“Good, because you got enough bitches already.” He paused, then added, “Let me have one.”
Milan glanced over when I laughed, but I waved her off before answering Marv. “Get out the hospital first, then worry about chasing females.”
“I can do both.”
“Take your medicine and go to sleep dawg.”
“Fuck you.”
“Love you too, cuz.”
I ended the call still smiling and placed the phone beside my laptop. Marv calling dibs didn’t mean shit to me, but thefact that Navy’s face came back to mind that easily caught my attention more than I cared to admit. She was fine, that much was obvious, but it was the way she carried herself that stayed with me. She didn’t giggle through every sentence, didn’t bend over backward trying to be noticed, and didn’t seem impressed by anything about me. Hell, she barely looked like she wanted to answer my questions.
“Who got you smiling?” Milan asked as she climbed out of the pool, water running down her body while she reached for a towel.
I ignored her question. “What’s up?” I asked slowly licking my lips watching the water glisten over her naked body.
Milan stopped beside my chair and looked down at the laptop before closing it with one finger. “Good, since you finished laughing and making money, maybe you can remember why you invited us over.”
I leaned back and looked her over slowly before reaching for her hand. “I ain’t forget.”
She smiled as I pulled her closer, and behind her Zuri climbed out of the pool to grab her drink. Paper, the shooting, the money, and that little smart-mouthed nurse would all still be there in the morning. For the rest of tonight, I was done answering questions. I had a different kind of business to handle.
CHAPTER 13
Navy ‘Nay’ Prescott
A Few Weeks Later
“So this what we doing now?” Rome’s voice exploded through my phone the second I answered it. “You just gone keep ignoring me?”
I rolled my eyes so hard they almost got stuck before tossing the curling wand onto my bathroom counter. Steam still clung to the mirror from the shower I’d taken twenty minutes ago, making my reflection look a little blurry as I leaned closer to line my lips with my liner. Behind me, my bedroom looked like a tornado had blown right through it with two dresses spread across the bed, another one tossed over the accent chair, and three different pairs of heels scattered across the hardwood floor because I couldn’t decide what I wanted to wear.
“I’ve answered every call you made today,” I said, rubbing my lips together before reaching for my gloss. “What exactly am I ignoring?”
“The question,” he snapped, sounding like I was the one getting on his nerves.
I laughed without an ounce of humor while sliding the gloss back inside the vanity drawer, then walked into my bedroom with the phone tucked between my ear and shoulder as I fastened the clasp on one of my gold bracelets. The smell of the vanilla candle burning on the kitchen island drifted through the apartment, mixing with the fresh scent of the furniture polish I’d used earlier while cleaning.
“Rome, you ask me the same damn question every day.”
“And I’m gone keep asking it,” he replied without missing a beat. “Where you at?”
I picked up the second gold hoop from my dresser and slid it into my ear while staring at my reflection. The black dress I’d finally decided on hugged every curve without looking like I was trying too hard, and the nude heels sitting beside the bed made my legs look too good. Ironically my tones and shapely legs were also one of my best qualities. It had been years since I’d gotten dressed for an actual date, and although I kept telling myself tonight was nothing serious, my stomach had been doing flips since Marv called earlier to confirm the time. Yeah, I had no business even dealing with him, but he kept requesting me just like he said he would and we kept bonding. Now that he was finally home, he still called every day. I did like his personality, but I was still trying to figure out if I was giving him the time of day out of guilt although that nagging voice always told me to stay away from him.
“I’m at home,” I answered, reaching for my perfume.
“I know you at home.”
My hand stopped around the bottle before I slowly looked toward the bedroom doorway. “No, you don’t.”
Rome let out that dry ass laugh he always gave when he thought he knew something I didn’t. “I found your apartment, Navy.”
For a second, I just stood there holding the perfume bottle while my reflection stared back at me from across the room. The excitement I had been feeling about the night disappeared so fast it was like somebody had opened a window and let all the air out. I set the bottle down carefully before walking into the living room.
“What did you just say?”
“You heard me,” he replied calmly, and that calmness made it worse. “I know exactly where you stay.”
