Page 5 of Raising Love
“Damn, baby,” I mumbled. “Can I catch my breath on my own for a minute?”
“No,” she said through a moan, pecking another kiss against my lips. “Because whenever we’re done, and I don’t keep my hands on you like this, you leave.”
I scoffed a laugh. “That is not true.”
“What you’re denying is what’s not true,” she said back.
My room looked every bit like the hookup we just had: wild and disorderly. Clothes were strewn here and there, sheets disheveled under the dim morning light filtering through my slightly opened curtains.
“Want to grab breakfast?” she asked, her voice soft against me.
“Hmmm,” I started, “I actually have somewhere I have to be in a couple of hours.”
“See?” she said, sitting up and snatching my bedding to cover her breasts.
I sat up too. “See, what?”
“Leo, every time we hook up, you conveniently have somewhere to be right after.”
She wasn’t completely wrong. Last night when Vanessa called me to hang out, I didn’t decline. I knew I had my friend Tyrell and his wife Kendra’s baby shower to attend today, but I still said Vanessa could swing by… because I knew I’d have an event to run off to.
Women be knowing. Because how Vanessa knew I was running off soon after hooking up was beyond me.
Vanessa was a beautiful and accomplished woman, working as a personal stylist for some of the most notable politicians around New York City. I met her in her hometown of Atlanta two years ago, when I visited one of their clubs after a game. I was there for a paid appearance.
She relocated to New York shortly after we met and has been here since. At night, at the clubs, she knew how to let her hair down as a socialite. She was fun, but I simply didn’t see this thing we had going on being more than fun.
I kicked my legs off the bed and reached for my boxers—one of the strewn garments on the floor. “I have a baby shower to go to this afternoon.”
She kissed her teeth.
“It’s been planned for months. I’m one of the hosts.”
“If you knew you had somewhere to be today,” she started, “why didn’t you tell me that when I asked if I could come over to spend the weekend, Leo?”
“Because…” I shrugged. “I didn’t think you meant the whole weekend.”
“I sure as hell didn’t mean a night, Leo!”
“Okay.” I held a hand up. “Aight, I apologize for not keeping it real with you and letting you know I had plans for today, okay?”
“No, it’s not okay,” she argued, turning more to face me. “You do this all the time?—”
Our back and forth was interrupted by my phone ringing. I turned to see Ivy’s name sprawled across the screen.
Vanessa saw it too, expressing her annoyance by kissing her teeth. “And now this bullshit.”
“What’s up, Ivy League?” I said, answering the phone.
Ivy sighed on the other end. “I really hate when you call me that.”
I chuckled, my gaze lifting long enough to see Vanessa scowling on my bed, her eyes locked on me in a death stare.
“Uh…” I turned away from her glare. “What’s up?”
“Can you pick me up a little earlier than we discussed?” Ivy asked. “The cake is ready for pickup, and I’d feel a lot better if we got it now instead of later.”
I smirked. “What could possibly happen if we got the cake at the time we agreed on?”
