Page 42 of It's Love I'm After

My eyes shift from Jarrod to my phone when it vibrates in my hand, causing my heart rate to accelerate at the possibility of getting a response from Chaniya. The hardest part of our separation has been her silence. My eyes only make out a C before my fingers stumble over each other, trying to unlock the phone and open the message.

My Cha-Cha: I miss you too. Let’s plan an outing between Caleb, you, and myself. He’s been asking about you. *side eye emoji*

Me: I’m off tomorrow if that works for you two. Don’t be looking crazy. Caleb knows I’m worth inquiring about, just like you do.

My Cha-Cha: Whatever. We’re free tomorrow.

Me: Bet. I’m gonna call you later to iron out the details.

My Cha-Cha: I suggest you do it soon. I can’t promise I’m gonna be awake much longer.

“Aye, I gotta step outside to make a call right quick. If our waiter comes back, have him bring me another beer.” I stand before moving toward the exit without waiting to hear a response from Desi or Jarrod.

Thanks to it being a weeknight, Club Stew isn’t busy, making my trek to the front door seamless and without incident. Pushing on the metal door that feels like it weighs a ton, I step outside, frowning when the night air hits my face. Heading to a space on the empty wall near the front entrance, I prop my leg up and dial Chaniya’s number.

“Hello.” Chaniya’s voice is heavy, low, and sultry, letting me know that she wasn’t kidding about being on her way to bed.

“Why would your ass answer the phone like this? Your ass is almost sounding like one of those thirst trap operators swindling men out of their hard-earned cash every night.”

Between my public surroundings and the air hitting my face, I’m surprisingly able to keep my dick from jumping and hardening in my pants.

“At one point in time, I thought about getting a part-time job in that field. It was that or becoming a foot model on only fans. Being a single mother ain’t for the faint.”

“Nigga, fuck you and your bitch. I keep telling you that ho ain’t loyal to shit but whatever slit she’s sucking nut from at the time,” some random man says to another man who’s had too much to drink based on his swaying body.

“Oh, it's fuck her now, but you weren’t saying shit when she was swallowing both our nuts, and your sorry ass was drinking it like milk,” the drunk man replies.

“Wow. Uh, where are you?” Chaniya questions lowly, causing me to smirk because no one other than me can hear her.

“Club Stew with Jarrod and Desi, having a couple beers,” I answer.

“Shoot. I’ll let you get back to them then. Let me know what time works for you tomorrow, and we can go from there.”

A frown forms at the rushing tone within Chaniya’s words because nobody is more important than she is, which is what I communicate.

“Fuck them. When we’re done, we’re done. I ain’t rushing our conversation to get back to them, Cha-Cha,” I bark.

“I hear you, and believe me, I understand. However, I’m not sitting on this phone for another minute, so give me a time so you can return to your friends, and I can go to sleep.” Chaniya’sdeadpan statement brokers no rebuttal, despite my urge to push back.

“Eight,” I provide with a hard edge from my lack of acceptance with her wanting to end our call like she hasn’t had me in timeout.

“A.m. or p.m.?”

“A.m.”

Giggles flow through the line, warming my weary heart while charging my body like jumper cables. Missing Chaniya hasn’t been easy, but now it feels bearable, knowing I only have a wake-up before our reunion.

“It’s Saturday. Caleb and I like to sl?—”

“Not tomorrow. Come to the house. I’ll make y’all breakfast, and then we can go from there.”

“It’s a date. Enjoy the rest of your night.”

“Looking forward to seeing you, Cha-Cha.”

“Me too, and Germayne?”

“Yeah.”

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