Page 19 of Nothing Like Your Ex

“Thank you, and at nine,” she answered.

Yawning, Melo nodded. “Me too. Got church with the family, then brunch at my parents’ crib. What you got going on?”

“I’ll be at church bright and early, too. Do you guys do brunch every Sunday?”

“No. All her kids and some family in town ‘cause of the concert, so she and my pops cooking.”

Kwinn smiled. “I love that. You must have a big family?”

“Yeah, it’s a lot of them mothafuckas.” He chuckled, making her do the same.

“I’m sure they’re so proud of you.”

Melo smiled. “Yeah, even though I’ve been rapping for years, they’ll never let me live down what I do.”

“And they shouldn’t. It’s something to be proud of,” Kwinn expressed.

“Yeah, it is. Same for you. I might need you to redecorate a few rooms over here.”

Kwinn smirked. “I can gladly prepare a quote and a contract for you.”

“You playing, and I’m for real.”

Laughing, Kwinn shook her head. “No, I’m serious. You just want me to come to your home, sir. You’re not slick.”

“Nah, I’m not trying to be slick at all. I fucks with your craftsmanship. You gotta crazy talented eye, and I appreciate that. But I ain’t opposed to you sliding through if that’s what you wanna do. I’m more of a catch a flight type of nigga, but it’s whatever you want.”

Kwinn swallowed hard, semi-perplexed by the shift of the conversation. “Um, no. I’m good on both,” she said, clearing her throat and yawning.

“When you’re not, let me know. I ain’t hit your pretty ass up for no reason. I mean, yeah, I wanted to see your face and catch up, but… you know what I mean.” He laughed, not the least bit shy about expressing what he felt.

Kwinn loved that. Grinning, she shook her head. “It’s okay. I got you flustered, blushing and all.”

Melo’s deep laugh made her skin prickle with chills. “Blushing is wild, luv. Thank you for accepting my call tonight and coming to the show.”

“You’re welcome. I first thought you wanted something, but it was just to talk.”

“Yeah, I wanted to talk, but I definitely want something more than a video call. I want you.”

If her hardened nipples didn’t give away how turned on she was by his declaration, the slickness between her thighs did. Kwinn licked her lips and watched as Melo stared openly at her. Silence stretched between them, making it clear Kwinn wouldn’t be responding. She couldn’t, although she wanted to.

“But I’ll settle for seeing your pretty face for now,” Melo countered, peeping her hesitancy to his boldness.

Kwinn loved it, but she shouldn’t have. “Okay,” she said softly. “We’ll settle on that.”

Melo gave her an uncompromising smile, flashing her those pretty-ass teeth that had her creaming, certainly staining her silk nightie.

“A’ight. Glad we could come to an agreement tonight. I’ma let you get your rest. Have a good night, my baby,” Melo said smoothly.

Kwinn bit her bottom lip. “You have a good night, too, Malone.”

Hearing his government name made his dick hard, and the look he gave her let Kwinn know it. Before they could take things any further, Kwinn hung up. Breathing hard, she swallowed, hating how dry her mouth was. It was as if her pussy had soaked up every ounce of saliva. Fanning herself, Kwinn decided to take another quick shower.

As soon as she entered her bedroom, a notification popped up with a new Instagram message. Melo had sent her his number and a winking emoji. Kwinn went to react to the message and stopped. So far gone and out of her element, she forgot that sneaking to talk to a famous rapper in the wee hours of the morning wasn’t her reality.

Jabari was asleep in her bed, with no clue as to what she’d been up to.

Kwinn stood in the middle of her bedroom, replaying her and Melo’s conversation in her head. The ease of it, the way he made her laugh, the way he had her reminiscing and missing out on sleep. All that talking, and somehow, Kwinn had completely forgotten to mention that she had a man.