“I mean kinda. I’ve run out of money and need to get back on my feet. I’ve been staying with a friend for the time being, but I need work. I don’t feel right living here if I can’t contribute to the household.”
There was some shuffling around before she responded. “Well, you know I’m here for you. Your father made me wait until you called for help, but he put something together for you in case you needed help figuring out your next move. Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”
I couldn’t say I was surprised my father was trying to look out for me. He was determined to make sure I didn’t go back behind the wall. “I’m over on the east. I’ll text you the address.”
“Okay, sounds good. Everything is going to be fine, Perfect. I promise.”
We hung up not long after her declaration, and I felt a little lighter. Going into my text thread, I sent her the address and told her to come in the morning. I glanced up just as El appeared in the doorway. My heart raced a little knowing I would have to leave her behind, but I truly believed it was for the best. I couldn’t take care of either of us, and it was eating me up.
“Hey, you okay? What’s on your mind?”
I ran a hand down my face and shook my head. “I’m good, Princess. You done for the day?”
She came into the room, pushed me back on the bed, and straddled my lap. “Yeah, I am, which means I get to have you all to myself.” She hovered over my lips, and all I could do was study her. I had to memorize every detail of her beautiful face because while I was doing this for myself, deep down, I knew she was my motivation. I hadn’t expected to build a beautiful bond with El in such a short amount of time. But I wanted to be the best version of myself for her.
“You sure you’re okay? Seems like you have a lot on your mind,” she said because she was studying me as well.
My hands slid up the sides of her body. She was always so soft and smelled sweet. El had quickly become my addiction, just as much as I’d become hers. I wanted to tell her what I had planned, but I knew what she would say.“It’s fine, Perfect. I can handle everything until you find a job.”And that was a hugenofor me. I was not the kind of man to be taken care of by a woman. I never had been, and I never would be. Hell, my own mother didn’t take care of me, and her ass was supposed to.
“I do, but I’m good, Princess.” I smacked her on the ass, and she giggled. “Come sit on my face so that pussy is all that’s on my mind.”
She sat up, pulled her shirt over her head, then tossed it to the side. “Yes, sir.”
All I could do was enjoy every second of our last night together because once the morning came, I would be gone. Worst of all, I didn’t know how long it would be either. That was another reason I couldn’t tell her. I would just have to let the cards fall how they were supposed to.
Flipping us over so that I was on top, I paused to admire her oval, honey-caramel face. Leaning down, I kissed the mole underneath her right eye. I felt the chill that ran through her body and smiled. I trailed my nose softly across her cheek until I got to the one by her ear. I placed a kiss there too. Again, she shuddered from the anticipation. The last thing I did was kiss a trail from her ear to the mole right above her lip. I closed my eyes, trying my best to hold my tears captive. This shit wasn’t like what happened with Star, because tonight, it really felt like I was breaking my own heart.
I poppedup out of my sleep, feeling like I was seconds away from puking. Tossing the covers off my legs, I barely made it to the bathroom in time before that was exactly what happened. I didn’t know how long I remained hovering over the bowl, vomiting until there was nothing left. When I finally sat back on my heels, I felt completely empty, clammy, and lightheaded. I used the back of my hand to wipe the sweat from my forehead.
Standing slowly, I flushed the toilet, then began to brush my teeth at the sink. My feet shuffled back to Port’s room, where I’d stayed the night, only to find the bed was empty. I noticed my robe and slippers I’d bypassed on my race to the bathroom. There was a tiny, folded piece of paper on top of my robe.
I will be back
Xoxo, Perfect
I twisted my lips to the side, wondering where he’d disappeared to. I still wasn’t feeling well, so I went to the kitchen to grab a ginger ale to hopefully settle my stomach. As I leaned against the counter, a thought crossed my mind. “No . . .” I paused with the soda midair as reality smashed into me, knocking all the air from my lungs. I placed the ginger ale on the counter and rushed to find my phone.
I sat on the edge of my bed, seeing a text from my first client of the day, telling me that he was on the way. I bypassed it and went into the health app on my phone. All the air was sucked from the room as I noticed the notification at the top. I tossed the phone on the bed and allowed my head to fall into my hands. My thoughts were literally all over the place, and the only thing to bring me back down to earth was my client calling to tell me he was outside.
I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror, trying to get myself together, but this was a lot. Even worse, I couldn’t get to the bottom of things until I was done working for the day. I had five clients lined up, one after the other.
I focused on evening out my breathing while quickly dressing in a two-piece set. My hair was brushed into a bun, and I slicked my edges as best as I could in the limited amount of time I had. When I rushed out the back door, I saw Ralph leaning against the shed on his phone.
“My apologies for the wait,” I said in a quick breath while opening the shop for the day. I typically would’ve already had everything set up before my first client of the day, but everything was out of whack. Perfect was MIA and had left that ominous note saying he would be back. Not to mention, I still wasn’t feeling like myself.
“It’s all good, Rock.” He took a seat in my chair while I turned on my gospel playlist. I couldn’t start my day without it. After themorning I had, I could use a little help from the Lord to get me through with my sanity in check.
After a few deep breaths to center myself, I got started on Ralph’s cut. He wanted me to clean him up, so he was out of my chair in no time and on the way to his first showing of the day. He was a renowned real estate agent in the city who didn’t play about keeping himself up. I saw him damn near every week like clockwork.
Not long after Ralph pulled out of my driveway, I saw Tyshawn pulling along the curb. When his door opened, a cloud of smoke lifted into the air. I smiled because if he was going to do one thing, it was blow him some Mary Jane. I was pissed that I wouldn’t be able to hit whatever blunt he offered because I really needed it.
The rest of my day went on just the same, and around four in the afternoon, I was finally closing down shop. I pulled my phone from my pocket and went right to my messages. Opening my thread with Perfect, I checked to see if he’d texted me, but nope he still hadn’t.
It was unlike him to go all day without checking in with me, so I was becoming worried. In the month he was here, we’d developed a routine pretty quickly. It wasn’t even forced; we just seemed to notice how one moved and adjusted accordingly. Basically, even though it had only been a month, his absence was crippling. He had become my safety net, the safest place I’d ever had with a man, and because of that, I was forgetting how I operated before he came into my life.
Going into the house, I grabbed my keys to run an errand. I was so in my head that I didn’t even listen to music while I drove. There was a CVS up the block, so I went and made it back to the house in under twenty minutes. I waved at my neighbor Ms. Laila, who was tending to her rose garden. She spent most of hertime out there, tending to her flowers. I often sat on my porch, just watching her wallow in her peace.
After I let myself in, I raced to the bathroom. There wasn’t any time to waste, so I ripped open the package, then took a seat on the toilet. I got distracted when my phone rang. I rushed through what I was doing, hoping it was Perfect. I frowned when I saw it was my childhood friend Armani. I couldn’t even talk to her right now.
