He pushed my phone in my hand. “As ice. She didn’t call.”
“Bet,” I plopped down at my desk, dragging my hands down my face. “Fuck, man.”
“Is that a problem we need to take care of? The girl in the hospital?” Dean questioned.
Dean and Ashaun had been with me for almost six years, so they were privy to a lot of the situations I got myself into with women. They were my bodyguards but also trained assassins, which meant they moved and thought as such.
I shook my head slowly, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “Nah. She’s not a problem right now, more of an inconvenience than anything.”
“Inconveniences very easily turn into problems, X. You know that,” Ashaun warned as if Ididn’tknow that.
“I’m aware, A,” I shot him a look that told him to tread lightly.
My nerves were already on edge simply because I lied to my woman…again. I don’t know why I felt like shit was about to get hectic, and I was lowkey reconsidering Dean’s offer. There was a potential for this to come back and bite me in the ass, and that was the last thing I needed.
“You’re gon’ have to tell Dreka, or let us handle ol’ girl,” Dean advised after a moment of silence. “These bitches never know their place with you, Xyleek. That’s always been the problem and the reason you get caught up. If you’re gon’ be serious about her this time, come clean now and let us handle the rest.”
Dean was older than Ashaun, so he was always coming across like a father figure whether I wanted him to or not. Ashaun was like an annoying older brother being that we were only six years apart. We regularly bumped heads, but it was never ‘bout shit, so we bumped heads and made up in the same day. That nigga Dean though? Oh, Dean was always tryna school me, and as a fatherless child, at times, I appreciated that. Now wasn’t one of those times, but I was listening anyway.
“I’m not coming clean about a fuck ass thing. I’m lying to protect her.”
“You’re lying to protect yo own ass, nigga, don’t say it’s for her,” he fired back.
Dean never did agree with all my cheating, and he was very vocal about it. He wasn’t a yes man like most niggas in my life. He didn’t tell me the shit I wanted to hear; he told me what Ineededto hear, but that didn’t mean I always took heed to his words. He told me how bad I was running Drek into the ground back then, it just went in one ear and out the other for me.
“Miss me with that moral compass bullshit, Dean. You act like I’m looking for a way to hurt her…I’m not. I’m just tryna keep the peace, that’s all.”
“Your peace is built on a gahdamn lie,” he folded his arms across his broad chest. “You’ve done it enough times to write a book on it.”
I rolled my eyes and leaned back to get comfortable. Clearly, this conversation wasn’t gonna be over anytime soon. “And what exactly would you like me to do, Dean? Hm? Sit my shorty down and say hey, I lied, a bitch I used to crack has me listed as next of kin, so I really went to go see her in the hospital?” I tapped my ear. “Do you hear how fuckin’ crazy that sounds?”
He dryly chuckled, shaking his head. “You know what’s gon’ sound crazier? The silence in yo crib when Dreka leaves you for good. You claim you love her, and then turn around and do shit that’ll make her question it. X, you…you have this fucked up pattern to you when it comes to her. Instead of trying to control the damage you cause, control the fuckin’ problem…you.”
“You done?”
There was another pause before he mumbled something under his breath and walked out. Ashaun looked at me like he didn’t know what the fuck to do, so I nodded towards the door, silently dismissing him from my presence. Once I was alone in my office, my thoughts started beating my ass. I tried to weigh the pros and cons of telling Drek the truth but thinking of how hurt and disappointed she was gon’ be made me want to keep up the charade. Ishouldtell her the truth simply because that’s what a man does when he loves somebody, even if it hurts.
Picking up my phone, I stared at my lockscreen that was a picture of me and Drek chilling on my couch. She was laughing in the picture and looked so damn happy. I couldn’t ruin that happiness again just to look more trustworthy in her eyes. Dragging my hand down my face again, I squeezed the sides of my eyes and gnawed on my top lip while trying to decide what the best option was. Either way, I was fucked, but the chances ofher finding out I lied were slim to none as long as Gab stayed in her lane.
Me: Hey Angel, just wrapping up this meeting. You okay?
Sweet Angel: I’m good. The meeting went smooth?
Me: Yeah, we can talk about it later. I miss you and can’t wait to cuddle.
Sweet Angel: I miss you too, Mr. Chambers. I’ll see you soon, the contractors are almost done with the shop.
I blew out a deep sigh of relief as my shoulders finally loosened a little. Her texts were exactly what I needed them to be, normal and unsuspecting. For now, the charade had to continue.
Chapter Ten
Dreka
“Okay, Gomez,” I giggled as Xy kissed up and down my exposed arm like Gomez Addams fromThe Addams Family.
He placed his nose on my wrist and took a deep whiff before kissing my forehead. “You smell so good and look even better. I wanna bite you, for real.”
“Xy,” I laughed and shook my head at his antics, briefly looking up to catch Makenna’s disapproving eyes.
