Page 6 of Rags to Vegas
Berkley dropped her head in a bashful manner and used her fork to push the scrambled eggs on her plate around. Even after having sex with me on two separate occasions, Berkley wasn’t trying to run game. She wasn’t hinting at shopping sprees or asking me to take her out to five-star restaurants. I could tell if I didn’t pursue her, she’d let me walk away from her. Not because she didn’t like me, but because she was too shy and quirky to be the aggressor. If only she knew, she was pressure. She could have men wrapped around her finger, but she wasn’t on that type of time.
Just maybe Bryan, Alisa, and my father had spoken into existence me finally meeting a good woman. Only time would tell.
CHAPTER 5
BERKLEY
My jaw slackedas I stared at the sticker on the bottom of the heels that Crenshaw picked up. “You like these?”
“Crenshaw, these shoes are $1,750,” I whispered. We were at the mall, and on my feet were Steven Madden sandals that I got on sale for $50. This man was asking me if I liked a pair of shoes that cost more than my rent.
Crenshaw chuckled. “Why are you whispering? What size you wear?” he asked while waving the salesgirl over. “These would look dope as hell on your feet.”
“Um a nine.” I wondered if he was really going to do it.
It had been three days since my first night at the club, and I had seen Crenshaw every day. We not only spent time together every day, but we’d had sex every day too. He damn near had me walking bowlegged, but pain had never felt so good. The salesgirl walked over to us with a box, and I sat down to try the shoes on. She was working hard to secure the sale and get that commission because as soon as I pulled my foot out of my sandal, she bent down and placed the heel on my foot. After she buckled it, I stood up, and they were indeed fire as fuck.
The black platform Chanel shoes with a chunky silver heel were absolutely beautiful. When Crenshaw asked the salesgirl tofind a purse for me that matched the shoes I damn near fainted. I looped my arm through his and squeezed tight.
“Crenshaw, I promise I’m not that girl. I would love these things, but I don’t expect you to spend money on me just because you have it.”
“I know.” He peered into my face and gripped my chin. “I can definitely see that you’re not like most, and that makes me want to treat you even more. I’m very successful. And I say this very humbly, but those shoes and the cost of a bag are play money to me. My sports management company just secured a $34,000,000 dollar deal for one of my clients that plays Major League Baseball. I have the shop and other investments. My house and all my cars are paid for. Let me do something nice for you. I swear there are no strings attached."
I’d never heard anything good about professional athletes. Crenshaw wasn’t in the NBA anymore, however, and he was almost thirty. Maybe he had actually grown, and his playboy ways were behind him. Halle was confident that he hadn’t slept with anyone that worked at Wild Wonders. She didn’t have a reason to lie to me. Halle didn’t even know I had history with Crenshaw. I decided to just go with the flow and not think too far ahead. Most men did come across as perfect in the beginning. Only time would tell if Crenshaw was a wolf in sheep’s clothing or if he was Mr. Right.
I drove my car through Crenshaw’s security gate with my stomach doing backflips. We had officially been dating for three months. We weren’t in a relationship, but he made it clear to me that he wasn’t dating anyone else, and I wasn’t dating anyone else either. The past three months had been amazing.We hadn’t had so much as a disagreement. He had to be near the door because my finger was still on the doorbell when the door opened.
“Hey babe,” he pecked me on the lips.
“Hey. So, I went to pay my rent, and she told me that it had already been paid through the duration of my lease. I told her she must be mistaken, but she showed me a copy of the receipt. You paid my rent up for the next five months?”
“Yeah, I did. I wanted that to be one less thing on your plate.”
I stared at Crenshaw in amazement. I had tried my best not to fall for him. I tried so hard, but I had failed miserably. And it wasn’t just because he spoiled me. Crenshaw was the most thoughtful and romantic man that I’d ever met. The day before, he had two dozen roses delivered to me. Every other day, he was doing something amazing for me, and he never once threw it back in my face or acted controlling or arrogant. He was literally too good to be true.
I burst into tears. Crenshaw’s mouth gaped open a bit, and he appeared truly stumped. Laughing through my tears, I wiped my face. “I’m not crazy, I promise. This just seems too good to be true, and I don’t want it to be ruined.”
I reached in my back pocket and removed the item wrapped in a paper towel. I passed it to Crenshaw, and he unwrapped the paper towel with a look of bewilderment on his face. When he realized what he was holding, his head snapped up.
“You’re pregnant?”
The fact that he looked happy instead of mortified calmed my nerves. Answering his question with a simple nod, I waited on his next reaction with bated breath. When Crenshaw picked me up and spun me around, all I could do was laugh and thank God. Maybe true love did exist after all.
CHAPTER
SIX
BONUS CONTENT
Crenshaw
I had one hand on the steering wheel, and the other hand was locked with Berkley’s. I had turned into that guy. The one that held a woman’s hand while he drove. Usually, that would be something that Bryan did, and I’d be clowning him for it. I could dig it though. Our situation was still new, but I could get the relationship hype. It wasn’t bad when two people meshed well. Berkley was adamant that she wasn’t looking for a come up, and I believed her. I had never been in a relationship, and I didn’t want to come off as controlling, but I didn’t want my pregnant girlfriend working in a gentleman’s club.
I told her she could keep her daytime waitressing job, or she could quit and go back to school. Berkley wasn’t comfortable quitting her job and depending on a man again. At first, I wanted to be offended because I was nothing like her ex, but she didn’t know that. I could talk all day, but actions spoke way louder than words. If I wanted her to be comfortable and let her guard down with me, I had to show her I wasn’t her ex not just tell her. I had paid her rent up, so she didn’t have to worry about that, and her car was paid for.
Berkley was certain that it wouldn’t take her long to save a nice amount of cash and once she did, she was going to enroll in school. The baby was due during the summer, so she was going to stay home with him or her until school started back, then I was going to stay home with the baby while she was in class. I didn’t want my child in daycare too early. I was my own boss and made my own schedule. My child could hang with me, or I could get Alisa to watch him or her if I had something to do. My nieces were in school, and her mother was a big help. When she had the new baby, her mom was probably going to go stay with her and Bryan for a few months like she did when the twins were born.
Since I was approaching a red light, I glanced over at her. “You nervous?”
