Page 68 of The Sweetest Devotion

On the top shelf of the TV stand was a red baseball cap. I picked it up and put it on, causing Keith to grin.

I began to move, not having the best rhythm, but deciding not to take myself too seriously. I swayed my body to the melody and played with the hem of my dress, daring to bring it close to exposing myself to him. But that was a part of the act.

Keith’s attention was glued to me as I got down low and rocked on my heels, moving my hips from side to side. Keith was entranced and I loved the feeling of his eyes on me.

Slowly, I rose to my feet, continuing to whine my body. Deciding that the hat was too MJ, I took it off and tossed it to the side.

Keith laughed, his handsome face lighting up as he sat up.

I rolled my neck, played in my hair, getting more into my dip into Beyoncé—of course, there could only be one Bey.

I dropped down low once more, beginning to crawl on the floor in my best attempt to be a sexy lioness. I leaned low, arched my back, and kept my eyes on Keith. I didn’t feel an ounce of the confidence I was oozing, but I was faking it until I made it as I shook my ass to the beat.

I danced for Keith until the song ended, going and collapsing back on the floor with my chest heaving as I let loose a small grin.

Jay-Z better have worshiped the ground Bey walked on.Dancing was a workout.

In my past relationships or experiences, I’d never done something like this. I’d barely known this man for two weeks, and already I was doing things I never did. Hampton Hills’s Kennedy Nichols kept in line, never broke any rules, and was a perpetual sweetheart. With Keith, in Bedford Heights, I felt free.

A Ne-Yo song was playing now as I sat up on my haunches. Keith was still watching me, serious now.

“Come here,” he said.

I got out of my heels and padded over to him. Keith wasted no time in wrapping me in his arms and bringing me to his chest. He planted a kiss on my jaw that sent me sighing deeply.

“Your silly ass is sexy, you know that?” he whispered in my ear.

Something jumped in my chest and I couldn’t contain my smile.

Reluctantly, I sat up away from Keith’s warm, inviting body. “Got any water?”

“Yeah, in the kitchen,” Keith said as he nodded off out the room.

He started to get up, but I stood instead. “I can get it.”

I hummed along to “When You’re Mad” as I stepped out of the room and made my way to his kitchen. Clean. Organized. Vacant. Perhaps what Keith needed was a woman’s touch to add someoomphto his home.

In his cabinet by the sink, he had mason jars to drink out of and I liked that. I grabbed one and went over to the fridge to use the water dispenser on the door. It was when I did this, that it hit me.

Back at the garage his uncle had asked if I was someone else. Another woman. One namedLeila. I hadn’t missed the way Keith’s back had stiffened slightly. The way he’d seemed distant then. As if he’d been caught in more than the act.

Huh.

I grabbed my water and went back out to the living room and sat on the sofa. On the end furthest from Keith.

He noticed.

He reached out, grabbing my foot to drag me closer.

“Who’s Leila?” I brought up.

Instantly, he dropped his grasp on me. “What?”

Ugh. I hated when men did this. Respond to a clear question with ahuh?or awhat?

“Leila,” I repeated before taking a sip of my water. “Your uncle thought I was a woman named Leila. Who is she?”

Keith’s energy went from playful and warm, to cold and sterile. “Don’t worry about it.”

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