Page 31 of Maceo

“Sharina, please sit your little ass down. I told you I can explain. I don’t lie to you, and you’re not about to stand over me and accuse me of some shit.”

I snapped my fingers and pointed to the bed. She crossed her arms but sat down.

“Now, are you gonna let me explain?”

She waved her hand, signaling for me to continue.

“Colin left today, making Charity the last person in the safe house. I was sure we would need the house again soon, so I got her a few things and put her up in a hotel. She’s gonna be working with the cleaning company for a few weeks until she figures out where she’s gonna go from here.”

Shar frowned. “Maceo, don’t be out here being a friendly ass nigga.”

“What would you have me do, Sharina? She has nothing and nobody. She said they stole her shit from her car and stripped that muthafucka. It’s literally nothing for her to go back to. You wanted me to send her back to the streets when I have the means to help? That ain’t how my family operates with victims.”

“Okay, Maceo.”

She stood from the bed and walked into the closet. When she came back out, she was wearing pajama bottoms, a T-shirt, and her bonnet. I guess I wasn’t getting any tonight.

“Where are you going?” I asked as she headed for the bedroom door.

“To smoke. You have my fucking nerves up.”

“Baby, come on.”

“Ain’t no come on. You left me hanging tonight, Maceo. You could have called or texted me, but you ignored me. So yeah, I’m mad.”

She snatched the door open and stormed out. I stood there for a moment, staring after her.

“Fuck!”

I was awakenedby the feeling of lips on my shoulder and hands caressing my thighs. Last night, Maceo had pissed me off so bad that I’d put pillows in between us on the bed. I didn’t need him thinking he could make it up to me by sliding in my pussy at some point during the night. I’d taken my sweet time preparing a night in, just for him. I’d cooked, set the mood, and slipped into something sexy, all for him to leave me hanging and horny.

I looked over my shoulder at him with a frown.

“Good morning, love,” he said, leaning in for a kiss.

I shrugged him away. “Get off of me.”

“You really still mad at me, Sharina?”

“Yes, and as long as I’m mad at you, my pussy is mad too.”

I tossed back the covers and climbed out of bed. I heard him mutter a curse as he fell back into the pillows. Ignoring him, I went into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. Much to my dismay, he followed behind me.

“I’m sorry, baby,” he tried.

I said nothing as I dried my face off and grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste. He stood there watching me in the mirror as I handled my oral hygiene. For the whole five minutes it took to give my teeth a thorough cleaning, he stood there with his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

“You know how I feel about that silent treatment shit,” he said as I finally wiped my mouth clean.

I spun around to face him. “You stood me up.”

“I said I was sorry. I lost track of time. It wasn’t intentional, Shar.”

“Intentional or not, you hurt my feelings, Maceo. I spent the whole day preparing. I cleaned the house, got my hair done, cooked a delicious dinner that was spread across a beautiful tablescape, and I put on something sexy, just for you. I planned something special for us, and it went to waste.”

He reached for my hands, but I snatched them away. Maybe I was being a brat, but my feelings really were hurt. We were always around other people. If it wasn’t his family, it was mine or the crew. I wanted us to have a night where it was just us, uninterrupted.

Maceo stepped close to me and rested his hands on the counter behind me, caging my body between it and his.

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