“Old habits,” I sighed. “They died hard, Kier.”
“As long as they die. You ain’t gotta figure everything out tonight.” He added, resting his hand over mine.
Nodding, I took heed to his words without pulling them apart. The need to control every outcome, or to stay a step ahead of whatever could go wrong, was still present. However, it was much calmer in the middle of nowhere. My thoughts floated somewhere else, focusing on what it might look like to be here with him and completing surrendering without judging myself. Even the small things started to take shape, like what I’d cook first or how I would tell him it was no way in hell I was sleeping alone out here since I was scared. Either way, something new was forming between us and instead of questioning it, I accepted it.
The quiet wokeme up before anything else did. Back home, there was always some sort of background noise. Traffic, a distant train, or even a noisy neighbor would find their way to be part of my day. Out here, there was none of that. Just open space and still air that established itself deep into the house; and while it was peaceful, it was super eerie too.
I turned onto my side, staring out toward the wide stretch of glass across the room. The endless desert should’ve felt peaceful, but it didn’t. My mind had too much room to wander. I exhaled, pushing the sheet back and swinging my legs over the side of the bed. The floors were cool under my feet as I stood, tying my hair up loosely as I stepped into the hallway.
The house felt different in the morning, or maybe it felt different because Kier wasn’t around. I tiptoed a few steps to his room and saw him still resting. His shirt was off, and his bare chest was on full display as he slept peacefully on his back with one leg bent. I didn’t wake him. Instead, I gently closed the door and went back to my room. After showering and completing my facial routine, I dressed in some cotton shorts and a tank.
I made my way into the kitchen and saw the groceries I requested sitting on the island. Clearly the butler had come and gone, but I didn’t know, considering I didn’t hear him. I was practically up all night due to the stillness, not sure how I missed him. Anyhow, I was grateful for the fresh fruits and meat. I put my earbuds in my ear, turned on some Jhené Aiko, and started putting the items away.
Careful not to make too much noise, I opened and closed the cabinets gently. It was still technically pretty early, around 8 or so. I wasn’t sure what time Kier would wake up, but I wantedto have his breakfast ready for when he did. I made us some turkey sausage patties, eggs, spinach, and mushrooms. That alone made me think about Damien. He really thought I liked his omelets. I hated food mixed in with my eggs, and he never noticed. I scoffed as I finished up the cooking.
I glanced toward the hallway once, but he didn’t show. I plated his food anyway, sliding it into the oven to keep warm, then wiped my hands and stepped away from the stove. After plating mine, I sat at the counter, devouring it as I scrolled on social media. Treasure always teased me.‘I don’t know why you even have a profile, Sibley! You don’t post or anything.’ My last post was two years ago. But still, when I do go on, I would visit her page, Tara’s, or the gossip blogs.
“Ugh, Tara.” I sighed. Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to go on her page. True enough, there was a photo of her and Damien. They took a selfie, and she captioned it: Friends to Lovers.
I sighed again, making a mental note to text Treasure. I couldn’t believe Tara was really pursuing this. She really said fuck our friendship, and that’s the most hurtful part about all of it.
Continuing to scroll, my mouth hung open, and I dropped my fork to my plate. Staring back at me was at several pictures of me and Kier. There were pictures of me getting in his truck at the airport, pictures of us at the listening party, even a recording of me going to his room in Vegas. I couldn’t believe it. The caption read:
‘Kier Stone isn’t spotted often, but when he is, he gives us so much to talk about. This brown-skinned beauty has been seen with him at numerous locations over the past several weeks. Is it groupie love, or something serious? Because after that last fiasco, our boi deserves a break. If nobody’s watching, we are, so stay tuned.’
Groupie love was one thing, but it didn’t catch my eye like ‘last fiasco’ did. What fiasco? Did he have a public falling out, or a high-profile relationship? I needed to call Treasure and get the details.No, you don’t, Sibley, that’s the past. You’re the present, and it’s not your business.My thoughts screamed at me. I was very curious. So curious that I read the comments to see if I could get a name. Instead, the comments were about me.
‘She’s cute, I hope it works out!’
‘These celebrities be having y’all too obsessed with their life. These people don’t know y’all!’
‘It’s probably a publicity stunt, it always is.’
‘Can a woman be more than just cute? I’m sure she has goals or something. Y’all be focused on the wrong things.’
‘Is this why Legacee album is delayed?? Can we get back to the music please??’
I was exhausted by the tenth comment or so. The internet had absolutely no chill, and now I was annoyed that I was curious about the ex. Shaking my thoughts away, I took the final mushroom into my mouth, then placed the plate in the sink. I had work to do, and that was again another reason why I stayed away from social media. It was too easy to get consumed.
By the time I made it to the living area, the sun had lifted higher, pouring fully into the space now. I pulled my laptop onto the table and opened my presentation, letting the structure of it pull me back into something worth focusing on. I created a few slides, adding metrics and sentences about strategy on them. I worked for a couple solid hours when I heard motion behind me.
“You finally up?” I asked, eyes still on my screen.
“Yeah. Nigga was tired.” His voice was rough and lower than usual. I glanced back then. He stood there in red basketball shorts and no shirt.Lord.
“What time is it?” He asked.
“Almost eleven.”
He frowned as he wa lked over to me. “I don’t sleep like that, my bad.”
“You do when you’re relaxed, as you should.”
“True.” Kier placed a simple kiss to my lips, and I bit the bottom one as he walked away towards the kitchen. “It’s clean in here, you must didn’t cook.”
“Some of us cook and clean as we go love! It’s in the oven,” I said, nodding toward it. “Figured you’d wake up eventually.”
He opened the oven, pulling the plate out and setting it on the counter. He looked at it for a second, then back at me. “I see you, Si. This look good.”
