Nina had a smile on her face as she grabbed the white box with 'Dior' engraved in gold on it from Tyler, wasting no time to untie the bow and pull the top off. She did a small dance as she pulled out the Mini Lady ultra-matte black purse that had been on her wishlist for quite some time now.

"Thank you babyyy. It looks even better than the pictures on the website! I love it so much." She wrapped her arms around his neck for a hug, then tilted her head back to give him the kiss that he wanted.

"I went to Chanel, too. I didn't think you'd like any of the ones I saw, but you might, so I'll have to take you tomorrow. You can get two of them." He told her, making her smile spread wider.

Normally when he took her shopping he allowed her to splurge on clothes and shoes but rarely ever big branded purses because Chanel bags were almost $12,000 at the cheapest, and both of them found that unnecessarily expensive, no matter the amount of money Tyler made.

She had a few of them in the closet, maybe eight or nine of them, but she'd gotten them over the last five years—not all at once. She hadn't purchased a new one in a while though, so Tyler stopped at Saks Fifth Avenue after he got off of work today to grab her a very tiny Dior purse that ran for close to six thousand dollars after taxes.

He didn't understand women because nothing but a pair of keys could fit in that purse, but he bought it for her anyway. The smile on her face was more than worth it.

"What's the occasion?" She asked, taking the white paper stuffing out of the purse.

"Just because I love you." He unbuttoned the long sleeved brown shirt that he wore with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Nawww, you just came up on some money. I saw that email you got." She smirked over at him, and he laughed as he pulled the shirt off.

"Yeah? You probably done planned what you gone buy already and we don't even have it in the account yet." He chuckled.

Tyler worked as an internet technician for Google, and his yearly salary of $127,000 was being bumped up to almost $150,000, with an additional single bonus check of $12,000 which he would be receiving in the mail within the next two weeks for surpassing this month's quota.

Although it was technically his money, Nina managed it by herself. She paid the bills from the account they shared—rent, Tyler's two car notes since Nina's was already paid off, streaming services, etc. etc.—and sent a percentage of his check to the high yield saving account that they also shared.

They usually had a bunch of free money left over from his checks because their rent wasn't expensive, especially since Tyler put a good chunk of money into the down payment, and Tyler never questioned her on what she spent money on.

She could buy whatever she wanted, within reason, of course.

Most of the money she spent went to shopping, the weekly Pilates class she took, self-care days that included getting her hair, nails, and lashes done, makeup products, and furniture or decor for their house.

She was an easy woman to please and she took care of Tyler in more ways than one, so what she spent money on was none of his business.

"Yesss 'cause you know I've been wanting to buy a new couch. I was going to wait until you got that annual summer bonus though." She put her purse back up before closing the box.

"You can get it now, if you want. Have you found one that you like already?" He asked.

"Not yet but thanks for telling me 'cause I'ma buy it as soon as I do." She chuckled, and he did as well with another shrug of his shoulders.

"You don't have to if you're not up to it, but are you going to church with me tonight?" He asked, grabbing a white button down shirt out of their walk-in closet.

"No.. I don't wanna see your dad 'cause I don't know how to pretend to be cool." She spoke truthfully, and he only nodded because he understood where she was coming from.

Tyler's father, David, never genuinely liked Nina because he claimed that she was too 'out there'. He was a mixed man with a mostly white background, but somehow ended up marrying a black woman when it was clear that he wanted to keep his family as bright as possible.

Nina wasn't out there at all, she was just darker than him and she knew that he didn't like that. He was one of those undercover racists who attached the same stereotype to all black people, and especially women. A misogynist, a colorist, and a racist in one.

Imagine how hard it was for Nina to fake kick it with him every time she saw him. She struggled immensely.

Now, to find out that he'd knew about Tyler being with Britney this whole time was damn near a slap in the face. Of course he supported that infidelity; Britney was also mixed, but mostly pale, and she was a very sweet and classy girl—at least, according to David she was.

Mind you, David nor Tyler would've known about Britney had Nina not introduced her to their family. That's why it was a slap in the face. It was as if she did it to herself.

She needed time before she had to face her father-in-law again or else she'd swing on him the same way she did to Tyler.

"That's fine, babe. I don't blame you.. do you want me to stop and bring you food on my way home or are you cooking?" He exchanged the brown Steve Madden loafers for black Coach ones before standing up from the bed.

"You want me to cook?" She asked, and he nodded his head with a laugh since she already knew that he wanted her to.

"Take some meat out before you go." She lifted her head to give him another kiss after fixing his tie for him.

"I love you."

"I love you too. Good luck." She blew him one last kiss when he released her from the hug, making him smile.

Tyler would be bringing the word tonight for Wednesday service and although he'd done it plenty of times before, he was still nervous each time as if it was his first. The nervousness was always for nothing though because he did amazingly well every time.

When she heard the garage close, she grabbed her phone from off of the charger to see if Samir had responded to her text yet.

Nina had a smile on her face as she pulled the covers back to get out of the bed, and she was so annoyed with herself over how excited she was to go see him.

The day that they sat in his art room and talked, they spent almost six hours together until Tyler came and picked her up to take her home. The night before when they went to get her things, they ended up staying because it began to violently storm and neither of them enjoyed driving in the rain.

He went to work the next morning and then they went home together when he got off. She hadn't seen Samir since that day because his work schedule unfortunately aligned with Tyler's, so it wasn't like she could sneak off and go see him—she couldn't believe she'd even thought about it; sneaking off to see another man?

And here she was, about to do it. She wasn't mad about it either.

They'd been texting nonstop over the last few days but it was clear that the both of them missed the other's physical presence whether Nina wanted to admit it or not.

She couldn't wait to see him though.. he excited her.

"Girllllll," Samara answered the door with her tongue out, and Nina immediately covered her face in embarrassment while laughing with her.

"No judgement hereee sista, come on innn. Come in, come in," She pulled her inside with another laugh, locking the door behind her.

"He didn't tell me you'd be here. I'm so embarrassed." Nina humorously sighed with a smile on her face.

"Baby ain't no need to be, for real. I'm so fuckin' happy you giving him a chance. Ugh. You don't know how long I been waiting on this, girl. I don't even care about the circumstances." She referred to Nina's marriage.

"He's a good friend. I'm surprised other girls haven't gave him the same chance." She chuckled.

"Oh they be trying but he don't be going for it. And girl you talkin' 'bout friend? Frienddd? I know you ain't sneak over to see your 'friend' in a Skims set smelling like fuck me?" Samara put her hands on her hips with a smirk, making Nina burst into another fit of laughter.

She was dressed in a navy blue two piece set from Skims—a tank top and boxer briefs—and she paired the lounge clothing with a pair of matching sock and crocs. Her skin glistened from the EOS vanilla cashmere lotion she wore, which had the scent of vanilla cupcakes.

It honestly was slightly purposeful, but also wasn't at the same time.

"Baby you in my businessss? Don't do thatttt," Nina tried to hold back on laughing again, but let it out after seeing the expression on Samara's face.

The girls continued to talk with one another and were in the middle of exchanging social media handles when Samir finally arrived home, carrying two Chipotle bags and one bag from 7/11.

"I told you not to talk to her Samara." He practically shoved one of the Chipotle bags in her arms, then smacked his lips when she hit him upside his head.

"Have fun guys. Use protection! Or don't, it's always been my dream to be an auntie, you know?!" She called out to them as Samir led the way to his bedroom, making Nina laugh again.

"Don't laugh at her. She's not funny." He told her, closing his door after she walked inside. He locked it too because his older sister loved popping in unannounced.

"You can't be mad boy. What you telling her not to talk to me for?" She smiled, watching him pull his hoodie off.

"She's weird. She's more obsessed with you than I am. Talkin' 'bout how she couldn't wait to have a sister. She's weird." He signed with his hands.

"Don't start signing n—hold on, did you just admit to being obsessed with me?" Her head tilted to the side.

"Can you stop talking? You're worse than her." He waved her off, and she laughed, walking to stand next to him near his front dresser where he was pulling their bowls out of the brown bag.

"I missed you too." She spoke softly, remembering that she never responded to that part of his message.

Samir stopped what he was doing to look down at her, and the way he put his undivided attention on her made her stomach instantly fill with butterflies; something that seemed to happen quite often with him.

His head lowered to plant a small kiss on her forehead, and the sweet gesture made her lift her arms to hold around his neck in a hug. He froze for just a millisecond, then wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I was starting to think this was one sided.." He mumbled to her.

"You gon' get me into so much trouble." She stated in the same low tone as a small smile creeped across her face.

"You wasn't having fun with him anyway. At least now you smiling." He told her, causing her smile to spread further while the hug slowly fell.

"I made sure they gave you the extra stuff you asked for. What you want to drink ma?" He passed her the heavier bowl and the bag of chips she asked for, covering his mouth to block a yawn.

"Water is fine." She sat down on his bed after removing her crocs, and when he walked out of the room, she picked up the remote.

It surprised her how comfortable she was in this man's home given that this was only her second time over. It surprised Samir too, because again, he'd never done this before. He didn't mind the new change though.

"It's beef?" Nina asked after taking the water bottle from him, and he perked one of his eyebrows to ask what she meant.

"Did you just push my feet off of you?"

"Yes." He answered blankly because he'd literally just done it, so why would she ask if he had?

"So it's beef?"

"I suppose. I don't put my feet on you. Don't put yours on me."

"Well I'm going back home then." She sat up from lying against his pillows, and he grabbed her arm as soon as she tried to stand up.

"Stop being like that." He signed with his hands, holding what seemed to be his permanent frown on his face. She smiled in content when he lifted her leg and placed it in between his again, allowing her to rub her feet against his.

It eventually went quiet between the two of them as the instrumental theme song of Criminal Minds began to play from Samir's TV, but the silence wasn't awkward at all. It was shockingly comfortable.

Within less than a half hour, neither Samir nor Nina had finished their bowls but were both done with them for now. Somehow, after putting his bowl on the dresser, Samir ended up on Nina's chest with his attention on the Behavioral Analysis Unit tracking down a serial killer.

His left arm was wrapped around Nina's torso while her hands rubbed gently at his scalp, and their legs were now tangled together underneath the covers with no complaints from Samir.

Nina found it hard to believe that this was actually happening right now, when just a few days ago she told herself she wouldn't cheat on her husband. Though she hadn't took it as far as him and actually had sex with Samir, she knew that this was still just as bad, if not worse.

Unlike Tyler only being with Britney for strictly sex, Nina could see a future attachment to Samir..

They'd only been texting for a few days but it took her back to her young and single era where harmless flirting kickstarted genuine feelings, or when she used to fall asleep on the phone and be in a presumed relationship the next day.

She liked Samir as just a friend for now, but she knew that if she kept up with sneaking to see him, it would become more than that, especially since he already liked her romantically even with knowing that she was married.

"What time do you have to go back?" Samir's voice pulled her out of her head.

"Ten-ish.." She told him, taking her hand out of his hair to rest it on the side of his face.

It was currently a little after six o'clock and Wednesday night service started at seven and usually didn't end until a little after ten. They usually congregated after, so most people didn't actually leave until close to midnight. Nina still had to make it home in time to cook dinner for Tyler though, so she had to leave earlier than him.

"What are you thinking about?" He then asked.

"How do you know I'm thinking about something in specific?"

"You stopped rubbing my hair like something bothered you." He told her, causing her eyes to lower to look at him. He was so attentive.

"I was thinking about you." She stated honestly.

"After only a day is crazyyy." He mocked the phrase she'd been saying since they exchanged numbers, making her laugh.

"You got it like that." She repeated his usual response, and Samir turned his head to look at her with a smile.

"We just friends, remember? What you up here stressing for ma?"

"You know why." She chuckled, moving his dreads out of his face so that she could see him better.

"Nah," he paused. "I don't. Tell me." He said, as if he was taunting her to admit the truth, mostly to herself since she was the only one in denial.

Her hesitation on speaking up resulted in no response at all because if she admitted to taking a liking to him this soon out loud, it would just make this all the more real. She wasn't ready to face the truth yet; she was already stressed out and struggling with her moral compass.

If he made her feel this way in less than a week, imagine how she'd feel if this went on for longer.

What was to come?

"It's just me and you in here. What are you afraid of?" Samir asked, and Nina's gaze briefly flickered between his eyes and his plump lips.

"I'm afraid of hurting you.." Nina said something that he wasn't expecting, causing his expression to soften. "I feel bad 'cause I'm the first girl that you've liked, but I'm not even—available? I don't want to lead you on.. you don't deserve that."

"You are so handsome, and so damn sweet. You were there for me like you've been knowing me for years or something.." Her smile slowly returned. "There's a girl out there who's going to be so lucky to have you. I don't wanna hold the line up."

"What you moving so fast for? You won't even let me just exist here with you, right now. Stop pushing me away like I'm forcing myself on you or something. We chilling. Why it can't just be that?" He signed to her with his hands, knowing that he'd stutter if he spoke. He didn't like serious conversations.

"Because I like you Samir." She finally admitted.

"Let it just be that then. I'm not asking you to divorce your husband tonight and start a life with me tomorrow. I'm just here with you. We just watching TV. Just be here, Nina. You worrying too much." His hands stopped moving as he lowered his head to kiss her cheek, and her arms wrapped around his neck for another hug.

This man was going to drive her insane.

Bitch and shut up cause y'all be kissing and hunching on the first link!!!!!!! So don't be saying they moving fast boo 🙄✌️✌️✌️