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Reason number 2: His first love is football, and I will always come second.
There are twenty other reasons, including thirsty women, fame, time constraints, and more. But fast forward to reason number 23, which is that he forgot our anniversary,again.
He proposed to me two years ago on January 28th. That date was special because he had asked me to be his girlfriend two years prior. I understand he had a big game that overshadowed anything else. So, I’ll give him a little more time to remember January 28th, a date he should remember—always.
Though most of the other items on my list are correctable or can be overlooked, reason number 24 is this lipstick stain on the shirt's collar sitting on the kitchen counter.
Take a deep breath, Leslie, and think.
He didn’t ask me to, but I gave up everything while spending my every waking hour as Wayne’s girl. He became my world. My hope of being a model—shelved. My goal of launching my acting career—forgotten.
For the past few months, I’ve been searching for what makes me happy. All my thoughts keep bringing me back to photography. I have a knack for capturing moments others overlook. I see a picture and think of a thousand things a photographer can do to improve an image. The craft comes so naturally that I ordered a good camera and started snapping shots to build a portfolio.
Wayne thinks it’s a hobby. This morning, I wanted to show him the portfolio I have been working on and get his feedback. But that plan is ruined by the thought of another woman’s lips on his collar, which means her lips were aiming for his neck, which means she was either kissing or trying to kiss my man.
I pull out a skillet from the cabinet. I grab the eggs, pancake batter, milk, and several bowls. I drop each item onto the counter with force. The slime from a cracked egg makes me squeal.
Tears well in my eyes, but I refuse to cry. As I clean up the egg slime, I think about how much I love Wayne. Something’s got to give, and it won’t be me. I’m always giving, always sacrificing.
“I also said I wouldn’t assume the worst of him, so it could be a fan giving him a hug,” I talk myself down off the ledge of jumping out of this relationship. “Wayne loves me and wouldn’tdo anything to jeopardize what we have,” I affirm to the empty room.
I cook breakfast aware of the time. Wayne will wake soon so that he can pack and leave because...Reason number 25: I can’t drop him off at the drop-off point as he leaves to go on a two-week-long lockdown to prepare for the playoffs.
We had already discussed that he had to leave home if he won the game. Now, it’s time to follow through.
When I finish ruminating over everything on my mind, I stare at the island filled with his favorite breakfast. The moment the food hits the plate, he drags himself into the kitchen with an award-winning smile.
“Good morning, babe.” He ambles over to me, grips my neck into his huge hand, and drops feather kisses on my lips. “How are you this morning?”
I murmur between feather kisses, “Good. Morning.” I can never really turn my body off when it comes to him. No matter what thoughts I have flowing through my mind, a simple gesture of him gripping my neck and pressing his body to mine will make me forget what I was thinking. “Sit down, so you will have time to eat,” I implore him.
I need the distance to address the elephant in the room.The lipstick stain on his collar.
He turns and looks at the food. “This looks good, babe. You did all of this for me.”
I offer him a nod as I pour a cup of coffee and place it in front of his plate. He takes a long drag from the coffee and sits at the island in front of his food.
As his right-hand lifts his mug, it’s not lost on me that his ring finger is empty. Women don’t respect boundaries because...Reason number 26: Wayne doesn’t wear a ring because we haven’t gotten married because he won’t agree on a date for our wedding. But he made sure to put a house-size rockon my hand to stake his claim.His absent ring was only slightly irritating before I saw the lipstick on his collar. Now, it’s a full-on reason to call off our engagement.
“Did you have fun last night?”he asks.
Still standing next to where he’s seated, I glance back at the shirt on the counter. The shirt he obviously hasn’t noticed.
I sit on a stool at the island beside him and pick up my coffee. I try not to give him a death glare as I prepare to address how another woman’s red-painted lips landed on his shirt collar.
Chapter Eight
WAYNE
Zero to One Hundred
“Did I have fun?” Leslie glares at me over the rim of her steaming hot coffee. “Oh, yeah. Well, let’s see. Last night was cool once you finally made it home. So, I should ask didyouhave fun last night before you got here? You know, since you didn’t get here until after two a.m.” She sets her coffee cup down on the counter with a clank, making me keenly aware that the beautiful tide we rode so effortlessly last night has shifted.
I hear the accusations in her monotone questions. This is odd, given that we spent the better part of the morning ignited in a heated passion that had our moans bouncing off the walls until we couldn’t stand another release.
I clear my throat and offer a smile to break the slowly-building tension. “I thought we made up for that until just before sunrise this morning, babe. But sorry, I lost track of time. When I realized it was that late, I ran out of the bar to get home to you.”
She quirks a brow. “To get home to me. Is that right?”
