Page 44 of Taeja

He glanced at his brother, then backtracked on his thought.

They all deserved the best.

9

She wasn’t sure howlong she slept, but when she woke up, Damon’s side of the bed was cold. Stretching, she rolled over to sit on the side of the bed. She stared into space for a few minutes while her thoughts ran wild.

The situation with her father was heavy on her mind, and she forcefully pushed it away.

She remembered Damon’s soothing voice in her ear as he tightly held her until she fell asleep. Though it warmed her heart, she pushed it away, too.

She didn’t like the cause that led up to the situation and she didn’t want to think about it either. So she stood up, grabbed her phone, then went downstairs.

Taeja wasn’t sure where she was going. She’d never been in this house before. She only knew that it belonged to Zain.

God, she hated the decor. The color scheme was too multi-colored and vibrant, the ambiance just wasn’t right. She hated that she was judging, but this house looked the opposite of Zain. Or the image she had painted of him in her mind, anyway.

Classical music drifted from some place in the house, and she followed it to the living room. Damon was lounging on the sofa, tapping away at his laptop while the music came from the TV opposite him.

“Damon,” she called out.

He looked from the laptop at her with a warm smile. He held a hand out and she walked toward him, sitting and cuddling at his side. Damon threw an armover her shoulder, rubbing her arm and kissing her forehead while a smile came to her face. “Are you feeling better?”

Taeja withheld a sigh. “No, but mi nuh waa talk bout it.”

“Okay…”

“Where’s Zain?”

“He went out. He’ll be back soon.”

Humming, Taeja glanced at his laptop. The screen displayed a coding program. “What’s this for?”

“The app I’m working on.”

“You make apps?” she asked, realizing how little she knew about her guys.

He nodded. “I’m an IT technician, but game design is my first love.”

“Wow. Not me?” she joked.

“You’re a close second,” he replied in a joking manner.

Taeja chuckled. “What kind of game is it?”

“A battle royale. I don’t know where I’m going wrong. I’m trying to fix the graphics, but the colors are all messed up. Look.”

Taeja leaned off his shoulder so he could freely work his hands. She watched in awe as Damon’s fingers soared over the keyboard. He was more attractive when he was in his zone.

After several more clicks, Damon played a demo of the game for her. Taeja nodded when she saw what the problem was. The grass was bluish-yellow instead of green.

“Something’s wrong with the code?” she asked after the demo ended.

“No. I went over it one hundred times already and my friends who I’m making it with went over it, too.”

“Maybe you need fresh eyes.” Taeja patted her lap. “Let me see it.”

His brow’s knitted. “Have you ever done game design before?”

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