and obsidian plates.

“I love it, Kenric…Do you like it?” I asked.

“It’s okay, I hope the food is better than my chef’s food.” He smirked mischievously.

He picked up the menu, but his eyes weren’t on the words, they were on me.

His eyes flickered with something that felt like hope and uncertainty all tangled together.

Finally, he set the menu down and exhaled, his fingers traced the edge of his obsidian plate.

I thought it was adorable that he was trying to relax in my presence and being outside of his comfort zone.

The main thing that stood out to me was that Kenric was truly trying .

It was obvious that he felt out of place and was trying his best to play it all smooth.

“Yeah,” he said, voice softer. “I like this. Feels…different up here. Like we can actually just breathe for a minute.”

There was a hush between us, but not the awkward kind, more like the silence you get right before a song you love starts to play. I felt relaxed and satisfied, which was a long overdue considering how I felt these past weeks thinking about him and everything that happened while being at Grand Corp.

A gentle breeze slipped in through the drawn curtains, carrying with it the faint smell of delicious food. For a second, Kenric looked out over the skyline with the menu still clutched in his hand. He was in deep thought, I assumed by the way his thick bushy brows bunched together.

“Thank you, Mira.” he said, his gaze was steady and vulnerable.

“For what?” I asked.

“For wanting me to spend time with you on your special day. You said you missed me, that makes me feel like some of my intense feelings for you is sort of mutual.” His raspy voice made my stomach flutter with butterflies.

I smiled, my heart sped up as I reached across the table. I forced him to drop the menu so I could thread my fingers through his.

“I missed you more than I expected these past couple of weeks have been tough.” I admitted sadly looking away from him.

“What do you mean?”

He slid his hand from underneath mine. Like the dominant male he was, he placed his rough warm hand over mine and threaded his fingers through mine.

“It means, I got upset with you but was happy if that makes sense.” I sighed and took in a sharp breath. I was ready to let all of my cautions that I had reserved toward Kenric breeze in the wind.

“You gave me space but a huge part of me wanted you to come see about me. I learned with space that I like your possessiveness of me. I missed it a lot, I liked the feeling of force…maybe its twisted but it made me feel secure. I worried about you, hell I even thought of the owls, especially Josie,” I smiled.

“I missed the rasp of your voice, how it drops low when you mean business. The way you look at me is very intense, but I feel so many things in your stare, Kenric. I used to dream of having a man obsess over me, want every inch of me without making fake jokes about me being a big mama.”

I rolled my eyes thinking about the way Darius used to slide in his fat jokes in a way to try and make me not see that he was actually insulting me.

“You tended to every part of my body, even the parts that I second guess from my own insecurities. You made me feel special when you opened up and let me into your past. Then there was me opening up to you. We may not be ideal to people outside of us, especially from the way we met…but-” I released a shaky breath.

“I like you a lot, I realized that my feelings are in the mix too. It means a lot to me with you showing up today and you’re willing to step out of your comfort zone to be with me for the weekend. ”

His hand tightened over mine as he stared at me deeply. That busy mind of his was probably in overdrive. His silence and intensified stare-down didn’t bother me. I understood that Kenric needed time to process things before reacting.

“I’m in love with you, Mira…Obsessed…you keep undoing me, bit by bit.” He shook his head and disbelief.

“Do you think we would be enough for each other?” I asked timidly.

“You’re enough for me, you’ll always be. If you’re willing to try…I think I can be enough for you too.”

The waiter approached quietly, careful not to intrude on whatever current was passing between us.

Kenric ordered for both of us without even glancing at the menu.

The way he talked was low and robotic like he already pre-planned what he wanted us to eat here.

It was a bold move that made me laugh. My bundle of nerves started to dissolve, as I relaxed in my seat staring across the table at Kenric was like seeing a perfect man that you could only dream about having.

Of course he was far from perfect, he had edgy dark ways about him. The more I got to listen to him talk, I knew deep down underneath his frozen heart was made of gold. I just had to help him become who he was before the world made him armor up and become the Grand Master of the streets.