Reece
After listening to Troy talk a little about his past, it did give me a better understanding into how he is now, but it still doesn’t justify how he acts towards women. Yes, he has been hurt more than once, but he shouldn’t be hurting innocent women to make himself feel better. That, I can’t agree with.
Troy probably sensed how I was feeling as he took a deep breath. “I know you don’t agree with how I handled things in my life.”
I shook my head. “I don’t, but I’m not judging you; so don’t think that I am.”
“I know you’re not.”
“But I guess it’s time to talk about my life, huh?”
“I gave you my life story, so it’s only fair.”
I pulled my knees to my chest again and took a huge breath. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“Start where you feel comfortable talking,”
I looked at him as he gave an encouraging smile. I couldn’t help but smile as I took a few minutes to get my thoughts together.
“My life has always been kind of complicated. My parents have been sort of hard on me since I was a kid. They pushed me to do more because they saw the potential I had and wanted me to succeed in life; in actuality, that only made me want to quit even more because that shit irritated me.
“There was a reason for my parents pushing me so much. They wanted me to be on the same level as Vanessa because she was always so on her shit. Hell, she still is. Even though my parents always said to do this, or do that, or be like Vanessa, I never had resentment for her because she knew how my parents were. They were dictators who wanted to impress everyone around them. They never cared about my thoughts or feelings.
“I think that’s why I never stuck to anything, because I was so used to my parents telling me what to do. I was tired of listening to everyone else instead of myself.”
“Why don’t you do something that you enjoy? You’re a grown woman, Reece; you don’t need to listen to your parents dictating to you.”
I sighed. “Maybe because I feel I’m not good enough to do anything. I’ve heard it so much from my parents that I started to believe it.”
Troy came closer to me as he gave my hand a slight caress. “Don’t for a second think that you’re not good enough. I’ve only known you for a few days and I know that you are an extraordinary woman. You’re nice, thoughtful, kind, not to mention beautiful. Hell, you’ve got a temper on you.”
I gave a slight chuckle after Troy mentioned that. He had to smile himself, but he became serious again. “Reece, in order for you to do something meaningful in your life, you have to believe in yourself. You can’t let anyone tear you down; even if it is your parents. Whatever you want to do in your life, you try and pursue it. Even if it doesn’t work out, at least you tried to do it. Trust me, you will regret it if you don’t.”
I nodded. “You’re right.”
“But what is your ultimate goal? What have you thought about pursuing in life?”
I gave a slight smile. “Don’t laugh at what I’m about to say,”
“Why would I?”
“I don’t know. I guess because I feel it’s sort of silly.”
“Just tell me,”
I sighed. “I always wanted to be a photographer. I loved to take pictures of unique settings and scenery and capture the essence of a perfect moment. That’s one of the reasons why I love watching the sunset, because I always try to capture a moment where it could be beautiful as well as meaningful.”
Troy nodded. “Do your parents know about your dream?”
I shrugged. “I told them, but they didn’t care. Instead, they said it was useless and that I should do something more productive. I was actually planning on majoring in photography in college, but instead, I went into business; mainly because of them. I just wanted them to be proud of me.”
“Are you still doing photography?”
I shook my head. “I sort of fell out of love with it. I guess that was just something else I couldn’t stick to doing,”
“I don’t think that’s true. You were excited when you told me about your love for photography. You should had seen your face light up. You should pursue it again.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Reece, get back into it. Realize why you fell in love with it.”
“Even if I wanted to, I can’t. I sold my camera awhile ago to pay my rent. Big mistake that was.”
“Why you say that?”
“Hello, I’m here now. Besides, I was facing eviction before I came here.”
“Damn. Did you get all of your belongings out of your place before you left?”
I shrugged. “I got what I could. Everything else is pretty much either sold or thrown away now.”
“I see you really have lived a complicated life,”
I sighed. “It’s not that; I guess I just don’t care about things anymore.”
Troy caressed the side of my cheek as he leaned further to me. “Maybe now, you can start caring about things.”
I stared at him as our faces were inches from each other. He slowly touched my cheek and he leaned into me. I closed my eyes, feeling his lips on mine as his hand went to the back of my neck. I spread my lips so I could taste him, feeling his tongue with mine, which felt so damn good. I’d imagined how our first kiss would be, and I wasn’t disappointed. He can definitely kiss!
My hand went through his hair as we leaned even closer to each other. I felt we were breathing each other’s air at how close we were. A moan escaped my lips as his went to my neck, gently sucking my skin.
“Damn,” I whispered while he continued to tease me.
I pulled away from him. I had to touch his lips again. He leaned into me again, I could feel his breath against my skin.
“You’re so beautiful, mija,”
Before I knew it, we’d moved to his bedroom, the two of us were making out. I haven’t done that since I was sixteen. Just the two of us kissing, nothing more. After an hour of it, we just stared at each other, suddenly I had to start laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Troy asked.
I shook my head. “It’s nothing bad; it’s just that we have been making out for an hour and you haven’t once tried to take off my clothes or have sex with me. I have to wonder, what’s wrong with this picture.”
Troy smiled. “There’s nothing wrong, baby. Maybe for once, I want to take things slow.”
I watched as his finger went down my chest. I gave a content smile when he kissed the side of my neck.
“That’s if you want to take things slow,”
My eyes locked with his. “There’s nothing wrong with going slow,”
“I’m not going to lie, I do want to see that body of yours.”
“I’m sure,”
“But when the time is right. It’ll be more special then,”
I smiled. “Just like it will with you,”
I leaned against him as he put his arm around me. “But going back to what I said earlier, don’t end your dreams because of what your parents said; instead, do what you feel is best. If photography is what you want to do, then do it. Do it to make you happy.”
I smiled when Troy kissed my temple. “Thank you,”
“For what?”
“For this. For us having this talk and getting to know each other better.”
Troy looked at me then looked down sheepishly. “A lot was said, but I agree. I’m glad that we were able to share stuff about each other,”
I put my head on his chest and took a deep breath. Tonight, was full of surprises, but it did let me into Troy’s world a little, just like he has been let into mine.