Page 53 of Deeper

“I promise if we give this a real, true go, I’ll be faithful,” Zander said. “If you love me, I’ll be faithful. If you’re in this with me, I’ll be faithful.”

His words were heavy, but they gave me hope. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Zander agreed. “And Bianka?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t share,” Zander said with some authority to his tone, a strong sense of finality.

I was getting ready to agree when his phone rang from the bedside table at the same time mine chirped with a text alert.

It was Monday.

“Duty calls, huh?” I sighed, not ready to get back to the real world just yet.

“I’ve got a meeting with Paul. There’s no avoiding this mess I’ve made,” Zander informed me. “I haven’t seen him in a week, so I’m sure he’s got somecolorfulthings to say to me outside of our talk last night.”

“Who’s Paul exactly?”

“Paul Caan: the best manager in the biz. He gives it to me straight every time, and I just know he’s about to have a field day with this tour thing. Wish me luck?” Zander grinned as he went to gather his phone.

I grabbed mine and found Holliston had texted me three times.

YOU MET ZANDER!!!

It’s all over Twitter & Instagram. OMG

Bianka!!!

My heart dropped to my stomach.

No.

It couldn’t be real.

“What the hell?” I heard Zander mumble in the background.

I paid him no attention as I went straight to social media, confirming the worst thing possible. On my Instagram app I pulled up the biggest gossip page, The CelebriTea, and sucked in a breath.

There it was. One of their first posts of the day was indeed a photo, no,severalphotos of Zander and me. We were inside Closet Babe together, and so was whoever had been sneaking and taking our pictures. They captured the moment Zander was placing a kiss on my neck, the moment he’d had his arms around me, and when we were holding hands while I looked at earrings. There was no mistaking who I was as my face was seen smiling as clear as day. And though Zander had been sporting black shades, those who were true die-hard fans could tell who he was by his tell-tale tattooed hands, hair, and face.

It had to have been that damn nosy cashier.

There was no time to be upset; I had to get to Victoria. If Holliston knew, there was a big chance Tori did too.

The caption even made my skin crawl as I tore my gaze away from those incriminating images:Oops, looks like two can play at that game. Zaddy don’ got him a baddie, y’all! Over the weekend #ZanderKhalil was seen out shopping with a new flame. The unnamed beauty and the R&B singer were in Larchmont browsing a boutique together. The two were all over each other, our source says. #NoMoreJolie for our man, Zan. He traded in the salt for some Lawry’s. You know what they say, y’all #OnceYouGoBlack… ;)

Zander came and peered at my phone after showing me his very own trending hashtag on Twitter.

“Lawry’s?” He was confused.

An icky sensation ran through me and I couldn’t shake it. The CelebriTea was a gossip page that often wove shade in their breaking news stories. What the fuck was up with that cheesy ass remark about going Black?

The mention only served to rile up nasty comments directedmyway.

Even though I tried to hide it, Zander could sense my mood shift. “Bianka—”

“I’ve gotta go find Victoria,” I said as I stood and forced interest in shoving my feet into my shoes.

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