“I didn’t even text Monica to see if she was going,” I said, changing the subject.
He hummed, stepping under the other shower head to rinse off.
Cash wrapped a towel around himself when we were done and headed into his closet. I followed, drying myself off and rubbing body oil into my skin. I slipped into my underwear and grabbed my phone off the nightstand.
Hey, boo. You coming to Mansion tonight?
Monica: Thinking about it. Lani been working my nerves though.
When is he not? Just come on so we can talk shit.
A few seconds later, my phone lit up with an incoming call.
“Bitch,” Monica greeted me when I picked up. “Why you acting like you not finna be up under Money all night since y’all together now?”
I sucked my teeth. “Whatever. He don’t run me.”
“Yeah, aight,” she tutted. “We’ll see. But fine, I’ll come out. Maybe I’ll find a new nigga and rub it in Lani’s face.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing that she was holding out hope that Jelani would get his shit together and stop being a fuck boy.
“You know you can just block him right?”
Monica groaned. “Yeah, yeah. Alright, I’ll see you in a bit,” she said before hanging up.
I rummaged through my duffle bag and settled on a denim short romper and paired it with white knee-high boots. I quickly did my makeup, slicked down my edges, and wrangled my thick curls into a bun.
Cash came out of his closet in dark jeans and a forest green knit shirt, adjusting the Patek on his wrist. The way his fabric clung to his muscles and the tattoos that snaked up his arms made me pause. Every time he walked into a room, he owned it without even trying.
“You look good,” I said, giving him a once-over.
He gave me that cocky smile, showing off his open face grills. “You look better,” he said, licking his lips. “But you gotta stop looking at me like that, Jas.”
I bit my lip, holding his stare in the mirror. The clean, spicy scent of his cologne wrapped around me, hitting me so hard I was damn near drooling.
“What you mean?”
“I mean, I’mma end up tossin’ you on this bed if you don’t quit it,” he said, stepping up behind me. “And I know you’d love that. Too bad Hassan’s already here. You ready?”
“I can’t believe you just have a driver on call like that,” I said as we went downstairs.
Cash shrugged. “It’s better than dealing with a car service.”
Outside, Hassan stood by the black G-Wagon, giving Cash a nod as we approached.
“Money,” Hassan greeted, dapping Cash up before turning to me with a smile. “Jasmine.” He said my name like we’d known each other for years, even though it was our first time meeting. I wasn’t surprised. I was sure everyone in Cash’s circle knew about me by now.
Cash helped me into the truck, his hand found my thigh as soon as his seatbelt was on. As Hassan backed out of the driveway, my phone vibrated.
I glanced at the screen, and my stomach dropped.
It was Marcus.
I shoved it back into my bag before Cash could see. I had no intention of calling him back. The car he bought sat untouched in my spot. I knew it was only a matter of time before I had to deal with him and dead this shit completely. But not tonight.
Right now, I was focused on how good things were and leaning into that. Resting my head on Cash’s shoulder, I laced my fingers in his as the downtown Atlanta skyline came into view.
* * *
