Page 45 of The Prettiest Outlaw

I sniffled at his confession.

“You haven’t noticed that I’m trying to get you over here as many times a week as I can? You said yourself that I’ve had you spend the night with me four to five times a week these last two weeks. Have you ever once heard me complain about it? Does it seem like I have a problem with your pretty ass laying up under me?”

“Nico—”

“It’s not all about the pussy. Yes, the pussy is stellar. I love the pussy. Not gonna lie. But you do know that it’s only one component, right?I’m not at an age or a place in my life where I can do anything with a woman who has good pussy but is otherwise uninteresting to me. In case you haven’t noticed, I find you very interesting, Juli. And you’re fucking hilarious to me. You’re sweet as hell. You’re brainy. You’re quick-witted and sexy. Yeah, you can be somewhat of a downer with all your crying and shit?—”

Both of us laughed.

He gently wiped the last vestiges of tears on my face. “But I like your ass. I like you.”

“I like you, too.”

“I like being around you. I like doing things for you. I like it when you fall asleep all cuddled up on me.”

“Thank you for helping me get sleep. Before, it felt like I hadn’t slept in years. I was always so exhausted.”

He sighed lightly. “When you say stuff like that…when you talk about how alone you’ve felt…” He let his thought trail off for a moment. “All I wanna do is make sure you know that you’re not alone. You’re mine. You’re not alone. You’re mine, and I’m yours.”

Pastor Sharpeand I finally got together and finalized the contract that would make Faith in Harvest Christian Church the first exclusive client ofEmerald City Auto Body & Repair. That was a wild ass turn of events. A brother like me that started off boosting cars as a young cat had been contracted to be the official auto body and repair shop of a mega church.

I planned to celebrate later with Julianna but not before I met up with Langston for lunch. We met up atLe Cocoa Café, because I had a taste for soul food.

The smell of savory goods, seasonings, and warmth hit me in the nostrils as soon as I pulled open the door to the restaurant.

“Welcome toLe Cocoa Café,” the bright-eyed hostess said as I approached the podium just inside the doorway.

I could see Langston was already seated at a table by the window.

“Thanks. I see my guy is already seated.” I gestured in his general vicinity.

The hostess gave me a practiced grin. “Okay. Great. Please take a menu.” She handed me a menu. “Your server will be with you shortly.”

“Thanks,” I repeated before heading toward Langston.

He watched me approach with keen eyes. I was sure he was curious as to why I’d asked him to meet me.

“What’s up, Doc?” I offered my hand as soon as I reached the table.

We exchanged dap.

“I can’t call it, homie.”

I took the chair across from him.

“It smells good as hell in here,” I commented, picking up the menu.

“It does.” He studied me. “You don’t look like you’re dressed for working on cars today. What’s going on with you?”

“Shit, life is good. I just finalized the contract to be the official auto shop for one of the largest churches in the city.”

“Get the fuck outta here! Congratulations are in order.” He gave me dap again.

“Yeah. Who would’ve thought that little delinquent teenager would have a business legit and legal enough to do business with a house of the Lord? The entire situation is so fucking wild to me.”

“Nah, Gianni got you away from KG because he knew you were destined for bigger. I love to hear this shit.”

The waitress came over and took our orders.

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