Page 22 of Sun Kissed Moments

“Happy birthday,” he mumbled against my lips.

“Thank you,” I replied sweetly. “Happy heavenly birthday to your mom.”

Begrudgingly, I let him take DJ from me. He perched the puppy back on his arm and said, “Thank you, baby. That means a lot to me.” He motioned towards the gifts. “See if you like everything.”

“I’m sure I will,” I replied, but dug inside the first gift bag to see what was in there. The logo on the bag was interesting enough as I’d never had this brand of tea before. I took the box out of the gift bag, inspected the branded box, then sniffed it.

“Lemons, berries, and ginger, right?” Dane asked.

Grinning, I said, “Right. The Urban Tea Room… Where’d you find this place?” I questioned.

“They are exclusive and came highly recommended, so I gotta keep it a secret.” He shrugged. “Told them what I needed, and they delivered. I tried it myself—”

“Wait, what? You hate tea,” I stated.

“You can’t make me a believer,” he replied, to which I chuckled. “But that shit is amazing. If I say it is, you know it is,” he explained.

“I trust you,” I replied while returning the box to the gift bag. Dane crept up behind me and pressed his body against mine. Forgotten were the gifts. He turned me around until I faced him.

“You trust me?” he questioned.

“As far as the taste of tea? Yes.”

He chuckled. “Nah, not the taste of tea. You know what I mean.”

Glancing up into his dark brown eyes, the look that was there terrified me.

“Let me in,” he said.

“And if I decide to, what’s going to happen after that?”

“Bliss, Justina. We become a couple and do what the fuck couples do.”

“As if you’re not you, and I’m not me. Things aren’t so simple, Dane.”

“That’s just it, baby. We make this what the fuck we want it to be. Not what the fuckin’ world wants to force us to make it. If we want it to be simple, then things will be simple.”

“Nothing is ever simple amongst celebrities,” I answered.

“Stop it!” he hissed. “You wanna find a way out, do it wit’ ya whole chest, lil’ mama. Don’t stand here and act like we can’t make this shit work.”

A knock at the door interrupted us.

“That’s brunch,” he informed me. “Go ahead and get cleaned up while I get everything ready for you, aight.”

Nodding, I accepted another kiss before heading to the bathroom. While showering, I thought about Dane’s words and truly thought about whether being in a relationship with him was worth all the chatter that would come behind it. Plus, there was my mama to consider.

Just go for it, Justina.

I didn’t trust myself to just go for it. And I hated self-sabotaging the situation. Dane was nothing but kind and gentle with me. I was getting the man behind the scenes. Not the mega superstar. Not the heartthrob. Not Big Dane. Just…Dane. Just Dane was a force of nature through and through.

After showering, I applied moisturizer to my skin, sprayed some perfume on myself, removed the rollers from my hair, played around with the strands until they lovingly lay in soft waves, then dressed in a tank top and shorts. For the first time in a long time, my birthday didn’t consist of photoshoots, gaudy parties, loud jeers from strangers, and no pretending like I was having a good time when really, I just wanted to be alone.

I padded out of the bathroom and joined Dane in the living room as sounds of Mint Condition played.

He saw me coming and held his hand out for me. I took his hand and allowed him to whisk me to his body. He kissed my cheeks, then my lips. Seconds later, he pushed my chair in once I’d had a seat. He took the seat across from me and said a quick prayer.

“Where’s DJ?” I questioned.