aligned.
Warnings: MDNI • Explicit • Terry Richmond x Black!OC, Self!Insert, a lil fluff, just introductions.
Summary: Right place, right time. When Cleo meets Terry, the rugged pretty boy, at the club on a celebratory night, it seems like the first in a string of divinely twisted moments. But will fate be enough to move their love along, or will they have to weather some storms before their happy ending?
A/N: Hiiiiii! Long time no... read? lmaoooo but i hope you enjoy this first part of aligned. 🤭
It had gotten to the point where she just didn’t care anymore. She didn’t look over her shoulder to see if some fine man just so happened to be watching her, or peer across the room to stake her claim over a stranger. It was no use. She was always the last to get picked for anything good; the last of her family and the last of her friends. Of no fault to them of course.
It may have been her quirky way of saying things, her very singular interests, or how serious she could get about the things that mattered to her. That always seemed to intimidate people; her intensity.
But at this point in her life, Cleo had begun to pull her energy back inwards, and focus on herself for once.
She honed in on what her style was, her favorite nail shape and color, how she loved to wear her hair. She focused solely on the things that brought her joy; that benefited her and no one else.
Cleo was so effective, she even figured out how she wanted to use her purpose, and began on the path she dreamed of. It was as if she suddenly found herself living by her mother’s words: the mark of a woman is her signature. So that’s what she found. Her signature scent, her signature look, her signature way.
It wasn’t her intention to lure him in, or anyone for that matter. But when you live in your own world, and love it? You’re bound to have a few tourists.
Terry’s eyes scaled the live club, carefully moving from the bottom level to the top to scope out anything unusual. It was apart of his routine: every hour on the hour make sure everything was secure on the property, and keep a keen ear out for any distrubances. But as the Head of Luxe Nightclub security, he found that he’d seen more inch long skirts, pasties for shirts, and aching feet than any actual fights. It was a perk.
Easy work from now on was the goal, a way to still do some good without the fear of constantly being on the frontlines. He had subordinates for that.
As he rounded the club, examining the partiers and human mannequins alike, he made his way back to the front, where the hour just hit 11:00 p.m.
Three girls shuffled into the door from the cool spring air, all of their brown skin was glistening to perfection, dresses seemingly tailored to their exact sizes, and hair befitting to all of them. The guard that was stationed at the door quickly ran the handheld metal detector over all of their frames, and as Terry made sure to keep watch of anything he may have missed, his eyes met the most beautifu woman he had ever seen.
She was like the median of the group; not the skinniest nor the thickest, but fine as hell. Her hair consisted of dark locs that fell just past her shoulders, her deep brown skin was covered in a few tattoos along her arms, and her little black dress clung to her most promising assets. Though he didn’t want to stare, he found his eyes stuck on her, noticing her d-cup breasts that sat under her low plunge neckline. And then there were those eyes. Almond shaped yet big, and sort of doe-like. Even though she looked like she belonged, her eyes stood out; as if she was the most innocent girl in the room.
Those very eyes flickered up, catching his gaze as she got past the entryway of the club.
Cleo blinked in his direction, taking in the sight of him. His eyes seemed…green? And…blue? Teal maybe? She didn’t fully know, but they were gorgeous, feline even and starkly juxtaposing the serious scowl on his face. But judging from the vest and stealthily holstered gun, she figured he had to look that way. Had to look menacing just in case someone wanted to try something while he was on the clock. Had to watch her for a full minute as she walked past to find her and her friends’ section.
Throughout the night, she completely forgot about the tall man. She drank, and danced, then drank again. Soon, she could feel the bass of the hip-hop songs playing in her body, and she let the liquor take away any inhibitions she had around gettin up on the small table within their section. As Saweetie’s voice blared through the speakers, Cleo swayed happily, prompting her friends to cheer her on.
Mrs. Make it Happen, doing numbers got em pissed!
She pointed her forefingers at herself as she sang along, and all of her friends jammed right with her. The whole club erupted in different voices singing the lyrics, and she smiled at the atmosphere.
Arch yo back, toot it up, damn I’m cute as fuck!
As Cleo followed the instructions of the line, her friends screamed even louder, glad that she was finally letting loose.
Terry could hear the happy screams across the room, his ears perking up at the sound. He had finally gotten himself to stop staring over at the goddess of a woman that he saw walk in, and now everything in her direction was pulling him back in.
Allowing himself to glance over, he saw a figure higher than all the rest, and on a double take, his brows furrowed as he realized who it was. Her. Dancing on the table with all of her friends egging her on.
Though he loved the sight of her twerking her ass to this melodic rap tune, he couldn’t be caught letting a liability slip under his radar. He walked slow, wanting to let her have her moment, but as he watched on, her other friend got on the table as well, and then another girl from one of the other sections nearby. Gotdamnit. Terry sped up his steps, and as he walked up on the table, he looked up at the woman in awe.
“Excuse me, I’m gonna need y’all to get off this table.” His deep voice projected in the loud room, and even though everyone heard him, only Cleo looked down. Her body didn’t stop moving, she swayed to the end of the song as the DJ mixed it with something else, but she couldn’t help but smile at the man who seemed determined to get her down.
A ghost of a smile met Terry’s face as he reached his hand up, and she put her hand in his, instantly feeling his warmth as she stepped down carefully. Finally at the height that her heels afforded her, Cleo looked up at the tall man, curious about his continued eye contact.
“You gotta be careful, these tables ain’t meant to handle all’a that.” He flirted absentmindedly, giving her a quick look down her body and back up to her eyes.
“Mmh, are you?” Cleo retorted, Hennessy and sass lacing her words.
“Hell yeah.” When the short woman’s smile grew, Terry realized his mistake. Shit. He really didn’t mean to say that outloud. But as her eyes lowered and her smile faltered just a little, he didn’t feel an ounce of regret in his body.
“I’m Cleo.” She replies, following suit and looking him up and down. A scoffed chuckle from the man’s lips made her smile grow yet again, and he rests his hands in the straps of his bulletproof vest.
I do not condone any translations, replications or plagiarisms of my original work. Please do not repost as your own. Reblogs and comments/notes welcome. ♥︎
*I just tagged a couple people but if you want to be removed or added, let me know in the comments.♡*
