"Welcome home" raising her glass she touches it to mine and that was it. No questions, just welcome home.

"What else?" she asks, I am at a loss for words thinking I would have to give more detail about the last four years of my life. Finally I speak

"I have a sister"

"Younger or older"

"Younger and we were born and raised in Miami" I sip my drink thinking of what else I could share that would be appropriate for a first date.

"Your turn" smiling. I wait for Remi-Blu to tell me about herself.

"I was born and raised in Connecticut, I have an older brother" shrugging her shoulders she taps her fingers on the side of the glass.

"You know you are very beautiful." I tell her

"Thank you, you are quite beautiful yourself" her eyes sparkled as she took a sip of her drink

"Thank you"

"Are you dating Dante?" might as well ask

Remi chuckled, rolling her eyes. She tapped her finger to her temple

"Do you think I would have left with you tonight if I was with Dante?"

Her explanation sounded like the ones I would give my ex-wife Tina if she saw me with someone. I remained silent for a moment. I wanted Remi to speak the words,

No, I am Not With Dante.

"It's not about what I think. It's about what it is?" I replied nonchalantly

"Esteban, Dante is an associate, nothing more, nothing less. We do business together, that's it."

"How many associates, friends, men, or women are you dating or are cool with?"

Remi's eyebrows raised up "I don't kiss and tell but I will tell you if you really want to know, but then I want to know why you went away."

Clearly, this was a dare. She is daring me to tell her the truth to find out the truth about her. I have already decided to tell her my truths so I respond "Okay "

"Currently six ,four I see regularly, and two I see when I travel, all of them are men" she stated as if to say now what.

"And you, how many do you have on your team?" another dare

"Zero," I wanted to say; she is the one, but I didn't like hearing that she was dealing with six different men. I asked, so I have to deal with the answer.

"I'm impressed. Most people get out and run right into the arms of whoever held them down. Did you have anybody holding you down while you were away?"

"My sister handled my business" and then I added

"And I don't claim anybody, and I haven't been with anyone since I have been home, but there are two women who may still claim me." Before I came home Monique and Serenity were blowing up Fanias' phone trying to find out my release date.

"And why did you go away?" she held my gaze as she waited for my answer.

"Illegal Firearms distribution, manslaughter and attempted murder" Remi's facial expression never changed. Who is this woman? Even my ex wife Tina was shocked, and she knew me, but it didn't phase Remi-Blu.

."What is your favorite ice cream flavor?" this girl and her random questions

"Coffee, and yours?"

"Eww" Remi scrunched up her nose and she still looked cute

"Rum Raisin"

I responded with " double eww" we laughed and the heavy energy slowly lifted

"Okay next question, when is your birthday?

" April 26"

"Oh wow your Birthday is next week"

"And when is your birthday? "I asked Remi hoping that it had not passed so I could take her out for her birthday.

"June 10"

"How old will you be next week?'

"35 and how old will you be in June?"

"28"

"You don't look a day over 18" I said as I admired her flawless complexion.

"And I wouldn't think you were a thirty something"

"Am I too old for you?" I ask half jokingly but her facial expressions has me waiting for the answer.

"Of course not" she says unfazed, I on the hand let out a small breath.

"Do you have any kids?" she ask

"No, you?"

"Same"

We ask each other harmless questions and discuss all the latest places to go in Miami. I notice we are now the only ones sitting on the patio. I look at my phone and see it's almost 2:00a.m. we have been talking for almost over three hours. I'm not ready to let her go just yet but being polite I ask "

"Are you ready to go home?" I hope the answer is NO

"Not really, but you can drop me off if you have something to do?"

"Would you be comfortable coming to my place?"

"Where is your place?"

" I live in Lil Havana, if it makes you more comfortable my sister lives across the hall" I probably sound like a little kid asking to have company.

"Sure" she smiled at me,

When I arrive on my street I circle the block and then drive one street over to enter my building from the back entrance. I always check my surroundings before going in at night.

I turn the lights on and unlock the door from my phone so we don't walk into a dark apartment.

"Make yourself comfortable, the remotes to the television and sound system are on the table." I said as we passed by the couch.

I left and went to go check on my sister, another old habit, make sure everyone is safe in the house. Entering Fania's apartment through the connecting door I see her place is empty.

I check my phone and see that I missed a text from her at midnight saying she would be staying out tonight. Checking her location I see she is on Fischer Island, must be working with one of her celebrity clients. Satisfied she is good I return to my apartment. Walking towards the living area I overhear Remi talking

"What's good, Yes....Miami.....a few days,......I got it..., no problem.... I will be there.....yes....eu tambem te amo"

"Would you like something to drink?"

I made my presence known like I just didn't hear her conversation, telling someone she loved them it was close enough to Spanish for me to understand, bringing her here may have been a mistake.

Her end of the conversation makes me think if Remi-Blu is anything like how I was, this thing I want to happen between us will never work.

" No thank you" Remi-Blu is sitting on the couch looking at her phone that keeps vibrating.

Giving her space I sit on the other end of the couch watching her face from my peripheral. I notice the relaxed smile is gone as she types a response and places her phone back down only for it to immediately start vibrating again.

The familiarity of the whole scene irks me. I wonder if this is how I made women feel, women who I knew were into me like I'm into Remi-Blu. I would be in their presence but distractions make it obvious I am not wholly present.

I focus on finding the music channel that I like while Remi sorts out whatever is going on that has her phone blowing up. This may be a good thing, I don't want to move too fast. What do I really know about her? I know I want her in a way that I have never wanted a woman which is dangerous.

Finally her phone is silent and she tosses into her bag looking at me

"I apologize about that"

"No problem" she moves closer to me and picks up where we left off by asking questions.

"Esteban do you have a street name?"

"Navi" what about you.

"Different people call me different things?"

"What does your family call you?" I ask to be more specific.

"Some call me Doce or Blu" she responds and then ask another questions

"Why did you get divorced?" I wasn't expecting that question

" Why did I get divorced? The reasons are endless."

"What did you do?" her eyes told me she wanted the honest answer.

I released a loud sigh once again hoping she wouldn't judge me for the truth.

"My ex-wife divorced me because I was a bad husband. What did I do? everything but put my hands on her. "

I wasn't a good person; everything I did was excessive, and enjoying women was one of the things I did excessively. She got her revenge because she divorced me when I least expected her to.

"Why"

"I don't have a real reason. I was just disrespectful, deceitful, unfaithful. I wasn't a good husband, but at that time in my life, I wasn't a good person."

Tina and I were together off and on for five years. We were married for two out of the five. I married Tina because, at the time, she was ready to get married, and I knew it didn't matter if I was married or not. I was still going to do what I wanted.

The first year of our marriage wasn't bad. I didn't fuck around as much. The second year of our marriage was hell. Tina started pressing me to have kids, and I told her I wasn't ready for kids. We argued daily; I hated to come home, so I didn't, and that began the actual decline of our relationship.

"When was the last time you were in a relationship?" I ask as casually as I can

"Never," she answered with no hesitation.

"Never?" I repeated

"Never. I crushed on guys and had guys ask me out, but I wasn't allowed to date in high school. When I started college, I was too focused on school to get into a relationship. I did go on dates, though."

Remi moved over, so she was leaning over to me on the couch.

"Thank you for being honest with me," Placing the softest kiss on my lips.

I turned her soft kiss into a sensual kiss. Turning around, my hand moved up her arm, over her shoulder, until I held her by the back of her neck. Pulling her close, I traced her lips with the tip of my tongue; she parted her lips and my tongue danced with hers.

Remi-Blu leaned back pulling me to her, I ended up between her legs and my hard on straining to be released. Remi -Blu found her way to my neck, alternating between soft kisses and bites that stung in a good way.

The way she moved against my manhood fueled a passion that I wanted to experience for a lifetime. Her want for me was easy to see. She didn't hide herself or the fact that what we were doing made her feel good.

Still, I want to go slow with Remi. I pulled away from our kiss and kissed her forehead. I willed myself to calm down, just when my heartbeat slowed down. I felt her legs circle my waist, pushing my dick right over her pussy, I could feel her heat . Lifting her hips to grind against my hard-on, she held the back of my neck so our lips touched.

"What are you doing to me?" I asked her between her lingering kisses and the feel of her hands exploring my back. She unzipped her jacket in response exposing more of her silky smooth mocha skin.

I know we need to slow down before this goes any further but the motion of her hips as we grinded against each other made it impossible to stop. The quiet moans coming from Remi -Blu pushed me and before I could stop it, she pushed me past the point of control.

I suppressed the moan that threatened to give me away. Still hungry for more of her, I massaged her breast so that her nipple stuck out, making it easier for me to suck, needing the other one just as bad. I adjusted my position so I had better access.

Sucking and licking using different levels of pressure I tested the theory that I had read about women experiencing an organism from nipple stimulation.

Remi's hips jerked up, and the way she moaned was making me hard again. I continued to pleasure and play with her. I pinched the right nipple and rubbed my thumb over it after each pinch. I heard the moan in her throat as her body tensed beneath me. I guess what I read was correct.

"Kiss me," she reached for me. I kissed her until her eyes closed when her breathing got shallow. I got up and covered her with a throw blanket.

I needed to change my pants. While changing, I looked in the mirror. The reflection in the mirror was foreign to me. The man, looking back, was relaxed and smiling.

Looking closer, I see that Remy-Blu left a few passion marks on my neck. I never allowed a woman to mark me. I hated when Tina left marks on me, but I don't mind Remi's passion marks because they were really from a passionate experience and were not done to show ownership or as a warning to other women.

Cleaning myself up, I join Remi on the couch; I kiss her again. "I need to freshen up," she ended the kiss and went to the bathroom.

After a few minutes, I heard the bathroom door open. Remi was back to looking like perfection, track suit in tack, ponytail smooth, lips plump and pink. Any signs of what just happened were gone.

"I need to get going" by the time her statement registered in my head she had her sandals on.

"Esteban"

"Okay let me get my keys and I'll take you home." I am disappointed that our night was ending but I know this is for the best.

"No need, my driver is waiting out back" she said looking at her phone. Okay, I stood up to walk her out. We made it to the entrance of the building.

We reached the back entrance of my building. Opening the door I intend to walk her to her car when I'm stopped by her hand on my chest and the brief kiss to my lips.

"Thank you for hanging out with me, get some rest" she walked out leaving me standing there stunned as I watched the car tail lights disappear.

What the fuck just happened, I laugh to myself because damn if I just didn't get a taste of my bullshit.