9. London

"What's the update?" I questioned Meechie as I waited for Monroe to come downstairs for our date. Meechie had eyes and ears on Monroe's dad, as well as Kashus, so we could stay one step ahead of them. I had a plan, but there were a lot of moving parts and things that needed to fall into place for it to go well.

"Nothing, nobody suspects anything yet. I had her security do a few check-ins from his phone. He has been telling whoever calls that she's not in the mood to talk since she's recovering from surgery. Anybody that would be concerned thinks she's sleeping and just doesn't want to be bothered or some shit."

I sighed in relief. Monroe's disappearance being undiscovered meant I didn't have to rush back to Miami and start damage control. I wanted to spend as much time with Monroe as possible. Being around her was peaceful as fuck, and I wanted that feeling for as long as I could have it.

"Perfect," I replied as I glanced at myself in the mirror. I wasn't a pretty nigga. I knew a nigga was handsome, and I knew how to dress, but this date with Monroe had me so nervous. I couldn't stop checking my appearance in the mirror.

"Everything good on your end, nigga? She good?" Meechie asked.

"Yeah, she is good. I took her by Aunt Vanessa's this morning." I waited to see what he was going to say. Like Aunt Vanessa had said earlier, I didn't bring women to meet her much. Cuba was my safe space, literally. This villa had been meant to be my safe house. It was where I was supposed to disappear in case things ever went left. I never wanted to bring a woman here and risk my peace and safety. I wasn't an active member of the cartel anymore but that didn't mean I was free and clear. As London's son, I was still a target. Being born into the cartel was something that would haunt me forever. The decision to bring Monroe here wasn't made lightly. I trusted her, and it made sense to take her to my safe space so she could have safety.

"Oh shit, you took her to meet Auntie Nessa before she met me? Then Polo met her already, too. Nigga, I"m jealous!" Meechie shouted into the phone. I smirked as I made my way over to the couch and took a seat.

"You saw her in person already, nigga. Besides, you could have been the one to grab her."

"Nigga, I wasn't about to climb up out of my pussy to come kidnap yours. You crazy!" The phone was silent for a minute, and then we both broke into laughter.

"Sorry I took so long." Monroe's sweet voice cut through my laugh and invaded my ears. I damn near broke my neck turning around to see her as she strolled down the stairs. I stood from where I was sitting on the couch to greet her.

"Damn!" I mumbled under my breath. She hadn't disappointed. Monroe was beautiful. Her chocolate skin glowed in the orange dress that hugged every curve on her body.

"You look beautiful." I moved toward the end of the stairwell. I watched as her long legs descended every stair. When the time came, I would have her wrap them thick, chocolate motherfuckers around my neck again.

"I heard her, nigga. Let me see her!" Meechie yelled, reminding me he was on the phone. I was so fascinated by Monroe that I forgot all about his ass. Before I could tell Meechie to kick rocks, the phone rang for me to connect the video call.

"This nigga," I mumbled just as Monroe made it down the stairs.

"Chocolate, my best friend wants to meet you. You've seen him in the club, but he wants a formal introduction. That cool?"

Her eyes bounced around for a second before she finally spoke.

"Sure, answer it." She smiled. I nodded my head and swiped to answer the call. Without prompting, Meechie's loud ass voice came through the phone, followed by his face.

"I thought you were about to play me. Where is the girl that got us going through all this trouble?"

I didn't respond. Instead, I flipped the phone to Monroe.

"Monroe, this my pain in the ass best friend, Demetrius. Everyone calls him Meechie." I didn't get a chance to introduce her because Meechie interrupted.

"The woman that needs no introduction. You have made quite the impression on my bro."

"He's made quite the impression on me," Monroe countered. "Sorry for causing all this trouble."

"I like trouble." Meechie snickered, causing Monroe to laugh. "Snatching up a nigga chick is my specialty."

I watched Monroe's hand fly to her mouth.

"Meechie!" I brought the phone back to my face. "You got to excuse him; he lacks good sense," I whispered to her.

"I got good sense, nigga!" Meechie blurted.

"You two are funny. Y'all have known each other for a long time?" she asked softly.

"Since diapers," I replied.

"Yeah, so I'm telling you now, what you gon' get if you get involved with this nigga. Automatic sister status."

"Yes, sir," Polo said. "I'ma sister your ass to death. Fair warning." His face appeared on the screen. I should have known they were together. Those niggas were always together. Monroe didn't say anything. She just stood there staring at the screen and giggling.

"Let us know if you have any problems out of that nigga," Meechie interjected. I loved seeing her laughing, and I appreciated my friends for all they were doing for her. It showed my niggas had my back no matter what. I didn't have to explain. If I needed them to, they were coming. This was a level of loyalty most people only dreamt of.

"I think I got it." Monroe smiled.

"Aye, but check it, you got some friends that look like you?" Polo asked. I shook my head and turned the phone back on me.

"Y'all niggas done? We got plans."

"Yeah, nigga. I'll hit you if anything changes," Meechie said before he hung up the phone.

Sliding my phone in my pocket, I said, "I apologize for them niggas. They don't have good sense."

"They seem like really good friends." She giggled.

"They do?" I teased.

"Yes, nice. I wish I had someone in my corner like that."

"You do," I replied as I stared into her eyes. I could see our whole future together. It was crazy. Monroe was too damaged, though, and she needed to experience life on her own accord.

"Are you ready, beautiful?" I took her hand in mine.

"As ready as I'm going to be. I guess." She fidgeted. She was nervous. I was too.

"Relax, Chocolate, we're just two friends celebrating your freedom." I grabbed her hand and escorted her down the path to the car that awaited us.

"We're here."I slid from the car and walked around to let her out.

"Where are we?" She grabbed onto my hand, allowing me to pull her out of the car.

"At our destination." I shut the door behind her. The way she twisted her lips and pouted as we walked down the paved road made the anticipation of her reaction to what I had planned that much better.

"Oh my! This is definitely a date!" Monroe squealed as the candlelit beach came into view. I smirked as she dropped my hand and wandered joyously toward the ocean where the wooden raft I'd had decorated with flowers and candles awaited us. The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon making the view beautiful just as I had planned.

"How'd I do?" I questioned, coming up behind her. The tears that rimmed her eyes told me I'd done good.

"This is beautiful… I don't even have the words." She looked between me and the raft.

"I'm glad you like it. After you, beautiful." I extended my hand to help her on the raft.

"You sure this thing is fat people approved?" She hesitated. I didn't like the dig she'd taken at herself.

"Chocolate, the only thing fat on you is that ass. I can see that motherfucker poking out of that dress." I pulled her onto the raft slowly, making sure she got seated safely. The beautiful view of the sun setting over the horizon provided the perfect romantic atmosphere as our boatman pushed us into the lagoon.

"Would you believe I've never been on a boat before?" Monore's voice sailed over the sound of the waves and the soft music playing in the background. I smirked.

"What else haven't you done?" I wanted to know all the things she'd been deprived of so I could make them a reality. Her body language changed as she gazed out into the sunset.

"I've never roller skated or rode a roller coaster. I don't know how to ride a bike, oh um… I've never had red fingernail polish." She tapped her fingers on her chin as if she was thinking. "Ooh, I've never chewed bubble gum."

"Hold up, you've never chewed bubble gum?" I slanted my head at her in confusion.

"My father said it was unladylike." The more I heard about Monroe's father, the more I wanted to ring his neck. Slowly, I reached over and placed my hand on her thigh. Her head turned toward me. The orange and red hues of the sunset radiated her skin and gave her brown eyes a beautiful glow.

"Those unladylike parts of you are the best parts." I hoped my words landed somewhere in her spirit. She needed it. I removed the food from the basket. We both hadn't eaten since breakfast, so I didn't want to waste any time eating dinner. Aunt Vanessa had prepared dinner for us. I had no clue what she liked, so I had her cover a few bases.

"There"s steak, shrimp, salad, and fried chicken." I laid all the food on the small lap table that set in between us on the raft.

"This is a lot of food."

"I ain't know what type of girl you were when it came to your food." I shrugged, making her laugh.

"The type that's going to gain more weight if you keep feeding me like this. Lord knows I don't need to gain any weight."

She was taking another dig at herself. It pissed me off, but I understood it. Her ex-fiancé and father hadn't exactly made her feel the best about her figure. It was going to take more than me complimenting her to erase the damage they'd done, but I was going to try.

"Make that the last time you negatively mention your weight or size. You are what you tell yourself you are." I affirmed her.

Monroe dropped her head. "Bad habit, I guess."

"Bad habits can be changed." I reassured her.

She smiled, and we settled into a comfortable silence as we ate. It was the perfect vibe. Monroe was perfect. I didn't care that she had a lot of healing to do. I wanted to be there with her through it all. Helping her heal, whether it was me she ended up with at the end of it all or not. Monroe deserved to find true happiness. The kind you couldn't find being controlled by others. I stole glances at her as we ate. Seeing her so at peace was giving me peace. I was so caught up in admiring her that I almost forgot the other half of our date. Pushing my food to the side, I pulled another basket closer and removed its contents.

"Do you paint? I have wine." I waved a small white canvas and bottle of wine in the air. Monroe gasped before removing her food from the small table.

"I love paint and wine!" she squealed.

"Great," I said as I set the two canvases, paintbrushes, and paint on the table.

"What are we painting?" She looked around. We were in the middle of the ocean. The closest person to us was our boatman, but even he was in the distance waiting to come get us when we were done.

"I want you to capture the most beautiful things in life. The ones you've missed. Look around, Chocolate, there is art all around you."

She nodded her head as she searched for something to paint.

"What are you going to paint?" she asked.

"The sunset. I do a lot of my dreaming watching the sun set." I dipped my paintbrush in the red paint.

"Hmm, it's almost impossible not to dream as you watch the sun set. I've spent a lot of evenings staring into the sky hoping for something different. Hoping my father was different. Hoping Kashus was different." She paused. "I know what I'm going to paint."

I looked up from the canvas.

"What?" I was curious.

"Me," she said simply as she dipped her brush in the brown paint. We sat together, sipping wine and painting. I thought I had peace and happiness before, but it was nothing like this. Monroe was taking my shit to the next level. It worried me a little because this whole thing was temporary. If I found peace in her what would become of me when she was gone?

The sun disappeared below the horizon, and we sat back and watched the stars come out. I wrapped my arms around her, and she melted into my body.

"I've never felt this safe with anyone before." Her confession had me smiling.

"That's what I'm here for, Chocolate. Just call me your bodyguard." The unwavering urge I had to protect this woman from her past and whatever else she needed protecting from was crazy.

"You know what else I've never done?" She shifted her body, placing the paintings on the side to dry, then folded the small table. Without mumbling another word, she threw her leg over my lap and mounted me.

"What is that?" My voice was low with anticipation for what I knew was next. My dick was already at attention as she rolled her hips across my lap. We were treading a thin line and I needed to stop it, but I didn't know if I could.

"I've never had sex in the middle of the ocean." She fondled with my shorts, freeing my dick. Eating her pussy was one thing but having sex with her was going to unlock Pandora's box. I didn't know if she was ready for that.

"Hold on, Chocolate!" I was using every bit of restraint I had to stop her. "I ain't trying to take advantage of you. I already crossed the line once."

"London, I spent my entire life walking on eggshells and not being able to do what I want. You"re not taking advantage of me. I want this." She rolled her hips back and forth as she stroked my dick. "It's so big and beautiful." She moaned. The desperation in her voice mixed with the sensation of her hand moving up and down my dick was making it hard to resist her.

"Monroe." I utilized my last ounce of restraint. If she didn't heed to the warning this time, I was going to put us both out of our misery and fuck the shit out of her.

"Please, I want this more than I want anything else in this world."

Her words killed my composure. I couldn't fight her bad ass anymore. Cupping her ass cheeks, I lifted her and guided her back down onto my hard dick. Her tight walls sucked me in like a vacuum as we let out a collaborative moan.

"The world is yours, Chocolate. Take what you need." I breathed into her mouth as she rocked her thick ass back and forth in my lap.