Page 5 of Reserved for Him
The neighbor didn’t even bother looking in our direction, but I was sure he heard everything since our houses were close. He never spoke to me whenever Leo was around. I wouldn’t be surprised if Leo had said something to him before or something because Leo had jealous tendencies. He should have been because my neighbor was fine, and he looked like he had money. Not that I wanted or needed his money, but it was a bonus that he had something going for himself.
I saw him sitting on his porch all the time.
Sometimes I caught him leaving for work or coming home, and he always had a suit on. He seemed like the nerdy type with his glasses and shit, but to me, that made him even sexier. Hewas dark skinned with a full beard, and with tattoos he usually covered up, but I saw them one time when he was outside cutting grass. A few times, I watched him from my window, but that was about it. There wasn’t anything wrong with looking, and he was some nice eye candy. I watched him a little too much to be in a relationship, but I wasn’t in one now.
I thought I would feel some type of way about not being with Leo, but I didn’t. It was long overdue. Some women tended to try and make a relationship work even when we knew we needed to leave, but I couldn’t do it anymore. Leo was no good for me, but I tried to give him a chance since things had gotten bad for him. Truth be told, it was his fault things turned out the way they did anyway. Him losing his job could have been prevented if he hadn’t been so careless. I think he lost that shit on purpose, and because he was lazy, he didn’t even try to fight for it.
I felt bad for him because he used to be so full of life. The day we met, I knew we would be together forever. He was handsome, paid, and charming as hell. He asked for my phone number, and we ended up talking for hours that night. Two days later we went on our first date, and the rest was history. I wish he would have gotten himself together or at least tried.
Since we didn’t have the night I planned, I decided to still make the night special for myself. After the house was cleaned and saged, I closed the windows, then went upstairs.
I changed the sheets on my bed and found some new pajamas with the tag on them, so I put them on the bed to wear after I took a hot bath. I needed to soak my tired muscles and relax my mind.
One of the girls from work told me about a book by author Riley Baxter. It was calledLove’s Justified Audible, so I downloaded that on my Kindle and had it ready to go.
I turned on the water, dropped a bath bomb in, then went back downstairs to pour myself a big glass of wine with some cheese.
When I had everything I needed, I headed back upstairs to check on the water. I wanted it a little fuller, so I went into my room to grab my Kindle. My phone rang before I could leave the room, and I almost let it ring until I saw it was Lauren.
“My spidey senses are telling me something is going on.”
I laughed. “I have to say that they are right this time.”
“What? What happened? You caught Leo cheating?”
I sucked my teeth and sat down on the side of the bed. “No. Just over him. I didn’t plan on leaving him, but it was time.”
I wanted to call Lauren as soon as Leo left, but I changed my mind and wanted to get my mind right first.
“It was. I’m not going to gloat or jump for joy because I know that you loved him. How are you feeling though?”
I got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom. The water had gotten to the level I wanted, so I lit a few candles. I put the phone on speaker, then took off my clothes.
“To keep it real, I don’t know yet. Things hadn’t been great, but like you said, I loved him. Hell, I still do. It’s not something a person could just turn off, but I wasn’t happy anymore. I know that it was the right thing, but I’m sure I will end up missing him.”
Not having Leo around would be different. The house would be quieter, that’s for sure, and I wouldn’t have him around to do certain things around the house like take out the trash or reach for stuff I couldn’t. He didn’t do much anyway, but still.
“Girl, he ain’t worth missing. Trust me, you’ll realize how much better your life is now that he ain’t around. And who knows, maybe you’ll find the courage to talk to your fine ass neighbor, besides saying hello.”
“I think not. That man ain’t thinking about me. Oh, why he came home when Leo was acting a fool on the porch?”
“For real?” She screeched.
“Sure did, but didn’t even look my way.”
She laughed loudly in my ear, and I joined in with her as I slid into the hot water. I left one hand out of the water so I could eat my cheese and drink my wine. The water felt so good, I would have let out a moan if I wasn’t on the phone. It was just what I needed after the day I had.
“Damn. You think he gay?” She whispered like he could hear her.
I almost choked on the piece of cheese in my mouth.
“No, fool. Maybe he’s just quiet.”
I never saw him with a woman, but nothing about him seemed gay. Then again, some men didn’t look gay but were. I didn’t get that from him though. I just thought he was really quiet. And since Leo was around, maybe he never said anything to me out of respect for him. After seeing Leo act the way he did, my neighbor probably thought my life was full of drama.
“I guess. Anyway, something told me to call you and I’m glad I did. You’re going to be okay because you are a badass, boss ass bitch.”
“And is! I’m relaxing in the tub with some cheese and wine. I got the candles lit, and a book to read, so I will call you later, or tomorrow.”
