Collide an age gap insta.., p.1
Collide: An Age Gap, Insta love Romance, page 1
Collide
A. Akinosho
Copyright © 2023 by A. Akinosho
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
Contents
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
20. Chapter 20
21. Chapter 21
22. Chapter 22
23. Chapter 23
24. Chapter 24
25. Chapter 25
26. Chapter 26
27. Chapter 27
28. Chapter 28
29. Chapter 29
30. Chapter 30
31. Chapter 31
32. Chapter 32
33. Chapter 33
34. Chapter 34
35. Chapter 35
36. Chapter 36
37. Chapter 37
38. Chapter 38
39. Chapter 39
40. Chapter 40
41. Chapter 41
42. Chapter 42
43. Chapter 43
44. Chapter 44
45. Chapter 45
46. Chapter 46
47. Chapter 47
48. Chapter 48
49. Chapter 49
50. Chapter 50
51. Chapter 51
52. Chapter 52
53. Chapter 53
54. Chapter 54
55. Chapter 55
56. Chapter 56
57. Chapter 57
58. Chapter 58
59. Chapter 59
60. Chapter 60
61. Chapter 61
62. Chapter 62
63. Chapter 63
64. Chapter 64
65. Chapter 65
Also By
About Author
one
Tate.
"Whoever you are, please don't let go of me." She said.
I hear her pleading, whispered words. They echo loudly in my ear despite the rambunctious restaurant. Though it was a whisper, it crashed into my being. She clings to me without thinking how crazy we look. I hold her, and she tightens her hold on me like her life is on the brink of ending if I let go. Which slams into my chest with an unexpected feeling. My stone heart is thumping. It has been a while since that happened.
Two minutes before this moment, my thoughts were on Dane, my crazy best friend who likes to pick different restaurants around town to dine at. Today he's celebrating my birthday, which I do not care to celebrate. I think he does it to remind me I'm getting older. He picked this restaurant, and I'd just walked in when a kid ran into the server carrying a large tray, causing food and plates to fly. As the server tried to pull himself together, he bumped into this lady, knocking her ass to the floor. She crawled around, trying to find something to hold on to. She found my feet.
Using her hands, she slowly crawled up my body from the floor, not in a creepy way, but it was certainly unexpected and unusual. Surprisingly, I stand and let her. Once she was on her feet, she held on to me. I wasn't sure what to make of her actions. I could tell she wasn't another crazy lady trying to get my attention, like most women who think that getting my attention makes them the next Mrs. DeMoore. If only they knew I've sworn off getting married, and I'm allergic to intimacy.
With her whispered words, I held her close to me. She rests her head on my chest. Weirdly, I felt a need to keep her close and protect her before I could speak to her.
"Over here," she shouts.
I didn't hear anyone call out; I was lost in the unexpected emotions. I'm experiencing particularly the perfect mold of her body to mine and how good it feels to have her in my arms. I smell her floral perfume.
"Lande!" Now I hear the voice and see who she's answering.
"Over here," she shouts again.
A petite black lady with waist-length braids comes closer. In her pencil skirt and heels, she tiptoes over the mess on the floor that the servers are trying to clean up. She gets to us and tries to pull the lady out of my arms. I won't release my hold.
"I got her, Mister." she snaps at me, quite feisty for a petite lady.
I hold on tighter to my crawler.
"Did it pop out again?" She asks the woman in my arms.
"Yes." She sighs, "Do you have the spare?"
"Yes, come on, let's go," she answers. While pulling at her again.
I maintain my hold.
"Thank you, Mister. She’s, my cousin. I'm safe with her," my crawler says. I gently let go and noticed her cousin quickly grab her hand. Before leaving, she turns to me, eyes closed like she's presenting her beautiful face to me without makeup and full lips laced with lip gloss.
"Nice cologne, and thanks again," she smiles and holds her cousin firmer; they leave hand in hand as her cousin guides her.
Weirdly, I like that I could connect with her, despite her having no idea who I am or who she is.
I smile as I watch them leave. It doesn't take long to find Dane already two plates in. I decided not to mention the chaos and the lady. I could tell he didn't hear or see anything, and his face was buried in his iPad. He looks up. "Guess getting old is making you slow." He smirks.
"Young or old, long as I can still wrestle you. I'm good," I say as he beats his chest like King Kong, laughing.
"Happy thirty-sixth birthday, slick." He gives me a fist bump.
"Thanks, man; I can't believe another year just rolled by." I truly can't believe I survived the year without my parents.
Well, you're richer than you were last year, and more beautiful women still want to be your arm candy. Not sure you have anything to complain about" A waiter magically appears, and I put in my food order, ignoring his comments.
We dive right into talking about the day. My order appeared faster than expected. While eating, I hear the singing of happy birthday to you. I look in that direction, and I see her smiling.
She is beautiful, no doubt. She's shy, covering her face as they sing to her. I must have stared long enough and not heard anything Dane said until he blocked my view. It made me blink. He turns toward my gaze and sees her smiling with her friends.
"You can't be serious," he says, his face cringes in incredulity.
"Why not?"
"She looks too young for you. What is she like, nineteen or max twenty-one?" He gives me a questioning frown.
"Even better," I smirk, and he laughs, shaking his head. "Move," I say to him, and he slides out of my view. I almost wish he hadn't because a guy kneels before her, and she looks surprised.
He's proposing, and she's nodding. He puts the ring on her finger as the crowd claps in excitement. Good thing we can't hear them. I would hate to hear him professing some cliché undying love line to her.
Unexpectedly, my heart races. I feel sweaty and can't stop staring at her smiling and the guy wrapping his arms around her. He kisses her gently. A flush of jealousy rips through me. I want to pull her from him and take her somewhere he can't find her. A myriad of unpleasant emotions all come at me. This is crazy, and why did he have to propose to her tonight? Almost like he's sending me a message that she's taken.
Fuck that!
"Well, looks like that guy already beat you to her. Better luck next time. Get back out there. She's a closed case." He mocks.
"They are not married yet," I retort, surprising us both.
"Do you even know her name?" he challenges, raising his eyebrow questioning my messed-up statement.
"Landon," I say.
"I doubt 'Landon,' he air quotes, "is her name, but better luck next time, slick," He smirks.
"I'm not letting her go". My tone is defiant. Shit, why am I fighting for her? I'm unsure of her name; she probably forgot about me already.
"Do you hear yourself?" His raised eyebrows and frown express how much he questions me.
"I sound great; I'm aware of my own words, which are," I point my cutlery at him, "She's not married yet," I say in finality.
"Fine, can we just discuss the matter at hand?" he says, dismissing my statement. I nod.
Dane begins a discussion about the units we recently bought. I live in one unit, and I just moved my clothes, bed, sofa, and entertainment system into the unit; otherwise, the place is bare. We'll keep one for now and sell the other two. Dane plans to have the two we want to sell completely decorated. The unit we keep will be for friends or air BnB.
He's convinced we can make more money and sell faster that way. I agree with him, though I barely listen to him. My focus is my beautiful crawler. My eyes remain on her and the party group.
two
Tate
We eat and talk. Normally, I would've been done and out of here, leaving Dane to figure it all out. After all, he's a Lawyer that refuses to practice and would rather deal in real estate, but tonight I stay longer watching her as she smiles and laughs with her friends—the moment I see them gathering their bags and heading out. I rise without saying a word t
By the time I make it out, she's getting into a white Mercedes with the guy that just proposed to her.
"Good night, Lan-day, and congrats again," I hear the lady; she'd called her cousin shout out
"Good night, and thanks again, guys." She smiles and waves back.
I watch them zoom off.
How's it possible she made me feel something and got engaged the same night? This is just messed up. Maybe I should just let it go. Case closed, as Dane said, but I couldn't shake my emotions when I held her.
Dane soon comes out too. He's staring at me like I've lost my mind.
"She's gone in this city, and you may never see her again,"
Geez, thanks captain obvious.
"I refuse to believe that. I'll find her," I state without taking my eyes off the car, taking my woman away.
Are you f… serious? My subconscious checks to see if I'm still sane in declaring a woman who doesn't know I exist and whose first name I can barely say right, with no idea of her last name, my woman. Yep, even I questioned my sanity.
"When you find her, she'll still be engaged and planning a wedding."
Seriously, dude, a little confidence. I dislike his voice of reasoning right now.
"She's not married yet. Until then, anything is possible," I retort.
"Let's go. Maybe you'll get your chance another day. She's not your birthday present." He snickers.
"I need to speak with their waiter. Maybe he can tell me something." I ignore his sarcastic joke.
"I already did since you are acting like a love-struck puppy, or should I say Cupid's arrow missed the heart and struck you in the head." I frown. "Anyway, the waiter said they all come here every other Friday. They will be back in two weeks." I let out an exasperated sigh.
"Two weeks is a long time." I snap.
"Time is not the issue, Slick. The issue is she's engaged. Which frankly spells she's taken and not single, plus she's not your type." He says dryly.
I'm about to respond when he raises his hand to stop me. "If you say she's not married yet, again. I will have you committed to a psych ward tonight."
I let out a belly laugh at his words. I probably sound a little crazy.
You think.
I gave the valet my ticket, and we waited. Dane doesn't drive, and that's how he likes it. We've been friends since he moved to the US from the UK at sixteen and forced me to be his friend. At least, that's how I tell it.
He's biracial with a black mother and a white father. He's two inches above my six-two height and well-built, spends most of his time at the gym and in restaurants, then in bed with any woman willing to take him home. He has lost most of his British accent, but now and then, when he's upset, it becomes more pronounced. One thing he hasn't lost is the word "Tosser". That's still his go-to word.
In high school, Dane, Micah, and I were dubbed the AKAs 'Smooth, Player, and Slick'. We were the bonafide teen-whores. Still are, though we are now confirmed, bachelors.
Micah, like Dane, is also biracial, black father and a white mother. We have remained tight since high school.
These days we don't need swagger or moves. The women just find their way to us. Micah lives in New York but spends most of his time in Paris. Once every year, we meet up in whatever country Dane has planned for us. I don't bother asking where our annual meet-up is. He won't tell me anyway. Dane, the non-practicing lawyer turned real estate investor, convinced me to get into the real estate business with him. I do not care about the money. I'm a DeMoore. Micah and I have enough to last ten lifetimes.
Dane isn't poor, either. He likes the hustle and is convinced we must all hustle. I indulge him since he and Micah are my only close friends, and there is no harm in investing with him, though I grill him about every investment like it's a serious matter.
He knows his stuff and does his homework, but I enjoy grilling him before doling the money out to him. We have made millions in the last few years, and I'm convinced he's always worth the investment.
My car soon arrives, and he jumps right into the passenger side. I know dropping him off at home isn't optional for me, or he'll curse me out till I turn eighty. I might as well save myself the trouble.
After dropping Dane off, I drive home, and I can't stop thinking about Lan-day and how she smiles. Just how is it possible that a woman I didn't know existed until three hours ago can affect me this much? All she did was say two sentences to me, but something happened to me when I held her in my arms.
It was a shift my mind, body, and soul welcomed, and I want to continue feeling that way every day. It's simple; I want her.
The damn problem is she got engaged tonight. It just had to be tonight, right in front of me. Just how much of a bitch can life be to bring her my way and take her right back? As I said to Dane. 'She isn't married yet.' Until that happens, she's fair game. Another problem is the fact I'm not sure about her name. And I don't believe I should wait two whole weeks for a chance to see her again or find out her full name.
Unfortunately, finding a needle in a haystack is more probable than me finding her without an exact name or even a picture in a city like Chicago. Two weeks is a long, painful wait.
I tossed the entire night, kept feeling her in my arms, simultaneously remembering she's in her fiancé's arms right now, having sex with him. My mind is spiraling with images of her writhing in pleasure in his arms, sending a stabbing pain to my chest. Fuck!
All I wanted was to have dinner with Dane, then a quiet evening at home or maybe another fuck night with Brenda. My beautiful crawler has crushed both outcomes. I'm home, my surroundings are quiet, but my mind isn't. Good thing it's Friday night. I lay in bed staring at my goddamn ceiling, finally drifting off at some point, no clue when.
three
Lande
I felt protected in his arms; I wanted him to keep holding me. I would have stayed in his arms longer had Shola not called out to me. She probably saw me fall. I liked his smell and his muscular arms on my body. I couldn't see his face, which was a shame. Shola led me to the bathroom. So, I could fix my contact lens; wearing contacts is still a struggle, but I'd lost a bet, and I can't chicken out of wearing the contact lens. Shola and I returned to the group once my contact was fixed.
I remain quiet, listening to Deji, my tall, handsome lawyer boyfriend, who is always well-groomed. Tayo, my fashionista high school friend, whose crazy hairstyles I can't keep up with. She loves her scissors and sewing machine.
Shola, my petite yet feisty cousin. Philip, the prankster in the group, is also Tayo's boyfriend.
And there's Dele, the cutest guy in the group. Though his man-whorish ways has no comparison. My people, arguing, as always, about nothing. I smile and laugh, but my mind is on the mystery man. Though, I have no clue what he looks like. I just have his smell and the feel of his arms wrapped around my body.
When Shola pulled me from him, I wanted to shout at her to leave me alone. But I couldn't. Knowing her as well as I do, she would've left me, and I would've been stuck in that spot. I can't see without my glasses. So, I went with her. As I look around the restaurant with the group talking, I do not know what he looks like. I'm hoping I feel some connection with him in this busy restaurant.
"What are you looking at," Deji asks.
"Nothing, just thought I heard something," I respond with a smile.
Deji and I have been dating for a few months now. We are getting to know each other better, and I'm getting more comfortable with him. He's gentle and kind, which for me, is a priority. The group gets louder in their endless talk about nothing. I laugh along to all the jabs they throw at each other. I love them, and they keep me happy. Without them, I have no idea what my life would be like.
My best friend, Kay, isn't with us tonight. He's the only one I can honestly talk to about my personal stuff. I need to fill him in on the crazy shit I did tonight- crawling up some mystery guy's body to get my aching ass off the floor. The mystery man probably thinks I'm a freak. No, I don't think so. He held me like he felt what I was feeling, too.
I keep my eyes on Deji, reminding myself this is the guy I'm with, though we don't have any attraction.
"Tomorrow is the benefit dinner, remember?" Deji says to me.
"Yes, what time will you be picking me up?"
"Nine-ish should be a good time for us to set out. It's a short drive."
