Chapter 20
Well, it is my birthday.
Gratefully, I had the forethought to close the bedroom door before going to the balcony, or Carter would have seen the messy sheets of the morning after a hot night of sex. He placed the balloons and flowers on the brown coffee table and sat on the table before me, where I settled on the orange sofa. “Before you say anything, let me explain about last night.”
“I don’t know if it even matters,” I replied, residual hurt and embarrassment slipped in from the night before.
“It does.” He glanced around the exquisitely decorated suite full of greens, browns, and orange decor. “This is nice. You spent my money well. We can ask for an extra night to have the weekend we planned.”
I shrugged. “This is the West Indies suite. Since we both like water, I thought having a suite representing the islands and a balcony to enjoy the breeze would be cool.”
Carter picked up my hands and implored, “I didn’t stand you up. I slept in the parking garage, waiting for a new shift to take over. I’ve been trying to get here since last night. I lost my cell, couldn’t call you, and didn’t remember the suite number. Because of security, they wouldn’t let me in. You must have put the reservations in your name.”
I carefully replied, “Yeah, because I didn’t want trouble if I checked in without you.”
“I don’t know your number by heart, and without a phone, I couldn’t even message you on your social media. I stayed in the lobby for a long time holding your balloons, hoping you would come down, and then I decided to retrace my steps to find my phone. When I couldn’t find it, I returned and slept in my car to start fresh this morning with a new staff. Luckily, a guy who attends our school recognized me and gave me the suite number.”
His explanation sounded plausible. Still. “What time did you get here last night?”
“Around seven,” he promptly answered.
I retorted, “Bullshit. When you didn’t show up, I saw you on IG with the team at some bar after ten.”
“The team went bar hopping, and I was with them for happy hour. Whoever it was might have posted it late, but I left there and came here around seven. I knew I lost my phone, but I thought we could search for it together once I made it here. I trust you with my credit card. The least you can do is trust my word.” After a moment of silence on my part, he entwined our fingers. “Darren, why would I go through all this trouble to just lie to you? I wanted to surprise you and make your birthday special.”
That was what I kept telling myself until time kept ticking away. Men can easily get caught up doing whatever they’re doing and fuck the women waiting for them.
Except now I know Carter wanted to make my birthday special.
“How long have you known about my birthday?”
Carter sheepishly grinned. “The day you moved in next door, I found your IG. You don’t post a lot, but the one pic I did see was you with your family celebrating your birthday last year. Figured if you chose to spend your birthday with me and not him, thathad to mean you wanted me more. Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?”
“Because men like to ghost when a woman asks him to spend her birthday with him.”
Carter squeezed my hand. “Only if he’s not interested in her that way.”
I raised my eyebrows.
He leaned back. “And you thought I wasn’t interested in you that way?”
“Hello. You’re like this God on campus. The men either envy or love you. The women want to sex you. From the first day at In and Out, you made it clear that you wanted to just fuck around.”
“I only said that because you already have or had a man. I didn’t think you would leave him, so I was good with kicking it whenever we could. So, are you back with him or something? Thinking I stood you up, pushed you back in his arms?”
Before I could answer, he tugged me to him and pressed his lips against mine. And the sparks I’d always felt with him surprisingly returned. I thought last night with Grey would somehow make me immune.
Still holding my hands, Carter asked, “Can we just spend the weekend together? Let me show you how it could be between us. Whatever you want to do, let’s do it. Then whatever you need to tell me about him, tell me later. Let me pretend it’s just you and me a little longer.”
"Are you trying to woo me?" I smiled.
Carter's eyes sparkled. "All I know is that I can't stop thinking about you even when I want to."
The more he spoke, the more I felt his genuineness, and the anger slid away. But I couldn’t let him see the bed, and then he would be the angry one, and any chance with Carter would be over.
I wasn’t crazy.
“Then let’s go get breakfast. There’s this black-owned vegan spot not far from here. We might be able to walk there from here since it's a beautiful day.”
