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Of course, she told him to leave. She told him what they shared had only been research for her books. But that was to protect herself. She’d enjoyed his tenderness, loved his roughness, and reveled in the emotions flowing between them. She’d enjoyed it all too much. However, he hadn’t put up much of a fight before he left. He just…left.
She had to get out of her head. Caleb hadn't demanded a second chance. Hadn't forced her to hear him out. Once he got what he wanted, he put up a weak fight and bailed like the last time. So, she'd forget about what they’d shared mere hours ago the same way she tried so hard to forget about the first time.
Choosing to let it go, she decided to write. She strode to her desk and sat down. She opened her keyboard and started adding words to her latest story. She picked the title months ago, but another title came to mind. A Second Forever.
She smiled as she deleted the current title and wrote the new one. Cole and Lasheda’s story brought her happiness through many long writing nights. Unlike some of her other characters, they deserved a second forever.
They’d both thought they had found the perfect someone. Only to find themselves in desperate need of a roommate when their respective relationships didn’t work out. Moving in together was a no-brainer for them since they had been friends since college. Cole had no idea Lasheda was attracted to him. Though, he secretly admired her and wished they could be together.
Unwilling to mess up their friendship, neither told the other how they felt. When Cole found Lasheda’s sexually explicit letters with his name on them, he had to have her. They couldn’t do the roommates or best friends thing any longer.
They’d become something more. Something they explored feverishly every day and night. Their passion blossomed into something beautiful. Their friendship grew into love. Lasheda was done looking everywhere when the right one had been under her roof the entire time. Cole had no doubt she was the one for him, so he closed the deal by making her his wife.
Tears flowed down Tiera’s cheeks as she finished their wedding scene with ‘The End,’ two words every writer loves to type. She wished real love could be crafted with a pen but knew it couldn’t. At least her characters’ got what they wanted. And she had given it to them.
Done with A Second Forever, she let out a happy squeal. She closed her laptop. When she wrote under her pen name, Cara Fitzright, she didn’t lament her childhood crush. She became the woman in charge of destinies, a world builder, and a creator. Satisfied with turning the night into a writing success, she showered and made herself comfortable in the hotel bed.
She stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Writing her story was one thing, but she had slept under the same roof as Caleb for the past week. And to her chagrin, she had gotten used to his place. No matter how often she thought about how comfortable she’d felt at his condo, she pushed the thought away. She didn’t need him for her comfort. She had all these fluffy ass pillows; she could get comfortable alone.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
The blaring sound of her phone made her thoughts cease. She picked it up from the bedside table and was happy to see Vivian’s name flash across the screen, although deep down, she anticipated it to be Caleb.
She smiled, attempting to replace her somber mood so that Vivian wouldn’t suspect anything was wrong. "Hello, Viv. You’ve been quiet."
"Hello, sis! You’ve been quiet too. Glad I caught you." Vivian sounded revitalized. She was stressed about Caleb’s PR nightmare the last time they spoke. His drama with Stuart and her at-risk pregnancy had her nearing a breakdown. She was being instructed to have bed rest by her doctor, and her mother was fussing over her noncompliance and continuing to work in the office. Her brother fussed and threatened to return from his business trip if Vivian didn’t take time off from work. Thus the reasons, she was commissioned to babysit Caleb.
"You sound chipper. How are you and the baby?" Tiera asked.
"We’re doing good. The doctor has me lying in bed with my legs up to reduce swelling. My nose is wider than a Tonka truck, and I crave pickles with peanut butter. Other than that, everything is just fine.” She groaned. “Ugh. My sweet baby is moving around, but I’m stuck in bed. I never thought I could get tired of resting, but I am now at that point. My mother will not let me move for anything but to go to the bathroom. If she could hook a catheter to me, she’d do it,” Vivian complained.
Tiera joined her laughter. “Not a catheter.”
“Yep. She sure would.”
“Clearly, your mother is taking good care of you. I love it.”
“Clearly, she is doing too much. And speaking of taking care of things. I haven’t heard one peep about Caleb’s situation since you came to help him in the office. Do you have anything to report, or are you putting out all of Caleb’s fires? Or, better yet, has Stuart decided to crawl back under his rock? Caleb told Terrance that’s who he suspects it is.”
“He’s lurking around. He came to Caleb’s condo and went into the gym when Caleb was in there,” Tiera reported. Because reporting that she’d slept with Caleb wasn’t going to happen.
“What? Caleb saw him?”
“Yes, my guard told me about it when he tried to convince me to let him know where I’m going at all times.”
“Wow, I can’t believe the nerve of Stuart. It’s not like he hasn’t caused enough damage to our business. He’s unstable, so you should do whatever Caleb and his guard ask of you, Tiera. Because just like I asked you to help us with PR, I also need you to be alive when Terrance returns from New York. Please, don’t make your brother hurt anyone.”
“I’m complying.” She walked over to her door and looked out the peephole. “I might or might not have had a little issue earlier today, but everything is fine now. The guard is outside of my room right now.”
“Tiera. What did you do?”
“I might have slipped away from my security detail through a window.”
“What?”
“Oh, don’t worry; they were on my trail before I could get into my Uber.”
“Wait until I tell Terrance about this.”
