“Well, let him tell it, he’s going to pick her up as soon as he gets off work. He and her mom are throwing her a party, but he wanted to take her shopping and then to the party. I think it’ll be over at seven, but he didn’t make any plans for after that. I guess he’s just going to go home and rest.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
Shrugging, I reversed out of my driveway. “I don’t really care, to be honest. Valentine’s Day is only special when my man makes it special. If he don’t give a damn, I don’t give a fuck. I’ll love on myself today.”
Isaac chuckled. “I guess, baby love. I’ma let you go though. Enjoy the car, and call me if you need me. Love you.”
“Love you too, big brother. Safe travels home tomorrow.”
After disconnecting the call, I focused my attention on driving. Since my man didn’t make any plans for us, I decided to spend the day at the studio recording music. Becoming a well-known cover artist had never been my plan. Thanks to social media, videos of me singing other people’s songs went viral again and again, to the point where several music labels tried to sign me. Since I had no dreams of being famous, I declined, but I did hire an agent, attorney, and manager to handle my distribution, get clearance to record and post the songs, and book small, intimate shows.
If I had it my way, I’d never perform, but my manager and father convinced me to do at least one show a quarter so those who listened and supported me could have the chance to meet me and see me live.
Music was my second love; books and reading were my first love. One day, I wanted to have my own bookstore. In this season, I was content riding the wave and going wherever music would take me. Thankfully, since I grew up in Rose Valley Hills, I could still roam around the city without needing security. The only time people approached me was if it was a tourist or someone new to my music.
As I drove, I thought about my plans for the year and how there was a really big chance I would end it single. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, Isaac was right. Justin could have put forth more effort than he had. Unless he planned to give me a gift tomorrow, he hadn’t even dropped off flowers or anything else before he went to work today. I was too ashamed of his actions to tell my brother about that, so I kept it to myself. I was sure me and Natasha would talk about it tonight while we ate cookies, drowned in champagne, and laughed until we cried and went to sleep.
Chapter
Two
Eli
Later that Evening . . .
I couldn’t focusduring my recording session. Apparently, Isaac followed Justin and his baby mama from his burner account. While Justin claimed he was at his daughter’s party, his baby mama posted a video of her and baby girl traveling and enjoying the day of love together. I went to her page, and sure enough, there were pictures and videos documenting their trip to New York. Apparently, Aniya was a theater girlie and wanted to see a play for her birthday. Her mom decided to set the bar high, taking the five-year-old to see her first Broadway play this weekend.
While I found the gesture cute and loved that Aniya was being treated with experiencing Broadway for her birthday, I couldn’t understand why Justin had lied to me about his plans for tonight, unless he was up to no good. As I drove home, I decided to call him and give him a chance to come clean. If he didn’t, I was going to pull up on him and break up with him in person.
It took what felt like forever before Justin answered the phone with, “Hey, bae. You good?”
“Hey. Yeah, I’m good. Where you at?”
Justin cleared his throat and didn’t respond right away. “Still at work, bae. I got about another hour before I leave to get Aniya and take her shopping before the party.”
Holding my chuckle in, I shook my head and sighed.
“Can I come see you real quick? It’s Valentine’s Day. It feels weird not seeing you at all.”
“Uh . . . I-I . . . How about I come see you at the studio after I leave? I don’t have your gifts here with me, but I can grab them and bring them to you.”
As I turned onto my street, the sight of Justin’s car in my driveway caught me off guard. Instantly, I felt horrible for losing faith in him. Clearly, he was trying to surprise me.
“Actually, whatever you had planned is fine, babe,” I surrendered, pulling into the driveway.
“You sure? You can wait until tomorrow?”
Giggling, I nodded and parked. “Yes. I can wait. Enjoy your time with Aniya.”
“I love you, L. Thank you for being so understanding.”
“I love you too.”
I was so excited, I disconnected the call, cut my car off, and quickly made my way to the front door. Since I didn’t want him to know I was early, I decided not to go through the garage. A part of me wanted to wait and see what he was up to when it was ready, but I’d told him it would be another three or four hours before I left the studio, and I couldn’t wait that long. Even if all I saw was what he was setting up right now, that was more than okay with me.
I quietly made my way down the hall, and the sound of Natasha laughing and moaning had my feet freezing like they were being surrounded by concrete. My head jerked and tilted,refusing to believe what I was hearing. We were supposed to be celebrating Galentine’s Day since she was single, and seeing as there was only one car in the driveway, I refused to believe she was entertaining a man. If she was, he would have had to park in the driveway next to her car, because I refused to believe she was with my man.
Rounding the corner, I gasped and covered my mouth. Eyes widening, they focused on the sight before me—Natasha smiling and moaning in ecstasy, head tossed back while Justin made his way between her legs . . . toward her pussy. The second his mouth latched around her, I growled. Tossing my bag and phone down, I charged toward the bed. I wasn’t dumb enough to believe I could fight Justin, regardless of how many boxing lessons my father made me take. I did, however, plan to beat Natasha’s ass.
