Page 27 of Exposed

“I didn’t mean it like that, princess. Honestly, I’m confused and not sure what’s happening between us. Until Jacinda popped up, I swore off every connection with a woman again besides a few hookups. Before you say anything, what happened between us wasn’t a hookup,” he responded, running his thumb across my bottom lip.

“How can you say that?”

“Because I didn’t meet you at a hotel and never called you again unless I wanted to see you. That’s my normal routine. I don’t bring women to my house, nor do I go there. A straight fuck is the only thing they’ve gotten in the past,” he said.

Peering into his eyes, I trusted he was telling the truth.

“Raymond and I dated for about three years. We met at a club one night before things really blew up for me on the internet. At one point, I thought we would get married, over time he changed. It was a mixture of fame and me not wanting to be tied down because I was finally seeing how my life was going in the direction I’d been wanting for so long. Becoming a wife was not my goal. He didn’t understand that and started acting out more and more.”

“Did he hurt you?” he questioned.

“No, he would do slick little shit like not show up for me when I needed him. Not support me at events. I helped him out and let him stay with me when he lost his job until he could get back on his feet, and a few times, I saw him out with his friends rather than focusing on getting his life together,” I said, my mind drifting back to an incident from three years ago.

“Novah, hold my purse for me. I need to run to the restroom,” I said, shoving my purse into her lap. Today, I was hosting a club event for this new clothing brand. I do sponsorship ads on my social media. They invited me to hang out for a few hours with the fans and take pictures.

The music was pumping loud; people were dancing on top of each other. This was the hottest club in town. I wore a custom design created by a local fan. I started posting about her on my page, and she sent me several outfits. Weaving through the crowd, I happened to look up and saw my Raymond, my boyfriend for the past two years, dancing with some woman I’d never met. All of his friends were sitting around, egging them on. He lied and told me he was visiting his parents tonight. Instead of waiting in the long line for the bathroom, I marched up the stairs to his section. They had security around, but everyone knew this party was for me. The security guard removed the rope, and I stomped over to them and slapped the drink out of her hand.

“WTF!” she screamed, jumping up in my face.

“Try it, and I’ll have you thrown out,” I spat, pointing my finger in her face. Raymond jumped up, gripping my elbow, pushing me away from his date.

I jerked out of his hold and smacked him across the face.

“Damn! Lauren, calm the fuck down,” he screamed, pushing us into the corner.

“No! You lied to me and said you’d be with your parents. What the hell do I look like to you? Huh! BooBoo the fool? What’s up with you, Raymond?” I snapped, pushing him in the chest to give me space.

“Look, I was with my parents, and then my boys called me to hang out. Not a big deal.”

I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

“How are you hanging out with no job? You’ve laid up in my bed for the past few months not working, complaining about me, and then lying to go hang with your bum friends,” I stated, motioning toward his friends.

“You’ve changed, and I’m not with all this in your fake bullshit. You are constantly gone, posting your ass on every social media platform around. You need to quit this shit, and we can get married. I’m looking for a wife, not an internet model,” he demanded.

“Keep looking for that wife then, I’ll gladly leave the position open. I’m doing what I love, and you’re an ass because you won’t grow up and be a grown-up about the situation,” I said, walking away and not looking back.

“What happened afterward?” Dominic asked, looking intensely into my eyes.

“I packed his things up and sent them to his parents. I will never apologize for the work I do. I love being creative and meeting people, coming up with products that I like to use and telling my fans that I treat like family about them,” I answered, leaning up to kiss his lips. He pulled back in surprise.

“What’s wrong?” I questioned.

“I don’t want you doing something you’ll regret later. Maybe we shouldn’t overcomplicate things until all of this is over.”

“You wanted to talk, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then tell me about you and your family. You already met my parents and brother. Plus, that bitch Jacinda. I need every detail,” I said, gliding a hand between us and reaching under his shirt. He smirked, bending down, kissing me again, and rolling over on his back. I slid my leg over his thigh, rubbing up and down his chest as he talked.

Chapter Seventeen

Dominic

Dealing with the past can only help to heal the future, it’s what my father used to tell me all the time when I was growing up and when I went into the navy. The things I saw over in Iraq still fucked me up from time to time. Now here I was, possibly opening myself up to someone that could hold all my secrets and cause me even more hurt or happiness if we fell out.

“My dad’s retired military and a police officer. My mother is a stay-at-home woman. I have an older brother, Desmond, who’s a cop, married with two kids. A younger sister around your age. She’s obsessed with you. I haven’t told her I was hired to be your security. She’ll probably kill me when I do.”

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