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“You know what my goals are. If I can’t achieve them here, I will go somewhere I can.” Standing, I walked over to her. “With that being said, if and when I decide to leave, you will be the first person I make that announcement to.”
She licked her lips and gritted her teeth before storming out of my office. Cursing under my breath, I headed down to Maritza’s office. We needed to come up with a backup plan.
Twenty-Four
Maritza
I loved seeing a happy Black man, and my man had been just that all day. He thought what I did for him at the office was all I had planned but that wasn’t the case. After we got off work, I paid for him to have his hair cut and his beard shaped up, then I took him to the mall to get a few new pairs of shoes and outfits.
What Jeremy thought was a simple dinner for the two of us turned out to be a surprise party in his honor. He only wore one form of jewelry, black watches, so I got him a black alligator leather Santos de Cartier watch. It set me back a cool thirty stacks but his happiness and excitement when I gave it to him made it worth it. The way he spoiled me, I didn’t give a damn about the price tag of anything I knew he would like.
I’d invited Violet to the party before they talked earlier, so I didn’t expect her to show up. She did, and she was on her best behavior. A part of me felt like keeping this from her was wrong. I understood why we had to and that her not standing on her word was the reason this was even happening, but still… after the time I spent with her at her home, I felt closer to her. All I could do was hope she didn’t take our departure personally.
With a chuckle, I recorded Jeremy as he staggered into his bedroom. He talked all this shit about the things he was going to do to me when we got home, but he was so drunk, the only thing he was about to do was sleep.
“Bae?” he called, sitting on the edge of the bed after almost missing it.
“Yes?”
He burst into a fit of laughter that made me laugh as I kneeled to take off his shoes.
“I love you.”
My smile dropped as I looked up at him. His red glossy eyes were already peering down at me.
“You’re drunk,” I reasoned, pulling off his shoes.
“I’m not that drunk, and even if I was, a drunk mouth speaks sober thoughts.”
That was true. “Jeremy…”
“Shut up,” he commanded gently. “This isn’t about you; it’s about me. I don’t even want you to say anything back. I don’t care if you love me or not; I do love you.” His hand gripped my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “You’ve given me more unconditional love, acceptance, and support in two months than any other person has in my entire life. You make me feel wanted for who I am, not where I come from or what I have. I feel safe with you, like I can be myself with you. And for a man like me, that means more to me than you will ever know.” His thumb caressed my cheek. “I love you, Lovie.”
As if he hadn’t said anything, Jeremy began to remove his sweater. I helped him out of his jeans, hanging back as he got comfortable in bed. After I undressed, I crawled into bed next to him. Instead of laying on his chest, I placed him on mine.
“Thank you for making this the best birthday I’ve ever had.”
I kissed his forehead and nose, then his lips. “It was truly my pleasure.”
In seconds, he was asleep, and I had to hold back my laugh. Humming, I kissed and caressed him until sleep found me as well.
* * *
“What a beautiful sight to wake up to.”
My head lifted at the sight of Jeremy. He’d woken up earlier than me and used the bathroom in the hallway to freshen up. I wasn’t sure if he was doing that because I didn’t tell him I loved him back, even though he told me not to. The smile on his face made me feel easier about it. Only a towel was wrapped around his chest as he walked over to the bed with a tray with two mugs and toast on it.
“Good morning, Mr. Sunshine. I wasn’t expecting you to be up so early.”
“Yeah, well, a night of drinking won’t turn off my internal alarm clock.”
I held the tray while he got in bed, glad I’d gotten up and freshened up when I heard him moving around.
Lifting the mug to my nose, I inhaled and moaned. “Mm, my favorite.”
While he had regular black coffee with ginger, he’d made me a chai tea latte with ginger. As he bit into the toast, I found myself staring at him. Chuckling, he wiped his mouth.
“Do I have something on my mouth?”
