Page 15 of Covetous

Liv folds her arms over her chest, waiting patiently for Esme to spill the tea she likely already knows. “A couple of days ago, when Victor spent the night, he brought a box of all my things.”

I grimace, my lips pulling tight over my teeth. “He did?”

“Yeah. And he was all like, ‘Here you go. You left all of this at my place,’ all chill and shit. And I was like, ‘Oh, thanks,’ but girl, he had me all the way fucked up.”

A bitter chuckle escapes from Liv’s lips. “Is it his millions that make you want to give up on your dreams, or is it his big dick?”

Esme glares at her. “I have no fucking shame in admitting that, yeah, the money is nice. Real fucking nice. He has the type of money that can retire us for the rest of our lives. I’m talking about generational wealth. I’d be a fool not to consider the benefits of staying for as long as possible, maybe even giving him a baby.”

I choke on my drink. “What?”

“Can you imagine the type of child support I’d get?”

Liv stares at Esme in disbelief. “Oh, Lord. You have gone plum crazy.”

“I’m being smart. And who knows, maybe I can convince him to come to LA with me. We could live on the beach in Malibu or some shit like that.” She picks up her glass, about to take a drink. “And yes, his dick game is magic.”

Liv and I share another look. Holy shit. Holyfuckingshit. I feel all sorts of conflicting emotions right now. Some of which confuse the hell out of me. Others of which I won’t dare to label because if I do—even to myself—it’ll change everything. “So…” I clear my throat. “You want to trap him with a baby?”

“Who said anything about trapping him?” Esme’s voice pierces the air like a knife. “I’m his woman. He might be mad at first, but he’d get over it. I mean, look at me. My snatch back would be perfection, like Yasmine’s.”

“Now you’re talking about having babies over becoming a serious actress?” Liv states emotionlessly.

Esme sighs. “Try to keep up, Liv. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Having a baby would be a last resort.”

I shake my head. “That’s wrong, Esme. You can’t just?—”

“You’re my friend, remember? You’re supposed to have my back. Unless you’re still obsessed with him.”

A surge of heat rushes to my face. “I was not obsessed with him.”

“You a damn lie.” Her words are like venom, laced with spite and malice. “But he didn’t want you. Remember that.”

A scowl forms on my face, my lips twisting into a deep frown as her words hit their mark. “What are you going to do, E? Poke holes in the condom? Use a turkey baster? That sounds like some classless shit you’d do.” She’s told me that they still use condoms every time at Victor’s insistence.

“Oh shit,” Liv says in an almost whisper but higher pitched than usual.

“Bitch, fuck you.”

“Fuck you too,” I fire back. I don’t think Esme would stoop that low in trying to have his baby. I only said it because she’s pissing me the hell off.

“Y’all. People are staring,” Liv says, her eyes darting around us.

“I’m sorry,” I mutter, embarrassed by my behavior.

“Me too,” Esme grumbles, her tone slightly softer now.

“What we’re not going to do is turn on each other. You love her, and she loves you, so make up already.”

“I said I was sorry,” Esme says. “But this is life—my life. You think he’s not using me for my head game or the well of wonder I have between my legs?”

“This bitch said the well of wonder,” Liv mutters, quietly chuckling.

“And do you think Ian isn’t using you as his trophy? I’m not saying he doesn’t love you,” she quickly adds. “But come on, Sky, get real. Everybody uses everybody.”

My nostrils flare as indignation surges through me. “I’m not using Ian.”

Her eyes narrow. “You want Ian to fill a void your parents never filled because they were too busy getting high.”

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