Page 3 of Furthest From Perfect

I could only grin at how fly he was. When I’d promised to elevate his look all those years ago, it hadn’t been a lie. With my help, the chatter from the women became damn, I didn’t know Valentine was that fine. It was true—with the right haircut and clothes, he went from a five to a ten fucking thousand. With that nineties-fine look about him and a voice that came straight from the pits of hell, we were all victims of his unwavering charm.

“Okay, let’s take your pictures so I can head out.” With a sense of urgency, I went to remove his phone from the charger. A slew of text messages appeared on his screen, from saved and unsaved numbers, asking about his performance tonight. Most of the texts came from someone saved as the lemon emoji. Everyone wanted free access to tonight’s performance, and knowing Valentine’s overly friendly ass, he would grant it to them. He loved attention, and with it so readily available, his ego was always fully satiated. “Stand right here,” I said, directing him to where I wanted to snap the pictures.

He went straight into character, posing for the camera like the professional he was. His transition from poet to R&B artist was as smooth as a baby’s bottom. These days, everyone knew at least one of his songs, even if it was only a twenty-second TikTok sound—because those still counted in my opinion.

After a few rounds of both pictures and videos, I was satisfied with the content we’d collected. “Alright, I’ll get these over to Unique.”

Unique was his social media manager. We were always striving for brand deals, so all his outfits were posted. He was even kind enough to allow me to use everything for my stylist page. So far, he was my only client, but that was mainly because of my home situation. Once I was from under my parents’ roof, I could have more freedom, which would equate to taking on more clients. The work I did for Han’some was already a secret, and he kept me busy enough for the little free time I had after classes and clinicals.

“Cool, but aye, you not coming to the after party at Bottoms Up?” he inquired with a pout.

I shook my head while collecting all my things. “No. You know how my parents get. I need to get home, like asap, or I’m never going to hear the end of it.”

In quick steps, he crossed the room until he was standing beside me. “You’re twenty-five now, Koi. Why you still letting your parents control your life?”

I waved him off with an eye roll. “It’s not that simple. You know their rules.”

We’d had this discussion on more than one occasion, but he always forgot their number-one rule. I could see the wheels in his mind spinning. He snapped his fingers when it came to him. “They still stuck on that ‘not letting you move out until you’re married’ bullshit?”

I chuckled humorlessly because they took that rule very seriously. As their only daughter and the baby of two children, they were very strict with me. I was not allowed to move out until I was married. Kel was lucky to be born as a son because he didn’t have to abide by that. A lot of times, I wished that I was born a boy too because I envied his life. He was even allowed to move on campus when he went to college. Meanwhile, I was forced to commute to campus every day.

“Yeah, exactly, and since I have like zero prospects, I am stuck where I am for the time being.”

Valentine took up a casual stance against the wall while scrolling on his phone. “That’s a lie,” he retorted.

I slid my purse on my shoulder then eyed him with a raised brow. “What’s a lie?”

He leaned up from the wall, pocketed his phone, and closed the space between us. “You said you have zero prospects. I’m a prospect. I’ll marry your ass so you can stay out with me all night.”

He smiled like it was the brightest idea he’d ever had. Even though I knew he was joking, a part of me wished I could stay out with him all night. I still didn’t know what it felt like to stay out until the sun came up, and I desperately wanted to know what that felt like.

“Like I said, zero prospects,” I repeated. Even though my parents had a strict rule, I wasn’t completely opposed to it. Their hovering kept me from experiencing a lot of pain and made it easier to remain aligned with my spiritual beliefs. Being raised in the church also encouraged me to wait until marriage. “Marriage is not a joke, Han’some.”

“I know that; that’s why I’m not joking. I told you I love when you’re around. If we got married, it would solve my separation anxiety.” He snapped his fingers as if a thought came to mind. “I might even sleep through the night with a cuddle buddy.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, because I knew he was dead serious. “Good night, sir. Break a leg out there.” I gave him a thumbs up and raced to the door before he could hold me hostage any longer.

My phone started to vibrate again when the door closed behind me. I released a sigh of relief. I began to search for my phone when someone clearing their throat forced me to look up. Valentine’s baby mama, Fontana, stood there with her flock. They all had an expensive weave, designer from head to toe, and ass you could see from the front.

“Excuse us,” she said with a sneer. She always had a stank-ass attitude when she came around. I wasn’t a hater and could admit she had a pretty face, but other than that, she wasn’t worth a second glance.

I stepped to the side to allow them access to his dressing room. It was the reminder I needed of why nothing would ever come from my attraction to that man. He was spoken for in more ways than one. I didn’t have the capacity for drama, and Fontana was that times a thousand.

I waited until all their high-saditty asses passed by before finding my phone. I answered the call coming through and glued the phone to my ear. “Mama, I’m on the way,” I said before she even got to a mumble a word.

The world became a blur of neon colors and specks of gold. I had reported to Bottoms Up after my performance, and I was officially floating in outer space. The bass from the speakers in the corner of the room vibrated through my body, forcing me to rest my head against the back of the couch.

Even though everybody around me was having a good time, all I could think about was the fact that it was getting late and how my daughter, Nyari Skye, had recently developed a fear of the dark. She was probably giving her mama a hard time because she liked to force her to sleep alone. An uneasy feeling settled in my gut, and I made the decision to call it a night earlier than usual.

Lifting a hand, I got my security, Judea’s, attention. He left the entrance of my private section to walk over. He bypassed the many women attempting to get his attention until he was standing right beside me with a scowl. I spoke when he leaned closer. “Bring the car around. I’m about to head to Tana’s crib.”

He nodded once before clearing a path for us to leave the club. Hands roamed all over my body, and I almost lost my cool when one ho tried to snatch me to her by my wrist. “Aye, back the fuck up, shawty,” I snapped with a frown. In a quick motion, I snatched myself from her grip. “Ain’t nobody going home with me, but if I was choosin’, ain’t no way you thought I’d ever pick yo’ ass. Not even a bean would make me get that low and freaky. Fuck up out my face.”

My eyes bounced from her dry-ass wig to her childish-ass kitten heels. I shook my head in disgust. I watched red lipstick paint the tip of her chin when she frowned at me. There was so much more I could say, but I settled on a chuckle before I turned to walk away. No one stood in my way, seeing the sneer on my face, after that.

Pulling my phone from my pocket, I dialed up Fontana, even though I knew she was unlikely to answer. She’d had an attitude ever since I sent her home earlier instead of allowing her to stay for my performance at Blue Note. The minute she noticed I was at the after party at Bottoms Up, she started texting me a bunch of bullshit.

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