Page 58 of Unlucky You

Made sense considering there was nothing on the device and all the apps were still downloading, likely from my last update. I wanted to be mad but I wasn’t surprised. This was typical Sameena behavior. The baby of the family, expectant and spoiled. She did not understand the concept of minding her own business. Once I erased my information and reset the phone to factory settings, I gave it back to my sister.

“When do I get to meet him?”

“You don’t.”

A smile split onto her face. “Damn you’re hiding the goods. Either he’s butt ugly or you like him.”

I leaned back to provide space when our food arrived. She placed my grilled chicken and strawberry walnut salad down in front of me and a smoked turkey wrap in front of my sister.

“How the hell did you come to that conclusion?”

“If he was fine and temporary, you would have been pulling up his social media to show me. You’re being very secretive which means either the dick was commendable but he’s a lights off kinda bed buddy or you don’t want me to meet him because you really like this man and want to keep him all to yourself.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “You should spend more time analyzing your life and not mine, Meen. It’s really not that deep.”

“When a man flips your joke about pulling up on an ex and uses it to threaten the wellbeing of your kitty then it’s definitely that deep. And, when that threat whips your ass all the way into compliance then it’s definitely that deep.”

“Mind your business.”

“Why, when I can mind yours?” She flashed a bratty grin and I rolled my eyes.

“He’s new, I don’t know what we are. The sex is amazing but his life is complicated. That’s all you get.”

“Fine. But if I don’t meet him soon, I’m doing my own recon and will randomly run into him somewhere.” She winked, lifted half her wrap and enjoyed a massive bite. I cringed, knowing that my sister would absolutely find a way to insert herself into Grand’s life, but for now, she had nothing to go on, so I was safe.

By ten afternine I was anxious because Grand was running late and I needed something to keep me occupied. He very well might have changed his mind about coming to my place and since I suggested it becausechillin’felt more level if we were doing so on an even playing field, then I needed him to show up.

I was far too invested in this which also made me anxious. For some reason, my father’s words weighed heavily on my spirit. I found myself questioning whether or not I truly wanted what he and my mother had, a solid marriage, kids, a future with a man who looked at me the way he looked at my mother. Once my thoughts shifted into that space, the natural progression of those thoughts was if I did want those things, who could I envision having them with. Again, my father’s declaration was on heavy rotation.

“…Regardless of what package he comes in, if he loves you the way you deserve to be loved, shows up for you, then that’s good enough for me…”

The reality hit too close to home because Ididn’tcare who the man was as long as he loved me the way I deserved and showed up for me. I witnessed my father love my mother properly but I also witnessed the mundane life they shared which had me chasing an always temporary high. Theattractionto the high was temporary when I realized it was surface level. Grand didn’t possess the ideal “packaging” but something about him made me believe he would show up. He was fiercely loyal to his son’s mother to the degree that he kept himself closed off and likely wouldn’t offer anything but a physical connection.

I hated how much I was willing to accept just the physical knowing it would never be enough. To keep my mind occupied, I grabbed my iPad and sank onto the sofa, pulling up Inside Track, curious to see what type of traction the story on Yara was getting. The photos had been up for a couple days which meant they had time to circulate.

“Shit…” I mumbled and grinned taking in the six point four million views and twenty thousand comments on the post. One in particular had me smiling from ear to ear.

…Y’all really put too much energy into trying to dissect my life. I was on some chill shit. Nothing deep but shout out to Saniya for the cuteness of these pictures. I look flawless. You’re always on point. I have no clue how you got these photos but respect sis.

I needed to demand a bonus from Joe for the traction this post was getting. I found another link that led me to the Tattle Tales blog, which was based in Crescent Falls. The headline stated, Saniya Montgomery Strikes Again, with the insider information on Yara creeping with a mystery man at Hef’s Palace. They also quoted Yara’s comment on the post which had my smile expanding.

I was about to do a deep dive to see if my photos ended up anywhere else but a knock at the door had my stomach tensing. I tossed the iPad on the sofa, raked my fingers through my hair, and adjusted the shorts of my matching set on the way to the door. It was a pale blue, cropped, off the shoulder long-sleeved top and matching cable knit drawstring shorts, soft and thin enough to be comfortable, cute, and sexy.

When I was face to face with Grand, I held onto the door for support because fuck, he looked good. Dressed in black joggers, a plain white pocket tee, and Yeezy slides, I almost laughed because his fit screamed fuck boy and mine screamedfuck me.

His eyes moved from my face to the white polish on my toes then back up where he offered me a smug grin like he might have realized the same thing. Even that was sexy.

He entered without an invitation and stalked right to the sofa where he landed directly in the center. I locked up, and joined him, watching while he lifted my iPad and studied the screen

“This you?”

“Yep.”

“That’s ol’ girl from the other night, the singer?”

“Mmhm.”

He nodded, frowning as his eyes moved over the screen, then he smiled. “You were all in her business but she shouted you out. This shit is crazy.”

---