Page 131 of Call Me Mrs. Taylor

I hit the icon to unmute.

“None of them have empathy. Not a one. Ladies, trust me on this. They barely have enough thoughts in their heads for themselves. Do you honestly believe they give a fuck about you yapping?”

I chuckle at that, because I’m sitting here watching her ass yap. Then I remember I wasn’t going to, because, well, yeah. I didn’t give a fuck what she was yapping about.

“They only care about two things; themselves, and what they can get from you.”She angles her face, studying her work in the mirror.“If they happen to treat you nice, trust and believe, it wasn’t out of love. It was strategy. Short game or long game, never forget it’salwaysa game.”

Damn.

Raya really hates men.

She looks hella good doing it, but still. Somebody really fucked her up. Her pops and her ex, definitely, but who else? Although, I guess that’s more than enough.

Do all women have stories of men fucking them up? Probably. I know my sisters do.

She squints, leaning closer to read her comments.

“Are there any good ones?”She laughs.“Depends on what you mean by ‘good’ I guess.”

That puts a frown on my face.

I thoughtIwas one of the good ones.

And she shot this video a few days ago. I treated her pretty fucking well when we were together, not to mention her ass is laid up in my guest room as we speak. Is that not good for her?

She pauses, sighing softly as a brush dangles between her fingers.“Mine is a good one.”

Hell, yeah. Talk yo shit, Raya.

She gets a dazed look in her eyes.“He’s the best one I’ve been with. That’s why I’m down so bad. Y'all know. I ain’t been myself lately.”

She looks down, chuckling softly like she’s embarrassed.“I actually love him. I wasn’t sure I knew how to do that for real, but with him, I finally understand what it means.”

I nod to myself, a slow, deep breath leaving my chest.

“But.”She looks up, staring straight into the camera.“I will never,evertake my eye off the ball.”

That’s interesting.

And by interesting, I mean fucked up.

I exit the app before she can say another word. Toss my phone onto the nightstand. Shake my head in disappointment.

I believe her about loving me. But that ‘never take my eye off the ball’ shit?

Nah.

I’m not gonna sit here and act like I ain’t never played games with women. Raya got it right when she said we all want things from women. I hate to admit that shit, but, yeah. But I was straight up with her. I’m the only one in this bitchnotplaying games, so what the fuck is she talking about?

I swing my legs out of bed. Step out into the hallway.

Her door is cracked.

That’s an invitation.

I push it open far enough to see inside. She’s on her stomach, one arm tucked under her pillow, the other resting in front of her. The glow of her phone screen illuminates her sleeping face.

I step closer and see that the blanket has slipped down her back, revealing one bare shoulder and the smooth curve of her spine. The sheets are tangled around her waist, leaving her legs exposed. She looks so soft and warm. There for the taking.

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