Page 45 of Search My Soul
“Shit.” I almost dropped my phone when I opened the images she sent to me. Lucky for me, Duke was caught up with his own phone, so he wasn’t paying me any mind. The first few photos were of her topless in a thong. Then she sent a video of her doingsome moves on the pole in her room. When she dropped down into a split, I lost it. Instead of texting back, I got up to find some privacy. I needed to see her sexy ass face.
I dipped off into one of the hall bathrooms before pressing the FaceTime button. She picked up on the second ring with a mischievous look on her face.
“What are you over there doing?”
“I was bored, so I figured I would get some practice in before I go to work tomorrow.”
“I’m not one to knock the next person’s hustle, but I don’t know if I can handle this shit,” I admitted.
We hadn’t spoken much about her job, but it was mainly because she was barely there these days. At the end of the day, she had a right to make her money the way she saw fit. However, the closer we became, the more possessive I became. I wasn’t insecure by any means, but I also wasn’t a broke nigga. I was a millionaire with multiple streams of income, so there was no reason for her to stay in the club now that things were official.
“Well, that sounds like a personal problem to me. I like what we have, but I’m not in the business of relying on a man. We’re good right now, but what happens when we aren’t? I don’t want to have to depend on you to make sure I have what I need because when the relationship ends, so do the benefits.” The conversation took a turn I wasn’t expecting, but I guess it was a good thing since we needed to get some things established.
“I feel what you’re saying, but I’m not even built like that. At the end of the day, I don’t want my woman to work at all, but I respect a hustler. My problem is that I’m a possessive ass nigga. When you’re dancing on that stage, I like to believe I’m the only person you’re dancing for. You don’t belong to any of those niggas. You belong to me.”
“No, I don’t. I don’t belong to you or any other man. I understand where you’re coming from, but I can’t let anyonecome between me and my money. What I do in there is strictly business. It has nothing to do with us and who I am to you. If it’s a problem and you can’t handle it, I understand. We can go our separate ways, and it won’t be any hard feelings on my end.” My face twisted up as I watched her do her makeup at her vanity.
“No hard feelings? Yeah, you must want me to come over there and fuck you up. Don’t ever try to play me like some weak ass nigga.”
“My bad. I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything. I just don’t want to get caught up in whatever this is and lose myself. I like you a lot, but I also know how men can be. When I’m ready to quit, I want it to be my decision.”
“Yeah, I understand. Where are you on your way to? I thought you didn’t have any plans.” She smirked, then focused her attention on me.
“I don’t have any plans, but I wanted to put a little makeup on before my man comes over.”
“You look sexy, but you already know I don’t care about any of that. You can answer the door in a dusty T-shirt and a bare face. I’ll still think you’re the finest thing walking.” Her face reddened, but I meant what I said. Juicy never had to try too hard around me because I found her attractive in her natural state. That was enough for me.
“You don’t need to lay it on so thick. You were gonna get the pussy regardless.” Her response irritated me a little, but not because I was offended. Juicy knew she was a beautiful girl, but there were times when she allowed her insecurities to show. It was usually in the form of a joke, but I caught it every time.
“You know me enough to know I say whatever I feel, and I don’t hold my tongue for anyone. I don’t have to spit any lines to get what I want. You’re beautiful with or without makeup. I’m simply letting you know that I don’t care about that shit. You don’t need to get dressed up for me, unless it’s what youwant to do. Besides, I would hate for you to get your pillowcases dirty when I’mma have your face pressed into them later. I don’t believe in being wasteful.” Juicy put her head down, but I could tell she was smiling.
“What am I gonna do with you?”
“To be honest, I don’t know. You might want to figure it out, though, because I don’t plan on going anywhere,” I declared.
“You seem so sure about that.”
“Of course. I say what I mean, and I mean what I say. Now let me get off this phone before my niece comes looking for me. Normally, I wouldn’t put any other girl before you, but she had me first.”
“Well, I don’t mind sharing as long as it’s only with family,” Juicy said with her eyebrow raised as if she thought I was about to dispute her words.
“Roger that. I’ll see you later, mamas.”
“I’ll be waiting.” She blew me a kiss before our call ended. I don’t know what she was doing to me, but I knew I wasn’t ready to let her go any time soon.
As I droveup the driveway of this mega mansion, I still couldn’t get over how big his house was. I’ve always known that the Taylors had money, but I never knew it was like this. Well, I knew there were different areas within the city, but I’ve never been out here before. For some reason, I never imagined there were houses this big or beautiful. A part of me wanted to turn right back around and never look back. I knew that wasn’t gonna happen. As much as I didn’t want to admit my feelings for Soul, they were growing by the day.
He was nothing that I imagined him to be, yet so much more than I could’ve asked for. While I knew he was funny and slightly unstable, he was also sweet and thoughtful. Yesterday, I told him that I was having a rough day, and he came and broughtme flowers and lunch. I wasn’t used to someone paying so much attention to me and actually caring about my feelings. Most men thought that sex was the answer to everything, and while I enjoyed our sex life, I could get used to this other side of him.
I sent Soul a message to let him know I was outside. He replied back and told me he would be out in a few moments. I had no idea what he had planned for me, but he told me to pack a bag. Things like that made me giddy inside. I didn’t even care what we were doing as long as we were together.
My girls were clowning me in the group chat and calling mesprung. They weren’t wrong because I could feel myself growing more and more attached every day. Soul and I talked on and off throughout the day from the time we woke up to the time we went to bed. He would FaceTime me in the morning as he got his day started, claiming that he needed to make sure I didn’t have anybody in my house. I’ve never laughed so much with a man before,but Soul made every day a fun adventure.
Soul’s presence brightened my day, but he also provided a sense of safety for me. He may have been a jokester, but I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would protect me. It was amusing to see him outside of his shell. I’ve always considered him to be a playboy, so when he went out of his way to show affection in public, it made me feel special. Iwas too afraid to put a name on what I was feeling, but I knew I was in deep.
“What’s up, juicy?” Soul greeted me before pulling me into his arms. He placed kisses all over my face before reaching my lips.
“Hey, baby,” I whispered softly, enjoying the way his hands roamed my body.
