I pressed my hand against the door and slowly eased it open. He was seated at his desk, staring straight ahead, and he didn’t look in my direction before speaking.
“Close the door and c’mere,” he demanded.
Russell Rush
Rose closed the door and leaned against it before responding with, “I’m good over here. Did you need something?”
I finally looked at her and became pissed all over again. The nerve of her ass to come here with another nigga, dressed like she just stepped out of the pages ofEssencemagazine and smelling like heaven.
My eyes perused the length of her body, starting with her toned legs and the long split down the middle of her dress. Her legs taunted me as my eyes stopped where I knew her pussystarted, before working their way up to her small cleavage and finally making it to her face.
Her skin was like smooth milk chocolate with barely a blemish in sight. I had to bite my bottom lip when my eyes landed on hers, covered in a red gloss and looking like they were begging to be kissed.
I pushed my chair back and slowly stood. Her body shifted as she waited to see what I would do. My office was spacious, but not overly so. There was probably about ten feet between us, and I took my time getting to her.
The closer I got, the heavier her breathing became. By the time I stood in front of her, she was almost heaving. I left less than a foot between us, and she looked up at me with her innocent eyes, encased in thick, natural lashes, melting away all the anger I’d felt this evening.
“Why did you bring him here?” I asked in a low voice.
“The same reason you brought Gayle.”
I shook my head.
“Nah, I doubt it. Why are you playing in my face?”
“I’m not?—”
She gasped when I gently but firmly grabbed her neck and put the back of my forearm against the door above her head.
“Do you like him?”
“Huh?”
“You heard me.”
“Russ, please. I?—”
“You what?” he interrupted.
“It’s just a date. It’s nothing serious.”
“What about that nigga Jason, or that four-eyed nigga Steve, or the one with the fucked up fade, Kevin? Were you serious about them?”
Her brows narrowed as she tried to decipher how I knew the names of the last few niggas she called herself dating.
“How—how do you—did you do something to them? Is that why they—oh my God, Russell!”
She used both hands to grab my wrist and push me away, but I stopped her when she tried to leave. She released a huff, folded her arms across her chest, and mean-mugged me.
“Every nigga you call yourself dating will be put on notice. If they heed my warning and go away quietly, nothing happens. If they don’t, they’re putting their lives at risk. I always leave it up to them.”
“I can’t believe you. That’s why I leftThe Compound. I don’t need you all in my business.”
“Rose, regardless of what you think, you’re mine. That shit will never change. You can prance your ass around this city, risking niggas’ lives, and thinking you’re single if you want to, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I don’t care about you being mad, because I’m fucking mad too.”
“It’s been a year since you broke it off with me. Why are you mad?”
“Because you think this is a game. My love is not something to play with, and I don’t give it away freely. I love you, Rose, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Baby, I feel like I’m suffocating without you. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I’m fucking miserable. I need you, Rose, and you brought that nigga in here to?—”
