Page 58 of Tension

“Nigga, what the fuck—?!” he yelled.

“You touch Chris’s car again, you breathe in her direction, you even think about her wrong, and I’m not gonna be nice next time.” My voice was low, steady, but the rage was boiling just under it. I just wanted this nigga to leave her alone. I wouldn’t hurt him yet. Well… I wouldn’t hurt him anymore.

His hands went up like I was pointing a gun. “Man, I swear, on my mama, I ain’t been near Chris. I ain’t been doin’ nothin’ to her. She’s been done with me, and I’m tryna move on.”

“Bullshit,” I growled, stepping forward, crowding his space.

“I’m serious, bro!” His voice cracked. “I know I fucked up with her. Once we got kicked out of our apartment, she blocked me on everything. Don’t even know where she is or what kind of car she drives. I've been stayin’ out the way. I don’t want that smoke with her. Or with you.”

“You didn’t slash her tires at work?”

“Hell naw, that’s some female shit,” he said, shaking like a bitch.

I stared him down, not wanting to believe him. I gave him one last shove. “If I find out you’re lying⁠—”

“I’m not,” he cut in quickly. “I swear.”

Back at the house, the neighborhood was quiet. I slipped inside, locked the door behind me, and climbed the stairs without a sound. Chris hadn’t moved: still curled on her side, fanned over my pillow like she belonged there. I slid in behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. She murmured something in her sleep and pressed back into me.

My mind should have been at ease, but it wasn’t; it was worse.

If it wasn’t him… then who the hell was it? Was she fucking with someone else? Was I the only one she had been with?

She wiggled in my arms, getting comfortable, and I just sank in, knowing I had her, no matter what.

The morning’s soft light spilled in, warm across my back, but it was her I was focused on. Chris was still pressed against me, my hand resting lazily on her hip, her breathing matching mine. She smelled like sex and me.

She stirred, stretching a little, her bare thigh brushing over mine. My fingers moved without thinking: tracing the curve of her waist, smoothing over her stomach, down to her thigh. She hummed low, almost a purr, and her nails scraped lightly along my arm in return. For a minute, we didn’t say anything. Just moved our hands slowly, taking in the feel of each other.

She fit here.

I liked her here.

“I went to see Brian last night,” I finally said, my voice even, like I was telling her what I had for breakfast.

Her body went still for a second. “You… what?”

“After you knocked out, I slid out and found him.” I kept rubbing her hip, my thumb brushing her skin. “I was ready to fuck him up, but he swore he hadn’t been near you. Swore he didn’t even know what you drove now. Said he was out of the way. Whatever the fuck that meant.”

She rolled onto her back to look at me, eyes searching mine. “And you believe him?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But if it wasn’t him…” I let it hang there. “Then who is it, Chris?”

She frowned. “There’s no one else who would do things like this. I told you, I don’t talk to anybody else. I don’t date. And other than you, I haven’t been with anybody.”

I studied her face, the way she didn’t flinch, didn’t look away. I believed her.

“So, just me? That’s it?” I asked, my voice calm but with an edge.

“That’s it,” she said, just as steady. “I wasn’t ready. And I’m not a serial cheater. What happened before… was just with you.”

I rolled my body on top of her, looking into her eyes. “Just me, huh?”

She grabbed my beard, looking up at me. “Just you. So unless you’re doing this stuff just to get closer to me, I can’t think of anyone else.”

I held her gaze another beat, then leaned into her neck as I parted her legs wide so I could feel the heat from her pussy.

“If you’ve been with someone else, you can tell me, I have no right to be mad,” I said, tongue-kissing up her neck to her ear.