Page 33 of Love Next Door
I wasin bed looking through the pictures I took when we were on Sorrel Island. The sparkle in her eyes and the joy on her face were a far cry from where we were today. In those pictures, all eight of us looked radiant and high on life.
I hadn’t lived long, but I didn’t care who said what. The twenty-somethings were the best years of your life. No mortgages, unless you were ready. No kids. No credit card debt. No shit to worry about, unless you included a broken heart.
I wasn’t a simp ass nigga, but I was fucked up over the shit that happened between Abril and me. I was trying to figure out a way to get through to her to find out exactly what Briana had done. The only thing I gathered from the few clues I had was thatshe had been in my apartment when Abril came over. What was said, I didn’t know. And that was the shit that bugged me.
My doorbell rang, and I tossed my phone on my bed face down. Everyone had been in my comments when I first posted those pictures. All types of cuties were putting sad faces that I was no longer on the market. Some wished me well and said she was beautiful and we made a cute couple, but then there were always the haters.
One follower claimed she wasn’t ugly, but she was a’ight. Someone else said she was probably a gold digger, which was funny because Abril had no idea how much money I made off the shit I did. She wasn’t in my world like that, and she wasn’t really interested in it. Living in an apartment, no matter how upscale, didn’t speak to the extent of my wealth that I created through smart investments and my connections in the music industry.
I slid my feet into my slides and headed for the front door. Surprise filled me when I looked out the peephole and saw her little ass there. She stood with her arms crossed over her breasts and her head tilted sideways.
My eyes dropped to take in her curves in the three-piece cotton legging set she wore. The sleeveless taupe knit crop top was cut low and showed off her abs and her cleavage. The leggings clung to her like a second skin, outlining her thick thighs and curvy hips. While I couldn’t see it, I knew her ass was sitting up like a donkey. She had a long, open sweater over her outfit.
“Wassup, ma?” I asked, licking my lips as I took her in.
“I have something I want to show you.”
“You just cussed me out not even a few days ago, and now you want me to run to your place? You ’bout to body my ass or something?”
She rolled her eyes. “Follow me, please.”
“Hold up. Let me grab my keys and phone.” I grabbed my things and headed to her place.
“It smells good as hell in here. Whatcha cooking?”
She crooked her fingers at me, beckoning me into her dining area. I followed her again, and she pulled out a chair.
“Sit down and eat.”
I eyed her warily, and she shook her head.
“What?” she asked with a smile playing on her lips.
“Nah. Ya li’l ass cussed me out, and now you cooking for me? I’ll pass. You not ’bout to poison me.”
“What’re you doing?” she asked, pointing at my phone as I LiveTimed Thad.
“Yo, big homie. Wassup?” he greeted.
“Aye. I told you how Abril cussed me out the other day, right? Well now she done cooked for a nigga. Tryna get me to eat her food, and she ain’t even apologized, my nigga.”
Thad guffawed and dragged his hand down his face. “Nigga, y’all wildin’ over there.”
“Nah. I need someone to be my witness. Nigga, if I die, y’all betta come get her ass.”
“Don’t eat that shit, man.”
Abril jumped from behind me and tugged my arm until my phone faced her. “Hey, nothing that I cook is shit, okay?”
“My bad, li’l one. You know you’re my li’l homie. But don’t take my nigga out, a’ight?”
“You know I got your back, Thad,” she stated and winked at him.
I smacked her ass and gripped it.
“Heyyy! What was that for?” she asked and looked at me.
“Don’t be winking at another nigga, especially not in front of me.”
