Page 69 of Truce Of The Matter

“Yeah. A Mai Tai,” she answers.

“What about you?” I ask Truce.

“I think I’ve had enough.”

“I’m driving and you are with me. You gotta know you’re always good with me, drink, get fucked up if you want. Just have fun and enjoy your girls.”

“I made a whole pitcher of your Sidecars. You better drink,” Monae urges. “Just knows which pitcher is the Sidecar.”

Monae nods at me and I stand and walk out of the room, turning left like Just. When I find him at the bar, Jabari joins us about a minute later. According to Truce, Monae was a bartender before she started managing Black Diamonds and this impressive bar proves it. The selection is all top shelf and her mixed drinks are strong as fuck.

“Sidecar?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“Right here.” He points to the pitcher and I grab a glass and fill it. “She made those especially for Truce. That’s her girl, her sister. So that makes her my sister,” he says seriously. “Treat her right, man. She deserves that shit.”

Because I know how close Truce and Monae are, I understand Just’s protectiveness of her so I overlook the sternness in his tone. However, I respond with the same energy.

“That goes without saying. I don’t know any other way to treat her but right. That’s the minimum she deserves. I got her, always, but I ’preciate you standing up for her.”

“That’s a bet.”

“And good to know ’cause Truce is like family, bruh,” Jabari adds.

“On everything, I got her. Y’all niggas can chill,” I say lightheartedly and they laugh but nod, both understanding Truce is absolutely straight with me.

We each get our drinks then trek back to the ladies. A collective hush blankets the room as soon as we step into the living room then they giggle like teenagers. Clearly, one if not all of us had to be the topic of their convo.

“You talking about me?” I utter to Truce when I sit.

She takes her drink from my hand then gets even closer to me. “If I was, is that a problem?”

“My name on your lips is never a problem.”

She angles her head to face me. I place my glass on the table then raise my hand to her neck. She nuzzles under my chin then lightly brushes her soft lips on my neck. When I glance down to look into her face, her pretty eyes peer up at me. They are filled with too many emotions to describe but I feel them all; I feel her.

Truce is everything. Everything I’ve been missing in my life and she fits. Her strength doesn’t overshadow her vulnerability. Her independence doesn’t contradict her desire to be taken care of. When she’s down, she allows me to lift her up. And she’s here. Always here, even when I don’t know I need her to be. The night she let me unload my shit with Lyra on her proved that.

My nose touches hers then I peck her lips lightly. Oblivious to where we are and who we are with, I lock eyes with hers and just tell her how I truly feel. I utter the words I should have said that night in my tub.

“Damn, I love you,” I whisper and a smile takes over her entire beautiful face.

“I love you so much,” she utters before kissing my lips passionately.

Chapter 19

“Before we get to Daija, can I just say that I love Rex?” Monae says while smiling. I’m in my favorite spot on my chaise and she’s on the other side of my sectional. She arrived an hour ago to check on me before Daija gets here. “Our first game night was epic because that man tongued your ass down in front of all of us,” she says, smiling so damn hard.

“Actually, I kissed him,” I admit because I did.

Hell, I couldn’t help it. It was something about that moment. He smelled delicious as usual and looked as handsome as he always does but something was different. His eyes were penetrating my skin and caressing my soul. Had he not spoken his love for me, I would have. I felt it and the words were anxiously waiting to fall from my lips.

I love Rex. I love him with every ounce of my being. It wasn’t an expected love or one that I planned but it is the love I’ve needed and definitely want in my life. So when he verbalized it, my words easily came out and I had to kiss him. I didn’t give a damn about my friends or game night. It was only him and just us, no one else.

“I’m so happy for you, friend,” she says sincerely. “Real love looks good on you. That smile is every damn thing.”

“He keeps me smiling. Girl, he’s so big and strong but there’s a sweet and gentle side of him that just makes me melt.”And soaks my damn panties.

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